A Little Help - startx, xdm, etc.

[jimbo-62]

I have a very lean Etch installation from a minimal, netinst CD. The system booted to a command line prompt with no problems.

Then I installed x-window-system. No problems with the configuration, since I have done this before and have detailed notes. I didn't install KDE because I want to experiment with just the base X Window.

But, here are the questions/problems.

The system boots to an X Window login screen and after login, it is a cross hatch screen with a mouse pointer but no xterm or any other window, just the cross hatch "GUI". So, there must be a config file somewhere that I need to edit to get a usable window of some sort?? Or maybe I need to install another package??

I would like the system to boot to the command line for login, then manually start an X Window session. What file(s) do I need to edit to accomplish this?

Later, I will install KDE, but I want to start the KDE GUI manually at the beginning. So the system would boot to a command line for login, then I would start KDE. Even later, I would like the system to boot to the KDE login window.

Can someone tell me what/where/how to accomplish this learning experience??

Thanks for any help, jimbo

[pigah]

You

a) need a window manager (try fluxbox, windowmaker, or fvwm2)

b) need to create a file called .xinitrc in your home directory. for starters, just put the name of the window manager in this file:

Code: Select all

fluxbox

then simply startx and you should start fine. google for a x-windows howto and it should give you some more ideas for fine tuning.