How To Get the X Window System to Work?

The answers to this question can, and do, fill entire books. If the installation program wasn't able to configure the X server correctly, Linux will most likely try to start the X display, fail, and drop back into text-only terminal mode.

First and foremost, make certain that you have provided, as closely as possible, the correct information to the installation program of your video hardware: the video card and monitor. Some installation programs can correctly guess a "least common denominator" screen configuration, like a 640-by-480 VESA-standard display, but there are many possible video hardware configurations that may not be able to display this standard.

The X Window System configuration file is called (usually) /etc/XF86Config, /etc/X11/XF86Config, or /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/XF86Config.

If you need to manually configure the X server, there are several possible methods:

• Try to use the XF86Setup program, which can help identify the correct X server and monitor timings for the video hardware.

• Make sure that the X server has the correct options. If you log in as the superuser, you should be able to use X --probeonly to get a listing of the video card chipset, memory, and any special graphics features. Also, refer to the manual page for the X server. (E.g.; man X), and try running the X server and redirecting the standard error output to a file so you can determine, after you can view text on the screen again, what error messages the server is generating; e.g., X 2>x.error.

• With that information, you should be able to safely refer to one of the references provided by the Linux Documentation Project. ("Where can I get the HOWTO's and other documentation? ") There are several HOWTO's on the subject, including a HOWTO to calculate video timings manually if necessary. Also, the Installation and Getting Started guide has a chapter with a step-by-step guide to writing a XF86Config file.

Also, make sure that the problem really is an incorrect XF86Config file, not something else like the window manager failing to start. If the X server is working correctly, you should be able to move the mouse cursor on the screen, and pressing Ctrl-Alt-Backspace will shut down the X server and return to the shell prompt in one of the virtual terminals.

Why Is the Screen Is All Full of Weird Characters Instead of Letters?
Why isn't My Virtual Memory Swap Area Working

See our index for more reviews

Write a review and win an Apple Ipod