Date: Wed, 10 Jun 1998 11:12:45 -0400 (EDT) From: Marty Poulin <mpoulin@honk.org> To: Sue Blake <sue@welearn.com.au> Cc: newbies@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Installing X Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.95.980609162128.17174A-100000@mail.honk.org> In-Reply-To: <19980606074507.47760@welearn.com.au>
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On Sat, 6 Jun 1998, Sue Blake wrote:
> The first steps are basically: install X,
Ok - what would be *really* helpful would be some sort of instructions
on how to install X. Is it available as a package or a port, what is
needed in preparation, where to get it... - a complete break
down of the steps required.
> make sure your path includes X
> (you'll probably see how to change it if you edit your ~/.profile and log
> in again), run xf86config as root (very carefully! a wrong answer can fry
> your monitor so run it again if you made a mistake), and then as a humble
> user type 'startx' and see if it works. Use Ctrl-Alt-Backspace to get out
> of X if you can't see another way. If the screen seems happy, use
> Ctrl-Alt-+ (that's the plus on the numeric keypad) a few times slowly to
> see how easy it is to cycle through the available resolutions.
That helps too. I assume by including "X" in my path you mean
"/usr/X11R6"?
> Next: you need to install and configure a 'window manager' to make it work
> nicely. Out of the box it has an old plain window manager called twm but
> you're sure to want something better. The one called fvwm2 is good to
> start with (install from the FreeBSD packages collection) and experiment
> with other ones after the basics are a bit more familiar. Hint: click on
> the background with different mouse buttons to get menus, including one
> that'll let you exit gracefully. By now you'll be interested in colour
> depth as well as resolution, so try changing to something like
> 'startx -- -bpp 16' to get more colours
That's really helpful too. I would recommend just pasting the above
instructions directly into the FAQ or handbook.
> Would it help much to have a brief summary like this in the
> Handbook or FAQ? Raise enough hands and it'll happen.
I think it would definitely help. A brief overview, with a few specifics
to point people in the right direction would be a great help.
(BTW - I still have yet to successfully install X. Now that I have the
above info, I will try again this weekend. Just for fun, I'll let you
know how I make out)
===================== Quote(c) 1997 Martin Poulin =====================
I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.
- Confucius
>
>
>
> There's a couple of good chapters on setting up X in Greg Lehey's book
> The Complete FreeBSD, and that's the only place you'll find every detail
> from installing to making X shine. Get this book if you can.
>
> Our Newbies Resources web page (http://www.freebsd.org/newbies.html) has
> just had a little section on X added. It gets updated every couple of
> weeks, mostly by *guessing* what info newbies need to find (hint). Please
> post any feedback on that page to this mailing list.
>
> For problems and specific questions, ask freebsd-questions@freebsd.org.
> There's another web page at http://www.welearn.com.au/freebsd/newbies
> that explains how to deal with problems that don't solve themselves.
>
> > I don't have too much invested in my system right now, so it won't be
> > too much of a loss to start over.
>
> Aaaarrggghh! That's what I said too :-( I reinstalled about six times in
> the first week trying to get things right. WRONG! Once it's installed and
> booting you're fine. Even the silliest goofs can be fixed from there,
> with a little help from the FAQ, Handbook, man pages if you're desperate,
> and freebsd-questions to solve any nagging mysteries that remain.
>
> If you're totally new at everything, remember that you'll be learning
> about several distinct subjects at once: UNIX commands; X; how to use
> particular applications; running FreeBSD. Try to distinguish between
> these areas of knowledge from the start. Most of the help you'll get from
> FreeBSD people (e.g. in freebsd-questions) is on FreeBSD itself, though
> they'll stray to other areas a little bit to help out.
>
> On the other hand, here as newbies we can discuss the process we've been
> through to learn FreeBSD and all of the other things we've needed to know
> about. We all have different backgrounds and different learning styles.
> Sharing our experiences is valuable, even when our experiences are very
> different.
>
> Please let us know what helps you most, in case it helps us too.
>
>
> --
>
> Regards,
> -*Sue*-
>
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