I know this is stupid question- but how the heck do I start X? I have just installed 2.1 on my system, but I can't figure out how to run xf86config becuase it just keeps telling me it can't find it...I installed a basic server package, and included gnome...

are you typing :
xf86config
as the root user ?
and did you try typing :
startx

you can try typing the full path also ...
/usr/X11R6/bin/xf86config

dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86
startx

neither of these things work...I can find the x11r6 directory, but there is no xf86 or xf86config in it...

eaglegst's post should get you going provided you have X installed. What did

"dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86" do?

the XF86Config file will be in /etc/X11/ once it's created.

dpkg:unknown option-e

Ok.. let's start over.. 1st make sure X is installed...

#apt-cache policy x-window-system-core

it will show you what version you have installed.. then if it's not installed

#aptitude install x-window-system-core (aptitude is my preference, you can use apt-get)

after it's installed..

#dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86

there are no spaces in "dpkg-reconfigure". Post any output you have if there's problems

thanks, it doesnt look like x is installed. When I run apt-get, it tries to get the files from the internet...the only porblem is that I don't have my NIC configured yet...I suppose thi sis the topic of a different thread? I have the install CD for Debian, wouldn't the X info be there?

I don't know which CD the X files are on. What kind of ethernet card do you have?

#lspci

will tell you. You'll then need to modprobe the driver and setup networking accordingly. What kind of internet setup do you have?

I have dsl running through a router... my nic is a Realtek pci....

To setup your internet connection:
#ifconfig as root, see if there is an interface named eth0
if it is properly configured, then try to ping any urls of the outside world.
if it is not, you may need to edit /etc/network/interfaces to get your eth0 working first.
Most Realtek pci cards are supported by Debian by default.

To get the packages you need without internet connection(from Debian CDs):
edit /etc/apt/sources.list, use "#" to comment out any lines that contain an URL(http or ftp) to prevent it from trying to search the web.
If there isn't any line start with deb cdrom: in that file, which means you did not scan your CDs in the installation, you need to:
#apt-cdrom add, follow the instruction, repeat the same thing for all your 7 woody CDs.

You may need to run #apt-get update after all these changes are done.
Then apt-get install whatever packages you need.

it may be that the X binaries are not in your path, do this:

export PATH=$PATH:/usr/X11R6/bin
xf86config
startx

and you should have it working (assuming that X is installed of course)