Stuck on Command Prompt

hkhiroya · 03-15-2006, 03:35 PM

Hi,

Firstly I am completely new to linux and it is the first time that i am trying to install it as i need it for a project.

I have installed Debian 3.1r1 but when it loads i am stuck on the comand prompt. How do i get into the graphical user interface (or the graphical mode).

Please help on what i should do.

Any help will be appreciated

regards
harshil

pljvaldez · 03-15-2006, 03:42 PM

Well, that depends. The easiest thing to try is to type startx. If that doesn't work, then you need to install the x-window system.

I followed this guide for setting up my Debian box a few years back. It's a little dated, but should work okay if you installed Debian stable.

Also, for a lot of other Debian setup help, try http://aboutdebian.com/

truoc444 · 03-15-2006, 04:58 PM

if you don't hit the space bar and select Desktop Environment during the install it doesn't load a desktop environment. then you'll have to apt-get and install kde, gnome, xfce etc

hkhiroya · 03-15-2006, 05:40 PM

First of all thanks for all your help..

i have installed xfree86 and wmaker with it.

is there any other ones that i could install or are better and more user friendly to use?

when exactly do i have to press the space bar during installation? is it any time when it is doing the base installation?

thanks once again

regards
harshil

pljvaldez · 03-15-2006, 06:13 PM

There are many gui's that you can use instead of wmaker. That guide just uses wmaker. The two most popular are kde and gnome. Just apt-get install kde kdm or apt-get install gnome gdm as root.

Or if you'd rather just reset the base install, type base-config as root. Then select the option "Select and Install packages". The first page should say "Desktop", "Server", etc. move the cursor to Desktop and hit the space bar (you should see an * in the []). Then hit tab and select enter. That should do it...

hkhiroya · 03-15-2006, 07:00 PM

hi

thanks once again for the help.

i have now managed to install gnome and find it much better and easier to use than wmaker.

i am now stuck as the there are only two options of screen resolution 800*600 and 640*480. i have a 17" tft and this is too big.

can anyone please guide me on how i can change the resolution to 1280*1024

regards
harshil

pljvaldez · 03-15-2006, 07:05 PM

Try dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86 as root and be sure to select all the resolutions supported by your monitor.

hkhiroya · 03-16-2006, 06:32 AM

hi

can anyone please explain the difference between xorg and xfree86. Also please advice as to which one is better to use.

thanks for all the help so far from all

regards
harshil

dracae · 03-16-2006, 08:13 AM

http://wiki.x.org/wiki/XorgFoundation

pljvaldez · 03-16-2006, 12:21 PM

If you're using Sarge, I think you're limited to xfree86 (without doing some complicated apt-pinning or dist-upgrading to etch). I believe xorg just forked off of xfree86 because of licensing issues.