(xserver-xfree86 and xdm) (exim4, fetchmail, procmail & mutt)

leamassiot · 12-12-2005, 03:39 PM

Hi,

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
xserver-xfree86 & xdm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Does anyone knows a good manual or howto about xserver-xfree86 and xdm?

The problem is that each time I try to set up the X server and xdm I have a lot of trouble. Actually, it is always by chance I eventually make it work.

Of course, I run:
dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86 and
/etc/init.d/xdm restart
or reboot my system to test my config.

I do not understand the basics.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
exim4, fetchmail, procmail, mutt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Exactly the same as above except that I do not run the same commands of course.

Thanks in advance,

--
Léa Massiot

bobbens · 12-13-2005, 12:29 AM

Learn to use www.google.com/linux . For example searching for "xfree86" on www.google.com/linux nets you http://en.tldp.org/HOWTO/XFree86-HOWTO/ which is a nice walkthrough for basics, although the secret of XFree86 lies in /etc/X11/XF86Config-4. To view the manuals you can also type "man <appname>" in the console, or just do a www.google.com/linux search for "man <appname>" which will usually net you the same text but in your browser. The key to learning how applications work are manpages and if they aren't enough, then toher sources, but usually with manpages and a developed linux intuition you can work out most applications. Another place that is good to do a search in is on this same website. One thing you should do also is to make back ups of configuration files when you change them, so if after changing it the application borks, you can then fix it by recopying the configuration file. They usually can be found in /etc/ or ~/.<appname>. Good luck.

leamassiot · 12-14-2005, 02:58 AM

Thank you so much for answering so fast. I didn't know about the web site you recommended me (I cannot quote it here because I'm not old enough (less than 5 posts)). I'll now use it as you advise me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About xserver-xfree86 & xdm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm quite familiar with the /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 configuration file.

a. I've noticed that when you run the dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86 not all settings are written in the /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 file. This is the reason why I've tried to edit it manually. Are some settings recorded somewhere else?

b. When xdm starts on my computer I have an awful screen with colored strips. Three seconds after the xdm login/password box appears normally and I log in in my system just as if nothing had happened. I'm not really concerned about it, yet I hate not to understand why things happen

.

Good day,

--
Léa Massiot

bobbens · 12-14-2005, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leamassiot

a. I've noticed that when you run the dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86 not all settings are written in the /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 file. This is the reason why I've tried to edit it manually. Are some settings recorded somewhere else?

They should be written, are you sure you say YES when it asks to write to file? As far as i know the xserver runs only using the /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 file, and then xdm/startx read the .xsession file, although the .xsession is just a script. Besides /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 i dont really think there is any other configuration file that affects the xserver-xfree86 directly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by leamassiot

b. When xdm starts on my computer I have an awful screen with colored strips. Three seconds after the xdm login/password box appears normally and I log in in my system just as if nothing had happened. I'm not really concerned about it, yet I hate not to understand why things happen

.

It might have to do with your graphic card. With different cards and drivers i got different things at the beginning. Now i get a grey (well black + white pixels spread uniformly which you can clearly distinguish) background, although i have gotten a solid grey background and those lines you refer to, although mine were like flashing white/black that moved up sorta like the monitor output was faulty, altough once it loads up fully it would load everything i wanted it to. I think it's card/driver dependent or it could also be wm dependent, altough since i havent used anything other then fluxbox for the longest time, i cant really prove that. You can run a few tests to see if it's that easily though.

leamassiot · 12-18-2005, 12:27 PM

Hi,

~~~~~~~~
Bobbens:
~~~~~~~~
Sorry for not reacting sooner, it is just that I was working on the problem.
- Yes, I say "yes" when asking to write changes to config file.
- "card/driver dependent" or "wm-dependent": probably. The way I have proceeded (see below), I've had no such problems.

~~~~~~~~
Follows:
~~~~~~~~
I have managed to solve my problem. What I did is not absolutely trivial. I'll try to explain it a bit.

I'll enumerate a few tips (I'll try to respect a certain order):

A/ I think it is not a good idea to use the dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86 command. I really do not know where nor what it writes. Sorry for the author. As it is a discussion you can explain me why it is useful or not. My conclusion is that it is better to edit the /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 manually and understand it (at least a little bit).

B/ I installed an ATI, unfortunately proprietary, driver (fglrx) which I found on ATI's web site. It was a rpm package so I converted it with alien to a .deb package and installed it with dpkg -i --force-overwrite (beware of the --force-overwrite option!).

C/ I ran module-assistant prepare which installed for me the kernel headers package (IMPORTANT).

D/ In the /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/ directory I ran ./make.sh
And then in the /lib/modules/fglrx/ directory I ran ./make_install.sh

E/ I executed modprobe -v fglrx

F/ As it still didn't work I realized I needed to install the following packages:
xfs, xfonts-base, xutils, ... and maybe some others (IMPORTANT).

G/ You must edit the /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 configuration file.
In section Module:
Section "Module"
...
SubSection
Option "omit xfree86-dga"
EndSubSection
...
EndSection

In section Device:
Section "Device"
Identifier "ATI"
Driver "fglrx"
EndSection

In section Screen:
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default screen"
Device "ATI"
Monitor your_monitor
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "display"
Depth 24
Modes "1024x768"
EndSubSection
EndSection

In section ServerLayout:
Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Default Layout"
Screen "Default screen"
...
EndSection

H/ I edited the /etc/x11/xdm/Xaccess file and added:
%hostlist localhost
CHOOSER %hostlist

I/ When you feel ready reboot your system or execute startx.

And after a lot a work, well...

it worked.
I admit I do not understand the whole operation but one day I will

.

Hope it helps.
Ask questions, make remarks, I'll be glad and it can be useful for all of us.
Notice that these are only a few tips, I have no time right now for making a "howto" nor the ability to do it. Sorry.

--
Léa Massiot

bobbens · 12-18-2005, 01:59 PM

If you use fglrxconfig upon installing the fglrx rpm package you'll see that it adds a whole lot more then what you have done manually. Specifically it should add something like this (besides remaking the entire file) which i'm not sure if you need or not, although if you want to get the TV out support or multiple monitor set up it is probably better to use fglrxconfig to generate this and then edit it manually.

Code:

# === ATI device section ===

Section "Device"
    Identifier                          "ATI Graphics Adapter"
    Driver                              "fglrx"
# ### generic DRI settings ###
# === disable PnP Monitor  ===
    #Option                              "NoDDC"
# === disable/enable XAA/DRI ===
    Option "no_accel"                   "no"
    Option "no_dri"                     "no"
# === misc DRI settings ===
    Option "mtrr"                       "off" # disable DRI mtrr mapper, driver has
 its own code for mtrr
# ### FireGL DDX driver module specific settings ###
# === Screen Management ===
    Option "DesktopSetup"               "mirror" 
    Option "HSync2"                     "unspecified" 
    Option "VRefresh2"                  "unspecified" 
    Option "ScreenOverlap"              "0" 
    Option "GammaCorrectionI"           "0x00000000"
    Option "GammaCorrectionII"          "0x00000000"
# === OpenGL specific profiles/settings ===
    Option "Capabilities"               "0x00000000"
    Option "CapabilitiesEx"             "0x00000000"
# === Video Overlay for the Xv extension ===
    Option "VideoOverlay"               "on"
# === OpenGL Overlay ===
# Note: When OpenGL Overlay is enabled, Video Overlay
#       will be disabled automatically
    Option "OpenGLOverlay"              "off"
# === Center Mode (Laptops only) ===
    Option "CenterMode"                 "off"
# === Pseudo Color Visuals (8-bit visuals) ===
    Option "PseudoColorVisuals"         "off"
# === QBS Management ===
    Option "Stereo"                     "off"
    Option "StereoSyncEnable"           "1"
# === FSAA Management ===
    Option "FSAAEnable"                 "no"
    Option "FSAAScale"                  "1"
    Option "FSAADisableGamma"           "no"
    Option "FSAACustomizeMSPos"         "no"
    Option "FSAAMSPosX0"                "0.000000"
    Option "FSAAMSPosY0"                "0.000000"
    Option "FSAAMSPosX1"                "0.000000"
    Option "FSAAMSPosY1"                "0.000000"
    Option "FSAAMSPosX2"                "0.000000"
    Option "FSAAMSPosY2"                "0.000000"
    Option "FSAAMSPosX3"                "0.000000"
    Option "FSAAMSPosY3"                "0.000000"
    Option "FSAAMSPosX4"                "0.000000"
    Option "FSAAMSPosY4"                "0.000000"
    Option "FSAAMSPosX5"                "0.000000"
    Option "FSAAMSPosY5"                "0.000000"
# === Misc Options ===
    Option "UseFastTLS"                 "0"
    Option "BlockSignalsOnLock"         "on"
    Option "UseInternalAGPGART"         "yes"
    Option "ForceGenericCPU"            "no"
    BusID "PCI:2:0:0"    # vendor=1002, device=4150
    Screen 0
EndSection

I find the "autoconfig" utils are real nice to give you a base to work off of, altough nothing beats using vi to modify it to your taste. Doing it your way you automatically assume default on all these options, which may be fine (since most of my values can be considered default), but there are some options like UseInternalAGPGART which can be interesting to play with. If you had said earlier what card you had i could have pointed you out to an older howto i wrote which more or less describes how to do what you've done. Now i'd consider it obsolete since most people just use the *.run package ati supplies, altough i find it much nicer to do this way. There is also another way with debian via apt-get which is to add an unofficial repository and such, altough i'd rather do it this way.