Are you trying to run gedit locally or after logging in to the Linux server? CygwinX doesn't install Gnome and I don't think there is a gedit package. You can use vim or emacs to edit text files. There may be other editors available as well.

If you are trying to run gedit after logging in, then make sure gedit is installed on the ssh server. If it is, then make sure your $PATH variable contains it's location.

Just in case you didn't realize it, the X server runs on the terminal, a program running on the ssh server is the client. That means that you need X windows running on the vista machine. The X forwarding option will forward the traffic but putty doesn't supply an X windows server.

How do I know if xwindows is running on the vista machine?
if I open Task Manager I see no services beginning with X
looking at Processes there is nothing starting with x, but there is an item bash.exe
is bash.exe = X Windows or Xll?????

Try installing Morten's Cygwin X-Launcher on your windows machine.
Look over the Morten's website for ideas on connecting and how to set it up.
Good Luck!

John

You need to have installed the X packages in Cygwin using the setup.exe file. This includes at least xorg-x11-xwin. The setup.exe program should resolve all the dependencies necessary automatically, and you need only click next until it's all finished.

Then, open a Cygwin Bash Shell from the start menu on the Vista box, and type:That will start the X server on your Vista machine to which forwarded X programs from the Ubuntu machine can connect, thus allowing you to see the window.

To connect, for the time being, abandon Putty, and use the new bash terminal that appears when you type startxwin.sh to ssh in to your Ubuntu box. Use to log in to the Ubuntu box. Then, when you type gedit, or xeyes, or some other X application, it'll be forwarded to the X server on your Vista machine.

You also need to ensure that Vista's firewall has an exception for the XWin.exe program in C:\cygwin\usr\X11R6\bin\ by default. Your installation path may vary if you chose to install Cygwin in a non-standard place.

First problem was that I downloaded cygwin and not cygwinX
Second problem was that I downloaded cygwinX taking what I thought were good defaults
Reloaded CygwinX after changing x and nano/ted from "Skip"
Now in my start menu I have cygwin and cygwin X I can execute bash.exe from start menu
in the bash shell I cannot execute startwin.sh
But -- I can execute "StartX" and it loads up and I can see a whole bunch of new entries in taskmanager.!!!
Now I can edit .bashrc using nano and so now I have some aliases ll l la etc.

So, thats progress.

In the bash shell still on the vista machine it now knows about X apps but it can not open DISPLAY.
If I type xterm, I get "Xt error: Can't open display:" "Sterm: DISPLAY is not set"

I tried DISPLAY=:0.0 , DISPLAY=:10.0 DISPLAY=localhost:0.0 and DISPLAY=localhost:10.0

This is just on the vista machine nothing to do with the ubuntu box yet.

I whould just, for now, like to be able to run xterm in the bash shell

Thanks for all the helpful posts. I do apprieciate your thought and time

did you do ?

you need to make sure you export it.

I am prettty sure I did but I will rerun the four variants
0.0, 10.0 localhost:0.0 and localhost :10.0

When you run Cygwin's setup.exe, scroll right down and you'll find all the X stuff. No need to install Cygwin/X separately.

Worked my way through 6 permutations of 0.0 10.0 localhost and 127.0.0.1 using export and xterm still can't open DISPLAY

and yes I finally figured out cygwin and disable skip for the editor of choice and X11

currently on the vista machine if I open the bash shell in cygwin,then startx and echo $DISPLAY I get localhost:10.0

If i then do xhost I get "xhost: unable to open display "localhost:10.0""

This is all on the local vista machine no ssh, no putty I can't run X gui in cygwin

Have you tried disabling the firewall yet? X windows is run over the network so vista's firewall may be blocking it. If you disable the firewall and X magically works, then you will need to add an exception to vista's firewall to allow Xwin.exe.

If that doesn't work, I'm sorry but I just don't know what else.

Does the firewall come in to play when its just cygwin bash X on the same vista machine?

Is there a good cygwin specific forum?

X's architecture is built on top of networking. Even when you are on the monitor hooked directly to the system, it's working over the 'localhost' or loopback network interface. This is different from windows where the windowing system is hooked up/built in to the kernel.

It was done this way because X started as a server feature where sysadmins often times were remote from the actual systems. With the server/client architecture that X has, you can run/connect to the server graphically from anywhere.

So, I'm pretty sure the cygwin bash x works this way as well.

It's a miracle. Woke up this morning and turned on the machines. clicked on baxh.exe and in the bash shell window typed in startx. Got a new window with a $ prompt and now I can do xhost + and xcalc from the vista machine.
Then opened putty and sshed in to the ubuntu box. I did export DISPLAY=:0.0 and now I can do xhost+ and -. So thats progress and when I do xcalc or gedit it no longer says it cant open display. xcalc and gedit dont work, the cursor just goes back to the left margin and hangs waiting for ctrl C and then comes back to the command prompt.

Frustration thy name is linux:-)