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Type: 'init 5' to switch to runlevel 5 without rebooting. Otherwise just reboot. The 'id:5:initdefault:' defines the default runlevel. Since you didn't change anything, it should have a '5' (for graphical logon). The other key combos are for switching virtual consoles. 'Ctrl'+'Alt'+'F(1-6)' switches to the text consoles tty1-tty6. 'Ctrl'+'Alt'+'F7' Switches back to the first X (graphical) screen.
The number of tty's are determined by the inittab file. If there are only two, you can switch them using F1 & F2, but then F3 will be X. On my Slack there are 6, so F7 goes to X.
I don't know what Slack it, but I am stuck with a text interface when RedHat had previously installed a windows interface , I think it was called Gnome or something like that.
There are many windowmanagers/desktop enviroments available in Linux. You have the XFree86 (or just X) program, which does the graphics stuff. You have a program that manages windows called a window manager (like fvwm or kwin). Without it you wouldn't have the bar that most windows have on them, and you wouldn't be able to move windows around. A window manager bundled with a bunch of other programs is called a desktop enviroment (like kde or gnome).
For your text-only problem, did you type 'init 5'? Also try 'startx', and post the errors if any.
In the Slackware Linux distrobution, the runlevel for graphical X logon is 4. In most others, such as Red Hat, it is 5.
Distribution: WinXP SP2 and SP3, W2K Server, Ubuntu
Posts: 313
Rep:
Hey leefarrant,
Until you get the hang of setting up the Xwindows environment like you want, just log in to the text environment (aka your shell) like normal.
I.E. when the computer boots and the text login comes up put in:
<your user name>
<your password>
at the prompt. THen you will be logged into your shell and be at some prompt like:
>>
or
$
or whatever. Then, like aaa said, just type in the command "startx". THis will start the Xwindows system for you. When you set the initialization file called inittab to runlevel 5, you are telling Linux to start the OS into the Xwindows system. Run level 3 is just starting up into the text shell. On my RedHat box, run level 4 doesnot really do anything, so dont ask me why they skipped run level 4, but it may have meaning on other Linux flavors. The folks above are all correct in trying to get you to set the run level to 5, but this can be hard for a newbie(like me) to do at first. What Thimanjer was trying to get you to do was open up a text file that controls start up called "inittab" located in the directory called "/etc" and edit the file directly. This will change the runlevel for good, until you open the inittab file again and change it back.
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