Thanks, I will try your suggestions.
AAD are my initials and I thought placing the # in front of AAD would make it a comment, and thus not interfere with execution of the contents of the file. I did this to keep track of the changes I have made to the file.
I am using emacs and use Ctrl-x Ctrl-s to save. I would edit, save, reopen and inspect to make sure changes were made correctly.

We are getting closer.
I ran 'modprobe -r nvidia' and changed "nvidia" to "nv" again
in XF86Config-4. I then ran 'startx'.
The GUI (KDE desktop) for root appeared.
However when I logged out of root via the GUI, instead of getting
the GUI login screen I was returned to a text login prompt.
Above this prompt were a series of warnings and an error message
as follows;

>Warning - Symbol map for key <AC11> redefined
Using last definition for conflicting fields
## This warning was repeated numerous times for various keys
## Then the following error message was shown below this list of warnings
Errors from xkbcomp are not fatal to the X server
AUDTT:Wed Jun 7 10:35:12 2006:3270 X:client 18 rejected from local host
$

I rebooted and was agian presented with the text login screen. I had another look at XF86Config-4. Again "nv" had
been changed back to "nvidia".

I also noted that when in the root GUI I ran emacs and the emacs
GUI appeared. However when I tried to switch user with 'su' from root to a user, the process froze.

Could you also tell me how to save the contents of an onscreen error message to a file in text based emacs? Transcribing them by hand for posting is tedious. I can save a file to a floppy then transfer it to this thread, but can't do the same for onscreen messages.

Here is the XF86Config.0.log file

This is a pre-release version of XFree86, and is not supported in any
way. Bugs may be reported to XFree86@XFree86.Org and patches submitted
to fixes@XFree86.Org. Before reporting bugs in pre-release versions,
please check the latest version in the XFree86 CVS repository
(http://www.XFree86.Org/cvs).

XFree86 Version 4.3.0.1
Release Date: 15 August 2003
X Protocol Version 11, Revision 0, Release 6.6
Build Operating System: Linux 2.6.3-3mdkenterprise i686 [ELF]
Build Date: 24 March 2004
Before reporting problems, check http://www.XFree86.Org/
to make sure that you have the latest version.
Module Loader present
Markers: (--) probed, (**) from config file, (==) default setting,
(++) from command line, (!!) notice, (II) informational,
(WW) warning, (EE) error, (NI) not implemented, (??) unknown.
(==) Log file: "/var/log/XFree86.0.log", Time: Wed Jun 7 10:19:26 2006
(==) Using config file: "/etc/X11/XF86Config-4"
(==) ServerLayout "layout1"
(**) |-->Screen "screen1" (0)
(**) | |-->Monitor "monitor1"
(**) | |-->Device "device1"
(**) |-->Input Device "Keyboard1"
(**) Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
(**) XKB: model: "pc105"
(**) Option "XkbLayout" "en_US"
(**) XKB: layout: "en_US"
(WW) Option "XkbOptions" requires an string value
(==) Keyboard: CustomKeycode disabled
(**) |-->Input Device "Mouse1"
(**) FontPath set to "unix/:-1"
(==) RgbPath set to "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb"
(==) ModulePath set to "/usr/X11R6/lib/modules"
(**) Option "AllowMouseOpenFail"
Using vt 7
(--) using VT number 7

(II) Open APM successful
(II) Module ABI versions:
XFree86 ANSI C Emulation: 0.2
XFree86 Video Driver: 0.6
XFree86 XInput driver : 0.4
XFree86 Server Extension : 0.2
XFree86 Font Renderer : 0.4
(II) Loader running on linux
(II) LoadModule: "bitmap"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/fonts/libbitmap.a
(II) Module bitmap: vendor="The XFree86 Project"
compiled for 4.3.0.1, module version = 1.0.0
Module class: XFree86 Font Renderer
ABI class: XFree86 Font Renderer, version 0.4
(II) Loading font Bitmap
(II) LoadModule: "pcidata"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/libpcidata.a
(II) Module pcidata: vendor="The XFree86 Project"
compiled for 4.3.0.1, module version = 1.0.0
ABI class: XFree86 Video Driver, version 0.6
(II) PCI: Probing config type using method 1
(II) PCI: Config type is 1
(II) PCI: stages = 0x03, oldVal1 = 0x00000000, mode1Res1 = 0x80000000
(II) PCI: PCI scan (all values are in hex)
(II) PCI: 00:00:0: chip 8086,1a30 card 1043,8070 rev 03 class 06,00,00 hdr 00
(II) PCI: 00:01:0: chip 8086,1a31 card 0000,0000 rev 03 class 06,04,00 hdr 01
(II) PCI: 00:1e:0: chip 8086,244e card 0000,0000 rev 12 class 06,04,00 hdr 01
(II) PCI: 00:1f:0: chip 8086,2440 card 0000,0000 rev 12 class 06,01,00 hdr 80
(II) PCI: 00:1f:1: chip 8086,244b card 1043,8028 rev 12 class 01,01,80 hdr 00
(II) PCI: 00:1f:2: chip 8086,2442 card 1043,8028 rev 12 class 0c,03,00 hdr 00
(II) PCI: 00:1f:3: chip 8086,2443 card 1043,8028 rev 12 class 0c,05,00 hdr 00
(II) PCI: 00:1f:4: chip 8086,2444 card 1043,8028 rev 12 class 0c,03,00 hdr 00
(II) PCI: 01:00:0: chip 10de,0201 card 107d,2861 rev a3 class 03,00,00 hdr 00
(II) PCI: 02:0a:0: chip 11ad,0002 card 1385,f004 rev 20 class 02,00,00 hdr 00
(II) PCI: 02:0b:0: chip 1033,00f2 card 1033,00f2 rev 01 class 0c,00,10 hdr 00
(II) PCI: 02:0c:0: chip 1102,0002 card 1102,8061 rev 07 class 04,01,00 hdr 80
(II) PCI: 02:0c:1: chip 1102,7002 card 1102,0020 rev 07 class 09,80,00 hdr 80
(II) PCI: End of PCI scan
(II) Host-to-PCI bridge:
(II) Bus 0: bridge is at (0:0:0), (0,0,2), BCTRL: 0x0008 (VGA_EN is set)
(II) Bus 0 I/O range:
[0] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x0000ffff (0x10000) IX[B]
(II) Bus 0 non-prefetchable memory range:
[0] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0xffffffff (0x0) MX[B]
(II) Bus 0 prefetchable memory range:
[0] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0xffffffff (0x0) MX[B]
(II) PCI-to-PCI bridge:
(II) Bus 1: bridge is at (0:1:0), (0,1,1), BCTRL: 0x0008 (VGA_EN is set)
(II) Bus 1 non-prefetchable memory range:
[0] -1 0 0xf2000000 - 0xf35fffff (0x1600000) MX[B]
(II) Bus 1 prefetchable memory range:
[0] -1 0 0xf3700000 - 0xf7ffffff (0x4900000) MX[B]
(II) PCI-to-PCI bridge:
(II) Bus 2: bridge is at (0:30:0), (0,2,2), BCTRL: 0x0006 (VGA_EN is cleared)
(II) Bus 2 I/O range:
[0] -1 0 0x0000c000 - 0x0000c0ff (0x100) IX[B]
[1] -1 0 0x0000c400 - 0x0000c4ff (0x100) IX[B]
[2] -1 0 0x0000c800 - 0x0000c8ff (0x100) IX[B]
[3] -1 0 0x0000cc00 - 0x0000ccff (0x100) IX[B]
[4] -1 0 0x0000d000 - 0x0000d0ff (0x100) IX[B]
[5] -1 0 0x0000d400 - 0x0000d4ff (0x100) IX[B]
[6] -1 0 0x0000d800 - 0x0000d8ff (0x100) IX[B]
[7] -1 0 0x0000dc00 - 0x0000dcff (0x100) IX[B]
(II) Bus 2 non-prefetchable memory range:
[0] -1 0 0xf1000000 - 0xf1ffffff (0x1000000) MX[B]
(II) Bus 2 prefetchable memory range:
[0] -1 0 0xf3600000 - 0xf36fffff (0x100000) MX[B]
(II) PCI-to-ISA bridge:
(II) Bus -1: bridge is at (0:31:0), (0,-1,-1), BCTRL: 0x0008 (VGA_EN is set)
(--) PCI:*(1:0:0) nVidia Corporation NV20 [GeForce3 Ti 200] rev 163, Mem @ 0xf2000000/24, 0xf4000000/26, 0xf3800000/19, BIOS @ 0xf37f0000/16
(II) Addressable bus resource ranges are
[0] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0xffffffff (0x0) MX[B]
[1] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x0000ffff (0x10000) IX[B]
(II) OS-reported resource ranges:
[0] -1 0 0xffe00000 - 0xffffffff (0x200000) MX[B](B)
[1] -1 0 0x00100000 - 0x3fffffff (0x3ff00000) MX[B]E(B)
[2] -1 0 0x000f0000 - 0x000fffff (0x10000) MX[B]
[3] -1 0 0x000c0000 - 0x000effff (0x30000) MX[B]
[4] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x0009ffff (0xa0000) MX[B]
[5] -1 0 0x0000ffff - 0x0000ffff (0x1) IX[B]
[6] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x000000ff (0x100) IX[B]
(II) PCI Memory resource overlap reduced 0xf8000000 from 0xfbffffff to 0xf7ffffff
(II) Active PCI resource ranges:
[0] -1 0 0xf1000000 - 0xf1000fff (0x1000) MX[B]
[1] -1 0 0xf1800000 - 0xf18000ff (0x100) MX[B]
[2] -1 0 0xf8000000 - 0xf7ffffff (0x0) MX[B]O
[3] -1 0 0xf37f0000 - 0xf37fffff (0x10000) MX[B](B)
[4] -1 0 0xf3800000 - 0xf387ffff (0x80000) MX[B](B)
[5] -1 0 0xf4000000 - 0xf7ffffff (0x4000000) MX[B](B)
[6] -1 0 0xf2000000 - 0xf2ffffff (0x1000000) MX[B](B)
[7] -1 0 0x0000d000 - 0x0000d007 (0x8) IX[B]
[8] -1 0 0x0000d400 - 0x0000d41f (0x20) IX[B]
[9] -1 0 0x0000d800 - 0x0000d8ff (0x100) IX[B]
[10] -1 0 0x0000b000 - 0x0000b01f (0x20) IX[B]
[11] -1 0 0x0000e800 - 0x0000e80f (0x10) IX[B]
[12] -1 0 0x0000b400 - 0x0000b41f (0x20) IX[B]
[13] -1 0 0x0000b800 - 0x0000b80f (0x10) IX[B]
(II) Active PCI resource ranges after removing overlaps:
[0] -1 0 0xf1000000 - 0xf1000fff (0x1000) MX[B]
[1] -1 0 0xf1800000 - 0xf18000ff (0x100) MX[B]
[2] -1 0 0xf8000000 - 0xf7ffffff (0x0) MX[B]O
[3] -1 0 0xf37f0000 - 0xf37fffff (0x10000) MX[B](B)
[4] -1 0 0xf3800000 - 0xf387ffff (0x80000) MX[B](B)
[5] -1 0 0xf4000000 - 0xf7ffffff (0x4000000) MX[B](B)
[6] -1 0 0xf2000000 - 0xf2ffffff (0x1000000) MX[B](B)
[7] -1 0 0x0000d000 - 0x0000d007 (0x8) IX[B]
[8] -1 0 0x0000d400 - 0x0000d41f (0x20) IX[B]
[9] -1 0 0x0000d800 - 0x0000d8ff (0x100) IX[B]
[10] -1 0 0x0000b000 - 0x0000b01f (0x20) IX[B]
[11] -1 0 0x0000e800 - 0x0000e80f (0x10) IX[B]
[12] -1 0 0x0000b400 - 0x0000b41f (0x20) IX[B]
[13] -1 0 0x0000b800 - 0x0000b80f (0x10) IX[B]
(II) OS-reported resource ranges after removing overlaps with PCI:
[0] -1 0 0xffe00000 - 0xffffffff (0x200000) MX[B](B)
[1] -1 0 0x00100000 - 0x3fffffff (0x3ff00000) MX[B]E(B)
[2] -1 0 0x000f0000 - 0x000fffff (0x10000) MX[B]
[3] -1 0 0x000c0000 - 0x000effff (0x30000) MX[B]
[4] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x0009ffff (0xa0000) MX[B]
[5] -1 0 0x0000ffff - 0x0000ffff (0x1) IX[B]
[6] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x000000ff (0x100) IX[B]
(II) All system resource ranges:
[0] -1 0 0xffe00000 - 0xffffffff (0x200000) MX[B](B)
[1] -1 0 0x00100000 - 0x3fffffff (0x3ff00000) MX[B]E(B)
[2] -1 0 0x000f0000 - 0x000fffff (0x10000) MX[B]
[3] -1 0 0x000c0000 - 0x000effff (0x30000) MX[B]
[4] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x0009ffff (0xa0000) MX[B]
[5] -1 0 0xf1000000 - 0xf1000fff (0x1000) MX[B]
[6] -1 0 0xf1800000 - 0xf18000ff (0x100) MX[B]
[7] -1 0 0xf8000000 - 0xf7ffffff (0x0) MX[B]O
[8] -1 0 0xf37f0000 - 0xf37fffff (0x10000) MX[B](B)
[9] -1 0 0xf3800000 - 0xf387ffff (0x80000) MX[B](B)
[10] -1 0 0xf4000000 - 0xf7ffffff (0x4000000) MX[B](B)
[11] -1 0 0xf2000000 - 0xf2ffffff (0x1000000) MX[B](B)
[12] -1 0 0x0000ffff - 0x0000ffff (0x1) IX[B]
[13] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x000000ff (0x100) IX[B]
[14] -1 0 0x0000d000 - 0x0000d007 (0x8) IX[B]
[15] -1 0 0x0000d400 - 0x0000d41f (0x20) IX[B]
[16] -1 0 0x0000d800 - 0x0000d8ff (0x100) IX[B]
[17] -1 0 0x0000b000 - 0x0000b01f (0x20) IX[B]
[18] -1 0 0x0000e800 - 0x0000e80f (0x10) IX[B]
[19] -1 0 0x0000b400 - 0x0000b41f (0x20) IX[B]
[20] -1 0 0x0000b800 - 0x0000b80f (0x10) IX[B]
(II) LoadModule: "dbe"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libdbe.a
(II) Module dbe: vendor="The XFree86 Project"
compiled for 4.3.0.1, module version = 1.0.0
Module class: XFree86 Server Extension
ABI class: XFree86 Server Extension, version 0.2
(II) Loading extension DOUBLE-BUFFER
(II) LoadModule: "v4l"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/drivers/linux/v4l_drv.o
(II) Module v4l: vendor="The XFree86 Project"
compiled for 4.3.0.1, module version = 0.0.1
ABI class: XFree86 Video Driver, version 0.6
(II) LoadModule: "extmod"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libextmod.a
(II) Module extmod: vendor="The XFree86 Project"
compiled for 4.3.0.1, module version = 1.0.0
Module class: XFree86 Server Extension
ABI class: XFree86 Server Extension, version 0.2
(II) Loading extension SHAPE
(II) Loading extension MIT-SUNDRY-NONSTANDARD
(II) Loading extension BIG-REQUESTS
(II) Loading extension SYNC
(II) Loading extension MIT-SCREEN-SAVER
(II) Loading extension XC-MISC
(II) Loading extension XFree86-VidModeExtension
(II) Loading extension XFree86-Misc
(II) Loading extension XFree86-DGA
(II) Loading extension DPMS
(II) Loading extension FontCache
(II) Loading extension TOG-CUP
(II) Loading extension Extended-Visual-Information
(II) Loading extension XVideo
(II) Loading extension XVideo-MotionCompensation
(II) Loading extension X-Resource
(II) LoadModule: "type1"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/fonts/libtype1.a
(II) Module type1: vendor="The XFree86 Project"
compiled for 4.3.0.1, module version = 1.0.2
Module class: XFree86 Font Renderer
ABI class: XFree86 Font Renderer, version 0.4
(II) Loading font Type1
(II) Loading font CID
(II) LoadModule: "freetype"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/fonts/libfreetype.a
(II) Module freetype: vendor="The XFree86 Project"
compiled for 4.3.0.1, module version = 2.0.2
Module class: XFree86 Font Renderer
ABI class: XFree86 Font Renderer, version 0.4
(II) Loading font FreeType
(II) LoadModule: "dri"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libdri.a
(II) Module dri: vendor="The XFree86 Project"
compiled for 4.3.0.1, module version = 1.0.0
ABI class: XFree86 Server Extension, version 0.2
(II) Loading sub module "drm"
(II) LoadModule: "drm"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/linux/libdrm.a
(II) Module drm: vendor="The XFree86 Project"
compiled for 4.3.0.1, module version = 1.0.0
ABI class: XFree86 Server Extension, version 0.2
(II) Loading extension XFree86-DRI
(II) LoadModule: "GLCore"
(WW) Warning, couldn't open module GLCore
(II) UnloadModule: "GLCore"
(EE) Failed to load module "GLCore" (module does not exist, 0)
(II) LoadModule: "nvidia"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/drivers/nvidia_drv.o
(II) Module nvidia: vendor="NVIDIA Corporation"
compiled for 4.0.2, module version = 1.0.8762
Module class: X.Org Video Driver
(II) LoadModule: "mouse"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/input/mouse_drv.o
(II) Module mouse: vendor="The XFree86 Project"
compiled for 4.3.0.1, module version = 1.0.0
Module class: XFree86 XInput Driver
ABI class: XFree86 XInput driver, version 0.4
(II) v4l driver for Video4Linux
(II) NVIDIA X Driver 1.0-8762 Mon May 15 13:09:21 PDT 2006
(II) NVIDIA Unified Driver for all Supported NVIDIA GPUs
(II) Primary Device is: PCI 01:00:0
(--) Assigning device section with no busID to primary device
(--) Chipset NVIDIA GPU found
(II) Loading sub module "fb"
(II) LoadModule: "fb"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/libfb.a
(II) Module fb: vendor="The XFree86 Project"
compiled for 4.3.0.1, module version = 1.0.0
ABI class: XFree86 ANSI C Emulation, version 0.2
(II) Loading sub module "ramdac"
(II) LoadModule: "ramdac"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/libramdac.a
(II) Module ramdac: vendor="The XFree86 Project"
compiled for 4.3.0.1, module version = 0.1.0
ABI class: XFree86 Video Driver, version 0.6
(II) resource ranges after xf86ClaimFixedResources() call:
[0] -1 0 0xffe00000 - 0xffffffff (0x200000) MX[B](B)
[1] -1 0 0x00100000 - 0x3fffffff (0x3ff00000) MX[B]E(B)
[2] -1 0 0x000f0000 - 0x000fffff (0x10000) MX[B]
[3] -1 0 0x000c0000 - 0x000effff (0x30000) MX[B]
[4] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x0009ffff (0xa0000) MX[B]
[5] -1 0 0xf1000000 - 0xf1000fff (0x1000) MX[B]
[6] -1 0 0xf1800000 - 0xf18000ff (0x100) MX[B]
[7] -1 0 0xf8000000 - 0xf7ffffff (0x0) MX[B]O
[8] -1 0 0xf37f0000 - 0xf37fffff (0x10000) MX[B](B)
[9] -1 0 0xf3800000 - 0xf387ffff (0x80000) MX[B](B)
[10] -1 0 0xf4000000 - 0xf7ffffff (0x4000000) MX[B](B)
[11] -1 0 0xf2000000 - 0xf2ffffff (0x1000000) MX[B](B)
[12] -1 0 0x0000ffff - 0x0000ffff (0x1) IX[B]
[13] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x000000ff (0x100) IX[B]
[14] -1 0 0x0000d000 - 0x0000d007 (0x8) IX[B]
[15] -1 0 0x0000d400 - 0x0000d41f (0x20) IX[B]
[16] -1 0 0x0000d800 - 0x0000d8ff (0x100) IX[B]
[17] -1 0 0x0000b000 - 0x0000b01f (0x20) IX[B]
[18] -1 0 0x0000e800 - 0x0000e80f (0x10) IX[B]
[19] -1 0 0x0000b400 - 0x0000b41f (0x20) IX[B]
[20] -1 0 0x0000b800 - 0x0000b80f (0x10) IX[B]
(II) resource ranges after probing:
[0] -1 0 0xffe00000 - 0xffffffff (0x200000) MX[B](B)
[1] -1 0 0x00100000 - 0x3fffffff (0x3ff00000) MX[B]E(B)
[2] -1 0 0x000f0000 - 0x000fffff (0x10000) MX[B]
[3] -1 0 0x000c0000 - 0x000effff (0x30000) MX[B]
[4] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x0009ffff (0xa0000) MX[B]
[5] -1 0 0xf1000000 - 0xf1000fff (0x1000) MX[B]
[6] -1 0 0xf1800000 - 0xf18000ff (0x100) MX[B]
[7] -1 0 0xf8000000 - 0xf7ffffff (0x0) MX[B]O
[8] -1 0 0xf37f0000 - 0xf37fffff (0x10000) MX[B](B)
[9] -1 0 0xf3800000 - 0xf387ffff (0x80000) MX[B](B)
[10] -1 0 0xf4000000 - 0xf7ffffff (0x4000000) MX[B](B)
[11] -1 0 0xf2000000 - 0xf2ffffff (0x1000000) MX[B](B)
[12] 0 0 0x000a0000 - 0x000affff (0x10000) MS[B]
[13] 0 0 0x000b0000 - 0x000b7fff (0x8000) MS[B]
[14] 0 0 0x000b8000 - 0x000bffff (0x8000) MS[B]
[15] -1 0 0x0000ffff - 0x0000ffff (0x1) IX[B]
[16] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x000000ff (0x100) IX[B]
[17] -1 0 0x0000d000 - 0x0000d007 (0x8) IX[B]
[18] -1 0 0x0000d400 - 0x0000d41f (0x20) IX[B]
[19] -1 0 0x0000d800 - 0x0000d8ff (0x100) IX[B]
[20] -1 0 0x0000b000 - 0x0000b01f (0x20) IX[B]
[21] -1 0 0x0000e800 - 0x0000e80f (0x10) IX[B]
[22] -1 0 0x0000b400 - 0x0000b41f (0x20) IX[B]
[23] -1 0 0x0000b800 - 0x0000b80f (0x10) IX[B]
[24] 0 0 0x000003b0 - 0x000003bb (0xc) IS[B]
[25] 0 0 0x000003c0 - 0x000003df (0x20) IS[B]
(II) Setting vga for screen 0.
(**) NVIDIA(0): Depth 24, (--) framebuffer bpp 32
(==) NVIDIA(0): RGB weight 888
(==) NVIDIA(0): Default visual is TrueColor
(==) NVIDIA(0): Using gamma correction (1.0, 1.0, 1.0)
(**) NVIDIA(0): Enabling RENDER acceleration
(EE) NVIDIA(0): Failed to initialize the GLX module; please check in your X
(EE) NVIDIA(0): log file that the GLX module has been loaded in your X
(EE) NVIDIA(0): server, and that the module is the NVIDIA GLX module. If
(EE) NVIDIA(0): you continue to encounter problems, Please try
(EE) NVIDIA(0): reinstalling the NVIDIA driver.
(II) NVIDIA(0): NVIDIA GPU GeForce3 Ti 200 at PCI:1:0:0
(--) NVIDIA(0): VideoRAM: 65536 kBytes
(--) NVIDIA(0): VideoBIOS: 03.20.00.18.00
(II) NVIDIA(0): Detected AGP rate: 4X
(--) NVIDIA(0): Interlaced video modes are not supported on this GPU
(--) NVIDIA(0): Connected display device(s) on GeForce3 Ti 200 at PCI:1:0:0:
(--) NVIDIA(0): Hitachi CM721F (CRT-0)
(--) NVIDIA(0): Hitachi CM721F (CRT-0): 350.0 MHz maximum pixel clock
(II) NVIDIA(0): Assigned Display Device: CRT-0
(WW) NVIDIA(0):
(WW) NVIDIA(0): No modes were requested; the default mode "nvidia-auto-select"
(WW) NVIDIA(0): will be used as the requested mode.
(WW) NVIDIA(0):
(II) NVIDIA(0): Validated modes:
(II) NVIDIA(0): "nvidia-auto-select"
(**) NVIDIA(0): Virtual screen size configured to be 1024 x 768
(WW) NVIDIA(0): Mode "nvidia-auto-select" is larger than virtual size 1024 x
(WW) NVIDIA(0): 768; discarding mode
(EE) NVIDIA(0): Failure to construct a valid mode list: no modes remaining.
(EE) NVIDIA(0): *** Aborting ***
(II) UnloadModule: "nvidia"
(II) UnloadModule: "ramdac"
(II) UnloadModule: "fb"
(EE) Screen(s) found, but none have a usable configuration.

Fatal server error:
no screens found

When reporting a problem related to a server crash, please send
the full server output, not just the last messages.
This can be found in the log file "/var/log/XFree86.0.log".
Please report problems to xfree86@xfree86.org.

i think that the uninstall of the nvidia driver was incomplete or unsuccessful. read the install/readme file that came with the driver you downloaded and read through it to see what you changed and try and change them back (besides the changes to the X config file which you have done) it seems a file is being executed upon boot which reinstalls the nvidia driver each time.

try and search your system for anythign that starts with 'nvidia', case insensitive just in case. do any of the results yield something that may appear to be an nvidia configuration/setup/uninstall tool?

also, when you log into the GUI then exit, if you are being presented with the text login again then your inittab is probably set to do that. what is the output of 'cat /etc/inittab'?

when you want to save output of a command to a file you use the redirection symbol (>), ie:
'echo hi > outputFile.txt'

Thanks. Below is the output of cat /etc/inittab
and the results of a search for everything starting with 'nv*'.
Which of these files do you think is relevant?
Here is the output of cat /etc/inittab
#
# inittab This file describes how the INIT process should set up
# the system in a certain run-level.
#
# Author: Miquel van Smoorenburg, <miquels@drinkel.nl.mugnet.org>
# Modified for RHS Linux by Marc Ewing and Donnie Barnes
#

# Default runlevel. The runlevels used by Mandrakelinux are:
# 0 - halt (Do NOT set initdefault to this)
# 1 - Single user mode
# 2 - Multiuser, without NFS (The same as 3, if you do not have networking)
# 3 - Full multiuser mode
# 4 - unused
# 5 - X11
# 6 - reboot (Do NOT set initdefault to this)
#
id:5:initdefault:

# System initialization.
si::sysinit:/etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit

l0:0:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 0
l1:1:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 1
l2:2:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 2
l3:3:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 3
l4:4:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 4
l5:5:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 5
l6:6:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 6

# Trap CTRL-ALT-DELETE
ca::ctrlaltdel:/sbin/shutdown -t3 -r now

# When our UPS tells us power has failed, assume we have a few minutes
# of power left. Schedule a shutdown for 2 minutes from now.
# This does, of course, assume you have powerd installed and your
# UPS connected and working correctly.
pf:owerfail:/sbin/shutdown -f -h +2 "Power Failure; System Shutting Down"

# If power was restored before the shutdown kicked in, cancel it.
pr:12345owerokwait:/sbin/shutdown -c "Power Restored; Shutdown Cancelled"


# Run gettys in standard runlevels
1:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty1
2:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty2
3:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty3
4:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty4
5:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty5
6:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty6

Here is the output of find . -name 'nv*'
./home/adunkin/tmp/nv-zeIYKO
./home/adunkin/newNvidia/nvidia-settings-user-guide.txt
./home/adunkin/nvidialogsetc
./home/adunkin/nvidialogsetc/nvfilefind
./dev/nvidiactl
./dev/nvidia0
./var/lib/nvidia
./var/log/nvidia-installer.log
./root/tmp/nv-71JNyp
./proc/driver/nvidia
./usr/share/man/man1/nvidia-xconfig.1.gz
./usr/share/man/man1/nvidia-installer.1.gz
./usr/share/man/man1/nvidia-settings.1.gz
./usr/share/doc/NVIDIA_GLX-1.0/nvidia-settings-user-guide.txt
./usr/share/doc/NVIDIA_GLX-1.0/nvidia-settings.png
./usr/share/applications/nvidia-settings.desktop
./usr/bin/nvidia-settings
./usr/bin/nvidia-xconfig
./usr/bin/nvidia-installer
./usr/bin/nvidia-bug-report.sh
./usr/X11R6/lib/modules/drivers/nv_drv.o
./usr/X11R6/lib/modules/drivers/nvidia_drv.o
./usr/X11R6/lib/modules/drivers/nvidia_drv.so
./usr/X11R6/man/man4/nv.4x.bz2
./usr/include/linux/nvram.h
./lib/modules/2.6.3-7mdk/kernel/drivers/char/agp/nvidia-agp.ko.gz
./lib/modules/2.6.3-7mdk/kernel/drivers/char/nvram.ko.gz
./lib/modules/2.6.3-7mdk/kernel/drivers/video/nvidia.ko
./lib/dev-state/nvidiactl
./lib/dev-state/nvidia0
./sys/bus/pci/drivers/nvidia
./sys/cdev/major/nvidia

it looks like your iniittab file is configured to boot to the GUI, so it not working must be a result of the nvidia problem.

try './usr/bin/nvidia-settings' which seems like the only useful file to run from your output.

at a console type 'nv' and press tab afew times.. does it come up with a list of alot of nvidia commands? if so then the uninstall of the driver must not be complete.

can you try the uninstall process again, and post the commands you ran and output here? if you dont want to have to write everything down you can save the output of commands to a file as shown previously, ie 'ls > outputFileName.txt'

When I enttered nv and pressed tab there were about 4 nvidia commands shown.
I executed 'nvidia-settings' and got an error as follows;
(nvidia-settings:2900):gtk WARNING **:cannot open display

I will run uninstall again and post results soon.

I also found an nvidia forum that I thought could help.
See;
http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=71410
They may have a different slant on the problem and maybe their thoughts could prompt some ideas here. I hope this dualling threads approach does not break any etiquette rules, but I am a desperate man now. University exams are coming up and I have already wasted about 15 hours of study time trying to get my system back.

what were those 4 nvidia commands that appeared when you pressed tab?
also i briefly looked at the link but didnt really find anything that would pertain to this. maybe im wrong though.

The ouptut of
sh nv* --unistall
was
Running nvidia-bug-report.sh...

complete.

The file nvidia-bug-report.log has been created; please send this report,
along with a description of your bug, to linux-bugs@nvidia.com.

nvidia-bug-report.log
is a huge file
Can I attch files to a post here, or do they have to be pasted onto the post?
The nvidia-bug-report.log files can be viewed via the link in my previous post.
Let me know if you want them posted here.

I will let you know the 4 commands shown soon.

The 4 commands shown when entering
# nv
then hitting the tab key were (result of execution shown in {}

1)
nvidia-bug-report.sh
{running nvidia-bug-report
xset: unable to open display
(nvidia-settings:2940) Gtk-WARNING cannot open display
complete
The file nvidia-bug-report.log has been created}

2)
nvidia-installer
{no package found}

3)
nvidia-settings
{(nvidia-settings:2863) Gtk-WARNING **: cannot open display}

4)
nvidia-xconfig
{using /etc/X11/XF86Config-4
+ comments about creating backup of /etc/X11/XF86Config-4}

I have noticed that when I log in at the text based login screen, then go to
/etc/X11/XF86Config-4
and edit it to change "nvidia" to "nv" under driver and save file.
then execute
# startx
I get the GUI for root (KDE desktop).
However I cannot su either from a terminal or via GUI log off,
and a reboot presents me with the text login screen again.
A result is tantalizingly close, it is cruel!

so when you change to 'nv' save and reboot does it stay 'nv'?
also, why: 'sh nv* --unistall'? i mean why the '*'?

about the GUI log on/text display etc.. i think we should just get the xconfig file working first and do things one at a time.

When I edit /etc/X11/XF86Config-4
by changing "nvidia" to "nv"
then save the file,
then reboot,
then look at the file again.
The edit I made has been reversed.

I executed
# sh nv* --uninstall
as per advice from jens in this thread.

Cause it takes less time to type (and its "NV* --uninstall")
You might want to look trough your boot logs to see if anything nvidia related is mentioned...

sorry, i didnt know you could actually write that in the command and it would work! not thinking!

try running: as root.
also, is there any nvidia files in /etc/rc.d/ or /etc/init.d/ ?

I think we have succeeded.
I edited XF86Config-4 as per instructions from an nVidia corp contributor on the thread I referenced earlier in this thread.
http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=71410
The current state of my XF86Config-4 is shown below (1st file shown).
I uncommented the glx module, heavily modified the screen section and commented out the modelines under Monitor.

The strange thing is that when I edited XF86Config-4 as per the nVidia instructions, I actually left it as per the 2nd file shown below. I edited XF86Config-4 and immediately created a copy named XF86Config-4_for_nVpost.txt (shown below my current XF86Config-4). Thus at this time XF86Config-4 and XF86Config-4_for_nVpost.txt were exactly the same. At this time I still had the problem with X crashing upon trying to switch user or logout of root.
However after rebooting, the system started to work without any problems AND XF86Config-4 had been edited quite extensively from the state in which I left it (to the state shown immediately below). Rebooting again has edited the file automatically (extensively this time). But this time the result was positive.

Bottom line is my system seems to work. I think the new nVidia driver is actually being used and is working. How could I check which driver is being used?

Thank you for all your help. It is greatly appreciated.
I will keep monitoring this thread to provide any information requested.

Here is how XF86Config-4 looks now.
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "monitor1"
VendorName "Hitachi, Ltd."
ModelName "Hitachi CM721F"
HorizSync 31.0-95.0
VertRefresh 50.0-120.0


# Sony Vaio C1(X,XS,VE,VN)?
# 1024x480 @ 85.6 Hz, 48 kHz hsync
ModeLine "1024x480" 65.00 1024 1032 1176 1344 480 488 494 563 -hsync -vsync

# TV fullscreen mode or DVD fullscreen output.
# 768x576 @ 79 Hz, 50 kHz hsync
ModeLine "768x576" 50.00 768 832 846 1000 576 590 595 630

# 768x576 @ 100 Hz, 61.6 kHz hsync
ModeLine "768x576" 63.07 768 800 960 1024 576 578 590 616
EndSection
# nvidia-xconfig: X configuration file generated by nvidia-xconfig
# nvidia-xconfig: version 1.0 (buildmeister@builder3) Mon May 15 13:23:42 PDT 2006

# File generated by XFdrake.
# **********************************************************************
# Refer to the XF86Config man page for details about the format of
# this file.
# **********************************************************************

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "layout1"
InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"
InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"
Screen "screen1" 0 0
EndSection

Section "Files"
# Multiple FontPath entries are allowed (they are concatenated together)
# By default, Mandrake 6.0 and later now use a font server independent of
# the X server to render fonts.
FontPath "unix/:-1"
EndSection

Section "Module"
# Load "glx"
# Load "glx"
Load "dbe" # Double-Buffering Extension
Load "v4l" # Video for Linux
Load "extmod"
Load "type1"
Load "freetype"

# Load "glx" # 3D layer
Load "glx"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
#DontZap # disable <Crtl><Alt><BS> (server abort)
#DontZoom # disable <Crtl><Alt><KP_+>/<KP_-> (resolution switching)

# allows the server to start up even if the mouse doesn't work
Option "allowmouseopenfail"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard1"
Driver "Keyboard"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "en_US"
Option "XkbOptions" ""
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Mouse1"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "ExplorerPS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/mouse"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "6 7"
EndSection

Section "Device"
# added by AAD
# Driver "nvidia"
Identifier "device1"
VendorName "nVidia Corporation"
BoardName "NVIDIA GeForce3 (generic)"
Driver "nvidia"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen1"
Device "device1"
Monitor "Monitor1"

Subsection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" " 800x600" "640x480"
EndSubsection
DefaultDepth 24
EndSection

Here is how I actually left XF86Config-4 after editing it. Rebooting changed it to the state shown above. This file is XF86Config-4_for_nVpost.txt. Does anyone know how and why rebooting edited XF86Config-4?

# nvidia-xconfig: X configuration file generated by nvidia-xconfig
# nvidia-xconfig: version 1.0 (buildmeister@builder3) Mon May 15 13:23:42 PDT 2006

# File generated by XFdrake.
# **********************************************************************
# Refer to the XF86Config man page for details about the format of
# this file.
# **********************************************************************

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "layout1"
Screen "screen1" 0 0
InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"
InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"
EndSection

Section "Files"

# Multiple FontPath entries are allowed (they are concatenated together)
# By default, Mandrake 6.0 and later now use a font server independent of
# the X server to render fonts.
FontPath "unix/:-1"
EndSection

Section "Module"
# Load "glx"
# Load "glx"
Load "dbe" # Double-Buffering Extension
Load "v4l" # Video for Linux
Load "extmod"
Load "type1"
Load "freetype"
# Load "glx" # 3D layer
Load "glx"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"

#DontZap # disable <Crtl><Alt><BS> (server abort)
#DontZoom # disable <Crtl><Alt><KP_+>/<KP_-> (resolution switching)
# allows the server to start up even if the mouse doesn't work
Option "allowmouseopenfail"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard1"
Driver "Keyboard"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "en_US"
Option "XkbOptions" ""
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Mouse1"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "ExplorerPS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/mouse"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "6 7"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"

# Sony Vaio C1(X,XS,VE,VN)?
# 1024x480 @ 85.6 Hz, 48 kHz hsync
Identifier "monitor1"
VendorName "Hitachi, Ltd."
ModelName "Hitachi CM721F"
HorizSync 31.0 - 95.0
VertRefresh 50.0 - 120.0
### ModeLine "1024x480" 65.0 1024 1032 1176 1344 480 488 494 563 -hsync -vsync
### ModeLine "768x576" 50.0 768 832 846 1000 576 590 595 630
### ModeLine "768x576" 63.1 768 800 960 1024 576 578 590 616
EndSection

Section "Device"

# added by AAD
# Driver "nvidia"
Identifier "device1"
Driver "nvidia"
VendorName "nVidia Corporation"
BoardName "NVIDIA GeForce3 (generic)"
EndSection


Section "Screen" ## new as per nv news
Identifier "Screen1"
Device "device1"
Monitor "Monitor1"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" " 800x600" "640x480"
Depth 24
EndSubSection
EndSection





##Section "Screen"
## Identifier "screen1"
## Device "device1"
## Monitor "monitor1"
## DefaultDepth 24
## Option "DPMS"
## SubSection "Display"
## Virtual 1024 768
## Depth 8
## EndSubSection
## SubSection "Display"
## Virtual 1024 768
## Depth 15
## EndSubSection
## SubSection "Display"
## Virtual 1024 768
## Depth 16
## EndSubSection
## SubSection "Display"
## Virtual 1024 768
## Depth 24
## EndSubSection
##EndSection

i dont know why it all of a sudden worked.
use 'lsmod' to see what modules are loaded. if you see 'nvidia' and no 'nv' then its using the nvidia proprietory driver. also, when you startx you should see a white nvidia splash screen, that also means the proper driver is being used.