I am trying to run the X config on my machine (Dell Inspiron 8200), and have tried all kinds of different options. No matter what I put in there, I get the error "There is a problem with your X configuration. You may go back and modify your configuration or exit now." Can anyone out there give me some pointers or a trick or two that will help me get past this? Thanks!

What distro did you say your using? What video card does
your laptop have? How much video ram?

Are you getting that error when you run startx or when
running xConfigurator?

Sorry, RH 7.3 is the distro, I'm using Nvidia GeForce 2 with 32Mb ram. I'm getting this while I'm trying to run xConfigurator.

try this ©©it worked for me© type init 3 then run xf86config when your done type init 5 to restart X

Don't worry if you don't know how to init 3. You should just be able to sign on as root and type the command xf86config. I'm pretty sure that xf86config doesn't require an X session so it shouldn't matter what level (3 or 5) you use in this particular case.

just keep your settings simple (you can refer to http://www.luv.asn.au/overheads/xconfig/ for some ideas. After you get a rudimentary s session going, you can xf86cfg or use Xconfigurator to fine tune. Also, if you are hung up on a particular problem (i.e., a mouse issue), there are commands specifically for those issues (e.g. mouseconfig) which may be helpful.

Correct xf86config is a console tool. I've still use it now and them. As the previous posted said use a basic config:

Select mouse device
generic SVGA card
800x600 resoluton