Trying to install Autodesk Maya on Centos 7, but the installation will not start up because it cannot connect to x server. I have tried a bunch of different things. I am installing autodesk maya 2013. So it is a bit out of date, but it should be possible to fix. I was just hoping that someone could tell me how?

Couple of questions:

1) is autodesk a graphical application for windows only
2) are you in X on Centos 7 when you do the install?

Yes, Autodesk Maya is a 3d modeling and rendering application for animation and other things that is very easy to install on Windows. However, it is said by Autodesk to be compatible for Cenots and Redhat as well. I know the solution has to be to install an x server and I am going to research that based on what I found here. https://www.wikihow.com/Configure-X11-in-Linux It says that x server is a function that graphics use in order to function for such softwares as these on a computer. I was thinking of searching for a downgrade to Centos. The xserver was there on puppy linux and ubuntu. However, nothing else required to run an out of date version of Maya was. And Fedora would not boot.So, I need to stick with Centos. I think that x server is partially installed but that it is missing some things. Because I believe sudo init 3 disables x server in Centos. Which is what I had to do in order to install the driver for my graphics card. Which took me to a blank screen where I had to install based off of notes in a terminal from there. And I thought that would do the trick, but it did not. Anyways if anyone knows of a solution or idea, please let me know. I could really use it.

I figured it out. I had to initialize an x server session by running startx as root before installing.

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You can't run a graphical application without X running, as you have determined. Bit of advice, never run a graphical environment as root. Microsoft has utterly failed to teach people that running as an admin is a bad thing. In Linux, always create an unprivileged user and run a graphical environment as that user. Root is strictly for system maintenance, not daily use.