startx does not bring up KDE gui
 

Hi,
I am a new Slackware v7.0 user and the problem
I am having is that I cannot bring up the KDE gui
after I enter startx at the command prompt. I get
the error 'command startx not found'.

I can play music (via kscd) when I invoke a window
manager not tied up to KDE. Neither KDE nor GNOME
are working in my box. I am at a lost as to what to
do to use these two gui's. Any ideas?

Thank in advance.:newbie:

[edit]wrong info but can't delete?[/edit]

~Progster

Slack 7 is ancient, Nov99 on my CD's. But it included versions of both desktops. I suspect you haven't configured the X Windows system as yet.

Try the command "xf86config"

I believe the X server you would have is a version 3 server. So be carefull about what you read that may be in reference to the newer version 4 X server. There are big differences in the config and the server engine itself.

Cheers!

Sorry about the last. It does appear that you are able to run X windows. I didn't read your post close enough. The startx command is usually located in the /usr/X11/bin or /usr/X11R6/bin directory. To locate it type the command "whereis startx" and see what the response is. If you can enter the full path and execute it, then the problem is in your path statement. If it is not located, then something must not be installed.

KDE and Gnome also had to be installed to begin with. Did you do a full install?

Another way to start the X server is through the run level. You could try the command "telinit 4". It should present the a login manager if available if I remember correctly. Probably kdm, it should allow you to choose the desktop you desire. This is the method that I use.

In any event, I am not sure how you are running any window manager if X will not start. Because, I thought that XFree86 was the only X server distributed with Slack.

Good luck.

Hi Excalibur,
Thanks for coming to the rescue. I left out the fact that
I am using UMSDOS (BigSlack) and I just installed whatever
was included there. You may be right in that I have not
installed either gui (KDE or GNOME). However, I ran xf86config and can run a couple of win managers included in
Slack 7.0. I am even able to play music with workman...

I'll continue checking based on your sugestions above. Thanks again.

Ok, I am happy to report that I resolved my problem: I got
kdebase.tgz which for some reason had been corrupted,
installed it, updated my xinitrc, and now I
have a nice KDE gui! Yeepee! Now my next project is to
bring up GNOME. Wish me luck...