:smash:

hello guys and gals,

I need some real help here, Im very new to this whole linux thing and i have been trying for days to get a copy of linux to work. So far i have tried Mandrake 8.2 I can get it to install but it just freezes after the bootup. on a white screen that says Mandrake.

So I tried Slack 8.0 I do all the installing and then configure my system, the install says its ready to reboot, so i reboot and it goes thourgh all this stuff and then i come to a darkstar login? what do i do now? how do i get to kde?

I have typed in root and i get a you go mail thing. but thats it. I did install kde, how do i get to it? and how can i get it to load on startup?

Thanks

to boot into X windows (KDE) from bootup,
1. become the superuser
2. edit your /etc/inittab file
look for the line that says id:3:initdefault and change it to id:5:initdefault

as for starting kde, in your user directory (ie. /home/yourName/), create a .xinitrc file and use a text editor to type in:
startkde
into the file.

then do a reboot. it should boot up to kde just fine... if there are any problems, post up... the instructions may not be clear or you may have misunderstood some stuff... take heart! you'll get your kde working soon...

Thanks,

This might sound dumb, but how? lol

All i get is a darkstar login: where or how to I edit the file?

Im a windows boy tring to grow up here. :-)

Thanks

Ok, This might help.

At the darkstar prompt, I typed in startx
and it went all to he**. "unplicllict kill or server shutdown"

then i tried startkde

same thing " Abort display is not set"


im running a amd 500 on a dell motherboard
128 ram
a geforce 2 gts video card

thats it, a bare bones system until i get linux working. :-)

Thanks again

ah it looks like you haven't run <edit> xf86config</end edit> yet...

1. find out the vertical and horiontal sync for your monitor from your monitor manual...
2. run the <edited> xf86config </end edit>setup ...(you can look for this script by typing find <edit> xf86config </end edit>
3. run through the setup

don't do the startkde at the command prompt.
create a file called .xinitrc or edit it if it already exists... type in startkde in the file.

after all that, type startx at the command line. if everything before this went smoothly, you should have kde up and working...

we really need a FAQ/Common Resources section ... lol

after configuring X by typing the xf86config at the command prompt to configure X.... the easiest way to set kde as your default desktop for X is to do this:

$ cd /etc/X11/xinitrc
$ ln -s xinitrc.kde xinitrc

and that should setup so that when you startx from a command prompt, it will automatically make kde load as default.
if you look in your xinitrc directory, you will have a listing of all the desktops you have installed. you can use any of these besides kde if you want. but usually by default when you installed slack, you probably already told it to load kde by default as it is usually already set as default.
look in that directory and if you see a file the file xinitrc > xinitrc.kde, it is already the default desktop.

and like gui10 stated, if you want X to load automatically at boot time, just edit your /etc/inittab file to read runlevel 4 instead of 3... gui10 mistakenly said runlevel 5.. its actually 4 for X in slack.

geez, i got the name of the file wrong... paiseh!...
lemme go edit it so you don't get confused...
and sorry ... runlevel 4 ... am looking at my mandrake box in the office. need more sleep

Could you explain in detail what these two commands do and more specifically what "$", "cd", "ln", and "-s" mean. Thanks.

$ refers to the command prompt asking you what to do next. $ normally refers to the prompt you see when you are not logged in as root/superuser. It is the command prompt seen by a normal user. # is the command prompt you see when you are logged in as root.

cd is the command change directory. Because cd is followed by /etc/x11/xinitrc it changes you into the /etc/x11/xinitrc directory. This is the directory that the xinitrc and xinitrc.kde files are in. Xinitrc is part of the X window system. It is a file that is run when X starts up.

ln is the command "make a link" not to be confused with the ld program. -s is a switch given to ln to tell it to make a soft link or symbolic link. A hard link means that the file points to the position on the hard disk so if I delete a hard link I actually delete the file. Soft links on the other hand are just a references to a file deleting them doesn't delete the file. Microsoft windows has implemented a similar feature with shortcuts but a unix link is more powerful.

What these two commands do is make it so that when the xinitrc script is run xinitrc.kde is run instead. Xinitrc is run when X windows starts so this sets X windows up to run kde. The other way to do it would be to copy xinitrc.kde into xinitrc so that xinitrc looked like the xinitrc.kde file. After either of these are done, if you read xinitrc it looks just like xinitrc.kde.

Thanks Richard for explaining that.

kernal, it seems you don't understand some of the basic commands used for Linux. You can always perform a man command-name if your not sure what a command is used for or the flags for it.

Try reading up on Linux. You can browse many sites that have much documentation on Linux. Or there are many books as well you may want to pick up, the O'Reily books for example are good.

If everyone started asking questions like those, it can start to bug or drive members crazy.

Thank You All for your help it's working!!!!!!!!

Not trying to make anyone angry or upset, just trying to learn as much as I can. LQ is the greatest source of info I've found yet. My other Slack CD bit the big one so I have to burn the ISOs again. That's why I asked because I don't have Linux on my box right now. Again, I apologize.

Slacker007,

A while back you asked how to change the login prompt. I assume you meant the machine's name. Edit the file:

/etc/HOSTNAME

Cheers,

Finegan