Installing or Upgrading XFree86 4.0.2
Created by Morbid_Angel
Created on 23 December 2000
Last modified 24 December 2000
Before we begin:
This guide is a simple walk-thru for the basic installation of Xfree86 binaries. This may not work for everyone and it requires that you have a good idea of information about your video card. If you do not have this information you better have a means to restore your original X configuration (if you had one) before you experiment -- otherwise you will be fsck'd, if you know what I mean.
I do not compile the source nor do I recommend (neither do they, actually!) the compiling of Xfree86 source. I will be explicit enough for the newbie but you should be comfortable with linux command line and tarball installations. Should there be any questions feel free to drop by the channel (see irc info above) for more help.
The default binaries directly from Xfree86 team have worked for me on several different boxes and several different cards. You do not need a previous installation of any version of Xfree86. This installation will replace and overwrite any existing. For intensive purposes, we will use my Compaq Armada 7800 SuSE 7.0 Laptop during this installation, which, of course, does not currently have Xfree86 installed.
Required To-Do and Downloads:
- Download the correct binaries for your distribution from here Xfree86 or a a mirror site.
- Backup your original X config file (if you have one it would be called XF86Config -- please run a find or locate for it) and have the original installation medium available. That means the RPM or DEB packages that came with your distribution or last upgrade of X.
Preparation:
Here, I list the things you will need to do and the most common prompts that the installation asks. You should perform all downloads in the previous section before going any further because at this point we are at the guts of things.
- Log in as root. Everything from here on out is performed by root and must be performed by root. you could su into root account but it's best and recommended to actually log in as root.
- Force any other users out of your system. Generally a wall command that you are performing system administration will suffice (see "man wall").
- Initiate Single User Mode with "init 1". This will stop almost every service on your box and stop all multi-user access. At this point no one can log into your system, which is what we want. If you appear to hang after running init 1, just press enter because you are there :)
- cd/where/you/put/downloaded/files. If you downloaded them under a user account I suggest moving the files to your /root/ directory or wherever you normally perform your installs.
- If you downloaded the binaries from a single tarball, untar it with tar -zxvf <filename> the cd into that directory. Otherwise, you should have a directory with a bunch of .tgz files, which is what we want.
- Run the installation shell script with sh Xinstall.sh
Installation:
The Xinstall script will procede with the following prompts, in most cases. I will walk you through andgive you suggestions according to my hardware. Again, the key here is that you know all of your video card stats and monitor stats as well. You can always boot your system in Windows and look at the properties there, that is if you have Windows installed on this machine. If you have to guess, always take the default -- and remember that you can always start from the top and run it all over again. Each time you do so the Xinstall.sh program will overwrite your previous attempt.
From here on out, anything in this
print is what should be typed or entered. The defaults are listed in
between the [ ] marks of each question. This is how it works during the
installation as well. Let's begin, shall we?
The first question is always the toughest ...
Do you wish to continue? (y/n) [n] y
The system will confirm if you have the correct binaries for your system. If you have the wrong version of binaries it will tell you exactly which ones you need. Go and download them and start from the top if you made a mistake.
If you had a previous installation of X you will be advised that all configs are being overwritten.
Do you wish to continue? (y/n) [y] y
At this point, the install tells you of some changes in how files are stored. If you had a previous installation it will ask you if you wish to change to the new method of storage.
Do you want to move them to /etc/X11 and create the necessary links? (y/n) [y] y
Some files are extracted ... if you get errors about links and file exist, deal with these individually. I got one when selecting Y above and here is the end result.
Do you want to overwrite the fs config files (y/n)? [n] y
Do you want to overwrite the lbxproxy config files (y/n)? [n] n
Do you want to overwrite the proxymngr config files (y/n)? [n] n
Do you want to overwrite the rstart config files (y/n)? [n] n
Do you want to overwrite the twm config files (y/n)? [n] y
Do you want to overwrite the xdm config files (y/n)? [n] n
Do you want to overwrite the xinit config files (y/n)? [n] n
Do you want to overwrite the xsm config files (y/n)? [n] n
Do you want to overwrite the xserver config files (y/n)? [n] n
Do you want to overwrite the xinit config files (y/n)? [n] n
Ok now there is a break and some file extraction. now of course if you never had X installed before you are probably nor seeing any of these overwrite questions ... and that is ok. After the extractions finish, you will be prompted for the "optional" components. You may chose however you wish -- I have shown you the ones I selected -- don't chose these just because I did. Example, I don't print from within X so I did not opt to install the X Print server, since I don't have a printer :)
Do you want to install Xfsrv.tgz (font server) (y/n)? [y] y
Do you want to install Xnest.tgz (Nested X server) (y/n)? [y] y
Do you want to install Xprog.tgz (programmer support) (y/n)? [y] y
Do you want to install Xprt.tgz (X Print server) (y/n)? [y] n
Do you want to install Xvbf.tgz (Virtual framebuffer X server) (y/n)? [y] y
Do you want to install Xf100.tgz (100dpi fonts) (y/n)? [y] y
Do you want to install Xfcyr.tgz (Cyrillic fonts) (y/n)? [y] n
Do you want to install Xflat2.tgz (Latin-2 fonts) (y/n)? [y] n
Do you want to install Xfnon.tgz (Some large fonts) (y/n)? [y] y
Do you want to install Xfscl.tgz (Scaled fonts (Speedo and Type1)) (y/n)? [y] n
Do you want to install Xfhtml.tgz (Docs in HTML) (y/n)? [y] y
Do you want to install Xjdoc.tgz (Docs in Japanese) (y/n)? [y] n
Do you want to install Xf.tgz (Docs in PostScript) (y/n)? [y] n
Alrighty that was short and sweat. The core installation process of extracting the server and all of your options should be taking place after that last question. This can take some time so go and grab a drink and come back in like 3-5 minutes, depending on your system speed.
You should be getting prompted with these below, regardless of whether you had X installed before on this system ...
Do you wish to have the new xterm terminfo entries installed now (y/n)? [n] y
** NOTE: Please read the information about your termcap. In most cases say YES because you shouldn't have anything old ...
OpenGL links ...
Do you wish to have the (new) links installed (y/n)? [n] y
Rstart links ...
Do you wish to have the (new) links installed (y/n)? [n] y
Old Xserver modules (if you had X before) ...
Do you want them moved to /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/old (y/n) [n] y
This was it for me and should be all for you. Remember that not all systems with the XFree86 software will install exactly the same. You may get completely different questions altogether, but I doubt it. The main different will be if you had X installed before. If so, your questions will be identical to mine, especially on a SuSE 6.4 or SuSE 7.0 distribution of linux.
Configuration:
Now comes the awkward part -- configuration of XFree86. This is where you need to know your specs and info on the monitor and video card and some other system information. From here on out you will be on your own, however, I have included my selection for my system. You can generally guess from the first few choices offered and if that works, try running the config again (below) and trying a higher resolution or display rate, etc etc.
To run the configuration tool, execute xf86config and let the fun begin ...
NOTE: Read EVERYTHING and make intelligent answers, don't Christmas tree it!
Enter a protocol number: 4
Do you want to enable Emulate3Buttons? y
Mouse device: /dev/mouse
Enter a number to chose a keyboard. 1
Enter a number to choose the country. 1
Do you want additional XKB options (group switcher, group indicator, etc.)? n
NOTE: Read EVERYTHING and make intelligent answers, don't Christmas tree it! (Do you see a pattern here?)
... "horizontal sync rate" -- this is where you need the specs on your monitor. You can find these refresh rates if you have the same monitor installed on a Windows pc or check your monitor documentation. Otherwise, guess and start with selection # 1. If it works, then try the next ... and so on and so on.
Enter your choice (1-11): 4
... "vertical sync rate" -- this is the same with the horizontal instructions -- look at your docs, Windows pc or guess, starting with the first choice and working your way up.
Enter your choice: 1
Enter an identifier for your monitor definition: Laptop
NOTE: Read EVERYTHING and make intelligent answers, don't Christmas tree it!
Do you want to look at the card database? y
Enter a number to choose the corresponding card definition. 419 (S3 Virge if you have to know)
How much video memory do you have on your video card: 5
Enter an identifier for your video card definition: S3generic
... "resolutions" -- Here you can set the resolution modes for your monitor and card. Be careful -- if you specify a range that's not supported by your hardware your Xserver will crash. Not to worry, though as you can just start xf86config again and change those selections. I always start with the default (the modes are OK, continue) and specify a default of 800x600 and test all of the resolutions with that color depth, then run xf86config again and try to up the colors to the next level and test again and repeat until I know what the highest color depth/resolutions I can use. Hint: After you startx, use CTRL-ALT-+ (plus sign on the keypad) to change resolutions.
Enter your choice: 4
Enter a number to choose the default depth: 4
Shall I write it to /etc/X11/XF86Config? y
You are done the initial configuration. Now the moment of truth! Try running startx and see if it at least works. It may look ugly -- the size of the screen maybe bad, colors all goofy or you may get a fatal error (explicit kill) message. Don't fret -- just run the xf86config again and select some alternates to your resolution and color depth. Remember to start low and work up. If that doesn't work, then try changing to an alternate Xserver (your card name) -- there are sometimes multiple selections for the same card, like mine. My display is all messed up but I can see the desktop at least so now I am going to work on tweaking it with different selections to xf86config. Worse case scenario is to install your crusty-old-moldy original X rpm or deb files ... =)
Clean Up and Afterthoughts:
- If your mouse is jumpy or doesn't work, use CTRL-ALT-BACKSPACE to stop the Xserver
- If you CTRL-ALT-BACKSPACE and get mumbo-jumbo and weird colors and unreadable fonts, just go to an alternate console with CTRL-ALT-F2 and even though you can't see anything, log in as root, wait a few seconds and then init 0 to shutdown. It is important to shutdown an stuck display mode.
- Use CTRL-ALT-+ (the plus sign on the numeric keypad) to change resolution modes
- If you can't get anything to work, log onto www.google.com and search for something like "SuSE S3 Virge 4.0.2" and you might get some web pages or usenet articles with help and clues on how to configure it right.
Morbid_Angel Dec 2000
"Come walk the line and you will burn with me"
http://mobid.mine.nu
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