Arch Linux

vbdanl

Member

Registered: 2009-08-22

Posts: 5

startx not working

hi. the cd i created with from the iso image complained about having problems, and thats probably the root of my problem.. but, thought i would see if it is possible to get up and running without cutting another cd.. i have been using fedora and ubuntu, and wanted to see what arch has to offer.  no doubt the install is quite a bit different than i'm used to, but i like getting down into the dark side, so no worries here..  i appreciate any help.  here is what i have (and don't have) so far:
multiboot with fedora and ubuntu.  i was a little confused when the installer wanted me to select a boot partition.. was really just wanting to install this and add arch to my existing menu.lst file in fedora.  i remember telling it to install grub to the same partition where arch was installed, but when i booted, the old grub came up.
anyway, this is getting long without telling you what i need.. so here goes..
arch boots up to (i guess) the console.  i entered: root and got a # prompt.  entered startx and it said it command not found.  i did a find command from / and it never found startx.  following the wiki, i tried to run pacman -S xorg - it says xorg pkg not fount, searching for group, error xorg not found in sync db.
i tried pacman -Syu and i get error failed to update core, extra, community - no servers conf for repos. failed to sync any db.
i can ping google.com successfully.
was wondering if i can download something that will get things going?

Xyne

Administrator/PM

Registered: 2008-08-03

Posts: 6,963

Website

Re: startx not working

This isn't a startx issue, it's a mirror issue.

Did you forget to uncomment a mirror in your mirrorlist file (/etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist)?

If not, try uncommenting and moving a different mirror to the top of your mirrorlist. There was an issue recently with some mirrors (check the frontpage news) so make sure that your selected mirror is in sync (look here). Once you've changed the mirror, run "pacman -Syy" to force a database update and then try to install xorg again.

If you still have issues, post your /etc/pacman.conf and /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist.

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vbdanl

Member

Registered: 2009-08-22

Posts: 5

Re: startx not working

thanks Xyne.  I did what you suggested, and have also installed an openchrome video driver, hal, and some other stuff i can't remember..
when i type in startx, it gives me a screen with 3 boxes, a login box on the left, and 2 xterm boxes on the right, and a clock in the upper left.
i changed the LINES from 50 to 40 so i could see the bottom of the window.  guess i need to do some more reading.. should i have a "desktop" with menus ?
i don't think i ever setup a user.  just logged in as root.  what should i do next?

TomWitko

Member

From: Canada

Registered: 2009-03-02

Posts: 143

Website

Re: startx not working

Read this wiki page

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Beginners_Guide

you have to set up a user account and also install a window manager, you need a gdm or kdm counting on what window manager you are using. Its all in the begginer quide. A lot of it is explaining files and stuff but the essentials are there.

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vbdanl

Member

Registered: 2009-08-22

Posts: 5

Re: startx not working

Read this wiki page

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Beginners_Guide

you have to set up a user account and also install a window manager, you need a gdm or kdm counting on what window manager you are using. Its all in the begginer quide. A lot of it is explaining files and stuff but the essentials are there.

several hrs later, finally getting there.. still have some customization to do, but at least i have a gnome screen up.  thanks!

vbdanl

Member

Registered: 2009-08-22

Posts: 5

Re: startx not working

my have spoke too soon.. a few minutes after booting back up with gdm/gnome, it locked up.. tight.. had to press the pwr button.  no mouse, no kbd, i had a couple of terminal windows open, and i think i had just opened ephiphany or whatever the browser is called when it locked up.  can't remember if i had entered a command in the terminal, or was active on the internet when it locked..  anyone know of something i should check?

vbdanl

Member

Registered: 2009-08-22

Posts: 5

Re: startx not working

just a fyi in case anyone is looking at this for info..
i had another hard lockup while in the default browser (epiphany)..after only a few minutes in browser.
not really sure if i needed to do something else to make it work or not.
i installed firefox, and have not had a lockup for several hrs.