After Arch 0.7 base install = What do I do now?

tropical_disease · 2005-02-21 05:37:04

I've just installed Arch 0.7 with base packages.
Then I installed xorg and xfree86 and ran xf86config - I'm not sure if this is what I should have done. I also installed icewm to use as a windows manager. When I do startx, all I see is 3 console windows and not much else, I'm not even sure if icewm is running - how do I tell?

I just want to get my box up and running, but I'm kind of going round in circles googling and editing conf files, I'm not sure what to do next.
If anyone can point me to some good step-by-step guides or just start me off in the right direction, I'd be very grateful.

It says on the forum header that there are no stupid questions here. Perhaps this one breaks the mold - Hope not though.

cactus · 2005-02-21 06:28:21

nope. not stupid enough for mold breaking.

You really only need xorg or xfree, not both. xorg is the new hotness, so I would go with that.

As for getting a wm to start, edit your .xinitrc file in your home directory. if you don't have one, you can copy /etc/skel/.x* to your home dir.

Then you can exit that file and set your wm startup in there.

jerem · 2005-02-21 07:40:26

First of all, there are no stupid questions in the Newbie Corner section, for this part of the forum is specially meant for that...

It looks like you're trying to figure out how to set up a nice W*****S-like environment...

Before choosing a WM, you'd better make sure your xorg (you only need that one, not xfree86 *) is completely and well configured. To do that, just post what screen you have (LCD or not), the screen resolution, and your graphic card. I suggest you also post the /etc/X11/xorg.conf you already generated.

If you are done with this, then it's time to choose what WM to use.
KDE is big and offers a lot of pre-installed software. Gnome is like kde.
Then there are the *box WMs like fluxbox, openbox or blackbox. Those 3 are very light compared to KDE and gnome but they may appear very minimalistic to your eyes. They also may be difficult to configure(text files to edit). You may also choose fvwm, icewm, aewm++, pekwm which are also very light. Enlightenement is a good choice becuase it's light though easily configurable. Windowmaker is another choice.

To set up a WM, then type :

nano -w /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc

Remove all lines after twm & (remove that line too).
At the end of the file, put :

exec icewm OR exec startkde OR exec gnome-session OR exec fluxbox...

If you want me to give you a "system configuration roadmap", then follow that advice : list all the devices you have in your computer and configure them one after the other. I suggest you first configure the network and perform a pacman -Syu (full system upgrade to last version).

* xorg is a fork of the XFree86 Project. It means that XFree86 and xorg are now two separate projects. Xorg is now the official X server for near all linux distributions

tmadhavan · 2005-02-21 09:42:54

Also let us know what kind of stuff you want to do - are you in school, uni, work, what?

I'm in uni and I use a much different setup (tho still Arch!) here than I do at home. Some things you'll probably need are:

Office software (OpenOffice)
Web Browser (Firefox)
Messenger (GAIM)
Media Player (Juk - music, MPlayer - video).
CD Writing (K3b)

Gnome or KDE are pretty much the easiest (I say easiest, should probably read 'most forum help posts on forums') to use at first.

T

tropical_disease · 2005-02-21 16:01:12

Hi guys,
Thanks for all the help!
Here's what I've done:
Removed xf86, icewm and dependencies.
I then looked for xorg.conf, but couldn't find it, so I removed xorg then reinstalled it. I still couldn't find xorg.conf and when I tried startx, X was still trying to read from the xf86 configuration file, so I deleted xf86config. I can now start X, but I still can't find xorg.conf.

There is an Xorg.0.log file generated which contains the error:
(EE) Unable to locate/open config file
(the total log file is miles too long to post here)
I'm surprised X can start without xorg.conf.

Here's my hardware specs
Dell M782 monitor (not LCD)
Resolution:
Horizontal 30-85 kHz, Optimal 1024 x 768 @ 85 Hz
Vertical 50-160 Hz

Video card:
64MB NVIDIA GeForc2 MX with TV-Out.

Microsoft mouse w/wheel, 1.3A

Anyway, I wanted to get this problem with xorg sorted out before I start on the WM, but I'm looking forward to that, and based upon your reply, jerem, I'll probably go with enlightenment or windowmaker and leave fluxbox for later.

I'm just doing this for the fun of it at the moment. I'm an organic chemist and we already have someone who thinks he's a network guru at work, so I don't see any application there. I got into Linux about 6 weeks ago and have tried a number of distributions but have found them all way too heavy. Arch caught my eye because you can build it yourself to a certain extent, you can have a very minimal system with it, it's way way fast, and I'm hungry for more knowledge.

Thanks again for any help and suggestions!

phrakture · 2005-02-21 16:22:00

x.org has a tool to generate an xorg.conf file - I can't recall the name - you can also do a forums search for xorg.conf files and see what other people are using, so you can get used to the nuances - like z-axis settings for wheel mice, and other things...

tmadhavan · 2005-02-21 16:49:10

The command is

 xorgconfig

as root. Then plug in the info about your hardware, and it should hopefully give you at least a semi functional xorg.conf.

Incidentally the xorg.conf file is in /etc/X11/

tropical_disease · 2005-02-21 17:56:25

xorgconfig worked fine. I couldn't find an absolutely correct driver for my video card (see above), coz it's NVidia, so I'll have to worry about that later. I used the Nvidia GeForce option in the video cards menu of xorgconfig for now, and that works at least on some level (I can start X ok without error logs although I don't seem to able to manipulate the graphics by ctrl alt +). If I try to set the card up manually in xorgconfig, it doesn't work, probably the generic driver it's using for it isn't firing right.

I also managed to get enlightenment up and running, so I'm going to play around with that.

So, if I understood right, if I want other programs to run within X, I simply add them to /xintrc (as I did for the WM) ? If so, is the order of addition important ?

Thanks!

phrakture · 2005-02-21 18:24:26

well:
first) you should modify the xinitrc file in your home directory, like so

# nano ~/.xinitrc

don't modify the system-wide version

what you put in there are the programs to be run when you start X... for instance, I have xmodmap called in mine (which properly sets up some of my laptop keys which aren't defaulted) as well as torsmo (which is a little system monitor app which basically paints CPU/RAM/etc usage on the desktop).

Actualy programs to run are handled by the Window Manager - for instance, KDE/Gnome have a "Start" button like windows.... fluxbox gives you a menu when you right-click the desktop, WMI lists programs when you hit ALT+E... and so on... it's dependant on the WM... sometimes you need to manually edit a menu file to get the menu correct...
You can always go to the failsafe and open an xterm and type the name of the app to get it running

jerem · 2005-02-21 20:38:58

The Nvidia driver for you video card is officially included in Arch.

pacman -S nvidia
modprobe nvidia

I suggest you try it for this works out of the box for me and I love playing tuxracer @++ fps

Once installed, the nvidia driver is loaded by hotplug on boot.

The last thing to set up is telling xorg that you want to use the nvidia driver (I guess you were using nv driver before or even VESA).

To do that, simply edit xorg.conf and replace the driver name (vesa,nv or whatever by nvidia).

I also suggest you to tar your /etc when you're finished with configuring your whole system.

tar -cvjpf /whateverdirectory/whatevername.tar.bz2 /etc

This is like a .zip of the directory where most important configuration files are kept. When you reinstall Arch, you will be glad to have your config files till available :

cd /whatever_directory_to_unzip_to
tar -xvjpf /whateverdirectory/whatevername.tar.bz2

I dont mean to recover you /etc with your backup. I mean to untar the backup in a directory, and then individually copy the files you want in you real /etc. Got it ?

[ I will post my xorg.conf in 5 minutes, I must boot on my second box. ]

jerem · 2005-02-21 20:48:38

Here is my xorg.conf commented

Section "Files"


    RgbPath    "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb"

    FontPath    "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc/"
    FontPath    "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/:unscaled"
    FontPath    "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/:unscaled"
    FontPath    "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/TTF/"
    FontPath    "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/"
    FontPath    "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/"

#    ModulePath    "/usr/X11R6/lib/modules"

EndSection


Section "Module"

# This loads the DBE extension module.

    Load "dbe" # Double-Buffering Extension
    Load "extmod"
    Load "type1"
    Load "freetype"
    Load "glx" # This must be loaded if you want 3D acceleration(tuxracer)

EndSection


Section "ServerFlags"


# Set the basic blanking screen saver timeout.

    Option    "blank time"    "10"    # 10 minutes

# Set the DPMS timeouts.  These are set here because they are global
# rather than screen-specific.  These settings alone don't enable DPMS.
# It is enabled per-screen (or per-monitor), and even then only when
# the driver supports it.

    Option    "standby time"    "20"
    Option    "suspend time"    "30"
    Option    "off time"    "60"


EndSection


Section "InputDevice"

    Identifier    "Keyboard1"
    Driver    "keyboard"
    Option    "XkbModel"    "pc105"
    Option    "XkbLayout"    "fr"
    Option      "XkbOptions" ""

EndSection


# **********************************************************************
# Core Pointer's InputDevice section
# **********************************************************************

Section "InputDevice"

    Identifier    "Mouse1"
    Driver    "mouse"
    Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5" # This enables mouse scroll wheel
#   Option    "Protocol"    "ExplorerPS/2"
    Option    "Device"    "/dev/input/mice" # you may need to correcp                      #the path to the mouse device file, it may be /dev/mouse

# On platforms where PnP mouse detection is supported the following
# protocol setting can be used when using a newer PnP mouse:

    Option    "Protocol"    "Auto"


EndSection


Section "Monitor"
# I have a LCD widescreen
    Identifier   "Monitor1"

    ModelName    "WXGA"
    HorizSync 30.0-107.0
    VertRefresh 50.0-185.0
    ModeLine "1280x800"  147.89  1280 1376 1512 1744  800 801 804 848

    Option        "DPMS"

EndSection


Section "Device"
# This is where you tell xorg to use the nvidia driver
    Identifier "Device1"
    Driver "nvidia"
    Option "DPMS"
    Option "NvAGP" "1"
    Option "Nologo" "true"

EndSection


Section "Screen"
    Identifier "Screen1"

    Device     "Device1"

    Monitor    "Monitor1"

    DefaultDepth     24

    SubSection "Display"

        Depth     24

        Modes    "1280x800"

    EndSubSection
EndSection


Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier "Layout1"
    InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"
    InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"
    Screen "Screen1"
EndSection

tropical_disease · 2005-02-21 20:57:04

Thanks very much for the time you've spent helping me out
you guys are the nuts :!:
I'd buy you all a beer if I could
Cheers!

cactus · 2005-02-21 21:36:01

heh. first time I have been called a nut in a complimentary fashion.

phrakture · 2005-02-21 21:43:40

cactus wrote:

heh. first time I have been called a nut in a complimentary fashion.

that makes 6 for me :shock:

cactus · 2005-02-21 21:45:04

*points at phrakture's avatar*

Sader · 2005-03-31 06:48:36

Hello !

I'm downloading Arch linux(v 0.7) base iso now. I'd like to give a try to Arch Linux as concepts standing behind it look reasonable for me. I've been using slackware for some time now, so not sure I can be called newbie, but we're all newbies at some life point...

My 1st question is - how can I determine all required software dependencies(which concern me the most) so I can download them on different machine & then get them installed later on requred one(at home) ?

Also I'm a bit confused by ftp archive. where should I look for latest & greatest software ? That should be a "current" directory ? "Packages" branch on www.archlinux.org has different branches: system / daemons. / network...etc, but I can't see that on ftp archive...
For Instance - FULL 0.7 release has got xorg v 6.8.1 , but I want to install 6.8.2.. where should I look for latest stable pkg in order to download ?

Apologize for being pain in the ass, but additional mb to download are important to me, so I have to ask these questions...

Thanks,
Sader

Snowman · 2005-03-31 07:28:17

1st question: pacman takes care of dependencies. On the Arch machine, do
# pacman -Syp <packagename>
to get the URI of <packagename> and its dependencies. Download them and copy them to /var/cache/pacman/pkg (on the Arch machine).
Install them with
# pacman -S <packagename>

To update the system:
pacman -Syu

The categories on www.arlinux.org are just there to help searching for packages. On the mirrors the packages are in current and extra. Check pacman's man page and the wikis for more options.

Sader · 2005-03-31 07:39:37

thanks. That was quick one !

actually there is a folder "setup" with file "packages.txt" that contains the breakdown of the packages contained in particular repository like current or stable...

appreciated for your help.

Sader · 2005-03-31 07:39:53

thanks. That was quick one !

actually there is a folder "setup" with file "packages.txt" that contains the breakdown of the packages contained in particular repository like current or stable...

appreciated for your help.

shadowhand · 2005-03-31 08:55:36

Doesn't anyone read the documentation any more?

Try these out for size:
http://www.archlinux.org/docs/en/guide/ … guide.html
http://wiki2.archlinux.org/

If you can't find anything in either of those, THEN come to the forums. I know there are no stupid questions, but asking a question when the answer is already available isn't too bright.

Kern · 2005-03-31 11:15:38

http://www.londonslang.com/db/d/

Ctrl f "the mutts nuts"

bauerber · 2005-03-31 11:51:15

So it's like 'the bees knees' (I always wanted to use that somewhere )

greez

bernhard

Arch Linux

#1 2005-02-21 05:37:04

After Arch 0.7 base install = What do I do now?

#2 2005-02-21 06:28:21

Re: After Arch 0.7 base install = What do I do now?

#3 2005-02-21 07:40:26

Re: After Arch 0.7 base install = What do I do now?

#4 2005-02-21 09:42:54

Re: After Arch 0.7 base install = What do I do now?

#5 2005-02-21 16:01:12

Re: After Arch 0.7 base install = What do I do now?

#6 2005-02-21 16:22:00

Re: After Arch 0.7 base install = What do I do now?

#7 2005-02-21 16:49:10

Re: After Arch 0.7 base install = What do I do now?

#8 2005-02-21 17:56:25

Re: After Arch 0.7 base install = What do I do now?

#9 2005-02-21 18:24:26

Re: After Arch 0.7 base install = What do I do now?

#10 2005-02-21 20:38:58

Re: After Arch 0.7 base install = What do I do now?

#11 2005-02-21 20:48:38

Re: After Arch 0.7 base install = What do I do now?

#12 2005-02-21 20:57:04

Re: After Arch 0.7 base install = What do I do now?

#13 2005-02-21 21:36:01

Re: After Arch 0.7 base install = What do I do now?

#14 2005-02-21 21:43:40

Re: After Arch 0.7 base install = What do I do now?

#15 2005-02-21 21:45:04

Re: After Arch 0.7 base install = What do I do now?

#16 2005-03-31 06:48:36

Re: After Arch 0.7 base install = What do I do now?

#17 2005-03-31 07:28:17

Re: After Arch 0.7 base install = What do I do now?

#18 2005-03-31 07:39:37

Re: After Arch 0.7 base install = What do I do now?

#19 2005-03-31 07:39:53

Re: After Arch 0.7 base install = What do I do now?

#20 2005-03-31 08:55:36

Re: After Arch 0.7 base install = What do I do now?

#21 2005-03-31 11:15:38

Re: After Arch 0.7 base install = What do I do now?

#22 2005-03-31 11:51:15

Re: After Arch 0.7 base install = What do I do now?

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