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<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
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<!DOCTYPE guide SYSTEM "/dtd/guide.dtd">
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<!-- $Header: /var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/xorg-config.xml,v 1.41 2010/10/12 23:13:18 nightmorph Exp $ -->
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<guide>
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<title>The X Server Configuration HOWTO</title>
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<author title="Author">
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<mail link="swift"/>
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</author>
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<author title="Author">
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<mail link="nightmorph"/>
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</author>
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<abstract>
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Xorg is the X Window server which allows users to have a graphical
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environment at their fingertips. This HOWTO explains what Xorg is, how to
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install it and what the various configuration options are.
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</abstract>
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<!-- The content of this document is licensed under the CC-BY-SA license -->
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<!-- See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5 -->
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<license/>
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<version>4</version>
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<date>2010-10-25</date>
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<chapter>
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<title>What is the X Window Server?</title>
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<section>
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<title>Graphical vs Command-Line</title>
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<body>
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<p>
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The average user may be frightened at the thought of having to type in commands.
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Why wouldn't he be able to point and click his way through the freedom provided
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by Gentoo (and Linux in general)? Well, of course you are able to
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do this! Linux offers a wide variety of flashy user interfaces and
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environments which you can install on top of your existing installation.
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</p>
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<p>
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This is one of the biggest surprises new users come across: a graphical user
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interface is nothing more than an application which runs on your system. It is
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<e>not</e> part of the Linux kernel or any other internals of the system. It is
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a powerful tool that fully enables the graphical abilities of your workstation.
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</p>
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<p>
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As standards are important, a standard for drawing and moving windows on a
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screen, interacting with the user through mouse, keyboard and other basic, yet
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important aspects has been created and named the <e>X Window System</e>,
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commonly abbreviated as <e>X11</e> or just <e>X</e>. It is used on Unix, Linux
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and Unix-like operating systems throughout the world.
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</p>
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<p>
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The application that provides Linux users with the ability to run graphical
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user interfaces and that uses the X11 standard is Xorg-X11, a fork of
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the XFree86 project. XFree86 has decided to use a license that might not be
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compatible with the GPL license; the use of Xorg is therefore recommended.
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The official Portage tree does not provide an XFree86 package anymore.
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</p>
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</body>
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</section>
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<section>
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<title>The X.org Project</title>
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<body>
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<p>
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The <uri link="http://www.x.org">X.org</uri> project created and
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maintains a freely redistributable, open-source implementation of the X11
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system. It is an open source X11-based desktop infrastructure.
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</p>
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<p>
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Xorg provides an interface between your hardware and the graphical software
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you want to run. Besides that, Xorg is also fully network-aware, meaning you
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are able to run an application on one system while viewing it on a different
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one.
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</p>
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</body>
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</section>
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</chapter>
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<chapter>
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<title>Installing Xorg</title>
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<section>
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<body>
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<p>
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Before you can install Xorg, you need to prepare your system for it. First,
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we'll set up the kernel to support input devices and video cards. Then we'll
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prepare <path>/etc/make.conf</path> so that the right drivers and Xorg packages
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are built and installed.
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</p>
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</body>
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</section>
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<section>
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<title>Input driver support</title>
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<body>
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<p>
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By default, Xorg uses <c>evdev</c>, a generic input driver. You'll need to
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activate support for <c>evdev</c> by making a change to your kernel
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configuration. Read the <uri link="/doc/en/kernel-config.xml">Kernel
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Configuration Guide</uri> if you don't know how to setup your kernel.
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</p>
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<pre caption="Enabling evdev in the kernel">
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Device Drivers --->
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Input device support --->
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<*> Event interface
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</pre>
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</body>
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</section>
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<section>
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<title>Kernel modesetting</title>
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<body>
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<p>
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Modern open-source video drivers rely on kernel modesetting (KMS). KMS provides
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an improved graphical boot with less flickering, faster user switching, a
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built-in framebuffer console, seamless switching from the console to Xorg, and
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other features. KMS conflicts with legacy framebuffer drivers, which must remain
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<b>disabled</b> in your kernel configuration.
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</p>
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<p>
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First, prepare your kernel for KMS. You need to do this step regardless of which
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Xorg video driver you're using.
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</p>
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<pre caption="Configuring framebuffers">
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Device Drivers --->
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Graphics support --->
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Support for frame buffer devices --->
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<comment>(Disable all drivers, including VGA, Intel, nVidia, and ATI)</comment>
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<comment>(Further down, enable basic console support. KMS uses this.)</comment>
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Console display driver support --->
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<*> Framebuffer Console Support
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</pre>
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<p>
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Next, configure your kernel to use the proper KMS driver for your video card.
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Intel, nVidia, and ATI are the most common cards, so follow code listing for
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your card below.
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</p>
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<p>
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For Intel cards:
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</p>
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<pre caption="Intel settings">
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Device Drivers --->
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Graphics support --->
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/dev/agpgart (AGP Support) --->
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<*> Intel 440LX/BX/GX, I8xx and E7x05 chipset support
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Direct Rendering Manager (XFree86 4.1.0 and higher DRI support) --->
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<*> Intel 830M, 845G, 852GM, 855GM, 865G (i915 driver)
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i915 driver
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[*] Enable modesetting on intel by default
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</pre>
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<p>
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For nVidia cards:
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</p>
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<pre caption="nVidia settings">
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<comment>(Enable DRM)</comment>
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Device Drivers --->
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Graphics support --->
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<*> Direct Rendering Manager --->
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<comment>(Nouveau is currently in the Staging drivers section)</comment>
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Device Drivers --->
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Staging drivers --->
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[ ] Exclude Staging drivers from being built
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<*> Nouveau (nVidia) cards
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</pre>
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<p>
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For newer ATI cards (<uri link="/doc/en/ati-faq.xml">RadeonHD 2000 and
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up</uri>), you will need to emerge <c>radeon-ucode</c>. Once you have installed
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<c>radeon-ucode</c>, configure your kernel as shown:
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</p>
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<pre caption="ATI settings">
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<comment>(Setup the kernel to use the radeon-ucode firmware)</comment>
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Device Drivers --->
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Generic Driver Options --->
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[*] Include in-kernel firmware blobs in kernel binary
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<comment># RadeonHD 2000, 3000, and 4000 series cards:</comment>
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(radeon/R600_rlc.bin radeon/R700_rlc.bin) External firmware blobs
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<comment># RadeonHD 5000, a.k.a Evergreen, and newer cards:</comment>
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(radeon/CEDAR_me.bin radeon/CEDAR_pfp.bin radeon/CEDAR_rlc.bin
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radeon/CYPRESS_me.bin radeon/CYPRESS_pfp.bin radeon/CYPRESS_rlc.bin
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radeon/JUNIPER_me.bin radeon/JUNIPER_pfp.bin radeon/JUNIPER_rlc.bin
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radeon/REDWOOD_me.bin radeon/REDWOOD_pfp.bin
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radeon/REDWOOD_rlc.bin) External firmware blobs
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(/lib/firmware/) Firmware blobs root directory
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<comment>(Enable Radeon KMS support)</comment>
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Device Drivers --->
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Graphics support --->
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<*> Direct Rendering Manager --->
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<*> ATI Radeon
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[*] Enable modesetting on radeon by default
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</pre>
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<note>
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Old Radeon cards (X1900 series and older) don't need the <c>radeon-ucode</c>
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package or any firmware configuration. Just enable the Direct Rendering Manager
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and ATI Radeon modesetting.
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</note>
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<p>
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Now that you're done setting up KMS, continue with preparing
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<path>/etc/make.conf</path> in the next section.
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</p>
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</body>
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</section>
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<section>
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<title>make.conf configuration</title>
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<body>
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<p>
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Now that your kernel is prepared, you have to configure two important variables
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in the <path>/etc/make.conf</path> file before you can install Xorg.
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</p>
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<p>
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The first variable is <c>VIDEO_CARDS</c>. This is used to set the video drivers
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that you intend to use and is usually based on the kind of video card you have.
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The most common settings are <c>nouveau</c> for nVidia cards or <c>radeon</c>
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for ATI cards. Both have actively developed, well-supported open-source
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drivers.
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</p>
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<note>
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You may also try the proprietary drivers from nVidia and ATI, <c>nvidia</c> and
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<c>fglrx</c> respectively. However, setting up the proprietary drivers is
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beyond the scope of this guide. Please read the <uri
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link="/doc/en/nvidia-guide.xml">Gentoo Linux nVidia Guide</uri> and <uri
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| 251 |
link="/doc/en/ati-faq.xml">Gentoo Linux ATI FAQ</uri>. If you don't know which
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drivers you should choose, refer to these guides for more information.
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| 253 |
</note>
|
| 254 |
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| 255 |
<p>
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| 256 |
The <c>intel</c> driver may be used for desktops or laptops with common Intel
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integrated graphics chipsets.
|
| 258 |
</p>
|
| 259 |
|
| 260 |
<note>
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| 261 |
<c>VIDEO_CARDS</c> may contain more than one driver, each separated with a
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space.
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| 263 |
</note>
|
| 264 |
|
| 265 |
<p>
|
| 266 |
The second variable is <c>INPUT_DEVICES</c> and is used to determine which
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drivers are to be built for input devices. In most cases setting it to
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<c>evdev</c> should work just fine. If you use alternative input
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devices, such as a Synaptics touchpad for a laptop, be sure to add it to
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<c>INPUT_DEVICES</c>.
|
| 271 |
</p>
|
| 272 |
|
| 273 |
<p>
|
| 274 |
Now you should decide which drivers you will use and add necessary settings to
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the <path>/etc/make.conf</path> file:
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| 276 |
</p>
|
| 277 |
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| 278 |
<pre caption="Sample make.conf entries">
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| 279 |
<comment>(For mouse, keyboard, and Synaptics touchpad support)</comment>
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INPUT_DEVICES="evdev synaptics"
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<comment>(For nVidia cards)</comment>
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VIDEO_CARDS="nouveau"
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<comment>(OR, for ATI Radeon cards)</comment>
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VIDEO_CARDS="radeon"
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</pre>
|
| 286 |
|
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<p>
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If the suggested settings don't work for you, you should run <c>emerge -pv
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xorg-drivers</c>, check all the options available and choose those which apply to
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your system. This example is for a system with a keyboard, mouse, Synaptics
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touchpad, and a Radeon video card.
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</p>
|
| 293 |
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<pre caption="Displaying all the driver options available">
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# <i>emerge -pv xorg-drivers</i>
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These are the packages that would be merged, in order:
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|
| 299 |
Calculating dependencies... done!
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[ebuild R ] x11-base/xorg-drivers-1.9 INPUT_DEVICES="evdev synaptics
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-acecad -aiptek -elographics% -fpit% -joystick -keyboard -mouse -penmount -tslib
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-virtualbox -vmmouse -void -wacom"
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VIDEO_CARDS="radeon -apm -ark -ast -chips -cirrus -dummy -epson -fbdev -fglrx
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(-geode) -glint -i128 (-i740) (-impact) -intel -mach64 -mga -neomagic (-newport)
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| 305 |
-nouveau -nv -nvidia -r128 -rendition -s3 -s3virge -savage -siliconmotion -sis
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| 306 |
-sisusb (-sunbw2) (-suncg14) (-suncg3) (-suncg6) (-sunffb) (-sunleo) (-suntcx)
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| 307 |
-tdfx -tga -trident -tseng -v4l -vesa -via -virtualbox -vmware (-voodoo) (-xgi)"
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0 kB
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| 309 |
</pre>
|
| 310 |
|
| 311 |
<p>
|
| 312 |
After setting all the necessary variables you can install the Xorg package.
|
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</p>
|
| 314 |
|
| 315 |
<pre caption="Installing Xorg">
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# <i>emerge xorg-server</i>
|
| 317 |
</pre>
|
| 318 |
|
| 319 |
<note>
|
| 320 |
You could install the <c>xorg-x11</c> metapackage instead of the more
|
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lightweight <c>xorg-server</c>. Functionally, <c>xorg-x11</c> and
|
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<c>xorg-server</c> are the same. However, <c>xorg-x11</c> brings in many more
|
| 323 |
packages that you probably don't need, such as a huge assortment of fonts in
|
| 324 |
many different languages. They're not necessary for a working desktop.
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| 325 |
</note>
|
| 326 |
|
| 327 |
<p>
|
| 328 |
When the installation is finished, you will need to re-initialise some
|
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environment variables before you continue. Just run <c>env-update</c> followed
|
| 330 |
by <c>source /etc/profile</c> and you're all set.
|
| 331 |
</p>
|
| 332 |
|
| 333 |
<pre caption="Re-initialising the environment variables">
|
| 334 |
# <i>env-update</i>
|
| 335 |
# <i>source /etc/profile</i>
|
| 336 |
</pre>
|
| 337 |
|
| 338 |
<p>
|
| 339 |
Now it's time to start the Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) daemon and set it to
|
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automatically start each time you boot. This is necessary to get a working X
|
| 341 |
environment, otherwise your input devices won't be detected and you'll probably
|
| 342 |
just get a blank screen. We'll cover HAL more in the <uri
|
| 343 |
link="#using_hal">next section</uri>.
|
| 344 |
</p>
|
| 345 |
|
| 346 |
<pre caption="Starting HAL">
|
| 347 |
# <i>/etc/init.d/hald start</i>
|
| 348 |
# <i>rc-update add hald default</i>
|
| 349 |
</pre>
|
| 350 |
|
| 351 |
</body>
|
| 352 |
</section>
|
| 353 |
</chapter>
|
| 354 |
|
| 355 |
<chapter>
|
| 356 |
<title>Configuring Xorg</title>
|
| 357 |
<section id="using_hal">
|
| 358 |
<title>Using HAL</title>
|
| 359 |
<body>
|
| 360 |
|
| 361 |
<p>
|
| 362 |
The X server is designed to work out-of-the-box, with no need to manually edit
|
| 363 |
Xorg's configuration files.
|
| 364 |
</p>
|
| 365 |
|
| 366 |
<p>
|
| 367 |
You should first try <uri link="#using_startx">starting X</uri> without creating
|
| 368 |
<path>/etc/X11/xorg.conf</path>.
|
| 369 |
</p>
|
| 370 |
|
| 371 |
<p>
|
| 372 |
If Xorg won't start (if there's something wrong with the screen, or with your
|
| 373 |
keyboard/mouse), then you can try fixing problems by using the right
|
| 374 |
configuration files.
|
| 375 |
</p>
|
| 376 |
|
| 377 |
<p>
|
| 378 |
By default, Xorg uses HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer) to detect and configure
|
| 379 |
devices such as keyboards and mice.
|
| 380 |
</p>
|
| 381 |
|
| 382 |
<p>
|
| 383 |
HAL comes with many premade device rules, also called policies. These policy
|
| 384 |
files are available in <path>/usr/share/hal/fdi/policy/</path>. Just find a few
|
| 385 |
that suit your needs most closely and copy them to
|
| 386 |
<path>/etc/hal/fdi/policy/</path>.
|
| 387 |
</p>
|
| 388 |
|
| 389 |
<impo>
|
| 390 |
Do not edit the files in <path>/usr/share/hal/fdi/</path>! Just copy the ones
|
| 391 |
you need, and edit them once they're placed in the proper <path>/etc</path>
|
| 392 |
location.
|
| 393 |
</impo>
|
| 394 |
|
| 395 |
<p>
|
| 396 |
For example, to get a basic working keyboard/mouse combination, you could copy
|
| 397 |
the following files to <path>/etc/hal/fdi/policy/</path>:
|
| 398 |
</p>
|
| 399 |
|
| 400 |
<pre caption="Using HAL policy files">
|
| 401 |
# <i>cp /usr/share/hal/fdi/policy/10osvendor/10-input-policy.fdi /etc/hal/fdi/policy</i>
|
| 402 |
# <i>cp /usr/share/hal/fdi/policy/10osvendor/10-x11-input.fdi /etc/hal/fdi/policy</i>
|
| 403 |
</pre>
|
| 404 |
|
| 405 |
<p>
|
| 406 |
There are several other HAL policies in <path>/usr/share/hal/fdi/</path> that
|
| 407 |
may interest you, such as laptop configurations, storage device handling, power
|
| 408 |
management, and more. Just copy any of the policies to
|
| 409 |
<path>/etc/hal/fdi/policy/</path>.
|
| 410 |
</p>
|
| 411 |
|
| 412 |
<impo>
|
| 413 |
Remember, <e>every</e> time you finish making changes to HAL policy files, you
|
| 414 |
need to restart the HAL daemon by running <c>/etc/init.d/hald restart</c>.
|
| 415 |
</impo>
|
| 416 |
|
| 417 |
<p>
|
| 418 |
You can edit the policy files in <path>/etc/hal/fdi/policy</path> to your
|
| 419 |
liking. You may want to make a few tweaks or to expose additional
|
| 420 |
functionality. Let's go through an example of tweaking a HAL policy.
|
| 421 |
</p>
|
| 422 |
|
| 423 |
<p>
|
| 424 |
One very convenient trick is to kill the X server entirely by pressing
|
| 425 |
Ctrl-Alt-Backspace. This is useful when your X server is malfunctioning, frozen,
|
| 426 |
etc. It's not as extreme as rebooting the whole machine with Ctrl-Alt-Del.
|
| 427 |
</p>
|
| 428 |
|
| 429 |
<p>
|
| 430 |
Recent X server versions disabled this key combination by default. However, you
|
| 431 |
can reenable it by copying <path>10-x11-input.fdi</path> to
|
| 432 |
<path>/etc/hal/fdi/policy</path> and editing it. You'll need to add just one
|
| 433 |
line to the appropriate section, as shown below:
|
| 434 |
</p>
|
| 435 |
|
| 436 |
<pre caption="Editing 10-x11-input.fdi">
|
| 437 |
<comment>(Open the file in your preferred editor)</comment>
|
| 438 |
# <i>nano -w /etc/hal/fdi/policy/10-x11-input.fdi</i>
|
| 439 |
<comment>(Find the "input.keys" section)</comment>
|
| 440 |
<match key="info.capabilities" contains="input.keys">
|
| 441 |
<comment>(Add the "terminate" merge string as shown)</comment>
|
| 442 |
<match key="info.capabilities" contains="input.keys">
|
| 443 |
<merge key="input.x11_driver" type="string">keyboard</merge>
|
| 444 |
<i><merge key="input.xkb.options" type="string">terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp</merge></i>
|
| 445 |
<match key="/org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/computer:system.kernel.name"
|
| 446 |
string="Linux">
|
| 447 |
<merge key="input.x11_driver" type="string">evdev<merge>
|
| 448 |
</match>
|
| 449 |
</match>
|
| 450 |
</pre>
|
| 451 |
|
| 452 |
<p>
|
| 453 |
Once you're done, run <c>/etc/init.d/hald restart</c> so that HAL picks up your
|
| 454 |
changes.
|
| 455 |
</p>
|
| 456 |
|
| 457 |
<p>
|
| 458 |
There, now you have a handy way of killing an unresponsive X server. This is
|
| 459 |
useful when programs have frozen your display entirely, or when configuring and
|
| 460 |
tweaking your Xorg environment. Be careful when killing your desktop with this
|
| 461 |
key combination -- most programs really don't like it when you end them this
|
| 462 |
way, and you may lose some (or all) of what you were working on.
|
| 463 |
</p>
|
| 464 |
|
| 465 |
<p>
|
| 466 |
Hopefully just working with the HAL policy files results in a working X desktop.
|
| 467 |
If Xorg still won't start, or there's some other problem, then you'll need to
|
| 468 |
manually configure <path>xorg.conf</path> as shown in the next section.
|
| 469 |
</p>
|
| 470 |
|
| 471 |
</body>
|
| 472 |
</section>
|
| 473 |
<section>
|
| 474 |
<title>The xorg.conf file</title>
|
| 475 |
<body>
|
| 476 |
|
| 477 |
<note>
|
| 478 |
Configuring <path>xorg.conf</path> should be seen as a "last resort" option. It
|
| 479 |
really desirable to run without one if possible, and to do all your
|
| 480 |
configuration via HAL policy files. If you still can't get a working
|
| 481 |
configuration, then read on.
|
| 482 |
</note>
|
| 483 |
|
| 484 |
<p>
|
| 485 |
The configuration file of Xorg is called <path>xorg.conf</path> and it resides
|
| 486 |
in <path>/etc/X11</path>. Xorg provides an example configuration as
|
| 487 |
<path>/etc/X11/xorg.conf.example</path> which you can use to create your own
|
| 488 |
configuration. It is heavily commented, but if you are in need of more
|
| 489 |
documentation regarding the syntax, don't hesitate to read the man page:
|
| 490 |
</p>
|
| 491 |
|
| 492 |
<pre caption="Reading the xorg.conf man page">
|
| 493 |
$ <i>man 5 xorg.conf</i>
|
| 494 |
</pre>
|
| 495 |
|
| 496 |
</body>
|
| 497 |
</section>
|
| 498 |
<section>
|
| 499 |
<title>Automatic Generation of xorg.conf</title>
|
| 500 |
<body>
|
| 501 |
|
| 502 |
<p>
|
| 503 |
Xorg itself is able to guess most parameters for you. In most cases, you
|
| 504 |
will only have to change some lines to get the resolution you want up and
|
| 505 |
running. If you are interested in more in-depth tweaking, be sure to check the
|
| 506 |
resources at the end of this chapter. But first, let us generate a (hopefully
|
| 507 |
working) Xorg configuration file.
|
| 508 |
</p>
|
| 509 |
|
| 510 |
<pre caption="Generating an xorg.conf file">
|
| 511 |
# <i>Xorg -configure</i>
|
| 512 |
</pre>
|
| 513 |
|
| 514 |
<p>
|
| 515 |
Be sure to read the last lines printed on your screen when Xorg has finished
|
| 516 |
probing your hardware. If it tells you it failed at some point, you're forced to
|
| 517 |
manually write an <path>xorg.conf</path> file. Assuming that it didn't fail, it
|
| 518 |
will have told you that it has written <path>/root/xorg.conf.new</path> ready
|
| 519 |
for you to test. So let's test. :)
|
| 520 |
</p>
|
| 521 |
|
| 522 |
<pre caption="Testing the xorg.conf.new file">
|
| 523 |
# <i>X -retro -config /root/xorg.conf.new</i>
|
| 524 |
</pre>
|
| 525 |
|
| 526 |
<p>
|
| 527 |
If all goes well, you should see a simple black and white pattern. Verify if
|
| 528 |
your mouse works correctly and if the resolution is good. You might not be able
|
| 529 |
to deduce the exact resolution, but you should be able to see if it's too low.
|
| 530 |
You can exit any time by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Backspace.
|
| 531 |
</p>
|
| 532 |
|
| 533 |
</body>
|
| 534 |
</section>
|
| 535 |
<section>
|
| 536 |
<title>Copying over xorg.conf</title>
|
| 537 |
<body>
|
| 538 |
|
| 539 |
<p>
|
| 540 |
Let us copy over the <path>xorg.conf.new</path> to
|
| 541 |
<path>/etc/X11/xorg.conf</path> now, so we won't have to continuously run
|
| 542 |
<c>X -config</c> -- typing just <c>startx</c> is easier. :)
|
| 543 |
</p>
|
| 544 |
|
| 545 |
<pre caption="Copying over xorg.conf">
|
| 546 |
# <i>cp /root/xorg.conf.new /etc/X11/xorg.conf</i>
|
| 547 |
</pre>
|
| 548 |
|
| 549 |
</body>
|
| 550 |
</section>
|
| 551 |
<section id="using_startx">
|
| 552 |
<title>Using startx</title>
|
| 553 |
<body>
|
| 554 |
|
| 555 |
<p>
|
| 556 |
Now try <c>startx</c> to start up your X server. <c>startx</c> is a script
|
| 557 |
that executes an <e>X session</e>, that is, it starts the X server and some
|
| 558 |
graphical applications on top of it. It decides which applications to run
|
| 559 |
using the following logic:
|
| 560 |
</p>
|
| 561 |
|
| 562 |
<ul>
|
| 563 |
<li>
|
| 564 |
If a file named <path>.xinitrc</path> exists in the home directory, it will
|
| 565 |
execute the commands listed there.
|
| 566 |
</li>
|
| 567 |
<li>
|
| 568 |
Otherwise, it will read the value of the XSESSION variable and will execute
|
| 569 |
one of the sessions available in <path>/etc/X11/Sessions/</path>
|
| 570 |
accordingly. You can set the value of XSESSION in
|
| 571 |
<path>/etc/env.d/90xsession</path> to make it a default for all the users
|
| 572 |
on the system. For example, as root, run <c>echo XSESSION="Xfce4" >
|
| 573 |
/etc/env.d/90xsession</c>. This will create the <path>90xsession</path> file
|
| 574 |
and set the default X session to <uri
|
| 575 |
link="/doc/en/xfce-config.xml">Xfce</uri>.
|
| 576 |
</li>
|
| 577 |
</ul>
|
| 578 |
|
| 579 |
<pre caption="Starting X">
|
| 580 |
$ <i>startx</i>
|
| 581 |
</pre>
|
| 582 |
|
| 583 |
<p>
|
| 584 |
You can kill the X session by using the Ctrl-Alt-Backspace key combination. This
|
| 585 |
will, however, make X exit disgracefully -- something that you might not always
|
| 586 |
want.
|
| 587 |
</p>
|
| 588 |
|
| 589 |
<p>
|
| 590 |
If you haven't yet installed a window manager, all you'll see is a black screen.
|
| 591 |
Since this can also be a sign that something's wrong, you may want to emerge
|
| 592 |
<c>twm</c> and <c>xterm</c> <e>only to test X</e>.
|
| 593 |
</p>
|
| 594 |
|
| 595 |
<p>
|
| 596 |
Once those two programs are installed, run <c>startx</c> again. A few xterm
|
| 597 |
windows should appear, making it easier to verify that X is working correctly.
|
| 598 |
Once you're satisfied with the results, run <c>emerge --unmerge twm xterm</c> as
|
| 599 |
root to get rid of the testing packages. You won't need them once you've setup a
|
| 600 |
proper desktop environment.
|
| 601 |
</p>
|
| 602 |
|
| 603 |
</body>
|
| 604 |
</section>
|
| 605 |
</chapter>
|
| 606 |
|
| 607 |
<chapter>
|
| 608 |
<title>Tweaking X settings</title>
|
| 609 |
<section>
|
| 610 |
<title>Setting your Resolution</title>
|
| 611 |
<body>
|
| 612 |
|
| 613 |
<p>
|
| 614 |
If you feel that the screen resolution is wrong, you will need to check two
|
| 615 |
sections in your <path>xorg.conf</path> configuration. First of all, you have
|
| 616 |
the <e>Screen</e> section which lists the resolutions, if any that your X server
|
| 617 |
will run at. By default, this section might not list any resolutions at all. If
|
| 618 |
this is the case, Xorg will estimate the resolutions based on the information in
|
| 619 |
the second section, <e>Monitor</e>.
|
| 620 |
</p>
|
| 621 |
|
| 622 |
<p>
|
| 623 |
What happens is that Xorg checks the settings of <c>HorizSync</c> and
|
| 624 |
<c>VertRefresh</c> in the <e>Monitor</e> section to compute valid resolutions.
|
| 625 |
For now, leave these settings as-is. Only when the changes to the <e>Screen</e>
|
| 626 |
section (which we will describe in a minute) don't work, then you will need to
|
| 627 |
look up the specs for your monitor and fill in the correct values.
|
| 628 |
</p>
|
| 629 |
|
| 630 |
<warn>
|
| 631 |
Do <b>not</b> "just" change the values of these two monitor related variables
|
| 632 |
without consulting the technical specifications of your monitor. Setting
|
| 633 |
incorrect values lead to out-of-sync errors at best and smoked up screens at
|
| 634 |
worst.
|
| 635 |
</warn>
|
| 636 |
|
| 637 |
<p>
|
| 638 |
Now let us change the resolution. In the next example from
|
| 639 |
<path>/etc/X11/xorg.conf</path> we add the <c>PreferredMode</c> line so that our
|
| 640 |
X server starts at 1440x900 by default. Don't mind the given strings -- they are
|
| 641 |
examples and will most likely differ from the settings on your system. However,
|
| 642 |
the <c>Option</c> in the <c>Device</c> section must match the name of your
|
| 643 |
monitor (<c>DVI-0</c>), which can be obtained by running <c>xrandr</c>. You'll
|
| 644 |
need to <c>emerge xrandr</c> just long enough to get this information. The
|
| 645 |
argument after the monitor name (in the <c>Device</c> section) must match the
|
| 646 |
<c>Identifier</c> in the <c>Monitor</c> section.
|
| 647 |
</p>
|
| 648 |
|
| 649 |
<pre caption="Changing the Monitor section in /etc/X11/xorg.conf">
|
| 650 |
Section "Device"
|
| 651 |
Identifier "RadeonHD 4550"
|
| 652 |
Option "Monitor-DVI-0" "DVI screen"
|
| 653 |
EndSection
|
| 654 |
Section "Monitor"
|
| 655 |
Identifier "DVI screen"
|
| 656 |
Option "PreferredMode" "1440x900"
|
| 657 |
EndSection
|
| 658 |
</pre>
|
| 659 |
|
| 660 |
<p>
|
| 661 |
Run X (<c>startx</c>) to discover it uses the resolution you want.
|
| 662 |
</p>
|
| 663 |
|
| 664 |
</body>
|
| 665 |
</section>
|
| 666 |
<section>
|
| 667 |
<title>Multiple monitors</title>
|
| 668 |
<body>
|
| 669 |
|
| 670 |
<p>
|
| 671 |
You can configure more than one monitor in <path>/etc/X11/xorg.conf</path>. All
|
| 672 |
you have to do is give each monitor an identifer, then list its physical
|
| 673 |
position, such as "RightOf" or "Above" another monitor. The following example
|
| 674 |
shows how to configure a DVI and a VGA monitor, with the VGA monitor as the
|
| 675 |
right-hand screen:
|
| 676 |
</p>
|
| 677 |
|
| 678 |
<pre caption="Configuring multiple monitors in xorg.conf">
|
| 679 |
Section "Device"
|
| 680 |
Identifier "RadeonHD 4550"
|
| 681 |
Option "Monitor-DVI-0" "DVI screen"
|
| 682 |
Option "Monitor-VGA-0" "VGA screen"
|
| 683 |
EndSection
|
| 684 |
|
| 685 |
Section "Monitor"
|
| 686 |
Identifier "DVI screen"
|
| 687 |
EndSection
|
| 688 |
|
| 689 |
Section "Monitor"
|
| 690 |
Identifier "VGA screen"
|
| 691 |
Option "RightOf" "DVI screen"
|
| 692 |
EndSection
|
| 693 |
</pre>
|
| 694 |
|
| 695 |
</body>
|
| 696 |
</section>
|
| 697 |
<section>
|
| 698 |
<title>Configuring your keyboard</title>
|
| 699 |
<body>
|
| 700 |
|
| 701 |
<p>
|
| 702 |
To setup X to use an international keyboard, you can copy the content of
|
| 703 |
<path>/usr/share/doc/hal-*/*/use-estonian-layout.fdi.bz2</path> to
|
| 704 |
<path>/etc/hal/fdi/policy/10-xinput-configuration.fdi</path>:
|
| 705 |
</p>
|
| 706 |
|
| 707 |
<pre caption="Using an existing config file">
|
| 708 |
# <i>bzcat /usr/share/doc/hal-*/*/use-estonian-layout.fdi.bz2 > /etc/hal/fdi/policy/10-xinput-configuration.fdi</i>
|
| 709 |
</pre>
|
| 710 |
|
| 711 |
<p>
|
| 712 |
Now you can just edit <path>10-xinput-configuration.fdi</path> and change the
|
| 713 |
Estonian keyboard layout (<c>ee</c>) to your own, such as Great Britain
|
| 714 |
(<b>gb</b>) or Polish (<b>pl</b>).
|
| 715 |
</p>
|
| 716 |
|
| 717 |
<p>
|
| 718 |
When you're finished, run <c>/etc/init.d/hald restart</c> as root to make sure
|
| 719 |
that HAL picks up your configuration file changes.
|
| 720 |
</p>
|
| 721 |
|
| 722 |
</body>
|
| 723 |
</section>
|
| 724 |
<section>
|
| 725 |
<title>Finishing up</title>
|
| 726 |
<body>
|
| 727 |
|
| 728 |
<p>
|
| 729 |
Run <c>startx</c> and be happy about the result. Congratulations, you now
|
| 730 |
(hopefully) have a working Xorg on your system. The next step is to install a
|
| 731 |
useful window manager or desktop environment such as KDE, GNOME, or
|
| 732 |
Xfce, but that's not part of this guide.
|
| 733 |
</p>
|
| 734 |
|
| 735 |
</body>
|
| 736 |
</section>
|
| 737 |
</chapter>
|
| 738 |
|
| 739 |
<chapter>
|
| 740 |
<title>Resources</title>
|
| 741 |
<section>
|
| 742 |
<title>Creating and Tweaking xorg.conf</title>
|
| 743 |
<body>
|
| 744 |
|
| 745 |
<p>
|
| 746 |
First of all, <c>man xorg.conf</c> and <c>man evdev</c> provide quick yet
|
| 747 |
complete references about the syntax used by these configuration files. Be sure
|
| 748 |
to have them open on a terminal near you when you edit your configuration
|
| 749 |
files!
|
| 750 |
</p>
|
| 751 |
|
| 752 |
<p>
|
| 753 |
Also, be sure to look at <path>/etc/X11/xorg.conf.example</path>; you may wish
|
| 754 |
to copy this and use it as a foundation for writing your own
|
| 755 |
<path>xorg.conf</path>.
|
| 756 |
</p>
|
| 757 |
|
| 758 |
<p>
|
| 759 |
You may find the X.org <uri link="http://www.x.org/wiki/FAQ">FAQ</uri> provided
|
| 760 |
on their website, in addition to their other documentation.
|
| 761 |
</p>
|
| 762 |
|
| 763 |
<p>
|
| 764 |
There are also many online resources on editing <path>xorg.conf</path>. We only
|
| 765 |
list few of them here, be sure to <uri link="http://www.google.com">Google</uri>
|
| 766 |
for more.
|
| 767 |
</p>
|
| 768 |
|
| 769 |
</body>
|
| 770 |
</section>
|
| 771 |
<section>
|
| 772 |
<title>Other resources</title>
|
| 773 |
<body>
|
| 774 |
|
| 775 |
<p>
|
| 776 |
More information about installing and configuring various graphical desktop
|
| 777 |
environments and applications can be found in the <uri
|
| 778 |
link="/doc/en/?catid=desktop">Gentoo Desktop Documentation Resources</uri>
|
| 779 |
section of our documentation.
|
| 780 |
</p>
|
| 781 |
|
| 782 |
<p>
|
| 783 |
If you're upgrading to <c>xorg-server</c> 1.8 from an earlier version, then be
|
| 784 |
sure to read the <uri
|
| 785 |
link="/proj/en/desktop/x/x11/xorg-server-1.8-upgrade-guide.xml">migration
|
| 786 |
guide</uri>.
|
| 787 |
</p>
|
| 788 |
|
| 789 |
</body>
|
| 790 |
</section>
|
| 791 |
</chapter>
|
| 792 |
</guide>
|