xwidows will not give me config resolutio

[mauigreathouse 0]

i've installed debian 3.1r2 base w/2.6 kernel, then xwindows on a dell gx110

fatal errors until i reduce bit depth to 8, then it runs sorta

i've tried 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024 (my preferred)

all i get is 320x200 butt ugly on a 19inch screen and hard to navigate

i've run dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86 serveral times, that is how i found depth 8 works when 16 and 24 do not, so the command does alter the config

i've booted w/knoppix and /etc/x11/xF86Config-4 looks OK, maybe i can get a clue what to look for?

maybe i'm missing something else?

i'm not particularly partial to debian, but no floppy drive and slackware seems to require one

i'll try another distro if i can download the iso, any recommendations?

please, any suggestion may get me going in the right direction

i'm committed to CLI but a GUI allows a web browser and that comes in handy

tia

[tehbizz 2]

Firstly, use xorg and secondly, install your video card's drivers. Since it's a Dell GX110, I'm sure it's an integrated Intel chipset, so `aptitude install 915resolution vbetool` and probe your card. Also make sure your conf is set up with the right card and monitor lines.

[mauigreathouse 0]

many thanks and much aloha

clues kept me busy for rest of morning

i did apt-get --purge remove x-window-system

xorg is not in stable found it in testing, so i edited apt sources.list to access testing

installed xwindow-xorg and xwindow-xorg-core

online info suggested i get a xwindow manager, so i installed matchbox-window-manager

reboot and startx and then

fatal error could not open default font 'fixed'

any more clues out there?

[tehbizz 2]

`sudo aptitude install xfonts-base` and then run `sudo /etc/init.d/xfs restart` and you should be good.

[mauigreathouse 0]

thank you for all the clues, I've learned much but still haven't got it to work

I use the command 'startx'

it looks like it will happen except still in the 320x200 res mode

then a dialog box pops up that can not be totally read because of the 320x200 res, but what I can read is:

Xsession: unable to start X s (rest cut off)

"/root/.Xsession" file, no se (rest cut off)

terminal emulators found, abo (rest cut off)

then I'm back into cli, with many lines of 'could not init font path element xxxx, removing from list'

I'll keep working at it as long as I can get clues, I really do appreciate them, and I also respect your time so if this topic ends without resolution maybe it will be the time I'll learn more about Telnet, SSH or something like them

Edited July 6, 2006 by moweewowee

[RightCoast 2]

Sounds to me like the window manager didn't install. That full error would be saying

Xsession: unable to start X session no "/root/.Xsession" file, no session managers, no windows managers,  and no terminal emulators found, aborting.

You should also post your xorg.conf. Try doing something like cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf >> xorg.txt and get the file with ssh or something and post it from whatever machine you use to get online. Or grab a floppy and write it to that.

Something like "lspci | grep controller" would probably help too, so we know what/if the VGA controller is found and working. same as the other one, lspci | grep controller >> lspci.txt

[mauigreathouse 0]

xorg_conf.txt

results from lspci | grep controller >> lspci.txt:

0000:00:0d.0 Ethernet controller: 3Com Corporation 3c905B 100BaseTX [Cyclone] (rev 24)

0000:00:0e.0 Ethernet controller: 3Com Corporation 3c905 100BaseTX [boomerang]

0000:00:11.0 Ethernet controller: 3Com Corporation 3c905B 100BaseTX [Cyclone] (rev 24)

0000:01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc 3D Rage Pro AGP 1X/2X (rev 5c)

0000:02:09.0 Ethernet controller: 3Com Corporation 3c900B-TPO Etherlink XL [Cyclone] (rev 04)

I had done:

apt-get install matchbox-window-manager

next after I installed xorg.

it was the only window manager my search revealed; it is the testing version because that is only source I had listed so I could get xorg.

maybe I should have gotten the stable version instead?

I booted the box in question with knoppix, found the above and here it is!

It is hard to believe how much I'm learning doing all of this. It is an incredible high!

Thank you so much for the clues.

[intimidat0r 3]

ATI Technologies Inc 3D Rage Pro AGP 1X/2X (rev 5c)

That's your video card. And luckily, I am 90% sure drivers for that are included in the kernel. Recompile your kernel with the drivers for the ATI Rage card.

[mauigreathouse 0]

i was hoping to move up the food chain to apache, mysql and php and not down in to the depths of compiling kernels just to get a gui on this old box. i was under the impression that having a gui would make somethings easier to do and easier to understand for a visually oriented person like myself, i'm doing this without any local support, plese do not get me started about the local UH extension (which is what is supposed to pass as higher education here). i'll consider pulling a kernel off of a knoppix disk, knoppix from 3.* to 5 all work fine.

[Belnarlo 0]

I'm not sure a GUI will make Apache, MySQL, PHP easier. All these on Unix are configured by editing plain tet files. Onc eyou got them installed you might move to MySQL-Admin to control the db, but that doesn't require a GUI on the server.

When you develop your pages on another box (with a GUI/interface you're comfortable with) and you get Apache/MySQL/PHp configured from the command line, there wouldn't be much need for a GUI. So maybe it's easier to leave the box as it is, get your webserver running, and go from there.

[mauigreathouse 0]

Yup Belnarlo, that is exactly the same conclusion I've come to.

I wish to sincerely thank everyone who provided valuable clues, I've learned much during this and now I'm on to learning more.