Re: X won't log in (was Re: Xpmac can't find font 'fixed')
> > I'm surprised that XFree86 doesn't downgrade automatically though.
>
> Why? The X server generally tries to behave as requested, and if that's
> not possible, it aborts. Even if you don't like this policy, and
> assuming that it knows that the depth causes the problem (I doubt it,
> but I have to admit I'd have to dig into the code a bit to tell for sure
> :), initialization is almost complete based on the requested depth at
> this point.
It seems that you're right, because changing the DefaultDepth to 8 enabled him
to start XFree86. I was surprised because Default sounded like it would
downgrade. But it only uses the default when another value is not specified
on the command line (or in xdm's config, in this case). Just a brain-freeze
on my part.
Two other things for you, Steven. One is that you should re-enable the
authorization that I recommended you disable. (DisplayManager*authorize: true
in /etc/X11/xdm/xdm-config.) Xpmac didn't support it, but XFree86 does, and
you should have it enabled.
The second thing is with your XF86Config-4 file. Depending on what you
selected when you installed the xserver-xfree86, dexconf might overwrite your
settings on the next upgrade. To avoid this, I recommend the following:
Copy your existing (working) /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 to another location.
Then run `dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86` as root. The two things that you
probably changed by hand are the questions "Select the desired X server
driver." (you want 3, fbdev), "Please enter the video card's bus identifier."
(you want nothing here), "Use kernel framebuffer device interface?" (you want
yes), and "Please select your desired default color depth in bits." (you want
8-bits, so select 3).
Once you've tested this config, you can toss the old version. But by using
dexconf consistiently, you can avoid headaches later.
Frank
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