RE: Problem starting X for first time
At 07:50 AM 11/20/98 -0800, you wrote:
>I have been able to get it working in VGA mode, but am still unsuccessful in
>getting any more color depth. How do I get to the information above what I
>printed? My screen blanks out and then I see the last screen. Is there
>some way to scroll up to see the error messages that happened before the
>last screen?
>
>Bret Craw
>Maintenance Renewal
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Kent West [SMTP:westk@heir.acu.edu]
>> Sent: Thursday, November 19, 1998 9:35 PM
>> To: Bret Craw
>> Cc: debian-user@lists.debian.org
>> Subject: Re: Problem starting X for first time
>>
>> On Thu, 19 Nov 1998, Bret Craw wrote:
>>
>> > I am new to Linux and was installing Debian 2.0 last night. It seemed
>> to go
>> > well. Dselect gave me some problems, but with the help on this list, I
>> was
>> > able to get that working. Once I log in as root and get the prompt, I
>> type
>> > "startx" and it blanks the screen, then comes back with
>> >
>> > Fatal server error: No valid modes found
>> > _X11TransSocketUNIXConnect: Can't connect:errno=111
>> > giving up
>> > xinit: Connection refused (errno 111): unable to connect to X
>> > server
>> > xinit: No such process (errno 3): Server error.
>> >
>> > I have an S3 Virge w/ 4MB. Not sure what version. I tried running
>> > /usr/sbin/xbase-configure force and configuring it for a generic S3. I
>> > choose the Super VGA interlaced. It seems to work fine, but then when I
>> am
>> > done and go back to the prompt, and startx again, same problem. Any
>> > suggestions would be great. If I need to alter anything by hand, please
>> > tell me how to do that. I really don't know what I am doing.
>> >
>> > Bret Craw
>> > Maintenance Renewal
>> >
>>
>> The details above the "fatal server error" are the ones you need to send.
>> The ones you sent are more-or-less the generic "hey, you have a problem"
>> message.
>>
>> Most of the "magic" for getting a running X system are in two files
>> (although others are important too). These files are /etc/X11/XF86Config
>> and /etc/X11/Xserver.
>>
>> XServer - the first line should point to the server you want to run
>> (XF86_SVGA or XF86_VGA16 or etc). So double-check that line.
>>
>> XF86Config - contains the specs for such things as your mouse and keyboard
>> and graphics card and video monitor, etc. I suspect that 90% of all
>> problems for a newbie getting X to run are video related.
>>
>> You can read and study and tweak, which would be a good thing to do, but
>> you can probably get SOMETHING working by running (as root) either
>> XF86Setup (a graphical utility) or xf86config (text-based). I've found
>> that if one doesn't work, sometimes the other one will. I've also found
>> that I have better luck if I tell XF86Setup to NOT use my existing
>> XF86Config file as a starting point (it'll ask early on the in the
>> setup).
>>
>> I suggest you start out choosing simple VGA in a simple mode like 640x480.
>> Once you know you can get SOMETHING, then you can go back and try for the
>> high resolution deep color depth modes.
>>
>> Success to you!
>>
>> --
>> Kent West
>> kent.west@infotech.acu.edu
>> KC5ENO - Amateur Radio: When all else fails.
>> Linux - Finally! A real OS for the Intel PC!
Feel free to reply to me directly, but I suggest you also CC the
debian-user list; I'm not nearly as experienced/knowledgeable as many of
those folks.
But to answer your question: I've found that you can generally do a
Shift-PgUp to recall the last 2 or 3 screens of info. It's a really handy
feature.
Now that you know you can get VGA mode working, you might try backing up
your XF86Config file (just cp XF86Config XF86Config.bak in the /etc/X11
directory) and then run XF86Setup, only this time go for the higher
resolution and deeper color depth. I don't recall off-hand exactly where
the color depth setting is, but it's either on the card setup page or the
monitor setup page, perhaps under the Advanced Options (or whatever button
it is). If you don't get usable results from this, you can always restore
you original XF86Config file.
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