Re: No NIC and No X - WTF Does It Take?
On Fri, Nov 28, 2003 at 11:04:18PM -0800, Scarletdown wrote:
> Situation Update...
>
> I went ahead and started from scratch. And _this
> time_ I remembered to enter bf24 at the
> boot prompt in order to install Kernel 2.4. Anyway,
> This time around, I was given the option to
> format the partitions as either ext2 or ext3 (last
> time, ext2 was the only option, meaning it
> wasn't really an option.) Also, there were plenty
> more choices for modules to add to the
> kernel, and I had no trouble whatsoever getting the
> NIC to work. It was so much nicer being
> able to do an FTP install instead of having to swap
> between 8 different CDs.
Havaing a 2.4 kernel makes a big difference. I might also suggest
upgrading to testing or sid (I prefer sid for non-mission-critical
desktop/workstations). The newer X &tc there might solve many of your
headaches.
> Now, after the install was done, and without
> rebooting; I logged in and ran gdm.
I _highly_ recommend you disable any login managers (gdm, etc) until you
get your X working the way you want.
> I was rather
> disappointed that there is no way to log in via gdm as
> root (I really do prefer to do that at this
> time rather than log in as a regular user and then su
> to root,
I believe it's Debian policy to ship safe rather than convenient as the
default, which is the way I and many others prefer it. There's the
Lindows way, where safety is sometimes sacrificed for convenience, and
there's the Debian way, where convenience is sometimes sacrificed for
safety, and then there are distros that sit between these two
"extremes". But remember, these are just defaults; you can always
override the defaults if you prefer. In this case, it's just a matter of
reconfiguring GDM to allow root logins (which is a _bad_ idea, but hey,
it's your box). I've looked it up a time or two for others, but am not
in a situation to do so at the moment. It's a single line in the gdm
configuration file, somewhere under /etc, maybe /etc/X11/gdm or so, and
if I remember correctly, the config file is self-documenting so it's
easy to find.
> since there seems to be no way
> to work from the desktop as root even after going to a
> terminal window and doing su and
> quitting out of any of the window managers just brings
> me back to the gdm login with no way
> to quit to a command prompt. WTF is up with that?.)
> With X running, I noticed that the
> screen was flickering really bad. I thought it might
> be due to incorrect frequency settings for
> the monitor, but I checked, and they were correct: Hz
> - 31.5-82 / V - 50-150.
It might just be the "Screen" being used (resolution + color depth,
etc). What you describe sounds like a refresh rate problem. Some tools
that might help: Ctrl-Alt-(Plus key on the numpad), Ctrl-Alt-(minus on
the numpad), gvidm, xdpyinfo, "dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86",
manaually editing /etc/X11/XF86Config-4.
> So, unable to do any configuration from within the
> graphical interface,
No, generally you don't want to try configuring X from within X.
> I hit CTRL-Alt-F12 then
I would've used Ctrl-Alt-F1 or Ctlr-Alt-F2, but whatever works.
> logged into a text-based terminal as root (is there
> any way at all to get back to the desktop
> after doing that?)
Yes; just switch back to the display on which X is running, usually
Ctrl-Alt-F7.
> and ran dpkg-reconfigure
> xserver-xfree86. I entered all the correct bits of
> data, then rebooted;
No need to reboot; just restart X: "/etc/init.d/gdm restart"
> and found myself right back where
> I started before I did my reinstall.
> gdm tried to run and then I finally got an error
> saying that the X-Server couldn't be started,
> and would I like to try to run the configuration
> program again?
Again; I would recommend upgrading from stable to testing or sid, so
that you get a newer X where you're likely less prone to these issues.
> I selected yes and gave the root password, which
> brought me into twm (I think it was), and a
> graphically-based X configuration program.
Oh! I hated that program! I'm so glad I don't have to see it anymore.
(No offense to the writer(s) of that app; it was a good idea; it just
never worked for me - for one thing, the mouse never worked in it).
> I
> struggled through it using the keypad, since for
> some ****-up reason, the mouse (just an ordinary
> 2-button PS/2 mouse) wouldn't work. The
> last thing I did was try to configure the mouse, and I
> was immediately apparently dropped out
> of the configuration program and taken to the twm
> desktop. I exited out of twm and was
> immediately brought back into twm (Why can't I ever
> ****in exit to a command prompt?) And
> now, the system is locked up tight. No mouse
> response, no keyboard response, nothing. All I
> could do was power down.
>
If you have ssh installed, you should be able to ssh in and recover
control.
I'll also take this moment to say that I've never much liked the results
I've gotten in X with S3virge cards.
> So, if anyone can decipher what I just posted, could
> you please tell me _how the hell_ I get
> this working? These are all very common components
> that have been proven to work fine in
> other Linux distros as well as Win-98. What is it
> about Debian that makes it a complete
> struggle and an exercise in total frustration every
> step of the way?
1) Disable gdm ("apt-get remove gdm" -- you can reinstall it later)
until you get X working.
2) I recommend upgrading to testing or sid to get a newer X.
3) Be willing to try conservative settings with X, such as a lower color
depth.
4) Remember that Debian is not about ease of installation; it's more
about ease of maintenance once things are installed.
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