FreeBSD help :) I know you want to help a n00b

[joshcombs]

Okay so I install FreeBSD on a spare computer. How do I get to into KDE desktop? I rather use the desktop rather than command line.... Thanks

Joshua

[Brangwyn]

*IF* you've got everything installed to allow X to run, then try just typing "startx" from the prompt.

[joshcombs]

Originally Posted by Brangwyn

*IF* you've got everything installed to allow X to run, then try just typing "startx" from the prompt.

oh NOS

I tried to startx and I came up with this error
Fatal Server Error:
no screens found


How can I get screens installed?And I thought I installed everything.....

[Brangwyn]

Never installed BSD so not sure what it uses for its XFree86Config etc .. hopefully Matt or someone here who uses BSD more often than me will help you out.

Depending on your hardware though it's often a complete PITA getting X configured.

[joshcombs]

If I can not get it fixed I will try College linux on it

[Silverbug]

i had the same problem with my copy of gentoo, couldnt get it to run for the same reason. I have a feeling it was cause the video was onboard on the motherboard

Truth be told, any form of X11 on BSD is a pain as much as it is on any other *IX. FreeBSD also doesn't have the fancy tools that some Linux distros have so you're dependent on whatever comes with X11. You can get pretty far using the xf86config CLI configuration tool but will probably still have to edit stuff in /etc/X11/XF86Config afterwards, partocularly screen resolutions and mouse configurations. XF86Setup is a GUI utility that's supposed to help you configure it but it's always disappointed me--mind you I haven't touched it in ages since I gave up on it years ago.

"No screens found" means that it didn't find any useable configuration under the Screens section of XF86Config. This is where you need to know your video hardware and make sure it's supported and what technical attributes your video card and monitor have.

Once you have X running KDE is the easy part. Pretty much all you'll do to run it is is edit .xinit after you've installed it through the ports or package system. (Unflattering commentary about KDE itself withheld )

I've been running FreeBSD on my home desktop and various workstations since I ditched slackware 4.5 years ago and have very few complaints. The only time I had to reinstall X was when I upgraded the OS from 3.x to 4.x so it's actually something I (thankfully) haven't done often enough to be an expert at. Good luck...

[joshcombs]

I tried to configure it but to no avail so I am putting Red Hat 8 back on it

[bigdave]

Have you tried gentoo? Matt and I both enjoy it, it compiles to your system specs and if you follow the install, you do learn quite a bit! The cool part is the portage tree and emerge which is similiar to ports on BSD. Try it out!

http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/gentoo-x86-install.xml

[mfennell]

I also recommend gentoo. If your new to linux and can follow directions then this is one of the best ways to learn. The step by step explainations that bigdave pointed you to are great.

Best thing about it is once you are done with the installation the system will be screaming fast when compared to anything else you've installed on it.

[somereseller]

Gentoo is a pain to maintain on an older system because you have to compile everything. Things like KDE take forever.

Give Mandrake a try. It has a urpmi command and a GUI tool that gives you access (free or fee) to a huge library of application.

Mandrake 10 is looking very good if they don't screw things up at the last minute.

[joshcombs]

I have these iso's on my windoze box and I am contemplating installing and testing them out and seeing which I like best.

I have
Red Hat 7.3, 8, and 9
FreeBSD 5.1
Gentoo 1.4
College Linux 2.3
and Knoppix
and some where around here I have Slackware and Clarkconnect....

Joshua

You don't have to build everything on Gentoo... Its better to since it will be optimzied for your system... but there are prebuilt packages you can get instead of building...

[somereseller]

Josh, stay away from Red Hat and get a newer FreeBSD (5.2)

Matt, It's optimized for your system, but in the case of old hardware you don't notice too much difference. And if you don't compile KDE yourself, where's the speed gain?