X-Window configuration

In Linux days of yore, it used to be quite a task to get X-Window running even on a standard Intel type PC. Now all of the major distributions have their own tools to get X running in no time.

SuSE offers a program called Sax. This is about the most user-friendly program I have yet encountered for X setup. It is graphical, so the simple fact that you can run it before you've even start configuring X is a good sign.

Mandrake offers their X configuration right in the install package so you go from start to finish all in the same package.

However, given a situation where your X setup doesn't go smoothly, you can do this step by step, in text mode, with a program called xf86config. This is a last resort and will almost always get you good results.

This program asks you questions about your peripheral hardware, like your keyboard, mouse and monitor. Here are a couple of examples of what it looks like:

The most important questions that this program will ask you about your hardware are the ones about your monitor. I don't mean to imply that the others are not important. For example, if you don't answer the type of questions about your mouse correctly, your mouse won't work. Or if you don't enter the country/language values for your keyboard layout, you may not be able to use letters or symbols that exist in your native language. That is obviously important. However, if you don't enter the values correctly for the type of monitor you have, your monitor can get seriously damaged. If you enter the vertical and horizontal refresh rates incorrectly, your monitor will become just another useless piece of plastic and glass, like so many others waiting to be thrown away or recycled. It's beyond the scope of this lesson to explain what the vertical and horizontal refresh rates mean (actually, it's the horizontal one that's a real stickler) but trust me - you need to go get the manuals for your monitor and enter the real values when it asks you. If you don't believe me, this is what xf86config says

It is VERY IMPORTANT that you do not specify a monitor type with a horizontal sync range that is beyond the capabilities of your monitor. If in doubt, choose a conservative setting.

At this point in the configuration, you can choose option 11 and enter your own values from the monitor's manuals and you'll be sure to get the correct settings.

Once you have passed this point, the questions are more straight forward and errors have less grave consequences.

In the past years, as I mentioned, major Linux distributions have streamlined this process so you probably won't even need xf86config. But it's nice to know you have it there, especially if your hardware is proving to be less than cooperative.

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