When you install the
xserver-common package,
xf86config is automatically launched. However, you
can launch the program any time you like. To do so, log in as
root and type the command:
xf86config
Figure 5.1 shows the beginning of the
xf86config dialog. As you can see,
xf86config is a text-mode program; it does not
support use of the mouse and it presents its questions teletype-style,
using black-and-white text.
In working with
xf86config, you may find that your
Backspace key doesn't work as expected. If so,
use
Ctrl-Backspace instead.
Next,
xf86config asks you to specify the type of
mouse attached to your system, as shown in
Figure 5.2. Type the number associated with your choice,
and press
Enter. For non-mouse pointing
devices found on many laptops, you should most likely select PS/2
Mouse.
If you selected the Logitech MouseMan mouse, you should enable its
third button by responding
y to the question
asking whether ChordMiddle should be enabled, as shown in
Figure 5.3.
If your mouse has only two buttons, you should enable emulation of a
three-button mouse by responding
y to the
question asking about Emulate3Buttons, as shown in
Figure 5.4. If you enable this option you can
simultaneously press both the buttons of your mouse to emulate
pressing the third button.
Next, you must specify the device file associated with the mouse, as
shown in
Figure 5.5. The install program should have
associated your system's mouse with the device
/dev/mouse, which is the default choice. Simply
press
Enter to continue.
As described by the output shown in
Figure 5.6, X
provides special support for using extended keyboards. If you use a
special keyboard layout to support national characters, you can type
y to use
xkb, which simplifies
changing the keyboard map. After making your choice, press
Enter to continue.
As shown in
Figure 5.7,
xkb
supports a variety of keyboard encodings, or keymaps. Type the number
that corresponds to the type of keyboard attached to your system, and
press
Enter.
Next, as shown in
Figure 5.8, you must specify two
characteristics of your system's monitor: its vertical refresh rate
(VertRefresh) and horizontal sync rate (HorizSync). You can find these
values by:
-
Consulting your monitor's
documentation
-
Consulting the file
/usr/doc/xserver-common/Monitors.gz, which may
list your monitor. Use
gunzip to uncompress the
file and
ae or another text editor to view
it.
-
Viewing the monitor's manufacturer's web support
page
-
Posting a question to the newsgroup
comp.os.linux.setup
-
Contacting the monitor manufacturer's technical
support group and requesting the information
To specify the monitor's characteristics, press
Enter.
First, you must specify the horizontal sync rate of your monitor, as
shown in
Figure 5.9. Type the number associated with
your choice and press
Enter. If you're
unsure of your monitor's horizontal sync range, but certain that it
supports 800×600 resolution, specify range 2. To specify a range
other than those listed, you can select choice 11; if you do so,
you'll be prompted to enter the low and high values of the horizontal
sync range.
WARNING:
Often, otherwise similar monitor models have different horizontal sync
rates. It is crucial that you accurately determine the horizontal sync
rate of your monitor. If you configure X to use an inappropriate
horizontal sync rate, you can permanently damage your monitor.
Next, as shown in
Figure 5.10, you must specify the
vertical sync (refresh) rate. Type the number associated with your
choice and press
Enter. If you're
unsure of your monitor's vertical sync range, specify range 1, which
is the most conservative. To specify a range other than those listed,
you can select choice 5; if you do so, you'll be prompted for the low
and high values of the vertical sync range.
You must now specify identification and description strings for your
monitor, as shown in
Figure 5.11. You can enter any
text you like. Press
Enter after typing
each string.
Next, you must specify your video card and its characteristics. The
explanations provided by
xf86config, shown in
Figure 5.12, point out that you can choose to select your
card from a database. However, even if you do so, you'll be given the
opportunity to specify non-standard values. Unless you have a specific
reason for doing so, you should not override the values in the
database. Moreover, you should be careful to choose only the database
entry that exactly matches your card; cards having similar model names
may have significantly different hardware characteristics.
Figure 5.13 shows the screen you use to choose
your card. Simply type the number associated with your card and press
Enter. If you suspect that your card
appears on a subsequent page, press
q to page
forward through the database. If you accidentally page past your card,
simply continue moving forward; when the program reaches the last
entries of the database, it cycles back to the beginning.
After you choose your video card,
xf86config
reports your choice. As in
Figure 5.14,
xf86config may provide instructions, such as "Do
NOT probe clocks." It's a good idea to write these down so that you
remember to observe them even after they've scrolled off the
screen.
Next, you must specify the X server you want to use, as shown in
Figure 5.15. Consult Table C.1 to determine the appropriate
server. Type the number associated with the server and press
Enter to continue. If you specify choice 4,
you'll be prompted to specify which accelerated server you want to
use. If you're in doubt, specify server 3, the
XF86_SVGA server; unless your video card or monitor
are quite old, they're likely to support 256-color SVGA.
Next, as shown in
Figure 5.16,
xf86config asks whether it should change the first
line of the
/etc/X11/server file to point to your
server. Respond by typing
y and pressing
Enter.
Now, as shown in
Figure 5.17, specify the amount of
memory installed on your video card by typing the appropriate number
and pressing
Enter. You can determine
the amount of memory by examining the documentation that accompanied
your card. If you cannot locate the documentation, try a small value,
such as 1024K. Generally, choosing too small a value will merely
prevent your card from operating at high resolutions; however, choosing
too large a value may cause the card to temporarily malfunction.
Just as you previously specified text strings that identify and
describe your monitor, you should now specify strings that identify
and describe your video card, as shown in
Figure 5.18. Press
Enter
after typing each string.
If you selected an accelerated server, you can now enter the RAMDAC
settings, as shown in
Figure 5.19. Some SVGA servers
also support RAMDACs. If you're not using an accelerated server, you
can simply type
q and press
Enter to omit specification of a
RAMDAC. Otherwise, type the number associated with the RAMDAC used by
your card and press
Enter. Determining
the correct number may pose a bit of a puzzle. The descriptions given
in the screen specify RAMDAC chips used on particular cards. If you
can conveniently view your card, you can inspect it to see if it
contains any of the listed chips. If it's not convenient to view your
card, type
q and press
Enter to omit specification of a RAMDAC. X will
autodetect most RAMDACs, so omitting the specification will not likely
impair the performance of your video hardware.
Next, as shown in
Figure 5.20, you can specify the
programmable clock chip used by your video card. Most video cards lack
such a chip; such cards require a
Clocks line in
the X configuration file. If your video card lacks a programmable
clock chip, type
q and press
Enter to continue; otherwise type the number
associated with your card's programmable clock chip and press
Enter.
As shown in
Figure 5.21,
xf86config asks you to let it probe your system to
determine proper clock timings. If you specified a programmable clock
chip, you should omit the probe; type
n and press
Enter to continue. You should also
omit the probe if you earlier noted that probing is not recommended
for your card.
You can sometimes improve the accuracy of the clock timings by
running the probe yourself after
xf86config is done
and adding an appropriate
Clocks line to your X
configuration. Consult the X documentation for information on how to
do so.
Otherwise, you should let
xf86config probe
your system to determine appropriate clock settings: type
y and press
Enter to
begin the probe.
WARNING: If
xf86config probes your system and the
screen remains black for more than 30 seconds, immediately cancel the
probe by turning off the monitor, pressing
Ctrl-C, and restoring power to your monitor. If
the probe fails, it can
permanently damage your
monitor.
Next, you can specify the color depths and resolutions in which
X will operate, as shown in
Figure 5.22. Generally,
xf86config's default choices are appropriate: you
can type 5 and press
Enter to
continue. However, you can change the resolutions allowed when
operating at a given color depth by typing the number associated with
the color depth and specifying the desired resolution or
resolutions.
Finally, as shown in
Figure 5.23,
xf86config is ready to write the configuration file
it has prepared. Generally, you should let it write the file to
/etc/X11/XF86Config; simply type
y and press
Enter. However, if you prefer, you can type
n and specify a different directory or
filename.
Once the file has been written, you're ready to start X.
