Linux Configuration Notes -- XF86Config

Document: http://oceanpark.com/notes/configX.html
Author: Dennis Allard
Revised:
Also see: http://oceanpark.com/notes/linux_configuration.html

Configuring X Windows for Linux is becoming easier. For Red Hat 6.0, I simply specify my video card during installation and specify to not automatically start X after booting. I start X manually via the startx command. After installation is complete and the system boots up for the first time, prior to using startx for the first time I run Xconfigurator (/usr/bin/X11/Xconfigurator on my system). Xconfigurator asks you some questions and overwrites the configuration file /etc/X11/XF86Config.

The main thing to tell Xconfigurator is the horizontal and vertical sych frequencies of your monitor. Look these up in your monitor's manual or find them by doing a search on the internet. My settings are: 

    HorizSync   30-95
    VertRefresh 50-160
DO NOT USE THESE VALUES FOR YOUR MONITOR unless that is what your monitor manual tells you to use. That's all I had change in /etc/X11/XF86Config to get things working just dandy.

Note that the lines in /etc/X11/XF86Config that begin with a '#' character are comment lines. You should feel free to add your own comments but if you run Xconfigurator again, it will overwrite the entire /etc/X11/XF86Config file and any comments you put there will be gone.

Then run startx and keep your fingers crossed.

Note that the XF86Config file must be in one of the directories searched by the server (e.g. /usr/X11R6/lib/X11) in order to be used. In Red Hat 6.0, /etc/X11/XF86Config is the actual configuration file but it is linked to from various places, including /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/XF86Config.

Once X is started, press ctrl, alt and '+' simultaneously to cycle video resolutions. Pressing ctrl, alt and backspace simultaneously exits the X server (use if all else fails as a way to get back to a command prompt).

For further configuration, refer to /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/doc/README.Config.