# Couple of GUI questions [xorg/gnome2]



## andyzammy (Jul 9, 2011)

The handbook and gnome faq aren't helping me out with these problems so I thought I'd ask here:

o Upon startup the login screen will either proceed to login page or hang before then and display either OS version [Freebsd 8.2] or machine name. I have enabled automatic login to get around this problem but from a security point of view, I would rather have the login screen control my access (type in one password to log in and then I can let the browser remember all my passwords etc). Is there a fix for this?

o How do I disable the GUI completely (GDM and XORG) without uninstalling? Since xorg was first installed It always auto started. I couldn't even disable GDM by commenting out "gnome_enable" in rc.conf, would still log in to gnome, not those xorg terms.

o The keyboard is driving me crazy. It doesn't remember the layout. I removed USA and replaced with UK, but it keeps coming back, and as the default.

o The time has dissapeared from the top right, how do I get this back? I would also like to add a power button up there, and remove the IBUS and lang select buttons (did a quick google for docs, couldn't find anything obvious).

Thanks for your time


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## rusty (Jul 9, 2011)

Not a Gnome user but have you tried this method?
http://www.freebsd.org/gnome/docs/faq2.html#full-gnome

Specify your keyboard layout in ~/.xinitrc providing you have x11/setxkbmap installed and using the above method.


```
setxkbmap -layout gb &
setxkbmap -option terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp &
exec ck-launch-session gnome-session
```

Perhaps there's something starting X from /etc/ttys?


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## SirDice (Jul 11, 2011)

andyzammy said:
			
		

> o Upon startup the login screen will either proceed to login page or hang before then and display either OS version [Freebsd 8.2] or machine name. I have enabled automatic login to get around this problem but from a security point of view, I would rather have the login screen control my access (type in one password to log in and then I can let the browser remember all my passwords etc). Is there a fix for this?


Make sure /proc/ is mounted.



> o How do I disable the GUI completely (GDM and XORG) without uninstalling? Since xorg was first installed It always auto started. I couldn't even disable GDM by commenting out "gnome_enable" in rc.conf, would still log in to gnome, not those xorg terms.


Replace *gnome_enable* with:

```
hald_enable="YES"
dbus_enable="YES"
avahi_daemon_enable="YES"
```

Make sure in /etc/ttys *ttyv8* isn't starting.


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## fmw (Jul 12, 2011)

About the keyboard, make your choice when you log in. There's a keyboard symbol at the bottom of the login screen, use that.


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## andyzammy (Jul 29, 2011)

rusty said:
			
		

> Not a Gnome user but have you tried this method?
> http://www.freebsd.org/gnome/docs/faq2.html#full-gnome
> 
> Specify your keyboard layout in ~/.xinitrc providing you have x11/setxkbmap installed and using the above method.
> ...



Since this thread was started I have done a fresh install of FreeBSD with the intention of trying out a variety of DE's and WM's. I have compiled them all, rather than fetching a package which hooks itself in automatically.

about the xinitrc, I don't seem to have one anywhere. I also can't find what it would default to if there isn't one. at the moment, TWM is running. If I were to make a .xinitrc and launch say KDE with it, would X launch that _instead_ of TWM, or over it? I don't quite understand how TWM works... is it integrated into Xorg and launched if nothing else is set to run?

Also, that keyboard command rusty, because the file is actually a sh script I'm ok to just paste that in rather than run it?


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## SirDice (Jul 29, 2011)

andyzammy said:
			
		

> I have compiled them all, rather than fetching a package which hooks itself in automatically.


Neither packages nor ports will "hook themselves in". You _always_ have to enable things yourself.



> about the xinitrc, I don't seem to have one anywhere.


It doesn't exist by default. Create it when you need it.



> I also can't find what it would default to if there isn't one. at the moment, TWM is running. If I were to make a .xinitrc and launch say KDE with it, would X launch that _instead_ of TWM, or over it?


Instead.



> I don't quite understand how TWM works... is it integrated into Xorg and launched if nothing else is set to run?


It's the default window manager that comes with Xorg and it's launched if nothing else is set to run.


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## rusty (Jul 29, 2011)

As far as I know there is no default .xinitrc. If you used xinit to launch KDE then it would run instead of TWM.

Sure, they're both fine in .xinitrc, you could (if you wanted) run them manually after X is up and running.


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## wblock@ (Jul 29, 2011)

/usr/local/lib/X11/xinit/xinitrc is used if ~/.xinitrc is not present.


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## andyzammy (Jul 30, 2011)

SirDice said:
			
		

> Neither packages nor ports will "hook themselves in". You _always_ have to enable things yourself.



I don't know why I said that lol



			
				wblock said:
			
		

> /usr/local/lib/X11/xinit/xinitrc is used if ~/.xinitrc is not present.



if i wanted to share the root config, would it be ok to link to it?

I have modified the .xinitrc to launch gnome, but it isn't working. It is spitting out a line about key Invalid MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1. I changed it back to the twm setup but now this isn't working either, giving the same error. i didn't include the setxkbmap -option terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp & line but i didn't think that would matter..


```
uname -a

FreeBSD x 8.2-RELEASE FreeBSD 8.2-RELEASE #0: Fri Feb 18 02:24:46 UTC 2011
     [email]root@almeida.cse.buffalo.edu[/email]:/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/GENERIC  i386
```


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## wblock@ (Jul 31, 2011)

andyzammy said:
			
		

> if i wanted to share the root config, would it be ok to link to it?



Probably better to just edit /usr/local/lib/X11/xinit/xinitrc.



> I have modified the .xinitrc to launch gnome, but it isn't working. It is spitting out a line aoubt keyInvalid MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1.



With X not running, delete /tmp/.X0-lock.  (At least I think that's it, it's been a while.)


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## SirDice (Aug 1, 2011)

wblock said:
			
		

> With X not running, delete /tmp/.X0-lock.  (At least I think that's it, it's been a while.)


If I'm not mistaken that cookie is stored in ~/.Xauthority. Make sure X isn't running and delete the file.


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## andyzammy (Aug 2, 2011)

I'm not too sure what is causing this to happen but it happens a lot. once it resolved itself, once i couldn't find X0-lock in /tmp so I cleaned out tmp and that solved it. Latest, deleting .Xauthority didn't do it so I got rid of .Xauthority* and cleaned tmp and that did the trick.

Is there a way I can troubleshoot this to stop it happening altogether?

thanks for the help so far!


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## SirDice (Aug 2, 2011)

It'll only happen if X, for some reason, crashed or didn't shutdown cleanly.


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## andyzammy (Aug 2, 2011)

SirDice said:
			
		

> It'll only happen if X, for some reason, crashed or didn't shutdown cleanly.



I have been using the /bin/kill -s HUP method of exiting xorg because it was supposed to be a clean way of topping the process, as I haven't found out how to log out of GUI sessions for the majority of GUIs I've looked into. However, since settling on dwm, I've been using it's Alt+Shift+q exit and have had no problems since.


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