# How to install and configure a FreeBSD 8 Desktop with Xorg and KDE?



## rhyous (Dec 19, 2009)

Hey all,

Check it an provide feedback as desired.

How to install and configure a FreeBSD 8 Desktop with Xorg and KDE?

Snippet....



> I realize that PC-BSD exists, but sometimes, you need only FreeBSD without PBIs and you want it to do it all yourself because that is why you came to FreeBSD in the first place; to be an expert user and be able to set everything up yourself.
> 
> Requirements for Success
> To consider the desktop a success, the user should be able to do the following after installation:
> ...


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## alie (Dec 20, 2009)

Great Howto! 

Btw there's no steps to turn on anti aliasing  it would be if you mention how to turn on anti aliasing as well


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## rhyous (Dec 20, 2009)

I'll have to research antialiasing someday.


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## Oxyd (Dec 20, 2009)

Wow, looks great.  If I ever decide again I want automounting, I'll copy-pasta the config files. xD

Anyway, a few, hopefully constructive, comments.



> Add *dbus* to /etc/rc.conf. Either use easy editor, or use the following shell command to add it without using and editor.
> 
> ```
> FBSD# 	echo 'hald_enable="YES"' >> /etc/rc.conf
> ```



This step is about adding HAL, but the description says dbus.

Open Office: It's not really necessary to build your own, killasmurf86 built binary packages for FBSD-8.

Xmms:





> FreeBSD has a binary package for *K3b*, so to install it you only have to run one command:



You meant Xmms there, not K3b.

Also, Xmms is pretty old-skool..  If we are to build a pretty Windows-like KDE desktop, I would heartily recommend Amarok.  Though I remember there being some obstacles in getting Amarok 2 under KDE 4 to run properly..  Maybe an idea for an article? x)

I don't mean to be a nit-picker here, just the few typos there confused me for a moment while I was reading it.


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## rhyous (Dec 21, 2009)

Thanks...

I fixed the errors you mentioned.

Yeah, I used to always use xmms because it had an alarm clock plugin, but your right, it is old school.

Also juK plays MP3s just fine so I just removed the xmms section altogether and just comment that KDE4 comes with juK so you don't need to install a player.


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## rokpa92 (Feb 12, 2010)

great guide!
i configure my system with that tips and work great for desktop.
Thanks.


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## ZtoKER (Feb 17, 2010)

First of all i wanna thank rhyous for the excellent tutorial.
Now i have a few questions, i did all the steps to automoung usb devices and cdroom devices, it works great with cd and dvd devices, but for USB it only mount correctly a kingston 2gb pendrive... when i plug a kingston 4gb pendrive it did not recognize it, the same happens with a sony usb pendrive.

another thing... when i boot in free bsd it appears 2 login screens, and i have to put my login password twice, how can i get rid of one of this screens ?

thank you in advance and sorry for my bad english.


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## rhyous (Feb 18, 2010)

> ...I did all the steps to automoung usb devices and cdroom devices, it works great with cd and dvd devices, but for USB it only mount correctly a kingston 2gb pendrive... when i plug a kingston 4gb pendrive it did not recognize it, the same happens with a sony usb pendrive.



If you notice that we entered a bunch of devices in the /etc/devfs.conf

Usually a USB stick comes in as /dev/da# (/dev/da0, /dev/da1, etc.). But sometimes they come in differently using different letters.  

When you plug in the device, how does it show up under /dev.  Is it /dev/da# or is it /dev/usb#?

Maybe you just need to add a section in the /etc/devfs.conf for you device (just copy the section with /dev/da# and change the da to your letters.

Also PC-BSD has a file I didn't include called /etc/devfs.rules and it has the following text.  I have never needed anything else but what I configured, but like you said, it works for one of your USB devices but not the other.  Maybe this file is needed for your USB device:


```
[devfsrules_common=7]
add path 'ad*' mode 666 group operator
add path 'acd*' mode 666 group operator
add path 'cd*' mode 666 group operator
add path 'pass*' mode 666 group operator
add path 'xpt*' mode 666 group operator
add path 'ugen*' mode 666 group operator
add path 'usb*' mode 666 group operator
add path 'lpt*' mode 666 group cups
add path 'ulpt*' mode 666 group cups
add path 'unlpt*' mode 666 group cups
add path 'fd*' mode 666 group operator
add path 'uscan*' mode 666 group operator
```


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## rhyous (Feb 18, 2010)

> another thing... when i boot in free bsd it appears 2 login screens, and i have to put my login password twice, how can i get rid of one of this screens ?



When you say you see two login screens, do you mean you see a shell login screen and then you see the GUI KDM login screen?  

If so, this just means that KDM takes a little long to load on your device so the shell-based login screen is showing up.

If you mean something else, please explain further.


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## ZtoKER (Feb 21, 2010)

rhyous said:
			
		

> When you plug in the device, how does it show up under /dev.  Is it /dev/da# or is it /dev/usb#?



my devices are : /dev/da1 and /dev/da2

i made the file /etc/devfs.rules with the code you gave me and still nothing.

I have 2 of the following screens




i have to put my pass twice, first it appears one, it waits until y enter the right password, and then another appears y put the password and finally it loads KDE.

When i installed KDM for the first time, i had a problem during the installation it opens x window with the X only, and no kde, so i opened a second console and did the steps again. can this be the root of my problem ?

Another thing... when i boot in free bsd it appears a error message and it waits for almost 20 seconds and then boots correctly.
this is the error 




Thanx for your help, please tell me if i can post something that could help you to understand how it is configured.


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## tkjacobsen (Feb 21, 2010)

Using /etc/ttys is no longer the recommended way to start kdm. 

See: 
http://wiki.freebsd.org/KDE4/Install


Also, it is possible to do the policykit configuration from systemsettings, see
http://forums.freebsd.org/showthread.php?t=9944

Actually, when doing this, setting vfs.usermount is not needed, if all you want is to mount from within kde. vfs.usermount=1 allows users to use the mount command in the terminal.


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## rhyous (Feb 22, 2010)

Thanks, I will test this an update the documentation.


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## JohnDC (Sep 3, 2010)

*Package Selection X11 is Not there!*

Hello! Needing some pointers please for missing Xorg package..

- I'm all the way in to #38 and Epic Fail, 2 CDs/ISOs and 4 installs..
- at #38 I get no option for the needed X11/Xorg working for KDE4.5

Simple Goal: FreeBSD, KDE 4.5, Amanda Backup 

Pogress before halted:

  -  Download/Extract/Burn >> 1,996,298,670 FreeBSD-8.1-RELEASE-i386-dvd1.iso.gz
  -  Just over 2GB the largest install source, (also tried Disk1 645MB)
  -  Booted/Installed, Sucess through #11 Custom Distributions..
  -  I've selected; base, kernal/generic, doc, man, ports..
  -  Installing from CD/DVD to whole disk, no issues..
  -  Setup IP/Hostname etc. for Backup Server and the rest
  -  SSH and all the recommended selections..
  -  THEN - YES to FreeBSD package selection over 19,000 etc YES to Browse All!
  -  I see no X11, KDE4, xorg-7 etc. it looks like it's all DOCS to me..

I selected more than that I believe during Custom Distributions even going back in a number of times to be sure "ports" was still selected..
Thank you!
jc


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## rhyous (Sep 4, 2010)

I am not sure why you aren't seeing these.

You can skip installing those now and wait until first boot.

Then run 

`pkg_add -r xorg`
`pkg_add -r kde4`

This will download the packages and their dependecies from here: 
ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/ports/amd64/packages-8.1-release/Latest/


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## JohnDC (Sep 4, 2010)

*Thanks again!*

Excellent thanks for the setup and the pointers..

It looks like  FreeBSD Package collection packages goes online is that correct..?

Reason is on my 3rd try, from home this time, X11 and everything I was looking for in the tutorial was there as expected!

We do have WebSense running and some other at work and seems like was blocking some content on me.

Thanks again!
jc


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## free-and-bsd (Sep 26, 2010)

Thanks ) !
The automounting part was of great help.
I installed it all before this reading, and I had a problem configuring my nVidia card with 2 monitors in X (single desktop extended on 2 monitors). Spent all day, in the end it proved to be the matter of which monitor of those connected to my dual head GeForce 7600 GS must be assigned to "Monitor0" and which to "Monitor1" for Screens 0 and 1 respectively, as in:


```
Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier     "X.org Configured"
    Screen      0  "Screen0" LeftOf "Screen1" 
    Screen      1  "Screen1" 0 0 
    InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
    InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection
```

For some reason, this option "RightOf" vs "LeftOf" could be only the one, and NOT the other (unlike my Linux installation, where I took my xorg.conf from). Until I used the correct one, the mouse would only access one screen, and hang the X server on trying to access the other.

So, those having this mouse hanging problem may check it out.


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## nashy-shavlion (Nov 7, 2010)

*Great Tut...*

Thnx Rhyous its of a great help for me as a nub at freebsd.


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## draco003 (Sep 17, 2011)

Thanks for the post it was my guide to converting from Linux to BSD ^^

Draco


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## vermaden (Sep 17, 2011)

> How to install and configure a FreeBSD 8 Desktop with Xorg and KDE?



The same 'howto' in one line: *download PC-BSD and click 'install' and then 'reboot'*


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## BJwojnowski (Nov 3, 2011)

*RE: thank you*

I read your article how to install and configure a FreeBSD desktop with Xorg and KDE.  Thank you.  After reading it carefully I have discovered what I may have not been doing correctly to get Gnome to be configured as a GUI and therefore may have answered my thread about my inability to install packages/ports on my salvaged x386 Compaq system.  Thank you.


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## d_mon (Mar 19, 2012)

vermaden said:
			
		

> The same 'howto' in one line: *download PC-BSD and click 'install' and then 'reboot'*


Thumb up!


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## Deleted member 30996 (Mar 20, 2012)

vermaden said:
			
		

> The same 'howto' in one line: *download PC-BSD and click 'install' and then 'reboot'*



I've used PC-BSD since version .0.7.5, am on my PC-BSD 9.0 Isotope box now and love it, but a couple weeks ago built FreeBSD 7.4 with Fluxbox as the desktop for the first time from scratch and must say I've learned more about UNIX in the past 2 weeks than the past 7 years.


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## SirDice (Mar 20, 2012)

Trihexagonal said:
			
		

> I've used PC-BSD since version .0.7.5, am on my PC-BSD 9.0 Isotope box now and love it, but a couple weeks ago built FreeBSD 7.4 with Fluxbox as the desktop for the first time from scratch and must say I've learned more about UNIX in the past 2 weeks than the past 7 years.



Yeah, that's the 'problem' when everything works automatically. You don't have to think about what you're doing. Some people just want a system that works, for them PC-BSD is perfect. Others (like me) want to know _why_ and _how_ it works


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## Deleted member 30996 (Mar 20, 2012)

I wanted to add that I used this tutorial to do it, and while I could have done the build on my own there were many after install tasks I wouldn't have had any way of knowing about or how to get done without it.


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## rhyous (Mar 20, 2012)

I am a big fan of PC-BSD. I hope that my article in no way diminishes PC-BSD, and I would like to think I am a big PC-BSD promoter. I believe the first line gives a shout out to PC-BSD and clearly states that this is for those who "want to do it all yourself".


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## outpaddling (Jun 14, 2012)

FYI, I'm developing a post-install script for setting up FreeBSD desktop systems:

http://acadix.biz/desktop-installer.php

Run it after a basic OS install to configure a desktop system in an hour or two, or study it if your goal is to learn...

I like PC-BSD, DesktopBSD, GhostBSD as well, but I wanted more freedom to choose a RELEASE, CPU architecture, desktop, etc.  ( I've installed XFCE on iBooks with desktop-installer, for instance. )


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## screenshot (Dec 8, 2012)

thanks, this was easy enough, not like this weird vid -.- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pA7BooN6H-Q

but is knoppix better than freebsd+kde4?


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## free-and-bsd (Dec 9, 2012)

Depends what you're going to use it for -- well, as is usual with any other product.


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## screenshot (Dec 9, 2012)

i would actually like to install some document editor and use cache proxy in a small house but dunno what components to use


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## free-and-bsd (Dec 10, 2012)

Well knoppix is a LiveCD and as such is a very good one. And NOT good for HDD installation.

...But coming back to FreeBSD, you can follow the recipes from "FreeBSD handbook" to install nearly everything using either prepackaged software or ports collection. Both are well documented.
Dunno which components to use? Google for "cache proxy freebsd"... For editor LibreOffice is the best solution, equal/better than MS Office suite.


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## outpaddling (Dec 11, 2012)

Setting up a caching proxy is pretty easy.

Search the web for "freebsd caching proxy" or "freebsd squid".  Lots of nice folks have posted tutorials.


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