X configuration

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The X-windows system configuration information is kept in text files in /etc/X11. In older freekboxen, this file is called /etc/X11/XF86Config-4, and in newer systems is /etc/X11/xorg.conf, but it is essentially the same file.

This file includes information on the keyboard, mouse, monitor, and video card, as well as some special options for resolution, fancy graphics display, and multi-headed systems. The file is broken up into sections such as "InputDevice" for mice and keyboards, "Monitor" for monitors, and just plain "Device" for video cards themselves. The "Screen" section has meta information about combining all the pieces together correctly.

How to edit the file

Occasionally, the normal methods of configuring X fail and we need to edit the file directly.

Using nano or another command line editor as root, you open up the file:

nano -w /etc/X11/XF86Config-4  

or

nano -w /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Then you'll need to look for what you have to change. One common change is the video driver, for instance from "nvidia" to "nv" (closed source to open source drivers for nVidia cards). Look through the file until you find the "Device" section, and change the value of the Driver line to match the correct driver. Another common change is the default color depth, which is under the "Screen" section, on a line labeled DefaultDepth.

Make your changes and save the file, then quit out of the editor. As root, you'll want to try to start X again, which you accomplish by:

/etc/init.d/kdm restart  (for the FreekBox 3)

or

/etc/init.d/gdm restart  (for Ubuntu boxes)

If this doesn't work again, check the log file:

less /var/log/XFree86.0.log

or

less /var/log/Xorg.0.log

and try again.