"Can't open display..."

i am a freebsd newbie and recently i installed FreeBSD 4.7 with the software packages (Netscape, AfterStep etc) but these applications refuse to run -- the system keeps saying "can't open display." the manpages said to configure the X server, it was installed and working properly but the situation was the same. how do i get the system working?

What happens when you start X?

Are you trying to start the Netscape browser from the console?

What exactly did you install? Did you install it from ports or from source?

i was installing it from a CD containing FreeBSD4.7 Release + all packages.

yes i tried to start netscape from the console. i also tried to start Afterstep, startx, and KDE, and the situation is all the same: Can't open display.

Ok, well this might be easy to clear up. If you installed all packages, and already configured X, then you just need to start it running before you can start programs that require it (X). Just type startx at the console.
If you have not yet configured X, then it will not start. You can configure it *fairly* easily by starting the /stand/sysinstall program (as root). Under configure, you will need to set up XFree86, the Desktop (choose from KDE, Gnome etc.) and possibly the Mouse.
Once these are configured, you can then startx and from there you can run Netscape and Co. Depending apon your hardware, the configuration is more or less difficult. It is important that your know the specs of your graphic card and monitor before trying to configure X. At the very least you should know which graphic chip you are using and the frequency ranges of the graphic card and monitor. The sysinstall is not the only way to get the configuration done, but for newbies usually the most familiar. 'Alte Hasen' usually just call one of the configuration proggys from the command line, or even manually edit the XF86Config file per hand.

I might suggest here that you consider getting your hands on a newer copy of FreeBSD (4.10). I believe 4.7 is more that a couple of years old. You can of course upgrade the system and packages, but it is quite time consuming and a bit of an advanced topic.

For complete information:

Handbook, Chapter 5 - The X Window System
http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.IS...book/index.html


Hope that gets you pointed in the right direction. If you run into more difficulties, post them here. There are plenty of folks here willin' to lend a helping hand.

Don't give up hope too quickly. You can really have a great desktop system with FreeBSD if you can just get past the initial hurdles. I was able to get a great 1600x1024@85Hz running on my old Matrox G400 with just a bit of tweaking.


-Steven
_____________________
They do say, Mrs. M., that verbal insults hurt more than physical pain. They are of course wrong, as you will soon discover when I stick this toasting fork in your head. -Edmund Black Adder

Thank you very much! At last I got something graphic on my screen. My startx starts running but in quite a warped mode -- first, the mouse refuses to work -- it sticks to the upper left corner and when I move the device, the cursor blinks and moves around the upper left corner in a semi-chaotic way so there is no way i could control the mouse. I tried different options in the startx config program but it didn't help. This is weird because when I run the mouse configuration it seems to be working okay. The greatest inconvenience is that I cannot work in FreeBSD solely from the keyboard like I do in Windows where I just have TAB and the arrows to jump between the items.

Second, the desktop is sometimes bigger than the physical size of my monitor so that I don't see some part of it.

thank you, stevengs. now i seem to have configured the X server, though some things were a bit complicated and i had to reconfigure it many times. now it seems to be working and some other questions have aroused (i created topics for each).

thank you for help. it is so good that there is such a forum for FreeBSD starters.

Hi NT,

sorry I left you hangin' with the mouse and graphics. I wasn't around. There are two great moderators on this section of the forum that are more experienced than I. I am sure one of them would have come across this thread before too long. They've great advice, and they are extraordinarily patient, especially with newcomers.

I think my advice on the graphics would have been a little dangerous anyways, since I like to fiddle with the modelines. It is not really recommended, since you can easily damage your monitor-'BAR' with an ill chosen modeline. I have a widescreen and the standard modes only use the middle of my screen, so I am basically forced to edit the modelines. If you have a standard size screen, the I would recommend sticking to the standard 'built-in' VESA modes. Did you ever end up with a satisfactory screen resolution? If not, you could open the config file -XF86Config which is probably at /etc/X11/. (I think it used to be under /usr/X11R6/...., but I am not exactly sure) and have a look at the settings. The 'Screen' section holds the choice of resolution, and you should see the VESA modes commented as well. Editing this file will change your resolution the next time you start X - just make sure to stay within the range you monitor can manage. (especially if it has no protection circuitry).

-Steven
__________________
I like not this news, bring me some other news! –King Richard, Black Adder

WOW! i could not really think of such facts... so does this mean i am lucky not to have damaged my monitor?

I got 800x600 with 24 bit colors and it all seems to be working fine... however, i still can't configure the sounds, and second, I have problems with mounting file systems. i can easily mount and unmount floppies, CDs and NTFS but it works only under the ROOT account, and not under any other one.

no, no... If you use the configuration tools (sysinstall, xf86config, etc) it's not a problem. It is actually only dangerous in case both of the following are true:

1. you write your own modelines and add them manually to XF86Config.
2. you have an older monitor without good protection circuitry.

If your monitor has protection circuitry (as practically all monitors since ~1999 do) it will simply switch off if it is driven over specification.

You can use the VESA modes that correlate to any of the modes offered by Windoze for your particular hardware. There are modes for most needs already in the configuration file.

How well acquainted are you with unix? Do you know how to find files? Edit files? etc.?

http://sig9.com/archive/articles/HOWTO-mount-fs.html