I’m having a problem with Linux. I’ve tried a couple of different distributions of linux - RedHat 5.2, Slackware 7.0, and currently have StormLinux installed (i’m in windows right now tho). Any way, all of these installed successfully but I’ve never been able to get Xwindows to work on any of them. I’ve tried installing StormLinux twice, it went without a hitch until the linux screen test came on. I’ve tried using different monitor settings and video drivers and whatnot but nothing works. I’ve tried using xf86config, it doesn’t help, and I can’t run XF86Setup because it requires a VGA driver that for some reason this distribution of linux didn’t have. Everytime I type “xinit” or “startx” it starts but then stops immediately and just says “no screens found”. I’ve tried to get it to output the errors to a file but that wont’ work either for some reason. Anybody have any idea’s what’s up with my computer? I have a Relisys monitor, model T- something (I’m not at home and don’t have the model memorized).
The video card is more important than the actual monitor. Do you have a weird video card? It might not be supported in the default kernel that came with the distribution.
The output of startx would help. You can get it by doing “startx >x_errors 2>&1”. You also need to know exactly what type of video card you have.
For good answers to these things try to find the FAQ’s on line. Redhat has pretty good links to those things most of my linux questions have been answered there or I have found good links to the answers. SDMB has answers to more elclectic questions.
Make that eclectic questions. Some day browsers will include spell checkers.
Apparently Eclectic is also a small town in Alabama. Which still doesn’t help you with your video card.
Okay, first of all - the distributions you’ve named are about three years old. RedHat is up to 7.0, and that’s the best choice for a newbie. Slackware is at 7.1 now, and that’s the absolute worst choice for a newbie. Go to the store, buy the $30 edition of RedHat 7.0, and you should be fine. The install is even easier than windows now. Your video card will be detected and configured automatically, and you won’t have to screw around with manual configurations until you have more experience under your belt.
If you do go with RedHat 7.0, be aware that it has several issues (mostly security). Familiarize yourself and update the affected apps.
You should be able to search http://www.securityfocus.com for them, as well as RedHat’s official site.