Have installed R5A22 and cant get X to start, no errors are outputted it just errors, have tried both nvidia and ati cards etc. Have tried XF86-Config which results in a seg fault, same machine runs R5a16 fine anyone have any ideas????

There's *nothing* in /var/log/XFree86.0.log? If that really is the case it could be a bad burn with a corrupted binary... The usual "re-DL, check md5sum, reburn at the slowest speed, reinstall" dance maybe indicated.

I also seem to remember a CD boot option that checks the integrity of the disk, but since I couldn't find it after a fair amount of searching, I may just have dreamed it...

No dream... Did you also try to start X manually (/etc/init.d/gdm start)? It is highly unlikely X wouldn't start w/o telling you something...

_________________
cesman

When the source is open, the possibilities are endless!

its a odd one, just burnt a new cd, no XF86 logs nothing its really weird.

Did you verify the MD5SUM? If so, try:

_________________
cesman

When the source is open, the possibilities are endless!

Well, more detailed hardware info would be helpful. Otherwise we're playing "Doctor it hurts".

the only error i get as root


Using authority file /root/.Xauthority
Writing authority file /root/.Xauthority
Using authority file /root/.Xauthority
Writing authority file /root/.Xauthority

as mythtv

xauth: creating new authority file /home/mythtv/.Xauthority
xauth: creating new authority file /home/mythtv/.Xauthority
Using authority file /home/mythtv/.Xauthority
Writing authority file /home/mythtv/.Xauthority
Using authority file /home/mythtv/.Xauthority
Writing authority file /home/mythtv/.Xauthority
X: user not authorized to run the X server, aborting.
xinit: Server error.
Couldnt get a file descriptor referring to the console

even after allowing user it gives same error as root, have grabbed the cd again to see if its a bad download

Hi samfordnet,
tjc is right, really need some hardware details. At least the video card as that is what x uses.

To help trouble shoot /etc/X11/FX86Config-4 , I do as root, killall gdm
then enter startx if x runs you will get a gray screen, (ctl alt bkspace to kill) other wise it will report the errors that stops it from running. There maybe some font errors but most likely it will be "no screens" and is usually caused by the incorrect card id.

If you can ssh into the box it is very easy to tweak and test. Once x starts, kill it and enter gdm

Mike

Machine specs

Athalon 2.8
Nforce board
tnt2 (also tried ati 9200 and a 9150)
512 ram
tried 2 diff hdds


startx gives me the errors i pasted before, if i could get it to spit out errors it would more then likely hepl with the issue. When gdm errors and you do show output its blank as well.. the is no /var/log/XF86 log folder. i have taken a running XF86 config off my current working mythtv box and still get same errors. i have taken the ati XF86 conf of my work desktop box and get same issue with it. Have also done dist-upgrade to see if that made a dent. Installed latest gdm on a diff install.

ps also tried a diff machine just incase, cd tests ok but will try a new cd when it finishes dloading to see if thats the cause

_________________
cesman

When the source is open, the possibilities are endless!

Hi samfordnet,
I believe the nforce card is an nvidia as is the tnt2. the XF86Config-4 driver should be a "nvidia" and the install most likely spotted it. It did not recongnize my tnt2 properly however as soon as I changed it to nivida it came up properly.

your dist upgrade may have hosed your install as there have been notes about that in other places on the forum.

Trouble shooting works easiest using putty or direct ssh from another linux box as I noted earlier.

Mike

OK, sloppy MS-Windows terminology (they're directories and files in Unix, and the path I gave was for a very specific file) leads me to question if you actually understood the question. Do the following command EXACTLY and post the results here. Case matters. Punctuation matters. If you can cut and paste them it's that much better because you won't make any typos that way. Remember EXACTLY as shown.

i was just being lazy and not typing full path in here, im a linux person i dont use windows at all and havnt for many years, but i know where you are coming from.

root@mythtv:/var/log# ls
apache btmp dmesg gdm lastlog mail.info messages mysql.log ntpstats syslog vbox
apache-perl daemon.log exim4 isdn lpr.log mail.log mysql mythtv samba user.log webmin
auth.log debug fontconfig.log kern.log mail.err mail.warn mysql.err news scrollkeeper.log uucp.log wtmp

root@mythtv:/var/log/gdm# ls
:0.log :0.log.1 :0.log.2 :0.log.3 :0.log.4

root@mythtv:/var/log/gdm# ls -al /var/log/XFree86*
ls: /var/log/XFree86*: No such file or directory

Sorry, I deal with way too many windows weenies. I have to explain "case matters, punctuation matters, ..." to some "What do you mean not all the world is a VAX^H^H^HWindows box?!?" type at least once a week. This weeks battle is "No we said we want the files in gzip format, not winzip, not pkzip, ... gzip. Here are the URLs where you can get the executables for free again... No, they're not the same, especially not when the files are over 4Gb."

ok problem solved, i grabbed a good quality cd instead of the cheapies we normally use and solved the problem. Seems it wasnt copying over completly but wasnt giving me any erros either.

tjc i know the feeling well as i deal them on a daily basis.