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I am using Gentoo, and I have installed the X windowing system as
follows:

emerge xorg-x11

Xorg -configure
mv /root/xorg.conf/new /etc/X11/xorg.conf

I now install a window manager as follows:

emerge jwm

I add the following entry to /etc/rc.conf:

XSESSION="jwm"

I check that the session file exists:

ls -l /etc/X11/Sessions

-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 2187 Apr 14 08:58 Xsession
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 28 Apr 18 03:26 jwm
^
|
Yes it does

I check that there is nothing in my home directory that overrides the
default:

cd
ls -la .*

-rw------- 1 mark mark 101 Apr 18 04:07 .Xauthority
-rw------- 1 mark mark 52 Apr 18 20:42 .serverauth.3823

I delete those files (I don't know whether or not they are relevant).

startx

I am still getting the twm window manager. I want to run jwm.

I try to start it from a terminal window:

jwm

This gives an error:

JWM: error: display is already managed

Why is my /etc/rc.conf not changing the default window manager?

Mark.

--
Mark Hobley,
393 Quinton Road West,
Quinton, BIRMINGHAM.
B32 1QE.

Mark Hobley wrote:
> I try to start it from a terminal window:
>
> jwm
>
> This gives an error:
>
> JWM: error: display is already managed
>
> Why is my /etc/rc.conf not changing the default window manager?

I think rc.conf is for XDM. If you're not using XDM (or KDM), you need
to start jwm in your ~/.xinitrc. In my KDE system, I've put "startkde"
in there. In your case, use the command that starts jwm.

["Followup-To:" header set to comp.os.linux.misc.]

In <2tcnd5-d5c.ln1@neptune.markhobley.yi.org> Mark Hobley:

[Snip...]

> Why is my /etc/rc.conf not changing the default window manager?

Shot in the dark...

I'm not familar with Gentoo, but I *think* it my be whatever supposed to
change ~/.xinitrc to do the "right" WM isn't.

Try manually editing your ~/.xinitrc at the end where the WM is started.

It should look something like

xterm -bg black -fg white -T VistaSux &
xclock -update 1 &
jwm # or whatever WM; notice it does NOT end in an ampersand (&)

Make sure you're not in run level 5 (X) and try startx from a console.

HTH; YMMV...

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Nikos Chantziaras wrote:

> Mark Hobley wrote:
>> I try to start it from a terminal window:
>>
>> jwm
>>
>> This gives an error:
>>
>> JWM: error: display is already managed
>>
>> Why is my /etc/rc.conf not changing the default window manager?
>
> I think rc.conf is for XDM. If you're not using XDM (or KDM), you need
> to start jwm in your ~/.xinitrc. In my KDE system, I've put "startkde"
> in there. In your case, use the command that starts jwm.


Like you've been told... read /etc/rc.conf and set it to the wm that you
desire...


--

Jerry McBride (jmcbride@mail-on.us)

In alt.os.linux.gentoo Jerry McBride <jmcbride@mail-on.us> wrote:

> Like you've been told... read /etc/rc.conf and set it to the wm that you
> desire...

My /etc/rc.conf contains an entry as follows:

XSESSION="jwm"

Debugging the chooser.sh script, it appears that GENTOO_EXEC is being
configured to /etc/X11/Sessions/jwm, which is correct.

However, I am still getting twm, xclock and xterm on the display.

Mark.

--
Mark Hobley,
393 Quinton Road West,
Quinton, BIRMINGHAM.
B32 1QE.

Mark Hobley <markhobley@hotpop.donottypethisbit.com> wrote:

Examining the default /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc:

# If not present, try the system default
elif [ -n "`/etc/X11/chooser.sh`" ]; then
exec "`/etc/X11/chooser.sh`" <--- This is not run

# Failsafe
else
# start some nice programs <--- This is running
twm &
xclock -geometry 50x50-1+1 &
xterm -geometry 80x50+494+51 &
xterm -geometry 80x20+494-0 &
exec xterm -geometry 80x66+0+0 -name login
fi

Mark.

--
Mark Hobley,
393 Quinton Road West,
Quinton, BIRMINGHAM.
B32 1QE.

On Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:08:06 +0000, Mark Hobley wrote:

> I am using Gentoo, and I have installed the X windowing system as

[snip]

> I now install a window manager as follows:
>
> emerge jwm
>
> I add the following entry to /etc/rc.conf:
>
> XSESSION="jwm"

Just another shot in the dark:

export XSESSION

[snip]

> -rw------- 1 mark mark 101 Apr 18 04:07 .Xauthority
> -rw------- 1 mark mark 52 Apr 18 20:42 .serverauth.3823
>
> I delete those files (I don't know whether or not they are relevant).

They get recreated. If you start another X application as a different
user, the applications need access to this file to make the x server
believe that it has the right to open a window.

>
> startx

Take a hard look at how startx works and what files it reads.

Try e.g.

/bin/bash -x /usr/bin/startx

That will tell you where to look.

When you start X from /etc/inittab, everything may be different. I have

/etc/X11/prefdm -nodaemon

which selects a display manager (my default is gdm). Then, gdm runs gdm-
binary. To know for sure what gdm-binary does, I suggest you run

strace -e trace=open -o /tmp/gdm.strace -f /etc/X11/prefdm -nodaemon

from a console. You may have to install strace.

Gdm could have been better documented. I think I remember the manpage
used to say it was a dropin replacement for xdm, so the xdm manpage did
apply. Now I do not have that manpage installed. Perhaps google is your
friend.

The strace method is quite powerful but it can be hard to decode the
output. On the other hand, it almost cannot fail to tell something true.

Regards