> My question is, how do I get X to start before I even login. I am under
> the impression that I can configure Linux to start X before anyone logs in
> and they are presented with an X login prompt, etc. Is this true? If so,
> can someone either give me or point me to detailed information on how I do
> it. I looked at the 'xdm' command and it was not intuitively obviouse to
> me how and where I should use it.
Yes, xdm is the generally accepted way to go, and yes, xdm can be
quite the pain to customize. If you want xdm to run on boot, set
your default runlevel in /etc/inittab to 5. I used xdm for a short
time myself and had problems with it (I like being able to log in
without X as root) so instead I use a script to start X. At the end
of my .bash_profile I added something like:
if
[ ! -f /tmp/.X0-lock] then
startx
Please check the man pages for "if" and such, don't just copy that.
I'm working from memory, and I have a mild migraine so I've probably
screwed the syntax all up. Basically what that script does is check
for the X lock file (to make sure it's not running) and if there isn't
one it starts X. I put this in my regular account, but not the root
account, so when I log in as a user it starts X after I log in. Also,
I could ^C it if I decided I didn't want X for a particular session.
BTW: Why would you need it to check if X is running? Why would X be
running if noone's logged in? Well, it wouldn't. But without it
checking to see if it's already up, if you switch to a virtual console
with X running and you log in it'll try to start it again. Bad thing.
---
Bill Kocik
Information Systems
Medar, Inc.
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Web: http://www.medar.com
