The Linux binary distribution of XFree86 can be found on a number of
FTP sites. On sunsite.unc.edu
, it is found in the directory
/pub/Linux/X11
. (As of the time of this writing, the
current version is 3.1.1; newer versions are released periodically).
It's quite likely that you obtained XFree86 as part of a Linux distribution, in which case downloading the software separately is not necessary.
If you are downloading XFree86 directly, This table lists the files in the XFree86-3.1 distribution.
One of the following servers is required:
Server for 8514-based boards.
Server for AGX-based boards.
Server for Mach32-based boards.
Server for Mach8-based boards.
Server for monochrome video modes.
Server for P9000-based boards.
Server for S3-based boards.
Server for Super VGA-based boards.
Server for VGA/EGA-based boards.
Server for ET4000/W32-based boards.
All of the following files are required:
The rest of the X11R6 binaries.
Config files for xdm
, xinit
and fs
.
Documentation and manpages.
Include files.
Shared X libraries and support files.
Basic fonts.
The following files are optional:
Selected contrib programs.
Extra XFree86 servers and binaries.
Server linkkit for customization.
75-dpi screen fonts.
100-dpi screen fonts.
Large Kanji and other fonts.
Scaled fonts (Speedo, Type1).
Manual pages.
PEX binaries, includes and libraries.
Static X libraries and support files.
Daemons which reside in /usr/bin.
Shadow password version of xdm.
The XFree86 directory should contain README
files and installation
notes for the current version.
All that is required to install XFree86 is to obtain the above files,
create the directory /usr/X11R6
(as root
), and unpack the
files from /usr/X11R6
with a command such as:
gzip -dc XF86-3.1.1-bin.tar.gz | tar xfB -
Remember that these tar files are packed relative to /usr/X11R6
.
so it's important to unpack the files there.
After unpacking the files, you first need to link the file
/usr/X11R6/bin/X
to the server that you're using. For example,
if you wish to use the SVGA color server, /usr/bin/X11/X
should be linked to /usr/X11R6/bin/XF86_SVGA
. If you wish to use
the monochrome server instead, relink this file to XF86_MONO
with
the command
ln -sf /usr/X11R6/bin/XF86_MONO /usr/X11R6/bin/X
The same holds true if you are using one of the other servers.
If you aren't sure which server to use, or don't know your video card
chipset, you can run the SuperProbe
program found in
/usr/X11R6/bin
(included in the XF86-3.1-bin
listed above).
This program will attempt to determine your video chipset type and other
information; write down its output for later reference.
You need to make sure that /usr/X11R6/bin
is on your path.
This can be done by editing your system default /etc/profile
or /etc/csh.login
(based on the shell that you, or other
users on your system, use). Or you can simply add the directory
to your personal path by modifying /etc/.bashrc
or
/etc/.cshrc
, based on your shell.
You also need to make sure that /usr/X11R6/lib
can be located by
ld.so
, the runtime linker. To do this, add the line
/usr/X11R6/lib
to the file /etc/ld.so.conf
, and run /sbin/ldconfig
, as
root
.
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