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README for XFree86 3.3.1 on OS/2
Holger Veit
Last modified on: 2 August 1997
1. Introductory Note about the release 3.3.1
Before looking into this file, please check for any LATEST.OS2 files that may
come with the binary distribution. Please also check out the following
XFree86/OS2 WWW pages:
o http://set.gmd.de/~veit/os2/xf86os2.html
o http://set.gmd.de/~veit/os2/xf86bugs.html
o http://set.gmd.de/~veit/os2/x11os2faq.html
before you claim to have found any problems.
This version of the code is called XFree86/OS2 3.3.1. This is a bugfix release
for 3.3. It is a full, unrestricted version which does not expire, and for
which the complete source code is available. In contrast to beta versions, we
consider this code as sufficiently stable for use by an end user. Since there
have been numerous bugfixes, we recommend this version, even if you had
XFree86/OS2 3.2 before and it worked satisfyingly with your hardware. By the
time 3.3.1 is released, the older version 3.3 will be withdrawn, and archives
will be updated to this version. There may still be references to 3.3 still in
documents; these apply to 3.3.1 as well, unless otherwise noted.
Previous versions have been tested in a large number of configurations and have
been found to be working, with some bugs left, rather flawlessly.
This release is almost complete (with a few exceptions) regarding the X11R6.3
``core'' distribution. A subset of the ``contrib'' distribution is available
from the ported software page http://set.gmd.de/~veit/os2/xf86ported.html
In the past beta testing, it has been found that the software itself is rather
stable and does not damage hardware - provided the user does not try to push
the builtin limits and change certain configuration parameters which could
operate the video hardware out of specs.
However,
o even with a code we consider stable there is no explicit or implicit war-
ranty that certain code works correctly or works at all
o although no damage reports are known, it does not mean that it is impossi-
ble to damage hardware with this code; some deeply hidden bugs may still
be present in the software.
README for XFree86 3.3.1 on OS/2
README for XFree86 3.3.1 on OS/2
It is recommended that you backup essential data of your system before
installing this software, but this should be your general precautions before
ANY installation. No reports exist that a crashing X server itself actively
destroys or modifies data, but it is possible in rare cases that the system is
left in an unusable state (video display mode garbled or system unresponsive,
not reacting to mouse or keyboard actions). If you then hard reset or switch
off the system, file caches of the operating system might not be written cor-
rectly back to disk, thus causing data loss.
2. What and Where is XFree86?
XFree86 is a port of X11R6 that supports several versions of Intel-based Unix.
It is derived from X386 1.2, which was the X server distributed with X11R5.
This release consists of many new features and performance improvements as well
as many bug fixes. The release is available as source patches against the X
Consortium X11R6 code, as well as binary distributions for many architectures.
XFree86/OS2 is the name of the implementation of XFree86 on OS/2 based systems.
See the Copyright Notice.
Binaries for OS/2 Warp and Merlin are available from:
ftp.XFree86.org:/pub/XFree86/beta/OS2
The WWW page http://borneo.gmd.de/~veit/os2/xf86os2.html will usually show more
references to FTP or WWW sites to retrieve sources or binaries.
Other versions:
XFree86/OS2 will run on all dialects of Warp 3, including Warp "red spine box",
Warp "blue spine box", Warp Connect, Warp Server, and Warp 4.
For Warp 3 installing fixpack level 17 is strongly recommended, newer fixpacks
like 22 also work. There have been a few reports that the installation of FP26
causes XFree86 no longer to work, but I am not sure about a real reason.
Warp 4 may be used with or without the recent public fixpack FP1.
Please check in all cases a LATEST.OS2 file.
OS/2 2.11 is not supported any longer with this release, due to lack of a work-
ing test environment. Consequently, OS/2 SMP is not supported either, because
this is currently based on OS/2 2.11. Warp Server SMP is supported, but SMP
does not give significant advantage, other than the general speedup because of
multiple processors working. OS/2 versions 1.X are definitely not supported
and will never be.
It is possible to build XFree86/OS2 from the sources. Read about this in the
document OS2.NOTES.
README for XFree86 3.3.1 on OS/2
3. Bug Reports for This Document
Send email to Holger.Veit@gmd.de (Holger Veit) or XFree86@XFree86.org if you
have comments or suggestions about this file and we'll revise it.
4. Hardware and Software Requirements
4.1 Supported, Required, and Recommended Hardware
o At least a 486DX33 with 16MB RAM is required. A Pentium or Pentium Pro and
more main memory is recommended. A 386 or a system with 8MB or less memory
is an insufficient configuration.
o There are no specific requirements concerning network cards, disk types,
or CD ROM equipment; of course the more powerful, the better.
o Depending on the packages installed, a disk space of 20-55MB on a HPFS
formatted partition (or a NFS or ext2fs partition natively allowing long
filenames) is required. XFree86/OS2 will not run on FAT partitions.
o You need a video card that is supported by XFree86. Refer to the general
README document for a list of supported cards. Note that the sets of video
cards supported by XFree86 on one hand and OS/2 on the other hand overlap,
but do not match exactly, i.e. the fact that your card is supported by
OS/2 does not mean it works with XFree86 as well, and vice versa. XFree86
does not use the video services of the OS/2 operating system.
4.2 Required Software
o Any version of Warp 3 with at least fixpack 17, or Warp 4 is required
o XFree86/OS2-3.3.1 may use a local named-pipe connection or a TCP/IP based
network connection.
1. Warp comes with the Internet Access Kit (IAK), which is sufficient.
Warp Connect and Warp Server come with a full version of TCP/IP
(3.0). Use of this software is preferred over IAK then.
2. Warp 4 comes with TCP/IP 4.0 which should also work.
3. The old IBM TCP/IP 2.0, that comes with the IBM PMX product may be
used with Warp as well, although it is no longer supported by IBM.
Please ensure that you have the latest CSDs installed.
Other versions of TCP/IP, such as FTP's, DEC's, or Hummingbird's TCP/IP
versions, as well as IBM TCP/IP 1.X are not supported. Nor does any net-
working support from DOS (packet drivers, winsock), Netware, or NetBIOS
work, and I won't to provide support for that in the future.
o If you want to write or port applications for XFree86, you are encouraged
to do so. You will need a complete installation of EMX/gcc 0.9C fix2 or
later for doing so. Neither the second (obsolete) implementation of gcc,
nor any commercial package, including Cset/2, VAC++, Borland C++/OS2,
README for XFree86 3.3.1 on OS/2
Watcom C++, Metaware C, and others, is suitable for porting, because vari-
ous parts of the X DLLs rely on certain features only present with EMX.
5. Installing the System
The binary distribution is composed of a number of zip archives which are the
executables, servers, fonts, libraries, include files, man pages, and config
files. The full distribution requires about 40-55MB of disk space.
All archives of this alpha version are packed with the info-zip utility, which
is available under the name UNZ512X2.EXE from many OS/2 archives. Please
obtain a native OS/2 version of this unpacker. DOS PKUNZIP does not work,
because it cannot unpack long file names and extended attributes.
At this moment, the distribution covers only the ``core'' distribution which
somewhat reduces the usability. Refer to WWW sites and archives listed in the
XFree86/OS2 FAQ and elsewhere to obtain pre-built X clients which were ported
to XFree86.
The contents of the packages are:
REQUIRED:
X331base
A special device driver and the SuperProbe program
X331doc
READMEs and XFree86 specific man pages.
X331bin
all of the executable X client applications and shared
libs
X331fnts
the misc and 75dpi fonts
emxrt
Runtime libraries of EMX
Choose at least one of the following to match your hardware:
X3318514
the X server for IBM 8514/A and compatible boards
X331AGX
the X server for AGX boards
X331I128
the X server for #9 Imagination 128 boards
X331Ma32
the X server for ATI Mach32 graphics boards
README for XFree86 3.3.1 on OS/2
X331Ma64
the X server for ATI Mach64 graphics boards
X331Ma8
the X server for ATI Mach8 graphics boards
X331Mono
the Monochrome X Server
X331P9K
the X server for P9000 based boards
X331S3
the X server for S3 based boards (excluding S3 ViRGE)
X331S3V
the X server for S3 ViRGE based boards
X331SVGA
the 8-bit pseudo-color X server for Super VGA cards
X331VG16
the 4-bit pseudo-color X server for VGA & SVGA cards.
X331W32
the X server for et4000w32 based boards
OPTIONAL:
X331man
pre-formatted man pages for the X11 interface and
clients
X331f100
100dpi fonts
X331fscl
Speedo and Type1 fonts
X331fnon
Japanese, Chinese and other fonts
X331fcyr
Cyrillic fonts
X331fsrv
the font server with man pages.
X331prog
the X11 header files and programmer's utilities for
compiling other X applications
X331pex
PEX fonts and libraries required for PEX applications
README for XFree86 3.3.1 on OS/2
In order to save space on your disk and reduce net bandwidth, choose the soft-
ware to obtain carefully. Each X server is an archive of about 1.2MB and occu-
pies 3.0MB on the disk. You won't normally need more than the single Xserver
tailored to your video card.
If it is your first time install, get the X331base archive before any of the
other packages. This package contains a driver and a test program, which ana-
lyzes your video hardware. If this program fails or reports an incompatible
hardware, it makes no sense to obtain the other packages in the hope that they
would magically work.
6. Troubleshooting
Surprised to see this section directly in the beginning? We have put it here
because chances are best here not to overlook it. This does not mean that you
will necessarily encounter trouble when installing XFree86, but be warned: the
following sections are IMPORTANT and neglecting one or more things out of impa-
tience or sloppiness will leave you with a non-working X11 system and us with
unnecessary problems.
Still, due to the incredibly large number of hardware configurations, there may
be some special situations and configurations where the below description is
not successful. If this happens, read - I repeat READ - the list of ``fre-
quently asked questions'' (FAQ) which has meanwhile evolved to a troubleshoot-
ing guide. The latest version is always at
http://set.gmd.de/~veit/os2/x11os2faq.html .
Maybe - but we found you must be very creative - you find a bug. Consult the
page http://set.gmd.de/~veit/os2/xf86bugs.html whether it is already known. If
not, you have a case and should report it to XFree86 (xfree86@xfree86.org).
Please refer to the FAQ about the information to be provided for a complete
problem report.
The recommended newsgroup for setup questions is comp.os.os2.setup.misc. I
read this group, so it won't speed up the process or enforce anything if you
post to other groups, or forward the report to my mail address as well or to
xfree86@xfree86.org.
So, not to discourage you completely, the setup section begins:
7. Checking Compatibility of Video Hardware
In the following, we assume that you want to install XFree86/OS2 on a disk
drive with the letter Y: (which you probably don't have). Change the letter in
all commands accordingly.
1. Obtain the package X331base and install it from the root directory of the
Y: drive, by entering the following commands:
[C:\] Y:
[Y:\] cd \
[Y:\] unzip \path_of_package\X331base.zip
README for XFree86 3.3.1 on OS/2
2. Edit your CONFIG.SYS file to contain the following line somewhere:
DEVICE=Y:\XFree86\lib\xf86sup.sys
Of course replace ``Y:'' with the correct drive letter.
3. At this point, you may consider to add the variables required for
XFree86/OS2 as well, which will save you from one additional reboot.
Refer to section Adding Variables to CONFIG.SYS (section 9., page 8)
below.
4. After adding the device driver entry to the CONFIG.SYS file, you must
reboot to install the driver. XFree86/OS2 will not work without this
driver.
5. Start a full screen OS/2 CMD session and enter the following command:
[C:\] Y:\XFree86\bin\SuperProbe
6. This command will (normally) report important information about your
video configuration, i.e. the type of chipset, the available video memory
and the RAMDAC circuit available. Please write this down or redirect the
output of ``SuperProbe'' into a file by entering:
[C:\] Y:\XFree86\bin\SuperProbe >filename
7. SuperProbe can identify many more video cards than are supported by
XFree86. In some cases, SuperProbe unfortunately detects a wrong card,
often it claims to have seen a MCGA card which is some sort of a fall-
back. Generally, if it is approximately right, there are only few reasons
for doubts; if it is totally off (e.g. saying it has seen a ET4000, and
you have a Cirrus card), you should report a mis-detection as a bug to
the given address. In all cases, please take the few minutes and check
the accompanying README.* files to check for special precautions,
options, or features of the card.
8. If the README files tell you that your hardware is supported, please
obtain the rest of the software.
8. Installing the packages
XFree86/OS2 assumes a directory hierarchy starting from drive:\XFree86. This
can be changed, but is strictly discouraged.
1. Choose a HPFS partition with sufficient free space.
2. For each package to install, go to the root directory of this drive, and
type:
README for XFree86 3.3.1 on OS/2
drive:> cd \
drive:> unzip \path_of_packages\X331xxxx.zip
3. You might encounter that some packages report duplicate files, e.g. the
X server packages install corresponding README files, which are also in
the X331doc package. This is okay, the files are the same. Let unzip
replace the files.
4. There is no special sequence of installing packages required.
9. Adding Variables to CONFIG.SYS
XFree86/OS2 requires a number of settings in the CONFIG.SYS file to work cor-
rectly. Please add the following settings:
TERM
Set the preferred terminal type for the xterm or editor to be used.
Some programs need this setting. I have my type set to
SET TERM=ansi
\XFree86\lib\X11\etc\termcap.x11 contains a suitable termcap which
can be used in place of termcap files that come with EMX, EMACS, or
other ported software.
TERMCAP
This variable must be set to the location where the termcap file
used for the above TERM variable is searched. My setting, for
instance, is:
SET TERMCAP=D:/EMX/ETC/TERMCAP.X11
Note that forward ``/'' is used as a directory separator.
ETC
Set to an ETC directory. Normally, this is already set to the ETC
directory of the TCP/IP code, such as
SET ETC=C:\TCPIP\ETC
TMP
Set to an TMP directory. Normally, this is already set to the TMP
directory of the TCP/IP code, such as
SET TMP=C:\TCPIP\TMP
HOSTNAME
Set to the internet hostname. Normally, this is already set by the
TCP/IP installation program, such as
SET HOSTNAME=myhost
README for XFree86 3.3.1 on OS/2
With IAK, you would normally run a loopback configuration Network
configuration (section 10., page 10) and would then set this to
SET HOSTNAME=localhost
USER
LOGNAME
Set both to a username. Currently, they are there just to make some
programs happy; in the future, this variable might be set by a
login shell of a multiuser configuration. My variable, for
instance, is set to
SET USER=holger
SET LOGNAME=holger
HOME
Set this to an existing directory that is supposed to be a home
directory of a user. Some utilities place temporary and init files
here. This is also future investment for a multiuser configuration,
but must still be there. For instance, this variable might be set
to
SET HOME=H:\user\holger
X11ROOT
This is one of the most important settings, it determines the root
of the XFree86 directory tree. Normally, you will set this to the
drive letter of the partition where the \XFree86 tree resides, such
as in
SET X11ROOT=Y:
You may try to move the tree to another subdirectory, e.g. to
K:\OS2\X11\XFree86... and would then have to change this to
SET X11ROOT=K:/OS2/X11
, but this is discouraged, since some utilities might not accept
this. Note the forward ``/'' as a directory separator here.
DISPLAY
This variable may be set to the display to be used for displaying
clients. Normally you will set this variable to the same value as
the HOSTNAME variable and simply add a :0.0 after it, such as
SET DISPLAY=myhost:0.0
Read the X11 man page on the exact meaning of these postfixes and
other options.
README for XFree86 3.3.1 on OS/2
XSERVER
Set this to the executable name of the X server to be used. This
must be a complete path. My setting is as follows:
SET XSERVER=D:/XFree86/bin/XF86_Mach64.exe
PATH
Add the binary directory for the X11 utilities to your search PATH.
This is normally the directory (adjust the letter)
Y:\XFree86\bin
It is possible to move the binaries to another directory in the
search path; for maintenance reasons and clarity of the structure,
this is not recommended, though.
LIBPATH
Add the DLL directory for the X11 utilities to the LIBPATH. This
is normally the directory (adjust the letter)
Y:\XFree86\lib
It is possible to move the DLLs to another directory in the library
path; for maintenance reasons and clarity of the structure, this is
not recommended, though. Note that Y:\XFree86\lib has several other
subdirectories; these may not be moved elsewhere, rather they must
stay there, because most utilities form a path to these directories
by using %X11ROOT%\XFree86\lib as a base.
The recent version of XFree86/OS2 has a REXX script named checkinstall.cmd
which you can (and should) use to check whether you have entered most things
correctly. This is not bullet-proof, but prevents the most obvious setup prob-
lems. Also, the X server itself will do some checking and will refuse to start
if something is wrong.
10. Remarks on the Network Configuration
It is beyond the scope of this document to even give an introduction about the
correct installation of the TCP/IP networking system. You must do this yourself
or seek assistance elsewhere. It is only possible to say here that a PC working
well in a TCP/IP based LAN network will also work with XFree86/OS2 (when all
other prerequisites are matched as well).
With IAK, there is a special configuration necessary, unless you want to use
XFree86/OS2 only during a hot link to your Internet provider, the so called
``localhost'' or ``loopback'' configuration. This is a local network interface
which ``loops'' back to the same host. The following settings are necessary for
this:
1. Create a file \tcpip\etc\hosts with the following content:
README for XFree86 3.3.1 on OS/2
127.0.0.1 localhost
2. Add the following line to your \tcpip\bin\tcpstart.cmd:
ifconfig lo 127.0.0.1 up
3. Uncomment the inetd process in the same file.
4. Set the HOSTNAME environment variable to localhost as described in the
last section.
5. Add the following line to CONFIG.SYS:
SET USE_HOSTS_FIRST=1
6. After rebooting, verify that the following command works:
[C:\] ping localhost
The checkinstall.cmd script coming with XFree86/OS2 gives some advice here as
well.
If you have problems to get this or other basic networking things running, seek
assistance elsewhere.
11. Configuring X for Your Hardware
After you have added the required settings and setup a working network, run the
xf86config program to create a standard configuration file in
Y:\XFree86\lib\X11\XConfig from a windowed or full screen OS/2 text session:
[C:\] xf86config
The xf86config program will ask a number of questions. You will need the infor-
mation obtained from the SuperProbe program here. The program should be self
explanatory; if you have problems to understand something though, seek assis-
tance in the newsgroups.
It is possible, but strongly discouraged for the non-expert, to edit the XCon-
fig file with a text editor. In a few situations, as described in the FAQ, this
might even be mandatory. This file is not a hacker's area, such as the Win95
registry, but it has in common with it that you can easily cause damage.
For details about the XF86Config file format, refer to the XF86Config(4/5) man-
ual page.
If you know the configuration process from Linux or other XFree86 platform, you
will encounter a few differences:
o The configuration file is named XF86Config in Unix environments.
o There is no configuration for the mouse type or device. The mouse device
name is fixed to OSMOUSE, and this cannot be changed. If you have a
README for XFree86 3.3.1 on OS/2
three-button-mouse, install the correct OS/2 driver for it, such as
DEVICE=D:\OS2\BOOT\PCLOGIC.SYS SERIAL=COM1
DEVICE=D:\OS2\BOOT\MOUSE.SYS TYPE=PCLOGIC$
for a MouseSystems compatible mouse, for instance.
o The X server does not read the native OS/2 keyboard map, so you need a
xmodmap file for a non-us keyboard. Fortunately, it is the same you use
for Linux. Alternatively, for standard keyboards, you can also use the XKB
extension which is offered during the xf86config dialogue, provided your
language is available.
o There is no support for the Wacom and Elographics input devices yet.
In most cases, an existing XF86Config file for the same XFree86 version from
Linux or another platform may be used without changes. There is one prominent
exception: some S3 805 based VLB cards put their video memory in odd locations.
The X server can search for this memory by experimentally mapping and unmapping
possible memory regions. In XFree86/OS2, the OS may run out of memory tiles
during this process. If this happens, you must find out the location of the
memory yourself and add it as an option
MemBase 0x12345678
to the XConfig file.
Once you've set up a XF86Config file, you can fine tune the video modes with
the xvidtune utility.
12. Running X
16mb of memory is a recommended minimum for running the network software, X and
the presentation manager in parallel. The server, window manager and an xterm
take about 4-6 Mb of memory themselves. X will start up on a system with 8MB
or less, but the performance will severely suffer from heavy disk swapping.
Your mileage may vary, though, so some people might consider this still tolera-
ble.
The easiest way for new users to start X windows is to type:
[C:\] startx
.
To get out of X windows, type: ``exit'' in the console xterm. You can cus-
tomize your X by creating .xinitrc, .xserverrc, and .twmrc files in the direc-
tory that the HOME environment variable points to. These files are described in
the xinit and startx man pages.
By default, the systemwide xinitrc file (in
README for XFree86 3.3.1 on OS/2
Y:/XFree86/lib/X11/xinit/xinitrc.cmd) installs the rather simplistic twm window
manager. You can find better window managers on the ported software page at
http://set.gmd.de/~veit/os2/xf86ported.html .
13. Rebuilding the XFree86 Distribution
Do you really want to rebuild XFree86/OS2 from source? Read the file OS2.Notes
on details to recompile XFree86/OS2 from scratch.
14. Building New X Clients
The easiest way to build a new client (X application) is to use xmkmf if an
Imakefile is included in the sources. Type ``xmkmf -a'' to create the Make-
files, check the configuration if necessary and type ``xmake''. ``xmake'' is a
wrapper for the GNU make program which defeats the improper SHELL setting typi-
cally found in a Makefile generated from an Imakefile. Also see the XFree86/OS2
FAQ for more hints about porting X clients.
15. Acknowledgements
Many thanks to:
o Sebastien Marineau for his great work on getting the server code debugged
o Eberhard Mattes for the wonderful base platform EMX which this port heav-
ily relies on
o ME - no, no, forget this: I won't praise myself :-)
Generated from XFree86: xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/doc/sgml/OS2.sgml,v 3.9.2.4 1997/08/04 02:10:42 dawes Exp $
$XConsortium: OS2.sgml /main/4 1996/03/11 10:46:06 kaleb $
README for XFree86 3.3.1 on OS/2
CONTENTS
1. Introductory Note about the release 3.3.1 ............................... 1
2. What and Where is XFree86? .............................................. 2
3. Bug Reports for This Document ........................................... 3
4. Hardware and Software Requirements ...................................... 3
4.1 Supported, Required, and Recommended Hardware ....................... 3
4.2 Required Software ................................................... 3
5. Installing the System ................................................... 4
6. Troubleshooting ......................................................... 6
7. Checking Compatibility of Video Hardware ................................ 6
8. Installing the packages ................................................. 7
9. Adding Variables to CONFIG.SYS ......................................... 8
10. Remarks on the Network Configuration ................................... 10
11. Configuring X for Your Hardware ........................................ 11
12. Running X .............................................................. 12
13. Rebuilding the XFree86 Distribution .................................... 13
14. Building New X Clients ................................................. 13
15. Acknowledgements ....................................................... 13
i
$XFree86: xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/doc/README.OS2,v 3.13.2.4 1997/08/04 02:12:39 dawes Exp $