The X11 - Files

Last update: Thursday, 4 Jan 2001 5:15:06pm

Installation

The binary distribution consists of a number of ZIP files containing programs, servers, fonts, libraries, include files, man documentation pages und configuration files. The complete distribution requires 40-55MB space on your harddisk.

1. Choosing the software

The XFree86/OS2 distribution only includes the "core" and no applications and consists of the following packages:

Required packages

You will need at least one of the following, video hardware specific packages:

Optional packages:

In order to save space on your disk and reduce net bandwidth, choose the software to obtain carefully. Each X server is an archive of about 1.2MB and occupies 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 Xbase archive before any of the other packages. This package contains a driver and a test program, which analyzes 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.
 

2. Checking the compatibility of the video hardware

In the following we assume that you install XFree86/OS2 on drive Y: in the directory Y:\XFree8. Please adapt the commands and file entries according to your real choice. Placing the directory XFree86 in the root of the drive is not necessary per se. However, several software packages have this location hardcoded (i.e. it can't be changed) and won't run otherwise.
Let's also assume that the XFree86/OS2 distribution's archives reside in a directory X:\xtemp.

CAUTION: The drive you install XFree86/OS2 must support long filenames!

  1. Open an OS/2 Commandline, change to the root of drive Y: and unzip (i.e. decompress) the archive Xbase into the root of drive Y:. Enter the following commands to accomplish this task:
    2. [C:\] Y:

[Y:\] cd [Y:\] unzip X:\xtemp\Xbase.zip
    The unpacking process automatically created some directories.
  2. Add the following line to your CONFIG.SYS file:
    3. DEVICE=Y:\XFree86\lib\xf86sup.sys
  3. If you are sure that XFree86/OS2 supports your video adapter, adding (or changing) the required environment variables to your CONFIG.SYS file will save you from one additional reboot. (refer to section Changing CONFIG.SYS)
  4. Shutdown OS/2 and reboot to load the XF86SUP.SYS driver. XFree86/OS2 will not work without it.
  5. Open an OS/2 fullscreen session and enter the following command:
    6. [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 to a file by entering:
    7. [C:\] Y:\XFree86\bin\SuperProbe >filename
    You can then open this textfile later to recall the information.
  7. Superprobe can identify many more video cards than XFree86/OS2 supports. Though in some cases, Superprobe detects a wrong card and often claims that it's a MCGA card which is some kind of a fallback. 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 misdetection as a bug to the maintainers.
  8. In all cases, please take some time to carefully check the accompanying README.* file in the Y:\XFree86\lib\X11\doc directory for special precautions, options, or features of the card.
  9. If your card is supported, please obtain the rest of the software.

3. Unpacking the archives

XFree86/OS2 assumes a certain directory hierarchy starting from Y:\XFree86. This can be changed, but is strictly discouraged. As already mentioned above, the directory XFree86 is best placed in the root of the chosen drive, since some programs will refuse to work due to hardcoded paths.
  1. Ensure that drive Y: supports long filenames and has sufficient free space.
  2. Open an OS/2 commandline and unpack all archives located in X:\xtemp by issueing the commands:
    3. [C:\] Y:

[Y:\] cd [Y:\] unzip X:\xtemp\*.zip
  3. During the unpacking process UNZIP may report that some files already exist, e.g. the X server archives contain README files that are also included in Xdoc. These files are identical. Don't worry and let UNZIP replace the files. By entering  A (in uppercase!) all subsequent files will be overwritten if they already exist without asking again.
  4. No special sequence is required for unpacking the archives.

4. Changing CONFIG.SYS

XFree86/OS2 requires a number of settings in CONFIG.SYS to work correctly. Please add the following changes to your CONFIG.SYS and in particular take care of the writing of paths with slash "/" and backslash "\". You can transfer the settings with cut & paste and then adapt them to your system. 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 problems. Also, the X server itself will do some checking and will refuse to start if something is wrong.

5. 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). You may want to check OS/2 internet publications like Focus on OS/2, OS/2 eZine or the VOICE Newsletter.

In any case, you should configure and activate the so-called loopback interface that can be used for contacing the same machine via network internally. Dependent on the version of OS/2 this can be done differently. Otherwise you will have to establish a network/internet connection and have to fight problems with dynamic IPs.

  1. Create a hosts file in the directory the ETC variable points to. Add the line
    2. 127.0.0.1  localhost
    to the file. This line must end with RETURN/ENTER.
  2. If you don't have a correctly installed networking card, add
    3. SET HOSTNAME=localhost
    to CONFIG.SYS. Take care of the connection to the DISPLAY variable.
  3. Add the following line to your CONFIG.SYS:
    4. SET USE_HOSTS_FIRST=1
    This way the file hosts is searched first upon resolving domain names instead of immediately connecting to a domain name server.
  4. Activate the interface. If you use Warp 3 and the IAK, add the following line to the file \tcpip\bin\tcpstart.cmd :
    5. ifconfig lo 127.0.0.1 up
    On Warp 3 Connect and Warp 4 machines the file is called \MPTN\BIN\MPTSTART.CMD. If such a file does not exist, create one and add the line 
    CALL=C:\OS2\CMD.EXE /Q /C C:\tcpip\bin\tcp-start.cmd >NUL:
    (or MPTSTART.CMD, respectively) to your CONFIG.SYS.

    Using Warp 4 you can also activate the interface by opening the TCP/IP-Configuration (LAN) object, selecting the notebook page Network, selecting loopback interface for configuration and ticking the configuration option Activate interface. The entry field IP Address must contain the 127.0.0.1 address.

  5. After a reboot you can check the new configuration. Open an OS/2 commandline and enter the following command:
    6. ping localhost
    If all is correct the values for "time" should be 0 seconds each. Terminate the program after some time by pressing CTRL-C. A packet loss of 0% should be displayed.

6. Configuring X for your hardware

Now XFree86/OS2 has to be adapted for your hardware, i.e. the video card, the monitor and the keyboard. For this the output of Superprobe (video chip, amount of video memory, RAMDAC), the horizontal and vertical refreshrates of your monitor (from your monitor's manual) and data about your keyboard (number of keys, country version) are required.

The configuration is done with the help of the xf86config program that is started via the OS/2 commandline. This tool generates the configuration file Y:\XFree86\lib\X11\XF86Config.

In the following I am demonstrating the configuration via xf86config of my own hardware. Any input has to be confirmed by pressing ENTER.

  1. The first page provides some general information and can be confirmed with ENTER. The program can always be terminated by pressing CTRL-C.
  2. Now xf86config asks if you want to use the new method for managing keyboard layouts with XKB. As there is no reason not to do so, "y" is a good answer.
  3. Then comes the announcement that next you can choose a variety of pre-defined layouts from a menu. If none suites your needs the program will try to create a new one after asking additional questions. Since the result has not been tested you may have to apply some changes yourself. Press ENTER.
  4. Since I have a  Siemens keyboard with German layout and 105 keys, none of the 11 offered choices is the correct one and I select "12 - None of the above". One ought to substract the three Windows keys from the number of 105, so mine becomes a keyboard with 102 keys.
  5. "2 - Standard 102-key keyboard" is the way to go.
  6. A country list is announced next. Press ENTER.
  7. Number 9, "9 - Germany" is correct. In case your country isn't listed first you can scroll through the whole list by pressing ENTER.
  8. Now things are getting technical. The choice of the monitor features is announced. Note that wrong values can result in damaging your monitor. The file  \XFree86\lib\X11\doc\Monitors contains some definitions that are known to be working. WARNING: Sometimes there are major differences between monitors of the same model. Confirm with ENTER.
  9. Now a list with possible ranges for horizontal refresh rates is displayed. If you are in doubt about your monitor's capabilities it is safer to select lower rates. My SONY Multiscan 15sf has a range of 31.5 - 64 kHz. Since I'm the cautious type I don't select "8 - 31.5 - 64.3; Monitor that can do 1280x1024 @ 60Hz", but "11 - Enter your own horizontal sync rate" and I enter the according values. CAUTION: Always use dots here, no comma!
  10. After that xf86config asks about the range for vertical refresh rates. That of my monitor is 50-100Hz, so I can select "3 50-100".
  11. Then I enter "SONY Multiscan 15sf"  as Identifier, "SONY" as Vendor name and "Multiscan 15sf" as Model name.
  12. The tool contains a large database of video cards. However, there can be differences within a model's series, so sometimes the values presented have to be used with care. You should only select a model that completely matches your card's name. Answer "y" to the question if you want to use the database.
  13. Now you can step through the database by pressing ENTER. I select "416 Matrox Millennium G400 16MB".
  14. The program displays the card definition including the chipset and also the preferred X server, XF86_SVGA in this case. (The SVGA server includes full hardware acceleration for Matrox cards.) Note the important recommendation: "Do NOT probe clocks or use any Clocks line." Confirm by pressing ENTER.
  15. Next several X servers are offered to choose from.  XF86_Mono (monochrome) and XF86_VG16 (VGA) should work with pretty much any card, XF86_SVGA (Super VGA, acceleration for some chips) with all SVGA cards. The fourth choice lists accelerated servers. I choose the fifth option that always resembles the server that is recommened in the card definition.
  16. When it's time to enter the amount of video memory I select "6 Other", because the G400 has 16MB of memory. The number to enter is "16384", as the program asks for a value in kilobytes.
  17. In the following you can enter identifiers for the vendor and model of your video card as you did for your monitor.
  18. Then you can choose a clockchip. Remember the warning from the card definition? I choose none by pressing ENTER.
  19. The program now offers to run  X -probeonly to retrieve information about the clock chip. Because of unexact measurements and programmable clock chips this is neither necessary nor desirable for today's video cards. Since the card definition also said not to do it, enter "n".
  20. On the next page the possible and desired display resolutions for the different color depths can be configured. The resolution displayed first is valid upon start of the X server.

    21. My SONY 15sf has a 15" screen, so 640x840 is not a good choice. In addition many programs need a lot of room on the display. So 800x600 is not the way to go either, and a sequence of e.g. 1024x768, 800x600, 640x480 sounds good. This is suitable for normal work at 16-bit color depth or higher. For some games, however, a resolution of 640x480 at 8-bit color depth is the optimum.
    After selecting the color depth you can choose the resolutions by entering certain values, e.g. "432" for 1024x768, 800x600, 640x480. Later you can step through these resolutions while the X server is running by pressing CTRL-ALT-+.
    After you have entered the combination the virtual screen can be configured. Once it is activated, you'll have a screen that is larger than that of your monitor. The visible area can be scrolled with the mouse.
  21. At last there is a security check and you have to decide whether you want the configuration file written or not. Select "y". If you select "n", you can specify an alternative path for the configuration file so the current won't be overwritten.
If you have a Matrox video card it might occur that the X server only can be started in 320x200 mode. If this happens, open the new XF86Config file, go to the section "Server-Flags" and add a line PCIProbe2. That should do the trick.

7. Starting the X server

Now you can start XFree86/OS2 from a commandline via: 
startx
If you prefer another color depth than the default of 8-bit, enter the following for e.g. 16-bit: 
startx -- -bpp 16
I recommened to create a program object for XFree86/OS2 on your desktop. Enter the following for Path and filename: 
Y:\XFree86\bin\startx.cmd
And for Parameters: 
-- -bpp <color_depth> 2>Y:\xerror.log
with <color depth> being the bit value forthe preferred color depth. The parameter 2>Y:\xerror.log redirects the error output of the X server to the file Y:\xerror.log, so you can get some hints on problems, just in case.
 

8. Changing the Window Manager

By default XFree86/OS2 uses twm or IceWM as Window Manager. Since especially twm offers only very basic features, you'll probably soon consider using another Window Manager. To activate your new alternative, open the file XINITRC.CMD that normally resides in Y:\XFree86\lib\X11\xinit in an editor and replace the line 'twm' or 'icewm' by 'your_window_manager_executable', e.g. 'enlightenment'. The single quotes are not optional!

© 2000 christian.hennecke@ruhr-uni-bochum.de

Parts of this text have been taken from the README.OS2 file contained in the XFree86/OS2 distribution, © Holger Veit.