Re: For First-Time Users of X-Server

[Adam Myrow <amyrow midsouth rr com>]

You should never have to set the DISPLAY variable unless you are trying to
redirect your monitor's output in X to somebody else's computer.  You
should be able to type "startx" and it should come up.  If it returns you
to a command prompt, it means that your X server isn't set up right for
some reason.  How you set it up depends a lot on your distribution.  Some
set it up automatically and others make you do it manually.  Slackware has
a program called xfree86setup which can be run to try and set up X, and
Redhat tries to do it at installation.  I think you can also configure X
in Redhat from the setup command.  If all else fails, there is xf86config,
which should work on all distributions, but it does absolutely nothing
automatically.  You have to know your video card, how much memory it has,
and what refresh rates and resolutions are supported by your monitor.  It
won't stop you from telling flat out lies.  Another thing to keep in mind
is that if you didn't set your default window manager when you set up X,
there's no telling what you'll end up in.  If you aren't sure, put a file
in your home directory called .xinitrc and put the single line "exec
gnome-session" in it.  Good luck.