Help a Linux beginner please...:/

hohum · Feb 9, 2004, 12:55 PM

Ok, well I recently installed Mandrake 9.2 on a older pc, and was just spending some time getting to grips with it as all I had ever used previously was Windows. It's not that tough from what I can see.. however I hear Mandrake is one of the easiest to use, but hey

Anyway, I appear to have somehow disabled the gui/desktop from startup (I say appear.. because i'm pretty careful in what I do, and I certainly don't remember touching any such option..). Can someone tell me how to get it back lol? At the moment I can't do anything as after the startup process is done i'm just left at a command line interface which asks me for localhost login and pass.. which I enter and of course just get more stuck as I don't know what I need to execute/modify/do (

) to get my desktop back (i'm using the default GUI by the way - KDE).

Help? *whimper*

Ta

UberLord · Feb 9, 2004, 01:40 PM

edit /etc/inittab and change the line from

Code:

id:3:initdefault:

to

Code:

id:5:initdefault:

To edit the file, do this

Code:

vi /etc/inittab

vi can be a little complex to pickup though. May be easier to do this

Code:

startx

Once in your GUI open the file using a text editor of your choice.

Reboot and voila

hohum · Feb 9, 2004, 02:04 PM

Thanks, i'll give it a try later and let you know how I get on

hohum · Feb 10, 2004, 01:00 AM

It worked, ta

I just used the startx option, went to the video options and re-enabled the gui on startup. I had a look at vi /etc/inittab method first, was able to edit the bit needed yet had no idea how to get out of the editor or save the changes so kinda gave up.

I've gotta say it's pretty vague at best for people just starting out on linux... mandrake's helpfiles are very brief to the point it doesn't describe most (if any) of the options available, and what info it does provide is pretty minimal. As a result i'm just using guesswork/trial and error to work out what they do. Am I missing something here? Because I don't really like fumbling my way through stuff... are there some documents hidden away on one of the cds? Kinda hard to learn when there's little or no information to hand

UberLord · Feb 10, 2004, 11:29 AM

Not really. I tend to we the web as a general resource.

But I'd try and get to learn vi for file editing as it's standard on nearly every Linux distro going except for Gentoo which uses nano which is much easier to use imo

No_Style · Feb 10, 2004, 11:44 AM

Press ESC, then press the colon (Shift+colon/semicolon key), and type 'q!' to quit without writing changes, 'w' to save changes, 'wq' to save changes and quit.

Feb 9, 2004, 12:55 PM	#1
hohum HardwareHeaven Addict Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: UK Posts: 298 Rep Power: 0	Help a Linux beginner please...:/ Ok, well I recently installed Mandrake 9.2 on a older pc, and was just spending some time getting to grips with it as all I had ever used previously was Windows. It's not that tough from what I can see.. however I hear Mandrake is one of the easiest to use, but hey Anyway, I appear to have somehow disabled the gui/desktop from startup (I say appear.. because i'm pretty careful in what I do, and I certainly don't remember touching any such option..). Can someone tell me how to get it back lol? At the moment I can't do anything as after the startup process is done i'm just left at a command line interface which asks me for localhost login and pass.. which I enter and of course just get more stuck as I don't know what I need to execute/modify/do ( ) to get my desktop back (i'm using the default GUI by the way - KDE). Help? whimper Ta

Feb 9, 2004, 01:40 PM	#2
UberLord A Legend in Underwear Join Date: May 2002 Location: Unknown Posts: 5,255 Rep Power: 0	edit /etc/inittab and change the line from Code: id:3:initdefault: to Code: id:5:initdefault: To edit the file, do this Code: vi /etc/inittab vi can be a little complex to pickup though. May be easier to do this Code: startx Once in your GUI open the file using a text editor of your choice. Reboot and voila __________________ Gentoo Linux - Developer (baselayout) Read my blog "I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours." Stephen Roberts

Feb 10, 2004, 11:29 AM	#5
UberLord A Legend in Underwear Join Date: May 2002 Location: Unknown Posts: 5,255 Rep Power: 0	Not really. I tend to we the web as a general resource. But I'd try and get to learn vi for file editing as it's standard on nearly every Linux distro going except for Gentoo which uses nano which is much easier to use imo __________________ Gentoo Linux - Developer (baselayout) Read my blog "I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours." Stephen Roberts

Feb 10, 2004, 11:44 AM	#6
No_Style Styleless Wonder Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Ottawa, Ontario Posts: 6,034 Rep Power: 0	To exit the vi editor Press ESC, then press the colon (Shift+colon/semicolon key), and type 'q!' to quit without writing changes, 'w' to save changes, 'wq' to save changes and quit. __________________ "The Best Style Is No Style" Specifications Here

Feb 9, 2004, 02:04 PM	Thread Starter #3
hohum HardwareHeaven Addict Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: UK Posts: 298 Rep Power: 0	Thanks, i'll give it a try later and let you know how I get on

Feb 10, 2004, 01:00 AM	Thread Starter #4
hohum HardwareHeaven Addict Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: UK Posts: 298 Rep Power: 0	It worked, ta I just used the startx option, went to the video options and re-enabled the gui on startup. I had a look at vi /etc/inittab method first, was able to edit the bit needed yet had no idea how to get out of the editor or save the changes so kinda gave up. I've gotta say it's pretty vague at best for people just starting out on linux... mandrake's helpfiles are very brief to the point it doesn't describe most (if any) of the options available, and what info it does provide is pretty minimal. As a result i'm just using guesswork/trial and error to work out what they do. Am I missing something here? Because I don't really like fumbling my way through stuff... are there some documents hidden away on one of the cds? Kinda hard to learn when there's little or no information to hand