BSD Today: Using NetBSD (part 2): Configuring XFree86 and installing a window manager | Linux Today

BSD Today: Using NetBSD (part 2): Configuring XFree86 and installing a window manager

Written By
Web Webster
Web Webster
Jul 31, 2000

[ Thanks to Jeremy C.
Reed
for this link. ]

“I’ve been installing NetBSD on a test machine and configuring
it to be a basic desktop system. So far I’ve installed the OS and
set up my modem and PPP. In this article I’ll cover my
experiences configuring XFree86 and installing the Ice window
manager.”

“The first step to configuring XFree86 is to determine what type
of graphics card you have and what the capabilities of your monitor
are. I suggest that you open up your computer and write down all
the information that you can find on your card. Your monitor’s
capabilities can usually be found in your monitor’s instruction
manual. After getting that information, reading the README.NetBSD,
README.mouse, and QuickStart.doc files located in
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/doc will help you with the configuration.”

“The window manager that came with NetBSD (twm) was pretty dull
so I decided to try the Ice Window Manager because I heard it had
some nice features but didn’t use a lot of resources. I downloaded
the package from the NetBSD site and installed it. I then had to
tell XFree86 to use that instead of twm. I copied the default
xinitrc file from /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xinit to my home directory as
.xinitrc so my changes wouldn’t be system wide and replaced twm
with icewm. Then I started X and was greeted by a brand new window
manager.”

Complete
Story

Web Webster

Web Webster

Web Webster has more than 20 years of writing and editorial experience in the tech sector. He’s written and edited news, demand generation, user-focused, and thought leadership content for business software solutions, consumer tech, and Linux Today, he edits and writes for a portfolio of tech industry news and analysis websites including webopedia.com, and DatabaseJournal.com.

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