How do I get into GUI?

[Peter Risdon]

Claude Martin wrote:

> My problem is that I expected the booting process to finish in the 
> graphical user interface. Instead, it stops at a CLI prompt. Maybe I 
> did something wrong.

No, although you were probably asked during the install whether you 
wanted to configure X Windows. Not everyone wants a GUI for every 
machine. I don't install X Windows on mail or web servers, for example, 
except (rarely) as a dependency of some other program.

Assuming you're completely new to all this, there are two stages to 
running a GUI. The first is to get a running X server. The second is to 
select your preferred window manager (such as KDE or, as another poster 
suggested, Windowmaker). Nothing can happen without a properly 
configured X server. The choice of window manager is arbitrary and you 
can switch between them if you want.

The easiest way to get a running X server is, as root, to type:

/stand/sysinstall

Then go

Configure-->Mouse

and get your mouse working. Having configured the mouse, you should be 
prompted to go to the next stage and configure the XFree86 system - aka 
your X server. If not, go back to the previous menu and select XFree86, 
then select option 2, xf86cfg, a graphical setup tool which might just 
get your graphics card right unaided. If not...

> an Nvidia GeForce2 video card, 

...you need to tell it which graphics card you have and, possibly, which 
chipset it uses. If you're having problems and need to drop into a 
lower-level configuration tool, you'll need to know suitable vertical 
and horizontal sync ranges for your monitor.

In addition to the information and links given to you here by other 
posters, you might find it helpful to look at:

http://www.xfree86.org

where you'll find detailed information about how to configure X for 
different graphics cards.

PWR.

PWR.