xfce 4.4 questions

Sun Aug 26 12:58:21 PDT 2007

I told you before. You should not have snapped the ports during the 6.1 
installation and you should not have used CD to get Xfce. What you now 
have is a light version of Xfce 4.2.
Metaport probably doesn't work because your port three is not up today 
or you have some dependency issues in particular related to the fact 
that you have XOrg 6.9 vs XOrg 7.2. I need some output form the compiler 
to say anything more about this.  My guess is as good as yours. I hope 
some more knowledgeable says something.

The thinks which will not work are auto mounting, CD/DVD players, CD 
ripping, printing pretty much anything that needs permissions links and 
enabling in rc.conf file.
The Handbook is exceptionally written but you really need to know it to 
do full configuration your-self. The hand book is also very wide in 
scope and is not written for particular group of users (Desktop for 
instance) The following document
is also very useful http://www.freebsd.org/  and is mostly written for 
Desktop users like you and me.
It talks about configuring Gnome but the same goes for any full Desktop 
like KDE or Xfce. The easiest way to configure Xfce is to
copy configuration files from FreeSBIE (Based on FreeBSD 6.2)
project http://www.freesbie.org/ which uses Xfce as its default desktop 
environment. You could
also use their live CD to check your hardware since if it not working 
with FreeSBIE it is likely it will need some extra configuration with
FreeBSD or it might not work at all (like some audio card of Wi device)

I hate to suggest this but if you are  finding  configuration  
overwhelming (the fact that you seems unaware of the fact no daemons 
will work until you enable it in rc.conf file is an indication) you 
should probably try to install PC-BSD or DesktopBSD versions of FreeBSD. 
With a little bit luck with your hardware you will get fully functional 
KDE desktop environment and everything would work out of box.
After playing it with couple of weeks you will fill ready to do full 
customized installation your self or to disable KDE and use maybe some 
light Window Manager instead. I think Xfce should not have any 
dependency issues with KDE so you would be able just to turn of KDE 
install Xfce meta port and have everything working.

Richard Deal wrote:
> Thanks for the quick and insightful response, Predrag. I'm sure I'm 
> making some mistakes, after all I am by admission a newbie here. 
> Please see my ">>" comments below.
>
> cheers
>
> Predrag Punosevac wrote:
>> Meta port installs the whole thing. My immediate hunch is that you 
>> are making several mistakes. Is your port tree updated?
>> Why did you use CD to install the Xfce? Why do you want to use 
>> pkg_add utility. What about Xorg.
> >> If a Metaport installs "the whole thing", then why isn't working? 
> At first, I installed Xfce4 from /usr/ports/x11-wm/xfce4/ ("make 
> install clean") after performing a full install, including the ports 
> tree, from the 6.1 Release CD's I downloaded. This installed Xfce4.2, 
> but as I mentioned in my original message, several default features 
> were broken, such as the xfterm menu/options bar (please see original 
> message). Why did I use pkg_add? -- Because after several unsuccessful 
> attempts to install from CD, and doing some research, I thought, why 
> not - the CD install isn't working. What about Xorg, you ask? Well, 
> what do you want to know? Whatever version came with the 6.1 Release 
> is what I'm using. Forget about Xfce4.4 for the moment; if Xfce4.2 AND 
> Xorg came bundled with the 6.1 CD Release, they _should_ be 
> compatible. Btw, I did run through xorgconfig prior to installing 
> Xfce4, before attempting two types of installs: 'make install' 
> locally, and (after a fresh reinstall of the OS) 'pkg_add -r xfce4' as 
> it states in the Handbook.
>>
>> Quick instruction would take only 10 minutes but then you need XOrg 
>> and Xfce which will take couple hours to compile.
>>
>> Do fresh minimal installation without X. When the installer ask you 
>> about adding port tree you decline. The same when installer ask you to
>> add any of the packages from the second CD.
>>
>> Then after installation cvsup the system and build your world and/or 
>> custom kernel as you like it. You will be fine without cvsup and with 
>> generic kernel.
>>
>> do
>>
>> portsnap fetch && portsnap extract
>>
>> then go to /usr/ports and install XOrg via ports (do not use pkg_add 
>> since you will get XOrg 6.9 instead of 7.2)
>> Then go to Xfce 4.4 meta port and do make install clean.
>>
>> You will have complete Xfce which still doesn't mean that all things 
>> will work since you need to edit fstab, devfs.conf and rc.conf files
> >> Ok. But...what exactly won't work? Where can I find some docs which 
> detail what I have to do with "fstab, devfs.conf and rc.conf files" in 
> order to _make_it_ALL_work_? Sorry, but the Handbook just is NOT all 
> that clear.
>>
>> Have Fun
>> Predrag
>>
>>
>> P.S. You can not get Xfce 4.4 since you do not even have XOrg 7.2
> >> As I stated in my original message, I really don't care about 
> Xfce4.4 right now; I'll settle for 4.2 if it would simply work as 
> advertised. I only attempted 4.4 because the default install of 4.2 
> was not fully functional as advertised, per the Handbook (see below). 
> To install Xfce4.2, I _should_ be able to use default install options 
> from the 6.1 CDs and the ports, follow the directions in the Handbook. 
> It _should_ be this simple. But it ain't workin'. I will try your 
> suggestions, but with all due respect it shouldn't be this difficult.
>
>
>      5.7.4.2 Installing XFce
>
> A binary package for *XFce* exists (at the time of writing). To 
> install, simply type:
>
> # pkg_add -r xfce4
>
> Alternatively, to build from source, use the ports collection:
>
> # cd /usr/ports/x11-wm/xfce4
> # make install clean
>
>
>
>
>
>>
>>
>> Richard Deal wrote:
>>> Folks,
>>>
>>> I'm trying to install xfce 4.4 on my FreeBSD 6.1 box, (which I just 
>>> upgraded via sysinstall). It ain't workin' and I sure could use some 
>>> help. Full disclosure: I'm new to FreeBSD, although I do have a 
>>> basic working knowledge of *nix fundamentals.
>>>
>>> I was able to install xfce 4.2, but the install is broken -- allow 
>>> me to explain. Xfce 4.2  does install, I can start it, but several 
>>> features don't work. For example, according to the docs I should see 
>>> a menu bar (and options) on xfterm, but it isn't there. Several 
>>> other install defaults are busted too. I've reinstalled the OS 
>>> several times from a 'minimal' install to 'install EVERYTHING', via 
>>> the CD, upgrades via sysinstall, via FTP. All were successful). I've 
>>> installed  XFCE4 according to your docs ("pkg_add -r xfce4") several 
>>> times, and from /usr/ports/x11-wm/xfce4 ("make install clean"), but 
>>> still the same problems. So, I thought I'd try installing a newer 
>>> version of xfce (4.4).
>>>
>>> First question: what is a 'meta port', what does it do and what are 
>>> it's limitations? Can't find anything in your docs that speak to 
>>> this (nor any of the books I have, most notably the recent 'FreeBSD 
>>> 6 Unleashed'). Reading the Ports page of your site, specifically the 
>>> *xfce-4.4.1_1 
>>> <http://www.FreeBSD.org/cgi/cvsweb.cgi/ports/x11-wm/xfce4>   
>>> *metaport; 'meta' seems to imply "run this and you'll install all 
>>> the basics you need to run XFCE 4.4". Either it doesn't work or I've 
>>> misinterpreted this. Under xfce-4.4.1, it says: "Requires:...." -- 
>>> do I really have to install _every_single_pkg_listed_ BEFORE I 
>>> install the xfce-4.4.1 metaport??? If so, that seems a bit much. Why 
>>> can't there be a single manifest file which calls/installs all those 
>>> required pkg's as a part of the metaport installation? In order to 
>>> install xfce 4.4, do I have to manually install each and every 
>>> file/port/pkg listed there which references xfce4.4?
>>>
>>> After doing a fresh OS install (6.1) from CD (X-Kern-Developer 
>>> package), followed immediately by an upgrade (via sysinstall/FTP) 
>>> which included an istall of the entire ports tree, I tried several 
>>> ways to install xfce4.4:
>>>
>>> 1) downloaded xfce-4.4.1_1.tbz and ran pkg_add against it. It 
>>> started but all I got was "Package <insert_names_here> not found!". 
>>> If it knows what it needs, why can't it just bust out to your ftp 
>>> site and get it and install it?
>>>
>>> 2) downloaded from your site everything in 
>>> /pub/FreeBSD/ports/packages/x11-wm/xfce/,  which seemed to have all 
>>> those required files. Once downloaded, as noted above I ran pkg_add 
>>> locally. Some packages installed, but most did not because their 
>>> dependencies (such as glib-2.12.13) were not there. If xfce4.4 needs 
>>> glib-2.12.13, why can't it (and any others) be included in 
>>> .../x11-wm/xfce/ ?
>>>
>>> 3) Hmmmm....Ok, so then I ran pkg_add 
>>> ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/ports/packages/All/xfce-4.4.1_1.tbz, 
>>> thinking this 'All' directory must have every bloody thing it needs. 
>>> Nope. At this point, I start drinking. Heavily.
>>>
>>> Btw: it was in your Handbook I found the reference to 'pkg_add -r 
>>> xfce4' to install xfce4x (found here: 
>>> http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/x11-wm.html). 
>>> Well, I searched your site for any package specifically labeled 
>>> 'xfce4' and I couldn't find it. The closest I got was the dir "xfce" 
>>> under ftp.../pub/FreeBSD/ports/packages/x11-wm/. So, having seen 
>>> your list of ports (and the 'package' listed under each), where can 
>>> I find a complete list of packages?
>>>
>>> I've cruised many forums for info - nothing truly helpful.
>>>
>>> Bottom line, I don't really need xfce 4.4; I'd be happy if 4.2 just 
>>> worked (all of it) on a basic level. I'm trying to learn here, and 
>>> so far the books, the docs, and other FreeBSD articles out there 
>>> don't seem to jibe. I keep reading (my paraphrase): "It's easy! Just 
>>> run 'pkg_add -r package_name' and your done!'.  Maybe this is true 
>>> for some packages, but not the ones I've tried.
>>>
>>> I respect and admire the work you are doing, and what you have 
>>> accomplished. I'm not giving up on FreeBSD. Any advice/info would be 
>>> appreciated.
>>>
>>> cheers,
>>>
>>> - r
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>