Re: tlug: Xwindows won't run properly

[Matt Gushee <matt@example.com>]

Dave writes:

 > > This is your problem.
 > >
 > > Remove the "chipset generic" line from your XF86Config
 > 
 > Is that all? Then i have a follow up question: why was this option put into my
 > XF86config file after i ran Xconfigurator?

I can't tell you in a technical sense what caused the error, but I
think you've discovered one of the shortcomings of Red Hat's utility
programs. By the way, this is not a tirade against Red Hat Linux in
general; I use it myself and am generally satisfied. But sometimes
they try too hard to make things simple for the user.

It's a little like the Microsoft approach, I'm afraid: rather than
giving people reliable, manual tools with thorough and understandable
documentation, they try to make it automatic. Nice idea; the problem
is that some things just aren't that simple. No software designer can
anticipate all the variations in video hardware that come up, or even
most of them. So half the time the setup program works effortlessly,
and the other half it doesn't work at all.

 > If i run Xconfigurator again (for whatever reason), will this 
 > option be put back in?

Probably. My suggestion is to just not use it, ever. You're better off 
with the reliable setup tools provided by the XFree86 organization --
either the command-line xf86config (sp?) or the graphical
xf86setup. You have to know a little more, but they rarely try to
automate things that can't be automated.

Hope this sheds a little light.

Matt Gushee
Oshamanbe, Hokkaido
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