Gnome question (or actually an "I don't want Gnome" question)
I have just started back at work, the place I left a few months ago where I have a two day a week contract starting today. I have got a Fedora based machine as my desktop machine again (Hoorah!) but I haven't got my old customised setup back so I've got to redo it from scratch. The first problem is - how do I turn off the Gnome desktop from being automatically started? Is there a setup option somewhere that selects what window manager I want? I have created a .xinitrc file which starts fvwm2 (the window manager I want) but it hasn't done anything. I suspect what I need to change is buried in the gdm/xdm startup somewhere. -- Chris Green
On Wed, Sep 12, 2007 at 09:46:01AM +0100, Chris G wrote:
I have just started back at work, the place I left a few months ago where I have a two day a week contract starting today.
I have got a Fedora based machine as my desktop machine again (Hoorah!) but I haven't got my old customised setup back so I've got to redo it from scratch.
The first problem is - how do I turn off the Gnome desktop from being automatically started? Is there a setup option somewhere that selects what window manager I want?
I have created a .xinitrc file which starts fvwm2 (the window manager I want) but it hasn't done anything.
I suspect what I need to change is buried in the gdm/xdm startup somewhere.
Well... which of these two are you actually using? Either way - .xinitrc is (generally) only used by startx... for most login managers, if you add things to .xsession instead it should work. For GDM you may find that under the "sessions" menu/button/thing on the login screen there's an FVWM option. Also, Gnome doesn't technically define the window manager, Gnome is a desktop environment, it's default window mangler at the moment is metacity - IIRC fvwm2 is actually "Gnome Compliant" enough to get it running as the WM in a Gnome session - I can't remember the runes for this though (I'm an Ion3 user in debian, and I use the Ion3 entry in the GDM sessions screen...) Cheers, -- Brett Parker
On Wed, Sep 12, 2007 at 10:40:29AM +0100, Brett Parker wrote:
On Wed, Sep 12, 2007 at 09:46:01AM +0100, Chris G wrote:
I have just started back at work, the place I left a few months ago where I have a two day a week contract starting today.
I have got a Fedora based machine as my desktop machine again (Hoorah!) but I haven't got my old customised setup back so I've got to redo it from scratch.
The first problem is - how do I turn off the Gnome desktop from being automatically started? Is there a setup option somewhere that selects what window manager I want?
I have created a .xinitrc file which starts fvwm2 (the window manager I want) but it hasn't done anything.
I suspect what I need to change is buried in the gdm/xdm startup somewhere.
Well... which of these two are you actually using?
Well, why should I know? Fedora and such bury it all somewhere. However I'm pretty sure it's running gdm to get my login so maybe I need to create a .xsession. (Neither .xsession nor .xinitrc were present initially, presumably it uses system default ones).
Either way - .xinitrc is (generally) only used by startx... for most login managers, if you add things to .xsession instead it should work. For GDM you may find that under the "sessions" menu/button/thing on the login screen there's an FVWM option.
I found a setup option on the Gnome desktop that allowed me to select FVWM but selecting it hasn't actually changed the window manager.
Also, Gnome doesn't technically define the window manager, Gnome is a desktop environment, it's default window mangler at the moment is metacity - IIRC fvwm2 is actually "Gnome Compliant" enough to get it running as the WM in a Gnome session - I can't remember the runes for this though (I'm an Ion3 user in debian, and I use the Ion3 entry in the GDM sessions screen...)
Yes, OK, Gnome and KDE have blurred the meaning of window managers. Thanks for the help, I'll probably be able to find what I want now. -- Chris Green
On Wed, Sep 12, 2007 at 11:18:36AM +0100, Chris G wrote:
On Wed, Sep 12, 2007 at 10:40:29AM +0100, Brett Parker wrote:
On Wed, Sep 12, 2007 at 09:46:01AM +0100, Chris G wrote:
I have just started back at work, the place I left a few months ago where I have a two day a week contract starting today.
I have got a Fedora based machine as my desktop machine again (Hoorah!) but I haven't got my old customised setup back so I've got to redo it from scratch.
The first problem is - how do I turn off the Gnome desktop from being automatically started? Is there a setup option somewhere that selects what window manager I want?
I have created a .xinitrc file which starts fvwm2 (the window manager I want) but it hasn't done anything.
I suspect what I need to change is buried in the gdm/xdm startup somewhere.
Well... which of these two are you actually using?
Well, why should I know? Fedora and such bury it all somewhere. However I'm pretty sure it's running gdm to get my login so maybe I need to create a .xsession. (Neither .xsession nor .xinitrc were present initially, presumably it uses system default ones).
It'll use something along the lines of /etc/X11/Xsession by default (unless they've really broken things - haven't got a Fedora system laying about to check with...) As to how to find out which you're using, assuming that it's a Fedora system that hasn't been polluted by people installing from source rather than building/installing rpms, you should be able to do something like: rpm -qa | grep '[gkx]dm' Which will tell you which of the packages is installed... also, it should be remarkably easy to do: ps auxww | grep '[gkx]dm' Which would tell you which of the daemons is running.
Either way - .xinitrc is (generally) only used by startx... for most login managers, if you add things to .xsession instead it should work. For GDM you may find that under the "sessions" menu/button/thing on the login screen there's an FVWM option.
I found a setup option on the Gnome desktop that allowed me to select FVWM but selecting it hasn't actually changed the window manager.
If it was after you logged in then you'd have needed to logout and back in again to make it effective from what I remember - also, as it's in gnome, it'd still leave the gnome panels at the top and bottom.
Also, Gnome doesn't technically define the window manager, Gnome is a desktop environment, it's default window mangler at the moment is metacity - IIRC fvwm2 is actually "Gnome Compliant" enough to get it running as the WM in a Gnome session - I can't remember the runes for this though (I'm an Ion3 user in debian, and I use the Ion3 entry in the GDM sessions screen...)
Yes, OK, Gnome and KDE have blurred the meaning of window managers.
Not really... as Gnome has had at least 2 different default window managers in the time that I've used it - I remember back in the days when sawfish was it's default - that was "fun"! KDE is much more fixed, though - I don't know of a KDE user that doesn't use kwm... (are their any KDE users out there that do actually use a different window mangler?!)
Thanks for the help, I'll probably be able to find what I want now.
No probs. -- Brett Parker
Hello On 12/09/2007, Brett Parker <iDunno@sommitrealweird.co.uk> wrote:
Not really... as Gnome has had at least 2 different default window managers in the time that I've used it - I remember back in the days when sawfish was it's default - that was "fun"! KDE is much more fixed, though - I don't know of a KDE user that doesn't use kwm... (are their any KDE users out there that do actually use a different window mangler?!)
You do now - I use kwin. Besides, aren't emerald/kde-window-decorator replacements for kwin and thus also replacements for the window manager? Srdjan
On Wed, Sep 12, 2007 at 09:46:01AM +0100, Chris G wrote:
I have just started back at work, the place I left a few months ago where I have a two day a week contract starting today.
I have got a Fedora based machine as my desktop machine again (Hoorah!) but I haven't got my old customised setup back so I've got to redo it from scratch.
The first problem is - how do I turn off the Gnome desktop from being automatically started? Is there a setup option somewhere that selects what window manager I want?
If you want to stop the graphical login altogether, you can change the default init level (initdefault) to 3 instead of 5 in /etc/inittab. If you want to stop the graphical boot, you can do this in /etc/sysconfig/init. If you want to switch desktop environments, install switchdesk and/or switchdesk-gui, run it, and choose the environment you want to run. Cheers. -Mark ----------------------------------------------------------- This message may contain confidential and/or privileged information. This information is intended to be read only by the individual or entity to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, you are on notice that any review, disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents of this message is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete or destroy any copy of this message.
On Wed, Sep 12, 2007 at 12:49:28PM +0100, mark@webb-heath.com wrote:
On Wed, Sep 12, 2007 at 09:46:01AM +0100, Chris G wrote:
I have just started back at work, the place I left a few months ago where I have a two day a week contract starting today.
I have got a Fedora based machine as my desktop machine again (Hoorah!) but I haven't got my old customised setup back so I've got to redo it from scratch.
The first problem is - how do I turn off the Gnome desktop from being automatically started? Is there a setup option somewhere that selects what window manager I want?
If you want to stop the graphical login altogether, you can change the default init level (initdefault) to 3 instead of 5 in /etc/inittab.
Of course, that's what I did before, set the init level to 3 and ran startx manually. Thank you!
If you want to stop the graphical boot, you can do this in /etc/sysconfig/init.
If you want to switch desktop environments, install switchdesk and/or switchdesk-gui, run it, and choose the environment you want to run.
Cheers.
-Mark
----------------------------------------------------------- This message may contain confidential and/or privileged information. This information is intended to be read only by the individual or entity to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, you are on notice that any review, disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents of this message is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete or destroy any copy of this message.
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-- Chris Green
participants (4)
-
Brett Parker -
Chris G -
mark＠webb-heath.com -
Srdjan Todorovic