Running Linux, Third Edition

Configuring XFree86

Setting up XFree86 is not difficult in most cases. However, if you happen to be using hardware for which drivers are under development, or wish to obtain the best performance or resolution from an accelerated graphics card, configuring XFree86 can be somewhat time-consuming.

In this section, we describe how to create and edit the XF86Config file, which configures the XFree86 server. In many cases, it is best to start out with a “basic” XFree86 configuration—one that uses a low resolution. A good choice is 640x480, which should be supported on all video cards and monitor types. Once you have XFree86 working at a lower, standard resolution, you can tweak the configuration to exploit the capabilities of your video hardware. The idea is that you want to make sure XFree86 works at least minimally on your system and that something isn’t wrong with your installation before attempting the sometimes difficult task of setting up XFree86 for real use. With current hardware, you should easily be able to get up to 1024x768 pixels.

But before you start to write a XF86Config file yourself, try one of the configuration programs that are available. In many cases, you can avoid going through the hassle that will be described on the next pages. Some programs that may help you are:

XF86Setup

This graphical configuration program is provided by the XFree86 team themselves. It starts up a VGA X server with 16 colors (which is quite sure to run on just about any display hardware) ...