Minimal install of Xorg - howto?

cpcnw

cpcnw

Hi All,

Are there any good step by step tutorials on how to do a minimal install of xorg on FreeBSD?

I just need the server, nv driver and some small apps like xterm and xcalc.

I have done the full build and am certain there is a ton of stuff I will never need as it takes ages and lots of space!

TIA!
 
Not really a step by step but start with a full Xorg then one by one turn things off until it breaks.
 
I haven't installed by X using xorg-minimal, but I suppose nothing else would be needed.

Maybe you'd want to install some of the xapps like xcal, xterm, etc.

It's just a matter of installing it and run X -configure, etc.
 
x11-servers/xorg-server
x11-drivers/xf86-input-keyboard
x11-drivers/xf86-input-mouse
x11-drivers/xf86-video-????
x11-fonts/font-alias
x11-fonts/font-cursor-misc
x11-fonts/font-misc-misc

x11/xinit to use startx.

SR_Ind said:
"xkbcomp" is missing from xorg-minimal. It is a required package.
Click to expand...

Only if you use Gnome, I think:
Code: 
pkg_info -R xkbcomp*

Information for xkbcomp-1.0.5:

Required by:
gnome-settings-daemon-2.26.0
libgnomekbd-2.26.0
libxklavier-3.9,1
totem-2.26.1
 
Greetings,
I just performed an x11/xorg-minimal, because I just got some new hardware, and wanted to
test the new Nvidia driver (a custom build/install of the Nvidia blob). I didn't need/want
everything. So after a:
[CMD=""]# cd /usr/ports/x11/xorg-minimal
# make install clean
[/CMD]
I checked to see if there was anything required to use X, or anything missing that I thought
I would want/need.
Turns out that most - if not all of the fonts Xorg(1) requires, in order to run are not installed. Easily fixed:
[CMD=""]# cd /usr/ports/x11-fonts/
# make install clean
[/CMD]
You will almost certainly want some of the common X applications. In the following, will be given the opportunity to pick-and-choose which apps get installed:
[CMD=""]# cd /usr/ports/x11/xorg-apps/
# make[/CMD]
You'll be presented with a dialog that allows you to choose which X applications will get installed. When MAKE(1)
completes, simply perform:
[CMD=""]# make install clean[/CMD]
That's it! You should have everything you want/need - without all the things you don't. :)

HTH
Best wishes.
 
@PhenomII: so in other words, you installed the full Xorg, minus ~30 tiny ports (< 2MB), a few extra video card drivers (< 900KB) and the documentation.
 
MG said:
x11-fonts/font-alias
x11-fonts/font-cursor-misc
x11-fonts/font-misc-misc
Click to expand...
They're not really needed, built-ins are always included.
Code: 
ls $LOCALBASE/lib/X11/fonts/**/*(#i).pcf*
zsh: no matches found: /usr/local/lib/X11/fonts/**/*(#i).pcf*
I'm writing you from a machine that only has x11-fonts/dejavu installed.

Besides, for TTF fonts you don't have to set FontPath in xorg.conf or via xset(1). It just automagically works with default fontconfig files in conf.d directory.
 
If I only need to use an external X-server (using X forwarding with ssh -X) I have been told that there is no need to install the X server on the remote machine. But I need X11 on the remote machine? What does this mean, is none of these packages necessary then on the remote machine?

Let's say I install a GUI software and all of it's dependecies I can then just connect the X-server on my local machine and no need to install xorg on the remote machine?
 
You don't need a full xorg installation or have it running on the remote machine. You do need several xorg libraries so it's usually just simpler to install xorg.
 
Just install the X application on the remote server. It will only pull in the dependencies for the X client libraries.

On the local machine, you need to have a full X server running, in order to display the graphics from the remote app.
 
Can I install xorg-minimal and then install the Intel video driver after that and when I run startx it will still find and use the Intel driver?

if I do a normal install of xorg, can I leave out all the docbook stuff?
 
DemoDoG said:
Can I install xorg/minimal and then install intel videodriver after that and when I run startx it will still find and use the intel driver?
Click to expand...
Yes. Not sure if it'll pick it up automatically (without a xorg.conf) but it works if you set the correct driver in xorg.conf.

I always use x11/xorg-minimal as I have no need for TWM, xterm and a few other bits that get installed with the 'full' x11/xorg.
 
After installing xorg-minimal I can't run X as root, it complains of missing modules ati and fbdev? But I can run it as normal user, why is that?

Also, I installed xfree86-video-radeonhd since my graphics card is Radeon, how do I pick it up when I start X with startx?
 
DemoDoG said:
Also, I installed xfree86-video-radeonhd since my graphic card is Radeon, how do I pick it up when I start X with startx?
Click to expand...
Once you get X to run as root, the following should pick it up automagically:
# X.org -configure

Otherwise, you'll have to manually add it to /etc/X11/xorg.conf like so:
Code: 
Section "Device"
        Identifier  "Card0"
        Driver      "radeonhd"
        VendorName  "ATI Technologies Inc"
        BoardName   "RV630 [Radeon HD 2600XT]"
        BusID       "PCI:3:0:0"
EndSection

Hope this helps,

Fonz
 
Bear in mind that the radeonhd driver is no longer developed or supported in any way. The only advantage it has over the radeon driver on FreeBSD is that it supposedly supports HDMI audio.
 
DemoDoG said:
After installing xorg/minimal I cant run X as root, it complains of missing modules ati and fbdev?
But I can run it as normal user, why is that?
Click to expand...

I know I'm new... okay, maybe not new but slow... but why would you need to run X as root? I thought that was frowned upon.
 
Hawk said:
why would you need to run X as root? I thought that was frowned upon.
Click to expand...
For testing/configuration purposes. For example, the command
# X -configure
can only be run as root. And the command
% X -config [FILE]/path/to/configfile[/FILE]
accepts any file as root but only config files in one's home directory when run as non-root.

But otherwise you're right and there's normally no reason to be running X as root.

Fonz
 
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