KDE problem

[capaci]

i'll try to explain this the best that i can.
KDE doesn't start when i 'startx'. a gui with a few console windows and a
window for a clock appears. i tried 'startkde' not knowing it was a command
and KDE started (only while within the gui, not from the shell). so i start
KDE from the gui, and every component of KDE (ie, the desktop, the taskbar,
and programs i open like mozilla or a text editor) opens up in a new window
of the main gui that opens when i 'startx'. it's like running KDE within
another gui environment. X is a gui that runs window managers right? but is there a way to make it so i can't see the behind gui, and only see the KDE environment? seems very strange to me, and i know that it
shouldn't happen because at school i use KDE and it loads up automatically
on startup, or from the shell when i 'startx'. i can probably start a GNOME
session at the same time (i haven't tried), but i want to get it so it's
just a KDE session by itself, like the windows gui. the desktop in windows
is the back most visible component. when i start KDE, the desktop can be
minimized or killed. i hope i explained the situation well enough.

[Dun'kalis]

Edit the .xinitrc file in your home directory and change the line

exec whatever

to

exec startkde

[capaci]

i can't find that file....but the 'startkde' command isn't doing it. i have to place the KDE desktop window in the X gui. and every window that opens needs to be manually placed. i've used KDE before so that is seems like it's the 'main' gui program running, i know the x gui is in the background, but i never saw it. i don't know how else to explain this.

[Dun'kalis]

if there isn't a file called .xinitrc (thats a dot preceding it), make one with the following line at the top:

#!/bin/sh

And then type this to make it executeable

chmod +x .xinitrc

That should do it. Make sure to add exec startkde to it...

[x_Ray]

If the ~/.xinitrc file doesn't exist just create it. Try:
echo startkde >> ~/.xinitrc
then 'startx' and see if it will loadup.

[capaci]

thanks a lot...the .xinitrc with the 'exec startkde' worked. can you tell me what this file does? and why it wouldn't be there initially? it seems like it's initializing something, but i don't understand why it wouldn't be there to begin with. well, thanks again.

chris

[x_Ray]

Its just a file that startx parses on startup. Each line represents a command to pass to X. If one of lines is a window manger it starts that instead of a default X-session.

You can give it more than one cammand as well like so:


konsole &
konsole &
konqueror &
startkde


That would start a kde session with two consoles and konqueror opened. The & is important for all lines except the last so it can run it in the background and go to the next line. The last line/command run is the parent, when its closed, all programs started before are terminated as well.

Not really much use with kde though, since it handles its own seesion mangement.

[capaci]

thanks a lot for the info, always good to know some new stuff :)