1. Configuring xdm and kdm

If everything is working now, it's time to setup the automatic starting of X on all displays. For xdm and kdm you have to modify one single file. For a Red Hat-like system this would be /etc/X11/xdm/Xservers; for other distributions check whether this file exists. If not, find your XFree86 configuration directory, and in it you'll find xdm/Xservers.

Note

  • SuSE uses:

    • /etc/X11/XF86Config

    • /etc/X11/xdm/Xservers for xdm

    • /etc/opt/kde3/share/config/kdm/Xservers for kdm

    you can make a backup copy of /etc/opt/.../kdm/Xservers and make a symbolic link from /etc/X11/xdm/Xservers to /etc/opt/../kdm/Xservers, in order to use the same configuration file for xdm and kdm.

  • Debian uses:

    • /etc/kde3/kdm/Xservers for kdm

    you can make a backup copy of /etc/kde3/kdm/Xservers and make a symbolic link from /etc/X11/xdm/Xservers to /etc/kde3/kdm/Xservers, in order to use the same configuration file for xdm and kdm.

  • Red Hat and Gentoo use:

    • /etc/X11/XF86Config

For every additional X server you should add a single line. You can copy the existing line, change the X server binary and display number, and append -xf86config [your configuration file]. My original xdm/Xservers:

#####################################################################

# $XConsortium: Xserv.ws.cpp,v 1.3 93/09/28 14:30:30 gildea Exp $
#
#
# $XFree86: xc/programs/xdm/config/Xserv.ws.cpp,v 1.1.1.1.12.2 1998/10/04 15:23:14 hohndel Exp $
#
# Xservers file, workstation prototype
#
# This file should contain an entry to start the server on the
# local display; if you have more than one display (not screen),
# you can add entries to the list (one per line).  If you also
# have some X terminals connected which do not support XDMCP,
# you can add them here as well.  Each X terminal line should
# look like:
#	XTerminalName:0 foreign
#
:0 local /bin/nice -n -10 /usr/X11R6/bin/X :0 -deferglyphs 16 vt7

######################################################################
      

and the modified version:

######################################################################

# $XConsortium: Xserv.ws.cpp,v 1.3 93/09/28 14:30:30 gildea Exp $
#
#
# $XFree86: xc/programs/xdm/config/Xserv.ws.cpp,v 1.1.1.1.12.2 1998/10/04 15:23:14 hohndel Exp $
#
# Xservers file, workstation prototype
#
# This file should contain an entry to start the server on the
# local display; if you have more than one display (not screen),
# you can add entries to the list (one per line).  If you also
# have some X terminals connected which do not support XDMCP,
# you can add them here as well.  Each X terminal line should
# look like:
#	XTerminalName:0 foreign
#

:0 local /bin/nice -n -10 /usr/X11R6/bin/X0 :0 -deferglyphs 16 vt7
:1 local /bin/nice -n -10 /usr/X11R6/bin/X1 :1 -xf86config /etc/X11/XF86Config-4.TNT2 vt17

#######################################################################
      

If you have more video cards just add more lines:

:2 local /bin/nice -n -10 /usr/X11R6/bin/X2 :2 -xf86config /etc/X11/XF86Config-4.[your 3rd card] vt18
:3 local .....
      

If you use a single XFree configuration file :

######################################################################

# $XConsortium: Xserv.ws.cpp,v 1.3 93/09/28 14:30:30 gildea Exp $
#
#
# $XFree86: xc/programs/xdm/config/Xserv.ws.cpp,v 1.1.1.1.12.2 1998/10/04 15:23:14 hohndel Exp $
#
# Xservers file, workstation prototype
#
# This file should contain an entry to start the server on the
# local display; if you have more than one display (not screen),
# you can add entries to the list (one per line).  If you also
# have some X terminals connected which do not support XDMCP,
# you can add them here as well.  Each X terminal line should
# look like:
#	XTerminalName:0 foreign
#

:0 local /bin/nice -n -10 /usr/X11R6/bin/X0 :0 -layout first-Xserver -deferglyphs 16 vt7
:1 local /bin/nice -n -10 /usr/X11R6/bin/X1 :1 -layout second-Xserver vt17

#######################################################################

Note

Under older versions of Backstreet Ruby (released before 7. Oct 2003) each console is represented by 8 tty's, so you should use:

.....
:0 local /bin/nice -n -10 /usr/X11R6/bin/X0 :0 -deferglyphs 16 vt7
:1 local /bin/nice -n -10 /usr/X11R6/bin/X1 :1 -xf86config /etc/X11/XF86Config-4.TNT2 vt9
.....

Or if you have more video cards just add more lines:

:2 local /bin/nice -n -10 /usr/X11R6/bin/X2 :2 -xf86config /etc/X11/XF86Config-4.[your 3rd card] vt16
:3 local .....
      

If you use a single XFree configuration file :

................
:0 local /bin/nice -n -10 /usr/X11R6/bin/X0 :0 -layout first-Xserver -deferglyphs 16 vt7
:1 local /bin/nice -n -10 /usr/X11R6/bin/X1 :1 -layout second-Xserver vt9
................