How to load KDE?

**LxMxFxD** · 11-07-2005

I'm a nub, so please bear with me.

startX starts GNOME and I'd prefer to leave it as my default. However, I'm looking to download and install themes/environments for KDE because it is pretty.

But, for the life of me I can't figure out how to start KDE from the command line.

Is this possible without chaging gnome as my default?

Thanks guys!

**KG6KVQ** · 11-07-2005

Well you could use a graphical login manager (like kdm) and select your session type on login.

**LxMxFxD** · 11-07-2005

Originally Posted by KG6KVQ

Well you could use a graphical login manager (like kdm) and select your session type on login.

How do I do that? Is that like a runlevel command?

**LxMxFxD** · 11-07-2005

Ahh figured it out.

/sbin/telinit 5 brings me to the graphical logon. Now, how to exit back to the command promt

**KG6KVQ** · 11-07-2005

I don't know centOS, but according to their documentation http://www.centos.org/docs/4/html/rh...S2-TROUBLE-GUI

What you do is:

C.4.2. Booting into a Graphical Environment
If you have installed the X Window System but are not seeing a graphical desktop environment once you log into your Red Hat Enterprise Linux system, you can start the X Window System graphical interface using the command startx.

Once you enter this command and press [Enter], the graphical desktop environment is displayed.

Note, however, that this is just a one-time fix and does not change the log in process for future log ins.

To set up your system so that you can log in at a graphical login screen, you must edit one file, /etc/inittab, by changing just one number in the runlevel section. When you are finished, reboot the computer. The next time you log in, you are presented with a graphical login prompt.

Open a shell prompt. If you are in your user account, become root by typing the su command.

Now, type gedit /etc/inittab to edit the file with gedit. The file /etc/inittab opens. Within the first screen, a section of the file which looks like the following appears:

Code:

# Default runlevel. The runlevels used by RHS are&#58;
#   0 - halt &#40;Do NOT set initdefault to this&#41;
#   1 - Single user mode
#   2 - Multiuser, without NFS &#40;The same as 3, if you do not have networking&#41;
#   3 - Full multiuser mode
#   4 - unused
#   5 - X11
#   6 - reboot &#40;Do NOT set initdefault to this&#41;
# 
id&#58;3&#58;initdefault&#58;

To change from a console to a graphical login, you should change the number in the line id:3:initdefault: from a 3 to a 5.

Warning
Change only the number of the default runlevel from 3 to 5.

Your changed line should look like the following:

Code:

      	id&#58;5&#58;initdefault&#58;

When you are satisfied with your change, save and exit the file using the [Ctrl]-[Q] keys. A window appears and asks if you would like to save the changes. Click Save.

**LxMxFxD** · 11-07-2005

Originally Posted by KG6KVQ

I don't know centOS, but according to their documentation http://www.centos.org/docs/4/html/rh...S2-TROUBLE-GUI

What you do is:

C.4.2. Booting into a Graphical Environment
If you have installed the X Window System but are not seeing a graphical desktop environment once you log into your Red Hat Enterprise Linux system, you can start the X Window System graphical interface using the command startx.

Once you enter this command and press [Enter], the graphical desktop environment is displayed.

Note, however, that this is just a one-time fix and does not change the log in process for future log ins.

To set up your system so that you can log in at a graphical login screen, you must edit one file, /etc/inittab, by changing just one number in the runlevel section. When you are finished, reboot the computer. The next time you log in, you are presented with a graphical login prompt.

Open a shell prompt. If you are in your user account, become root by typing the su command.

Now, type gedit /etc/inittab to edit the file with gedit. The file /etc/inittab opens. Within the first screen, a section of the file which looks like the following appears:

Code:

# Default runlevel. The runlevels used by RHS are&#58;
#   0 - halt &#40;Do NOT set initdefault to this&#41;
#   1 - Single user mode
#   2 - Multiuser, without NFS &#40;The same as 3, if you do not have networking&#41;
#   3 - Full multiuser mode
#   4 - unused
#   5 - X11
#   6 - reboot &#40;Do NOT set initdefault to this&#41;
# 
id&#58;3&#58;initdefault&#58;

To change from a console to a graphical login, you should change the number in the line id:3:initdefault: from a 3 to a 5.

Warning
Change only the number of the default runlevel from 3 to 5.

Your changed line should look like the following:

Code:

      	id&#58;5&#58;initdefault&#58;

When you are satisfied with your change, save and exit the file using the [Ctrl]-[Q] keys. A window appears and asks if you would like to save the changes. Click Save.

I appreciate your help but as I said in the first post I do NOT want to change my logon to a graphical logon. I just wanted to start from the command line.

/sbin/telinit 5 worked to bring me to that command prompt.

**josolanes** · 11-07-2005

Originally Posted by LxMxFxD

Ahh figured it out.

/sbin/telinit 5 brings me to the graphical logon. Now, how to exit back to the command promt

do you mean it brings you to kde...the gui (windows, etc...)? if so, to get to a command prompt, you could use CTRL+ALT+F# where # is a number from 1-6. so, CTRL+ALT+F1 would bring you to a full screen command prompt for example. to go back to the gui, CTRL+ALT+F7.

**fingal** · 11-07-2005

Assuming you have KDE correctly installed just type startkde

This works for me, but bear in mind that I don't use Gnome on my system.

**a thing** · 11-07-2005

echo startkde>~/.xinitrc
startx

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