whythen

I am running RH8.0 and am trying to configure vncserver. I can get my desktop (W2K) to access the linux box, but all that I get is a grey box with an X cursor in it. So, I went to the vnc website, and decided to check out their FAQ (http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/faq.html#q16). I found this:

I checked the xstartup script, which reads:

I have checked around on the RedHat site, but found little.

So, how do I tell if twm is or isn't on the path; how do I get it there if it isn't, i.e. how would I edit xstartup?

Dolda2000

twm is almost certainly in your path (if you really want to check, run "which twm" in a shell).
You can also check by connecting to the server and click anywhere in the grey area. If the twm menu pops up, then it's running, of course.
If you want a better looking interface, you can always configure gdm or whatever you use to start up an Xvnc server and manage it.

whythen

[root@linuxbox root]# which twm
/usr/X11R6/bin/twm

When I connect to linuxbox, I can click on the grey desktop, but nothing happens.

>> If you want a better looking interface, you can always configure gdm or whatever you use to start up an Xvnc server and manage it.

Right now the linux box is running the install default of RedHat 8 in Gnome. I am not even sure what manager bluecurve uses, or for that matter, where to find the window manager.

How would I configure gdm (or whatever I use) to start up an Xvnc server and manage it?

whythen

I am well on my way now... I have got an actual desktop going!
it seems that the xinitrc script does not assign the window manager to the vnc desktop.

so I tried this:

twm -display linuxbox:1

I cranked up vncviewer on my desktop machine and was able to patch in.

Fabulous. From there I was able to get window maker (wmaker -display linuxbox:1) to run.

I ran into a bit of a problem with Gnome however.

I found a solution, but it isn't the greatest. I think that it would require you to telnet to the box (or actually be on the server itself to initiate this).

vncserver

(vncserver kicks off and starts an X session on the first available desktop ie linuxbox:1)

next,

gnome-session --display=linuxbox:1

then, you go back to the desktop, and patch in.

Did I mention that the "gnome-session --display=linuxbox:1" doesn't work from an Xterm window while you are in a window managed environment (gnome, kde)? I have to Ctrl-Alt-F1 (or any other combo for a terminal) and log in, start the vncserver (if you haven't already), and then give the gnome-session command. It seems that I cannot get the virtual desktop to be gnome unless I do this...

however, I was able to launch gnome for the vncserver another way... I ran startkde from a command line while in gnome, and RH8 puts a second panel for K and the KDE above the gnome panel. I logged out of KDE. Then I ran the gnome-session command from a prompt.

This all seems like a lot of work.

Any ideas on how to shorten it? or, is the telnet initiation cycle that I described the best way to accomplish this?

Dolda2000

Just add the server to gdm's config. (Check the [servers] section in /etc/X11/gdm/gdm.conf)

slacker

I just go to my home directory and vi:

/home/myname/.vnc/xstartup

to make it read:

Works fine for me. I like to manually initiate the session by typing at the command line:

vncserver -geometry 1152x864 -depth 24

or I'll give it a smaller res and bitdepth if I'm remoting in from off my LAN.

Hope this helps.

arielt

An easy way to solve the gnome-session problem with vnc is by the following
~/.vnc/xstartup:
-------------------------------------------------------
#!/bin/sh
#
# Author: Ariel Tankus.
# Created: 30.03.2005.
#

unset SESSION_MANAGER
exec gnome-session &
-------------------------------------------------------
This should allow for multiple gnome sessions.