I need help!

[thunderzap]

I'm a newbie to linux, and i choosed Mandrake to try out.
I type startx and it did'nt work, so I changed to root and typed xf86config
But then the prompt ask me if i want to write it to
etc/x11/xorg.conf
I select yes and it keeps on ending up with a
Failed to open filename for writing.
Darn, linux is harder than i think

[Nerderello]

Thunderzap,
I know that what you're going through is really annoying but stick with it.

What I suggest that you try is
1. Logon as the root user
2. Enter

cd /etc/X11

and please remember that Linux, like all Unixs, is case sensitive, so pay attention the the lower and upper case letters in these commands.
3. Enter

pwd

this should show you that you have successfully changed direct (cd) or folder (if you prefer) to the /etc/X11 folder/directory (proved by printing working directory - pwd)
4. Enter

ls x* -alF

this will list (ls) all files starting with an "x" and ending with anything, and it will give you a full description of these files (the "-alF" bit).
5. See is you have a file called xorg.conf? If yes, does it have any size (ie. is it zero bytes big or some acceptable size)? If it is, then enter

cat xorg.conf | more

which will show you the innards of this text file, piping (the "|" character) the output of this display through something called "more" , well, I'll let you guess what more does.

Now, if that all hase worked, I suggest that you now retry your xf86config and this time make sure that it asks you save /etc/X11/xorg.conf and not /etc/x11/xorg.conf, as the later folder (/etc/x11) doesn't, in all likelyhood, exist (but /etc/X11 does).

have fun

Nerderello

ps.if you still have problems starting X, try having a look at the message log to see if that can help (tail --lines 45 /var/log/messages)