8mb of memory is a recommended minimum for running X. The server, window manager and an xterm take about 4 Mb of memory themselves. On a 4Mb system that would leave nothing left over for other applications like gcc that expect a few meg free. X will work with 4Mb of memory, but in practice compilation while running X can take 5 or 10 times as long due to constant paging.
The easiest way for new users to start X windows is to type: ``startx
>& startx.log
''. Error messages are lost unless you redirect them
because the server takes over the screen.
To get out of X windows, type: ``exit
'' in the console xterm.
You can customize your X by creating .xinitrc
, .xserverrc
,
and .twmrc
files in your home directory as described in the xinit
and startx man pages.
Next Chapter, Previous Chapter
Table of contents of this chapter, General table of contents
Top of the document, Beginning of this Chapter