Re: Horrible X11 Problems on OS X (iBook)
Re: Horrible X11 Problems on OS X (iBook)
- Subject: Re: Horrible X11 Problems on OS X (iBook)
- From: Dave Schroeder <email@hidden>
- Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 09:03:28 -0600
While I think all of the various suggestions people have offered are
great, and worthwhile for troubleshooting, the bottom line here is
this:
You should NOT be having ANY problems whatsoever launching X11.app and
running ordinary shell commands within the xterm. I have never seen or
heard of anything remotely like this on dozens upon dozens of machines
that use Apple X11 in all variety of ways.
You should especially not be having any trouble if, as you say, you
have reformatted and reinstalled the OS from scratch. Are you also
starting out with a fresh home directory, i.e., not bringing in files
and/or preferences from another computer? If I were to see this
computer, here are the EXACT steps I would follow:
1. Insert your Mac OS X CD into the computer.
2. Reboot and boot into Open Firmware, by holding command-option-O-F at
boot and continuing to hold them until white screen with black text to
appear. Release the keys. Type the following commands:
reset-nvram
set-defaults
reset-all
(The last command will cause a reboot. This entire step is likely not
strictly necessary, but it's so quick, you might as well do it, and
ensures some obscure corrupt nvram setting is not the root of the
problem.)
3. Upon reboot after the last 'reset-all' command above, immediately
hold the 'C' key to boot from the CD.
4. Once in the Installer, select Disk Utility from, I believe, the
Utilities menu (it's in one of the Installer menus). Select your
internal hard drive, then the Partition tab. Select the appropriate
number of partitions from the 'Volume Scheme' drop down menu. Ensure
disk format is set to 'Mac OS Extended (Journaled)'. Name the volume as
desired. Click 'Partition'. Quit Disk Utility.
5. Step through the Installer. When you get to the screen with the
"Customize" button in the lower left, click it. Ensure X11, and any
other option you desire, is checked on that screen. Continue with the
installation process.
6. Once the installation is complete, run through the setup assistant.
Once in the finder, do not do ANYTHING else; immediately launch
X11.app. It should work as expected. If it does NOT work, you have some
extremely obscure hardware problem OR - and yes, I've actually seen
ridiculous things like this before - a corrupt installation disc that
is not recognized as such.
7. If the xterm works as expected, run through Software Update, and
continue rebooting and running Software Update until no more updates
are available. Install Developer Tools and other software as desired,
checking the xterm for proper operation in the meantime.
I literally guarantee that this will either solve the problem, or
narrow it to some obscure hardware and/or installation disc problem.
Best of luck; this is really a very strange problem and most definitely
does not represent the average Apple X11 experience: it should "just
work", as it does for every installation I've ever seen.
Regards,
Dave Schroeder | University of Wisconsin - Madison
Apple Distinguished Educator | Division of Information Technology
Email: email@hidden | Platforms and Operating Systems
Pager: email@hidden | B263 Computer Science and Statistics
Pager: +1 800 449-4951 | 1210 West Dayton Street
Phone: +1 608 265-4737 | Madison, Wisconsin 53706-1685
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