How to install gnome desktop environment?

[harrybazeegar]

Hi,
I have been using Ubuntu Desktop Edition for quite a long
time, but I have never really found out how to install gnome
on a "brand new" linux.

So I installed Ubuntu Server edition... Now I tried to install gnome on it... So what packages do I have to install to set up a gnome desktop environment?

What is the meaning of X server? what does it have to do with gnome, or any windowed environment for that matter?

I tried install gdm (sudo apt-get install gdm), and it succeeded too.
But i dont see any login manager when I type "sudo gdm".
When nothing happenned after "sudo gdm", I went tty7 (alt+f7) but nothing was present there (just a blinking cursor). I guess I'm missing something. Please help me. This is the request of a die-hard ubuntu fan :)

BTW, I'm using elinks right now. God, its so hard to get anything done on it!

[ooobuntooo]

Why do you need a GUI on a server?

[harrybazeegar]

Well, I installed the server just because it comes without a GUI.
In theory, I would have installed any linux that did _not have a GUI_.

What I actually want to know is how to install a GUI, not why I don't need a GUI on a server.

[mcduck]

"sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop" will install everything you need.

If the GDM doesn't start automatically, run "sudo /etc/init.d/gdm start".

X Window System provides all the tools & protocolls graphical desktops need to work, like drawing programs into windows on screen, mouse & keyboard interaction etc.. (but it _doesn't_ provide any user interface, that's what the window managers/desktop environments are for).

[harrybazeegar]

That's exactly what I dont want to do!

I know I can install "ubuntu-desktop", and get everything readymade. But what if this wasn't a debian based system? What if I (God forbid) hated ubuntu and didn't want to install it this way??

I want to know hows its done manually. I want to do it by hand!!

Please, anybody?? :(

[mcduck]

If "by hand" means that you don't want to use the package manager then it's lots of compiling from source code for you :)

I suppose you should start by downloading & compiling X, GDM and all base Gnome packages & their dependencies.

[jedi-penguin]

try "apt-get install gnome2"
then "startx"