Changing the default wm of startx

[KeiNivky]

I'll use i3-wm, just want to know how can I start it instead of gnome using startx.

By the way, where can I get detailed info on X? I am a little confused, don't really understand what startx really starts, what X is and what does it do, how to config... This kind of thing.

[wojox]

When you start and get to GDM click on your user name, or enter it, then at the bottom panel you should see a 'sessions' tab click it and choose i3-wm.

As for startx it starts the x-server and what ever is in your ~/.xinitrc file

[KeiNivky]

Thanks, I was able to do it.

But something is troubling me. The default xinitrc file located in /etc/X11/ didn't had any reference to gnome. How come it was the default environment to be loaded?

[lithopsian]

Gnome starts X, not the other way around. There is a script called gdm which does a few "gnome"-ey things and then kicks off X, the does some more "gnome"-ey things.

You can get rid of gdm but then you'll have to start X some other way, usually with startx.

[KeiNivky]

Gnome starts X, not the other way around. There is a script called gdm which does a few "gnome"-ey things and then kicks off X, the does some more "gnome"-ey things.

You can get rid of gdm but then you'll have to start X some other way, usually with startx.

I already took care of gdm, but in a awkward way. I appended ".bkp" to the files gdm and gdm.conf. Before that I tried using the command

update-rc.d -f gdm remove

But gnome restarted the same after the boot.

Is there a "most correct" method than mine?

[Krytarik]

First, please revert your changes! Then, if you really want to boot into the command line instead of GDM, follow this guide:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=9644518

Btw.: You have to differentiate between "Gnome" and "GDM". In fact Gnome is run *after* X. When you run GDM, it starts X, then when you choose Gnome at the login screen and login, GDM starts a X window session with Gnome.

[KeiNivky]

Thanks!

But I have another problem now... If I run i3 directly, there's no sound. If I run gdm first, then the sound works.
It seems that gdm configure some things before loading the X environment. Is there a way of knowing that so I can put it in my .xinitrc file?

[wojox]

Thanks!

But I have another problem now... If I run i3 directly, there's no sound. If I run gdm first, then the sound works.
It seems that gdm configure some things before loading the X environment. Is there a way of knowing that so I can put it in my .xinitrc file?

Add this to .xinitrc. It will log errors.

exec i3 -V >>~/.i3/i3log >&1

[KeiNivky]

More problems...

I tried that. In the first two tries it complained about the "&". In the third it runned, but went to a black screen. And now I can't enter i3 via startx, to do so I must run gdm first and select it there.

When I run startx, it goes to a black screen and stays there... The only way the get out is to type ctrl+alt+f1. Way back to the terminal a message is popping periodically, on and on, "No protocol specified".
After that if I run startx again I get
"xauth: error in locking authority file /home/fkei/.Xauthority"


By the way, it didn't put info on the i3log file.

I have no idea why this started to happen. I already reinstalled i3 and also deleted my i3 config file to check if it's an error of it...
I left only the line "exec i3" and still doesn't work

[sisco311]

Try this in ~/.xinitrc:

exec ck-launch-session dbus-launch ---sh-syntax -exit-with-session i3