5.4 X11 Configuration

5.4.1 Before Starting

Before configuration of X11 the following information about the target system is needed:

• Monitor specifications

• Video Adapter chipset

• Video Adapter memory

The specifications for the monitor are used by X11 to determine the resolution and refresh rate to run at. These specifications can usually be obtained from the documentation that came with the monitor or from the manufacturer's website. There are two ranges of numbers that are needed, the horizontal scan rate and the vertical synchronization rate.

The video adapter's chipset defines what driver module X11 uses to talk to the graphics hardware. With most chipsets, this can be automatically determined, but it is still useful to know in case the automatic detection does not work correctly.

Video memory on the graphic adapter determines the resolution and color depth which the system can run at. This is important to know so the user knows the limitations of the system.

5.4.2 Configuring X11

As of version 7.3, Xorg can often work without any configuration file by simply typing at prompt:

% startx

Starting with version 7.4, Xorg can use HAL to autodetect keyboards and mice. The sysutils/hal and devel/dbus ports are installed as dependencies of x11/xorg, but must be enabled by the following entries in the /etc/rc.conf file:

hald_enable="YES"
dbus_enable="YES"

These services should be started (either manually or by rebooting) before further Xorg configuration is attempted.

The automatic configuration may fail to work with some hardware, or may not set things up quite as desired. In these cases, manual configuration will be necessary.

Configuration of X11 is a multi-step process. The first step is to build an initial configuration file. As the super user, simply run:

# Xorg -configure

This will generate an X11 configuration skeleton file in the /root directory called xorg.conf.new (whether you su(1) or do a direct login affects the inherited supervisor $HOME directory variable). The X11 program will attempt to probe the graphics hardware on the system and write a configuration file to load the proper drivers for the detected hardware on the target system.

The next step is to test the existing configuration to verify that Xorg can work with the graphics hardware on the target system. In Xorg versions up to 7.3, type:

# Xorg -config xorg.conf.new

Starting with Xorg 7.4 and above, this test produces a black screen which may make it difficult to diagnose whether X11 is working properly. The older behavior is still available by using the retro option:

# Xorg -config xorg.conf.new -retro

If a black and grey grid and an X mouse cursor appear, the configuration was successful. To exit the test, switch to the virtual console used to start it by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Fn (F1 for the first virtual console) and press Ctrl+C.

If the mouse does not work, you will need to first configure it before proceeding. See Section 2.10.10 in the FreeBSD install chapter. Additionally, starting with version 7.4, the InputDevice sections in xorg.conf are ignored in favor of the autodetected devices. To restore the old behavior, add the following line to the ServerLayout or ServerFlags section of this file:

Option "AutoAddDevices" "false"

Input devices may then be configured as in previous versions, along with any other options needed (e.g. keyboard layout switching).

Next, tune the xorg.conf.new configuration file to taste. Open the file in a text editor such as emacs(1) or ee(1). First, add the frequencies for the target system's monitor. These are usually expressed as a horizontal and vertical synchronization rate. These values are added to the xorg.conf.new file under the "Monitor" section:

Section "Monitor"
        Identifier   "Monitor0"
        VendorName   "Monitor Vendor"
        ModelName    "Monitor Model"
        HorizSync    30-107
        VertRefresh  48-120
EndSection

The HorizSync and VertRefresh keywords may be missing in the configuration file. If they are, they need to be added, with the correct horizontal synchronization rate placed after the HorizSync keyword and the vertical synchronization rate after the VertRefresh keyword. In the example above the target monitor's rates were entered.

X allows DPMS (Energy Star) features to be used with capable monitors. The xset(1) program controls the time-outs and can force standby, suspend, or off modes. If you wish to enable DPMS features for your monitor, you must add the following line to the monitor section:

        Option       "DPMS"

While the xorg.conf.new configuration file is still open in an editor, select the default resolution and color depth desired. This is defined in the "Screen" section:

Section "Screen"
        Identifier "Screen0"
        Device     "Card0"
        Monitor    "Monitor0"
        DefaultDepth 24
        SubSection "Display"
                Viewport  0 0
                Depth     24
                Modes     "1024x768"
        EndSubSection
EndSection

The DefaultDepth keyword describes the color depth to run at by default. This can be overridden with the -depth command line switch to Xorg(1). The Modes keyword describes the resolution to run at for the given color depth. Note that only VESA standard modes are supported as defined by the target system's graphics hardware. In the example above, the default color depth is twenty-four bits per pixel. At this color depth, the accepted resolution is 1024 by 768 pixels.

Finally, write the configuration file and test it using the test mode given above.

If all is well, the configuration file needs to be installed in a common location where Xorg(1) can find it. This is typically /etc/X11/xorg.conf or /usr/local/etc/X11/xorg.conf.

# cp xorg.conf.new /etc/X11/xorg.conf

The X11 configuration process is now complete. Xorg may be now started with the startx(1) utility. The X11 server may also be started with the use of xdm(1).

5.4.3 Advanced Configuration Topics

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device     "Card0"
Monitor    "Monitor0"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
    Viewport  0 0
    Depth     24
    Modes     "1680x1050"
EndSubSection
EndSection

(II) MGA(0): Supported additional Video Mode:
(II) MGA(0): clock: 146.2 MHz   Image Size:  433 x 271 mm
(II) MGA(0): h_active: 1680  h_sync: 1784  h_sync_end 1960 h_blank_end 2240 h_border: 0
(II) MGA(0): v_active: 1050  v_sync: 1053  v_sync_end 1059 v_blanking: 1089 v_border: 0
(II) MGA(0): Ranges: V min: 48  V max: 85 Hz, H min: 30  H max: 94 kHz, PixClock max 170 MHz

ModeLine <name> <clock> <4 horiz. timings> <4 vert. timings>

Section "Monitor"
Identifier      "Monitor1"
VendorName      "Bigname"
ModelName       "BestModel"
ModeLine        "1680x1050" 146.2 1680 1784 1960 2240 1050 1053 1059 1089
Option          "DPMS"
EndSection