Re: Starting X on NetBSD 9.0

[Greg Troxel <gdt%lexort.com@localhost>]

Clay Daniels <clays.shell%SDF.ORG@localhost> writes:

> I like the new NetBSD 9.0. It works great at the command line level,
> and this is where I am writing this email using alpine. But I have yet
> to get the X server to work. I've been trying to use the twm window
> manager which I installed with pkgsrc, and have made multiple attempts
> at creating an .xinitrc file that works. So I could use some help.

It is highly likely that your problem is not about twm.

> The odd thing to me is that when I type startx, it seems to try to
> open xorg. I get appropiate color fuzz on the screen, and a display
> with three faint and barely readable error messages, and oddest of
> all, there is a partial copy of my MSI bios splash screen right in the
> mddle of the page, and then it hangs and freezes up. I have to
> shutdown with the power button as the ctl/F* does not switch
> consoles. Anyway, I would appreciate any suggestions.

That sounds like the X server is troubled.

I would advise that you set up networking and use some other computer to
get a remote shell before you start X11, and use that to
shutdown/reboot.   Or you can type "shutdown -r +10" (I think; read the
man page) before you start.

THe next advice is to read the /var/log/X* logs.  Others will probably
give more specific advice, but you may be able to disable some aspects
of your graphics card or reduce acceleration.   It would help to post
the dmesg lines about the card or from the log.

For instance, in dmesg I have

  radeon0 at pci5 dev 0 function 0: vendor 1002 product 68b8 (rev. 0x00)

(which is from 2014).