when i try to start the xserver by running xinit, it works, flashes the
desktop pattern and the x cursor, then exits with an error message which i
do not have enough time to read because it then clears the screen.

ok, now read my lips:
i cannot afford to spend a few more hours downloading a new copy of the
x11r6 package in all its 8-meg glory to reinstall it. i presume that xinit
is broken and that is part of the reason as to why startx is ignoring my
.xinitrc files. 

so, can someone send me xinit? 

:-)

TIA

_________________________________________________________________________
John Ostrowick
Computer Science Department, University of the Witwatersrand
1 Jan Smuts Ave, Johannesburg, South Africa. 1st Floor, Senate House 1012
Phone: +27 (011) 716-3783
jon@cs.wits.ac.za or jon@macenroe.cs.wits.ac.za or jon@is.co.za
My web page is on my server's: http://macenroe.cs.wits.ac.za/
My ftp site: ftp://macenroe.cs.wits.ac.za/public partition/
My listserv: subscr@macenroe.cs.wits.ac.za (any message with a body)