FAQ

Creating an .xinitrc file

One method to open a window manager or desktop environment in X.org is to create an .xinitrc file.

You can either use your favorite text editor or the following quick method:

echo "exec wmaker" > ~/.xinitrc

KDE

echo "exec startkde" > ~/.xinitrc

Gnome?

echo "exec gnome-session" > ~/.xinitrc

Etoile?

echo "exec etoile_system" > ~/.xinitrc

Getting kdm to work with KDE and MidnightBSD

Replace the ttyv8 line in /etc/ttys with:

ttyv8 "/usr/local/bin/kdm -nodaemon" xterm on secure

kdm appears for a moment and then disappears, what is wrong?

kdm expects the computer to have a hostname. Sometimes, dhcp sets this up for you but often you need to do it yourself.

edit /etc/rc.conf Add a line hostname="mymachine". Mymachine can be anything that doesn't clash with an existing host on your network.

How do I setup password-less logins in KDE?

(from KDE on FreeBSD FAQ)

I checked the checkbox in the Login Manager Control, but KDM won't log me in? Passwordless logins are handled by a different PAM service definition, "kde-np". You can quickly create this definition by copying /etc/pam.d/kde to /etc/pam.d/kde-np and removing/commenting out the line

auth required pam_unix.so no_warn try_first_pass

No tab completion, history, nice prompt, etc?

This needs MidnightBSD 0.2-CURRENT as of 18th August, 2007.

$ exec /bin/mksh -l
$ chsh -s /bin/mksh

If you do not have a ~/.mkshrc file (you should, as of later 0.2-CURRENT, unless you're root), copy it from the source:

$ cp /usr/src/contrib/mksh/dot.mkshrc ~/.mkshrc

More info: mksh Homepage

Where is the forum?

Go here.

What ports systems does MidnightBSD use?

MidnightBSD includes it's own mports, and also supports MirPorts.

What is the latest version of MidnightBSD?

0.1.1-RELEASE is the most recent version released. 0.2 is under development.

What platforms does MidnightBSD support?

0.1.1 supports i386 and amd64 architectures. It is also possible to use sparc64 with a snapshot and update to 0.1.1-RELEASE or 0.2. We have not built an official release for sparc64 yet.

How far is MidnightBSD into the goals of a desktop os?

The project is still rather young. Advanced users could use MidnightBSD as a desktop now, but it is not ready for "regular" users just yet.