xorg/ FAQMigration

I want to migrate to X.Org, what do I have to do?

I've used XFree86 [TM] before now I want to use X.Org.

If you have a working setupt for XFree86[TM] you can reuse it without many changes. Just build and install the X.Org source tree.

Files and option names that contain xf86 or xfree86 have been replaced but the old names are still accepted. Therefore your old configuration files and startup scripts don't have to be modified.
There is one exception, though: The server binary is not called XFree86 any more but Xorg therefore you may have to change the soft link that points to your real Xserver binary. This soft link usually lives under /var/X11R6/bin. If your Xserver binary is located in /usr/X11R6/bin/ simply do: 

ln -sf /usr/X11R6/bin/Xorg /var/X11R6/bin/X

Which options and file names have changed now?

  • The server name has been changed to Xorg.
  • The keyboard rules file (usually under /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xkb/rules) is now called xorg (a softlink is created to the file name that has been used by XFree86[TM] for backward compatibility.
  • The command line option to specify the server config file name has been changed to -config.
  • The default configuration file is now called xorg.conf. The search path and appendices have not changed.

Are there known problems so far?

Some programs seem to make use of the description files for the xkb rules and have the file names hardcoded to the names used bu XFree86[TM](xfree86.lst and xfree86.xml). The names of those files have also been changed but the installation procedure for X.Org Release 6.7 doesn't create a compatibility link. Therefore you should create these links by hand: 

ln -sf /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xkb/rules/xorg.lst /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xkb/rules/xfree86.lst
ln -sf /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xkb/rules/xorg-it.lst /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xkb/rules/xfree86-it.lst
ln -sf /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xkb/rules/xorg.xml /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xkb/rules/xfree86.xml

I'm using a vendor supplied system, what else do I have to change?

If you have a working configuration of XFree86[TM] running on your system just follow the steps described. Some vendors use configuration utilities which make assumptions about the name of the server binary and the name of the server log file. Those utilities may not work any longer after you have installed X.Org. Please contact your system vendor for a updated versions of these tools. -- Main.EgbertEich - 11 Jun 2004