## 10.3. Installing XFree86

The Linux binary distribution of XFree86 can be found on a number of FTP sites. On ftp://ftp.xfree86.org, it is found in the directory /pub/XFree86/3.3.3.1/binaries; there you will find systems for Intel, m68k, PPC, and Alpha AXP in subdirectories. (At the time of this writing, the current version is 3.3.3.1; newer versions are released periodically).

It's quite likely you obtained XFree86 as part of a Linux distribution, in which case downloading the software separately is not necessary. If you are downloading XFree86 directly, the following tables list the files in the XFree86-3.3.3.1 distribution.

One of the following servers is required (not all of those are available for all platforms, but all are available for Intel systems):

File | Description
--- | ---
X8514.tgz | Server for 8514-based boards
XAGX.tgz | Server for AGX-based boards
XMa32.tgz | Server for Mach32-based boards
XMa64.tgz | Server for Mach64-based boards
XMa8.tgz | Server for Mach8-based boards
XMono.tgz | Server for monochrome video modes
XP9K.tgz | Server for P9000-based boards
XS3.tgz | Server for S3-based boards
XSVGA.tgz | Server for Super VGA-based boards
XVG16.tgz | Server for VGA/EGA-based boards (needed for XF86Setup)
XW32.tgz | Server for ET4000/W32-based boards
X3DL.tgz | Server for boards with 3Dlabs chipsets
XI128.tgz | Server for I128-based boards

All of the following files are required:

File | Description
--- | ---
Xbin.tgz | The rest of the X11R6 binaries
Xcfg.tgz | Configuration files for `xdm` and `xinit`
Xdoc.tgz | Documentation
Xlib.tgz | Shared X libraries and support files
Xfnts.tgz | Basic fonts
Xman.tgz | Manual pages
Xset.tgz | Configuration utility XF86Setup
XVG16.tgz | VGA server; needed by configuration utility XF86Setup
preinst.sh | Pre-installation script
postinst.sh | Post-installation script
extract | Extraction utility

The following files are optional:

File | Description
--- | ---
Xlkit.tgz | Server link kit for customization
Xf100.tgz | 100-dpi screen fonts
Xfscl.tgz | Scaled fonts (Speedo, Type1)
Xfcyr.tgz | Cyrillic fonts
Xfnon.tgz | Other fonts (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Hebrew)
Xfsrv.tgz | Font server and configuration files
Xprog.tgz | X header files, configuration files, and libraries needed at compilation time
Xnest.tgz | Nested X server
Xvfb.tgz | X server that uses a virtual framebuffer
Xprt.tgz | X Print server
Xps.tgz | PostScript version of the documentation
Xhtml.tgz | HTML version of the documentation
Xjdoc.tgz | Japanese version of some documentation
Xjhtm.tgz | Japanese HTML version of the documentation

The XFree86 directory should contain README files and installation notes for the current version.

Obtain these files and save them in the directory /var/tmp (you can use any other directory; just change the pathname accordingly in the following examples), and create the directory /usr/X11R6 as root. Copy the three files preinst.sh, postinst.sh and extract to /var/tmp. Change to the directory /usr/X11R6 and run:

>     sh /var/tmp/preinst.sh

Next, make sure the extract utility that you downloaded is executable:

>     chmod 755 extract

Now unpack the binaries by typing:

>     /var/tmp/extract /var/tmp/X*.tgz

Finally, run the post-installation script:

>     sh /var/tmp/postinst.sh

You need to make sure that /usr/X11R6/bin is on your path. This can be done by editing your system default /etc/profile or /etc/csh.login (based on the shell that you or other users on your system, use). Or you can simply add the directory to your personal path by modifying /etc/.bashrc or /etc/.cshrc, based on your shell.

You also need to make sure that /usr/X11R6/lib can be located by ld.so, the runtime linker. To do this, add the line:

>     /usr/X11R6/lib

to the file /etc/ld.so.conf, and run /sbin/ldconfig as root.

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