Question

VNC Server Config for GNOME on RH 9

Asked by: Schandor

Hi all,
I apologize if this is the wrong forum for this question, but here goes anyway.  I have a RH 9 box all set up and running.  Now I want to be able to control it from my WinXP laptop.  I am able to get VNC to work with the default Xwindows configuration but I am unable to get a gnome session to come up on the XP machine.

After searching around I found several suggestions that said to change the Xstartup file to this:
#!/bin/sh
[ -r $HOME/.Xresources ]
&& xrdb $HOME/.Xresources
xsetroot -solid grey
exec gnome-session &

and to start the vncserver with the following:
vncserver -depth 16 -geometry 1024x768

I have tried this to no avail.  All I get is a grey screen and the Xwindows crosshares.  Anyone have any thoughts?

Thank you in advanced.

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Asked On
2004-01-28 at 19:23:56ID20866417
Tags

vnc

,

gnome

,

vncserver

Topic

Linux Setup

Participating Experts
4
Points
200
Comments
15

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Answers

 

by: khkremerPosted on 2004-01-28 at 19:43:33ID: 10224494

Look at this (rather long) thread: http://www.experts-exchange.com/Operating_Systems/Linux/Linux_Setup/Q_20839457.html

It describes how configure Vnc on a Mandrake system. The key is that your gdm login manager needs to allow logins over the network (it has to advertise itself). If you can manage that, the instructions will help to get a login and a Gnome desktop after you log in.

 

by: SchandorPosted on 2004-01-29 at 14:26:43ID: 10230283

Hi khkrerner,
I read through the (rather!?!? long :)  post and did not find the solution anywhere.  Like I mentioned, I can log in to a VNC session on the Windows machine without a problem (viewer on Windows, server on RH Linux).  The problem comes when I try to get it to start a GNOME session by reconfiguring the Xstartup file.   I CAN get an X11 session if I use the original Xstartup file (I can post the original file later this evening if you think it would help).  If this info is in the other thread and I'm blind I apologize.

 

by: willy134Posted on 2004-01-29 at 15:19:46ID: 10230694

VNC reads from a folder in the home directory.  It is .vnc (dot vnc).  Is that the xstartup file you are referring to?  

Also just for fun, start vncviewer
telnet/ssh into your machine
set your display to the vnc (export DISPLAY=:1) where the one is the display number vncserver tells you and then run gnome-session &

Does that start gnome?  You shouldn't have to do that every time, maybe gnome-session the wrong command.


Good luck,
Willy

 

by: khkremerPosted on 2004-01-29 at 15:48:03ID: 10230938

One key idea in the question I quoted is that you don't start the vncserver manually, but via xinetd. The other key idea is that vncserver does connect to a xdmcp server (gdm, kdm, xdm). The last point makes sure that you do have the gnome session started automatically. You can have this even when you start vncserver manually. If you add "-query localhost" to the vncserver command line, you will get the graphical login window you get when you log into the console.

The page at http://voidmain.kicks-ass.net/redhat/redhat_8_terminal_server.html shows how to enable xdmcp on a RedHat system.

 

by: sreekandhPosted on 2004-02-02 at 04:59:59ID: 10252062

Hi

Just login to the linux machine onces in Gnome Session. After that use the VNC to connect..... This will give you a gnome session



:-)
sree
Happy Hacking

 

by: sreekandhPosted on 2004-02-02 at 05:00:17ID: 10252064

Hi

Just login to the linux machine onces in Gnome Session. After that use the VNC to connect..... This will give you a gnome session



:-)
sree
Happy Hacking

 

by: khkremerPosted on 2004-02-02 at 05:23:09ID: 10252164

No, this will not work because VNC on a Unix system works different from VNC on a Windows or Mac system. You do not get a mirror image of your desktop. VNC will (if you are not using a special VNC server) always start a new session. With the solution I proposed, you will get the normal Gnome login manager, and once you've logged in, VNC will display a normal desktop.

 

by: SchandorPosted on 2004-02-02 at 06:28:26ID: 10252624

Hi all,
I apologize that I haven't repsonded for a while.  After tinkering around on my own for a while I completely messed up VNC so I formatted and reinstalled everything.  This time however, I used RedHat's VNC rather than the realVNC distribution.  When I started up the server I was able to log into it from a Windows machine and got a GNOME session.  I will look into it further when I get the time.  Until then I will be closing this questions and splitting points as I see fit.

Thank you for your help.

 

by: khkremerPosted on 2004-02-02 at 07:03:30ID: 10252919

Can you explain the C grade? Are you familiar with the grading recommendations at http://www.experts-exchange.com/help.jsp#hi73 ?

 

by: kakubeiPosted on 2004-08-23 at 08:33:15ID: 11871380

I can explain the C grade. He asked how to setup VNC and you pointed him to a page on how to setup xdmcp which doesn't seem to respond to a vnc client at all. I followed the steps in the link you posted and they didn't work.

 

by: khkremerPosted on 2004-08-23 at 09:38:03ID: 11872297

It's actually the other way around: xdmcp cannot respond to a vnc session, but vnc can use a xdmcp server to get it's desktop (this is done with the "-query localhost" in the thread I quoted). The steps in the link I posted to work: lowrider (the author of the linked question) got it to work, which to me means that the instructions work.
You have to read (and understand) the complete thread. The accepted answer does not contain all the information you need to setup the system.
But, even if the answers provided did not resolve the problem, the correct response would have been to ask more questions, or to request that the question be deleted and the points refunded.

I still stand by my original answer, the linked question did provide the solution to this problem. And I'm not refering to the link in the accepted answer, but the link in my first comment: http://www.experts-exchange.com/Operating_Systems/Linux/Linux_Setup/Q_20839457.html
The second link was just to explain how to setup xdmcp on a RH system.

 

by: SchandorPosted on 2004-08-23 at 13:29:13ID: 11874782

I gave the C grade because the answers provided did not work for the problem I posted.  I did try all the suggestions but finally decided to reinstall from scratch, thus “fixing” fixing the problem myself.  I did not feel that a B grade was warranted because none of the solutions actually fixed the problem.  I did not request that the question be removed as I felt it contained valid information for anyone searching through the archives.

I do apologize for not responding way back in Feb to this.  Once I close a question out I tend not to look at it again.  I am curious as to why a stink is suddenly being raised bout it now though.

 

by: khkremerPosted on 2004-08-23 at 14:45:25ID: 11875525

There is no "stink" being raised. I asked you a question on 2/2, and it seems like I forgot to check back for an answer. kakubei's comment brought this question back to my attention. I always request a review for a "C" grade.

If you don't think that the comments provided any useful information then the question should be deleted, and the points refunded.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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