Series: XFree86OS/2 Author: Dr Holger Veit Homepage: http://borneo.gmd.de/~veit/os2/xf86os2.html

+ Why use XFree86OS/2? + Gnome and the Gimp + Window managers and utilities

Before looking into this file, please check for any LATEST.OS2 files that may come with the binary distribution. Please also check out the following XFree86/OS2 WWW pages:

• http://ais.gmd.de/~veit/os2/xf86os2.html
• http://ais.gmd.de/~veit/os2/xf86bugs.html
• http://ais.gmd.de/~veit/os2/x11os2faq.html

This version of the code is called XFree86/OS2 3.3.6. This is a bugfix release for 3.3.5 and previous versions which again adds hardware support for some newer cards, including AGP boards. XFree86-3.3.6 contains all security fixes that were released for earlier versions. See the RELNOTES document for details.

XFree86/OS2-3.3.6 is a full, unrestricted version which does not expire, and for which the complete source code is available. In contrast to beta versions, we consider this code as sufficiently stable for use by an end user. Since there have been numerous bugfixes, we recommend this version, even if you had XFree86/OS2 3.3.x before and it worked satisfyingly with your hardware. By the time 3.3.6 is released, the older version 3.3 will be withdrawn, and archives will be updated to this version. There may still be references to 3.3 or 3.3.x still in documents; these apply to 3.3.6 as well, unless otherwise noted.

Previous versions have been tested in a large number of configurations and have been found to be working, with some bugs left, rather flawlessly.

This release is almost complete (with a few exceptions) regarding the X11R6.3 ``core'' distribution. A subset of the ``contrib'' distribution is available from the ported software page http://ais.gmd.de/~veit/os2/xf86ported.html

In the past beta testing, it has been found that the software itself is rather stable and does not damage hardware - provided the user does not try to push the builtin limits and change certain configuration parameters which could operate the video hardware out of specs.

However,

• even with a code we consider stable there is no explicit or implicit warranty that certain code works correctly or works at all
• although no damage reports are known, it does not mean that it is impossible to damage hardware with this code; some deeply hidden bugs may still be present in the software.

2. What and Where is XFree86?

XFree86 is a port of X11R6.3 that supports several versions of Intel-based Unix. It is derived from X386 1.2, which was the X server distributed with X11R5. This release consists of many new features and performance improvements as well as many bug fixes. The release is available as source patches against the X Consortium X11R6 code, as well as binary distributions for many architectures.

XFree86/OS2 is the name of the implementation of XFree86 on OS/2 based systems.

See the Copyright Notice.

Binaries for OS/2 Warp, Merlin, and Aurora are available from: ftp.XFree86.org:/pub/XFree86/3.3.6/OS2

The WWW page http://borneo.gmd.de/~veit/os2/xf86os2.html will usually show more references to FTP or WWW sites to retrieve sources or binaries.

Other versions:

XFree86/OS2 will run on all dialects of Warp 3, including Warp "red spine box", Warp "blue spine box", Warp Connect, Warp Server, and Warp 4.

For Warp 3 installing fixpack level 17 or later is strongly recommended. There have been a few reports that the installation of FP26 causes XFree86 no longer to work, but I am not sure about a real reason. Current fixpacks for Warp 3, like FP36, seem to work well also.

Warp 4 may be used with or without the recent public fixpack.

Please check in all cases a LATEST.OS2 file.

OS/2 2.11 is not supported any longer with this release, due to lack of a working test environment. Consequently, OS/2 SMP 2.11 is not supported either. Warp Server SMP is supported, but SMP does not give significant advantage, other than the general speedup because of multiple processors working. OS/2 versions 1.X are definitely not supported and will never be.

It is possible to build XFree86/OS2 from the sources. Read about this in the document OS2.NOTES.

3. Bug Reports for This Document

Send email to Holger . Veit < # > ais . fhs . de (Holger Veit) or XFree86 < # > XFree86.org if you have comments or suggestions about this file and we'll revise it.

4. Hardware and Software Requirements

4.1 Supported, Required, and Recommended Hardware

• At least a 486DX33 with 16MB RAM is required. A Pentium or Pentium Pro and more main memory is recommended. A 386 or a system with 8MB or less memory is an insufficient configuration.

• There are no specific requirements concerning network cards, disk types, or CD ROM equipment; of course the more powerful, the better.

• Depending on the packages installed, a disk space of 20-55MB on a HPFS formatted partition (or a JFS, NFS or ext2fs partition natively allowing long filenames) is required. XFree86/OS2 will not run on FAT partitions.

• You need a video card that is supported by XFree86. Refer to the general README document for a list of supported cards. Note that the sets of video cards supported by XFree86 on one hand and OS/2 on the other hand overlap, but do not match exactly, i.e. the fact that your card is supported by OS/2 does not mean it works with XFree86 as well, and vice versa. XFree86 does not use the video services of the OS/2 operating system.

4.2 Required Software

• Any version of Warp 3 with at least fixpack 17, or Warp 4 is required

• XFree86/OS2-3.3.6 may use a local named-pipe connection or a TCP/IP based network connection.
  1. Warp comes with the Internet Access Kit (IAK), which is sufficient. Warp Connect and Warp Server come with a full version of TCP/IP (3.0). Use of this software is preferred over IAK then.

  2. Warp 4 comes with TCP/IP 4.0 which should also work.

  3. There are reports that with EMX 0.9 fix 4, you can also use the new 32 bit IBM TCP/IP 4.1 product.

  4. The old IBM TCP/IP 2.0, that comes with the IBM PMX product may be used with Warp as well, although it is no longer supported by IBM. Please ensure that you have the latest CSDs installed.

  Other versions of TCP/IP, such as FTP's, DEC's, or Hummingbird's TCP/IP versions, as well as IBM TCP/IP 1.X are not supported. Nor does any networking support from DOS (packet drivers, winsock), Netware, or NetBIOS work, and I won't to provide support for that in the future.

• If you want to write or port applications for XFree86, you are encouraged to do so. You will need a complete installation of EMX/gcc 0.9C fix4 or later for doing so. Neither the second (obsolete) implementation of gcc, nor any commercial package, including Cset/2, VAC++, Borland C++/OS2, Watcom C++, Metaware C, and others, is suitable for porting, because various parts of the X DLLs rely on certain features only present with EMX.

5. Installing the System

The binary distribution is composed of a number of zip archives which are the executables, servers, fonts, libraries, include files, man pages, and config files. The full distribution requires about 40-55MB of disk space.

All archives of this alpha version are packed with the info-zip utility, which is available under the name UNZ512X2.EXE (or a later version) from many OS/2 archives. Please obtain a native OS/2 version of this unpacker. DOS PKUNZIP does not work, because it cannot unpack long file names and extended attributes.

At this moment, the distribution covers only the ``core'' distribution which somewhat reduces the usability. Refer to WWW sites and archives listed in the XFree86/OS2 FAQ and elsewhere to obtain pre-built X clients which were ported to XFree86.

The contents of the packages are:

REQUIRED:
Xbase

A special device driver and the SuperProbe program Note: In order to fix a problem occurring with WSeB (Aurora), you must install the most recent version of the xf86sup.sys driver that comes with this file. Older versions won't work.

Xdoc

READMEs and XFree86 specific man pages.

Xbin

all of the executable X client applications and shared libs

Xfnts

the misc and 75dpi fonts

emxrt

Runtime libraries of EMX

Choose at least one of the following to match your hardware:
X8514

the X server for IBM 8514/A and compatible boards

XAGX

the X server for AGX boards

XGlnt

the X server for Permedia / GLINT boards

XI128

the X server for #9 Imagination 128 boards

XMa32

the X server for ATI Mach32 graphics boards

XMa64

the X server for ATI Mach64 graphics boards

XMa8

the X server for ATI Mach8 graphics boards

XMono

the Monochrome X Server

XP9K

the X server for P9000 based boards

XS3

the X server for S3 based boards (excluding S3 ViRGE)

XS3V

the X server for S3 ViRGE based boards

XSVGA

the 8-bit pseudo-color X server for Super VGA cards

XVG16

the 4-bit pseudo-color X server for VGA & SVGA cards.

XW32

the X server for et4000w32 based boards

OPTIONAL:
Xman

pre-formatted man pages for the X11 interface and clients

Xf100

100dpi fonts

Xfscl

Speedo and Type1 fonts

Xfnon

Japanese, Chinese and other fonts

Xfcyr

Cyrillic fonts

Xfsrv

the font server with man pages.

Xprog

the X11 header files and programmer's utilities for compiling other X applications

Xpex

PEX fonts and libraries required for PEX applications

If it is your first time install, get the Xbase archive before any of the other packages. This package contains a driver and a test program, which analyzes your video hardware. If this program fails or reports an incompatible hardware, it makes no sense to obtain the other packages in the hope that they would magically work.

6. Troubleshooting

Surprised to see this section directly in the beginning? We have put it here because chances are best here not to overlook it. This does not mean that you will necessarily encounter trouble when installing XFree86, but be warned: the following sections are IMPORTANT and neglecting one or more things out of impatience or sloppiness will leave you with a non-working X11 system and us with unnecessary problems.

Still, due to the incredibly large number of hardware configurations, there may be some special situations and configurations where the below description is not successful. If this happens, read - I repeat READ - the list of "frequently asked questions" (FAQ) which has meanwhile evolved to a troubleshooting guide. The latest version is always at http://ais.gmd.de/~veit/os2/x11os2faq.html .

Maybe - but we found you must be very creative - you find a bug. Consult the page http://ais.gmd.de/~veit/os2/xf86bugs.html whether it is already known. If not, you have a case and should report it to XFree86 (xfree86@xfree86.org). Please refer to the FAQ about the information to be provided for a complete problem report.

The recommended newsgroup for setup questions is comp.os.os2.setup.misc. I read this group, so it won't speed up the process or enforce anything if you post to other groups, or forward the report to my mail address as well or to xfree86@xfree86.org.

So, not to discourage you completely, the setup section begins:

7. Checking Compatibility of Video Hardware

In the following, we assume that you want to install XFree86/OS2 on a disk drive with the letter Y: (which you probably don't have). Change the letter in all commands accordingly.

1. Obtain the package Xbase and install it from the root directory of the Y: drive, by entering the following commands:
   [C:\] Y:
   [Y:\] cd \
   [Y:\] unzip \path_of_package\Xbase.zip
   

2. Edit your CONFIG.SYS file to contain the following line somewhere:
   DEVICE=Y:\XFree86\lib\xf86sup.sys

   Of course replace ``Y:'' with the correct drive letter.

3. At this point, you may consider to add the variables required for XFree86/OS2 as well, which will save you from one additional reboot. Refer to section Adding Variables to CONFIG.SYS (section 9., page 1) below.

4. After adding the device driver entry to the CONFIG.SYS file, you must reboot to install the driver. XFree86/OS2 will not work without this driver.

5. Start a full screen OS/2 CMD session and enter the following command:

   [C:\] Y:\XFree86\bin\SuperProbe

6. This command will (normally) report important information about your video configuration, i.e. the type of chipset, the available video memory and the RAMDAC circuit available. Please write this down or redirect the output of ``SuperProbe'' into a file by entering:

   [C:\] Y:\XFree86\bin\SuperProbe >filename

7. SuperProbe can identify many more video cards than are supported by XFree86. In some cases, SuperProbe unfortunately detects a wrong card, often it claims to have seen a MCGA card which is some sort of a fallback. Generally, if it is approximately right, there are only few reasons for doubts; if it is totally off (e.g. saying it has seen a ET4000, and you have a Cirrus card), you should report a mis-detection as a bug to the given address. In all cases, please take the few minutes and check the accompanying README.* files to check for special precautions, options, or features of the card.

8. If the README files tell you that your hardware is supported, please obtain the rest of the software.

XFree86/OS2 assumes a directory hierarchy starting from drive:\XFree86. This can be changed, but is strictly discouraged.

1. Choose a HPFS partition with sufficient free space.

2. For each package to install, go to the root directory of this drive, and type:

   drive:> cd \
   drive:> unzip \path_of_packages\Xxxxx.zip
   

3. You might encounter that some packages report duplicate files, e.g. the X server packages install corresponding README files, which are also in the Xdoc package. This is okay, the files are the same. Let unzip replace the files.

4. No special sequence to unpack the files is required.

9. Adding Variables to CONFIG.SYS

XFree86/OS2 requires a number of settings in the CONFIG.SYS file to work correctly. Please add the following settings, and in particular take care to set forward versus backward slashes correctly:

TERM

Set the preferred terminal type for the xterm or editor to be used. Some programs need this setting. I have my type set to
SET TERM=ansi

\XFree86\lib\X11\etc\termcap.x11 contains a suitable termcap which can be used in place of termcap files that come with EMX, EMACS, or other ported software.

TERMCAP

This variable must be set to the location where the termcap file used for the above TERM variable is searched. My setting, for instance, is:
SET TERMCAP=D:/EMX/ETC/TERMCAP.X11

Note that forward ``/'' is used as a directory separator.

ETC

Set to an ETC directory. Normally, this is already set to the ETC directory of the TCP/IP code, such as
SET ETC=C:\TCPIP\ETC

For Warp 4 and later, this may point to the \MPTN\ directory. This is okay.

TMP

Set to an TMP directory which should reside on a HPFS drive (or other filesystem that has real long names). Often, this variable is already set to the TMP directory of the TCP/IP code, such as
SET TMP=C:\TCPIP\TMP

If you have installed additional software, like VisualAge for C++, it might be that this variable points to some directory \ibmcpp\tmp .

HOSTNAME

Set to the internet hostname. Normally, this is already set by the TCP/IP installation program, such as
SET HOSTNAME=myhost

With IAK, you would normally run a loopback configuration Network configuration (section 10., page 1) and would then set this to
SET HOSTNAME=localhost

USER

LOGNAME

Set both to a username. Currently, they are there just to make some programs happy; in the future, this variable might be set by a login shell of a multiuser configuration. My variable, for instance, is set to
SET USER=holger
SET LOGNAME=holger

HOME

Set this to an existing directory that is supposed to be a home directory of a user. Some utilities place temporary and init files here. This is also future investment for a multiuser configuration, but must still be there. For instance, this variable might be set to
SET HOME=H:\user\holger

X11ROOT

This is one of the most important settings, it determines the root of the XFree86 directory tree. Normally, you will set this to the drive letter of the partition where the \XFree86 tree resides, such as in
SET X11ROOT=Y:

You may try to move the tree to another subdirectory, e.g. to K:\OS2\X11\XFree86... and would then have to change this to
SET X11ROOT=K:/OS2/X11

, but this is discouraged, since some utilities might not accept this. Note the forward ``/'' as a directory separator here.

DISPLAY

This variable may be set to the display to be used for displaying clients. Normally you will set this variable to the same value as the HOSTNAME variable and simply add a :0.0 after it, such as
SET DISPLAY=myhost:0.0

Read the X11 man page on the exact meaning of these postfixes and other options.

XSERVER

Set this to the executable name of the X server to be used. This must be a complete path. My setting, for instance, looks as follows:
SET XSERVER=D:/XFree86/bin/XF86_Mach64.exe

PATH

Add the binary directory for the X11 utilities to your search PATH. This is normally the directory (adjust the letter)
Y:\XFree86\bin

It is possible to move the binaries to another directory in the search path; for maintenance reasons and clarity of the structure, this is not recommended, though. You might, of course, use a software like TVFS to redirect these files to elsewhere.

LIBPATH

Add the DLL directory for the X11 utilities to the LIBPATH. This is normally the directory (adjust the letter)
Y:\XFree86\lib

It is possible to move the DLLs to another directory in the library path; for maintenance reasons and clarity of the structure, this is not recommended, though. Note that Y:\XFree86\lib has several other subdirectories; these may not be moved elsewhere, rather they must stay there, because most utilities form a path to these directories by using %X11ROOT%\XFree86\lib as a base.

MANPATH

If you want to use xman, add the path to a set of manual pages to this variable. This variable allows multiple directories, like the standard PATH variable. Example:
SET MANPATH=Y:\XFree86\man;Y:\EMX\man

SET MANPATH=Y:\XFree86\man;Y:\EMX\man

Note: xman alone might not be sufficient to display arbitrary Unix man pages correctly. You might have to install the GROFF formatter tool as well. See FAQ for more details.

OS2_SHELL


COMSPEC

SHELL

X11SHELL


Some scripts in XFree86 rely on a shell that is compatible to the standard CMD.EXE. CMD.EXE has some essential properties that allows it to work correctly in an xterm. Third party shells may not been developed with running in an environment that, like xterm. accept input and output from the stdin/stdout file channels, but access keyboard and video services directly. The above variables allow reconfiguration of your system in order to run any favorite shell outside XFree86 and still have XFree86 use CMD.EXE. See the FAQ for more details.

10. Remarks on the Network Configuration

It is beyond the scope of this document to even give an introduction about the correct installation of the TCP/IP networking system. You must do this yourself or seek assistance elsewhere. It is only possible to say here that a PC working well in a TCP/IP based LAN network will also work with XFree86/OS2 (when all other prerequisites are matched as well).

With IAK, there is a special configuration necessary, unless you want to use XFree86/OS2 only during a hot link to your Internet provider, the so called ``localhost'' or ``loopback'' configuration. This is a local network interface which ``loops'' back to the same host. The following settings are necessary for this:

1. Create a file \tcpip\etc\hosts with the following content:
   127.0.0.1 localhost

2. Add the following line to your \tcpip\bin\tcpstart.cmd:
   ifconfig lo 127.0.0.1 up

   If you don't have such a tcpstart.cmd file (Warp 4 calls this file \MPTN\BIN\MPTSTART.CMD), create one, and add a line like the following to your config.sys file: CALL=C:\OS2\CMD.EXE /Q /C C:\tcpip\bin\tcp- start.cmd >NUL: (implying that your bootdrive is C:).

3. Set the HOSTNAME environment variable to localhost as described in the last section.

4. Add the following line to CONFIG.SYS:
   SET USE_HOSTS_FIRST=1

5. After rebooting, verify that the following command works:
   [C:\] ping localhost

In case of a SLIP/PPP line, you have to establish this connection BEFORE you start XFree86. See the next section for more details.

Note that the ability to use host names, for instance in the DISPLAY variable, correlates with the existance of a name resolver. If you don't have a LAN-based DNS server available, you have to add the relevant hostnames to your HOSTS/ file. The TCP/IP configuration dialogue in your system configuration folder allows you to edit this file. The checkinstall.cmd script coming with XFree86/OS2 gives some advice on the configuration as well. If you have problems to get this or other basic networking things running, seek assistance in the FAQ, the xf86os2 mailing list or the mailing list archive.

11. Dynamic IP Considerations

Generally, the whole stuff works best, if your machine has a fixed IP address. The localhost address, and also fixed (non-routable) local addresses (10.x.x.x, 192.168.x.x, 172.16.x.x-172.31.x.x) work fine. A problem occurs on both sides of such an X connection if there are dynamic IP addresses involved, for instance in case of a PPP line to an ISP. Unfortunately, the XFree86/OS2 net community hasn't come up with a set of helpful scripts yet (which I would integrate), so there are here only some hints what the problem really is: The X server listens for X protocol packets on some defined host/port socket. It gets the information about the socket from either the command line or the resolved hostname (which it gets from the HOSTS file or the DNS server). Here the HOSTNAME variable comes into play. Once the server is running, a change in the IP/HOSTNAME configuration won't be recognized any more. Thus, the general approach for X over a dynamic IP line is: build the connection to the ISP first, then start the server. The relevant script that is responsible for starting the server is the startx.cmd script which executes (indirectly) the \XFree86\lib\X11\xinit\xinitrc.cmd script. You have to modify these scripts in order to set the HOSTNAME and DISPLAY variables correctly and start the server with the right IP address. The X server log shows, right to the beginning, at which IP address it is listening, for debug purposes.

12. Configuring X for Your Hardware

After you have added the required settings and setup a working network, run the xf86config program to create a standard configuration file in Y:\XFree86\lib\X11\XF86Config from a windowed or full screen OS/2 text session:

[C:\] xf86config

It is possible, but strongly discouraged for the non-expert, to edit the XF86Config file with a text editor. In a few situations as described in the FAQ, however, this might even be mandatory. This file is not a hacker's area, such as the Win95 registry, but it has in common with it that you can easily cause damage.

For details about the XF86Config file format, refer to the XF86Config(4/5) manual page.

If you know the configuration process from Linux or other XFree86 platform, you will encounter a few differences:

• There is no configuration for the mouse type or device. The mouse device name is fixed to OSMOUSE, and this cannot be changed. If you have a three-button-mouse, install the correct OS/2 driver for it, such as
  DEVICE=D:\OS2\BOOT\PCLOGIC.SYS SERIAL=COM1
  DEVICE=D:\OS2\BOOT\MOUSE.SYS TYPE=PCLOGIC$
  

  for a MouseSystems compatible mouse, for instance.

• The X server does not read the native OS/2 keyboard map, but the new XKB server extension might already give you a correct keyboard layout, provided your language was selectable in the xf86config program. If you encounter incorrect settings, please send a mail to XFree86@XFree86.org describing in detail what is wrong. Even with XKB, you have the option to replace some key settings with a xmodmap file. See the man page for xmodmap for details (or use some available xmodmap file from Linux - they are the same).

• There is no support for the Wacom and Elographics input devices yet.

For S3 VLB cards, the X server can search for this memory by experimentally mapping and unmapping possible memory regions. However, in XFree86/OS2, the OS may run out of memory tiles during this process. If this happens, you must find out the location of the memory yourself and add it as an option

MemBase 0x12345678

For Matrox cards, the X server may fail to detect the PCI ID of the card correctly, as the PM driver and Matrox BIOS may have reprogrammed the card's PCI configuration in a non-standard way. The server will then fall into a VGA compatible mode at 320x200 resolution. To prevent this, add a

PCIProbe2

Once you've set up a XF86Config file, you can fine tune the video modes with the xvidtune utility. Note this is an X11 program which has to be executed in a local xterm window of a running X server, not in a PM window.

13. Running X

16mb of memory is a recommended minimum for running the network software, X and the presentation manager in parallel. The server, window manager and an xterm take about 4-6 Mb of memory themselves. X will start up on a system with 8MB or less, but the performance will severely suffer from heavy disk swapping. Your mileage may vary, though, so some people might consider this still tolerable.

Some more on resource requirements: With the arrival of complex desktops like WindowMaker, KDE, Gnome, Enlightment, etc. which add a lot of graphical features, resource requirements grow. The X server will cache used fonts and resource settings internally, and depending on the number of windows (backing- store) it may require much more memory and swapspace than the mentioned few MBs. Also take into consideration that X runs in parallel to PM which also takes its share. My own system, albeit meanwhile rather outdated, is a PII-233 with 128MB, however, it is a development system. 64 MB are meanwhile standard, and okay for the purpose, and my laptop runs Aurora with XFree86 in 32MB, as well.

The easiest way for new users to start X windows is to type:

startx

To get out of X windows, type: ``exit'' in the console xterm. You can customize your X by creating .xinitrc, .xserverrc, and .twmrc files in the directory that the HOME environment variable points to. These files are described in the xinit and startx man pages.

By default, the systemwide xinitrc file (in Y:/XFree86/lib/X11/xinit/xinitrc.cmd) installs the rather simplistic twm window manager. You can find better window managers on the ported software page at

14. Rebuilding the XFree86 Distribution

Do you really want to rebuild XFree86/OS2 from source? Read the file on details to recompile XFree86/OS2 from scratch.

15. Building New X Clients

The easiest way to build a new client (X application) is to use xmkmf if an Imakefile is included in the sources. Type ``xmkmf -a'' to create the Makefiles, check the configuration if necessary and type ``xmake''. ``xmake'' is a wrapper for the GNU make program which defeats the improper SHELL setting typically found in a Makefile generated from an Imakefile. Also see the XFree86/OS2 FAQ for more hints about porting X clients.

16. Acknowledgements

Many thanks to:

• Sebastien Marineau for his great work on getting the server code debugged

• Eberhard Mattes for the wonderful base platform EMX which this port heavily relies on

• ME - no, no, forget this: I won't praise myself :-)

( Generated from XFree86: xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/doc/sgml/OS2.sgml,v 3.9.2.11 1999/12/20 12:55:51 hohndel Exp $

$XConsortium: OS2.sgml /main/4 1996/03/11 10:46:06 kaleb $

$XFree86: xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/doc/README.OS2,v 3.13.2.14 1999/12/20 16:37:01 hohndel Exp $ )