I really have no idea what im doing with my remote desktop. i did

yum install xorg-x11

and installed all of the x11 packages needed to have xwindows.


then i downloaded the vncserver rpm and installed it also.

i type vncserver, brought it up, set the password, connected to my desktop with vnc viewer, and the desktop is just a blank grey background and i have a mouse curser. thats it.

what do i need to do to actually get a real desktop? lol

Edit the file ~/.vnc/xstartup

If you don't know what the stuff means, dump the contents here, and someone will help you out.

That script holds the startup commands for the vnc server. It should start x windows and your desktop environment. You should see a startxfce4, startgnome, startkde, etc. near the end which actually starts the nice pretty user interface we've all come to know & love.

happy hacking

#!/bin/sh

# Uncomment the following two lines for normal desktop:
# unset SESSION_MANAGER
# exec /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc

[ -x /etc/vnc/xstartup ] && exec /etc/vnc/xstartup
[ -r $HOME/.Xresources ] && xrdb $HOME/.Xresources
xsetroot -solid grey
vncconfig -iconic &
xterm -geometry 80x24+10+10 -ls -title "$VNCDESKTOP Desktop" &
twm &


Theres my xstartup

I just installed KDE via yum (atleast i think i installed all of kde):

[root@li5-11 .vnc]# yum install kdebase
Gathering header information file(s) from server(s)
Server: Fedora Core 2 - i386 - Base
Server: Fedora Core 2 - i386 - Released Updates
Finding updated packages
Downloading needed headers
Resolving dependencies
..Dependencies resolved
I will do the following:
[install: kdebase 6:3.2.2-6.FC2.i386]
I will install/upgrade these to satisfy the dependencies:
[deps: desktop-backgrounds-basic 2.0-20.noarch]
[deps: samba-common 3.0.7-2.FC2.i386]
[deps: lm_sensors 2.8.6-1.i386]
[deps: audiofile 1:0.2.5-1.1.i386]
[deps: cups-libs 1:1.1.20-11.1.i386]
[deps: arts 8:1.2.2-2.i386]
[deps: redhat-menus 1.4.1-1.noarch]
[deps: fam 2.6.10-9.FC2.i386]
[deps: libmng 1.0.4-5.1.i386]
[deps: libtiff 3.5.7-16.1.i386]
[deps: libxslt 1.1.5-1.i386]
[deps: hicolor-icon-theme 0.3-2.noarch]
[deps: redhat-artwork 0.96-1.i386]
[deps: libart_lgpl 2.3.16-2.1.i386]
[deps: esound 1:0.2.34-2.i386]
[deps: xinetd 2:2.3.13-2.i386]
[deps: libvorbis 1:1.0.1-2.1.i386]
[deps: libraw1394 0.10.1-1.i386]
[deps: qt 1:3.3.3-0.1.i386]
[deps: alsa-lib 1.0.3a-2.i386]
[deps: libogg 2:1.1-2.1.i386]
[deps: kdelibs 6:3.2.2-8.FC2.i386]
[deps: xorg-x11-xdm 6.7.0-5.i386]
[deps: cdparanoia-libs alpha9.8-20.1.i386]
Is this ok [y/N]: y
Downloading Packages
Getting desktop-backgrounds-basic-2.0-20.noarch.rpm
desktop-backgrounds-basic 100% |=========================| 1.6 MB 00:04
Getting samba-common-3.0.7-2.FC2.i386.rpm
samba-common-3.0.7-2.FC2. 100% |=========================| 4.1 MB 00:07
Getting lm_sensors-2.8.6-1.i386.rpm
lm_sensors-2.8.6-1.i386.r 100% |=========================| 405 kB 00:00
Getting audiofile-0.2.5-1.1.i386.rpm
audiofile-0.2.5-1.1.i386. 100% |=========================| 95 kB 00:00
Getting cups-libs-1.1.20-11.1.i386.rpm
cups-libs-1.1.20-11.1.i38 100% |=========================| 101 kB 00:00
Getting arts-1.2.2-2.i386.rpm
arts-1.2.2-2.i386.rpm 100% |=========================| 1.1 MB 00:03
Getting redhat-menus-1.4.1-1.noarch.rpm
redhat-menus-1.4.1-1.noar 100% |=========================| 127 kB 00:00
Getting fam-2.6.10-9.FC2.i386.rpm
fam-2.6.10-9.FC2.i386.rpm 100% |=========================| 81 kB 00:00
Getting libmng-1.0.4-5.1.i386.rpm
libmng-1.0.4-5.1.i386.rpm 100% |=========================| 104 kB 00:00
Getting libtiff-3.5.7-16.1.i386.rpm
libtiff-3.5.7-16.1.i386.r 100% |=========================| 191 kB 00:01
Getting libxslt-1.1.5-1.i386.rpm
libxslt-1.1.5-1.i386.rpm 100% |=========================| 413 kB 00:01
Getting hicolor-icon-theme-0.3-2.noarch.rpm
hicolor-icon-theme-0.3-2. 100% |=========================| 11 kB 00:00
Getting redhat-artwork-0.96-1.i386.rpm
redhat-artwork-0.96-1.i38 100% |=========================| 4.4 MB 00:08
Getting libart_lgpl-2.3.16-2.1.i386.rpm
libart_lgpl-2.3.16-2.1.i3 100% |=========================| 70 kB 00:00
Getting esound-0.2.34-2.i386.rpm
esound-0.2.34-2.i386.rpm 100% |=========================| 120 kB 00:00
Getting xinetd-2.3.13-2.i386.rpm
xinetd-2.3.13-2.i386.rpm 100% |=========================| 129 kB 00:00
Getting libvorbis-1.0.1-2.1.i386.rpm
libvorbis-1.0.1-2.1.i386. 100% |=========================| 184 kB 00:00
Getting libraw1394-0.10.1-1.i386.rpm
libraw1394-0.10.1-1.i386. 100% |=========================| 36 kB 00:00
Getting qt-3.3.3-0.1.i386.rpm
qt-3.3.3-0.1.i386.rpm 100% |=========================| 3.0 MB 00:05
Getting alsa-lib-1.0.3a-2.i386.rpm
alsa-lib-1.0.3a-2.i386.rp 100% |=========================| 300 kB 00:00
Getting libogg-1.1-2.1.i386.rpm
libogg-1.1-2.1.i386.rpm 100% |=========================| 16 kB 00:00
Getting kdelibs-3.2.2-8.FC2.i386.rpm
kdelibs-3.2.2-8.FC2.i386. 100% |=========================| 14 MB 00:27
Getting kdebase-3.2.2-6.FC2.i386.rpm
kdebase-3.2.2-6.FC2.i386. 100% |=========================| 22 MB 00:38
Getting xorg-x11-xdm-6.7.0-5.i386.rpm
xorg-x11-xdm-6.7.0-5.i386 100% |=========================| 298 kB 00:00
Getting cdparanoia-libs-alpha9.8-20.1.i386.rpm
cdparanoia-libs-alpha9.8- 100% |=========================| 48 kB 00:00
Running test transaction:
/etc/security/selinux/file_contexts: No such file or directory
Test transaction complete, Success!
/etc/security/selinux/file_contexts: No such file or directory
libogg 100 % done 1/25
alsa-lib 100 % done 2/25
audiofile 100 % done 3/25
esound 100 % done 4/25
libvorbis 100 % done 5/25
libart_lgpl 100 % done 6/25
redhat-artwork 100 % done 7/25
libtiff 100 % done 8/25
cups-libs 100 % done 9/25
redhat-menus 100 % done 10/25
desktop-backgrounds-basic 100 % done 11/25
samba-common 100 % done 12/25
cdparanoia-libs 100 % done 13/25
xorg-x11-xdm 100 % done 14/25
libraw1394 100 % done 15/25
xinetd 100 % done 16/25
fam 100 % done 17/25
hicolor-icon-theme 100 % done 18/25
libxslt 100 % done 19/25
libmng 100 % done 20/25
qt 100 % done 21/25
arts 100 % done 22/25
kdelibs 100 % done 23/25
lm_sensors 100 % done 24/25
kdebase 100 % done 25/25
Installed: kdebase 6:3.2.2-6.FC2.i386
Dep Installed: desktop-backgrounds-basic 2.0-20.noarch samba-common 3.0.7-2.FC2.i386 lm_sensors 2.8.6-1.i386 audiofile 1:0.2.5-1.1.i386 cups-libs 1:1.1.20-11.1.i386 arts 8:1.2.2-2.i386 redhat-menus 1.4.1-1.noarch fam 2.6.10-9.FC2.i386 libmng 1.0.4-5.1.i386 libtiff 3.5.7-16.1.i386 libxslt 1.1.5-1.i386 hicolor-icon-theme 0.3-2.noarch redhat-artwork 0.96-1.i386 libart_lgpl 2.3.16-2.1.i386 esound 1:0.2.34-2.i386 xinetd 2:2.3.13-2.i386 libvorbis 1:1.0.1-2.1.i386 libraw1394 0.10.1-1.i386 qt 1:3.3.3-0.1.i386 alsa-lib 1.0.3a-2.i386 libogg 2:1.1-2.1.i386 kdelibs 6:3.2.2-8.FC2.i386 xorg-x11-xdm 6.7.0-5.i386 cdparanoia-libs alpha9.8-20.1.i386
Transaction(s) Complete


so now what do i need to do?

hm i got KDE to load up now by putting exec startkde in the xstartup, and now i have a nice pretty purple background and a nice curser, but still no login screen!

how do i get a login screen? :/

nvm, somethin is actually coming up now. a popup saying it couldnt initalize the sound driver lol. i clicked on the OK and now some other background is loading up. yay


is it possible to be able to have each user on my linode have their own login for their own desktop?

the only way i know of to do this is to have them SSH into their own shell account, run vncserver (setup their password for the first time), and then have them tunnel their vnc session through the existing SSH session.

while this seems like a lot of work, it forces your users to be secure by tunneling their connection through ssh. in fact i would block ports 5900+ in your firewall for external connections, so they have to login using this method.

each user will have their own desktop and everything stored neatly in their /home directory.

hm, i seem to be having a problem with the vncserver not putting exec startkde in the users xstartup file automatically.

how do i make it do that?