8mb of memory is a recommended minimum for running X. The server, window manager and an xterm take about 4 Mb of memory themselves. On a 4Mb system that would leave nothing left over for other applications like gcc that expect a few meg free. X will work with 4Mb of memory, but in practice compilation while running X can take 5 or 10 times as long due to constant paging.
The easiest way for new users to start X windows is to type: ``startx
>& startx.log
''. Error messages are lost unless you redirect them
because the server takes over the screen.
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 your home directory as described in the xinit
and startx man pages.