2. What to Do - An Overview

There are three tools that can be used to set up XFree86:

• XF86Setup
• xf86config
• xvidtune

XF86Setup primarily uses a graphical user interface and is the preferred tool for initial setup, but there are a few cases where it can't be used. If you are using a card that is not VGA compatible, have a fixed-frequency monitor, or are running OS/2, you'll not be able to use XF86Setup, read about xf86config instead. If you have limited RAM or a slow system, you might be better off using xf86config as well.

The xf86config program is text based only, but works for almost any hardware combination. If you have a fixed frequency monitor that won't work with standard text modes, you will have to read the necessary documentation and do the configuration manually.

To get things looking just right, you may need to use xvidtune, a program that allows you to make adjustments to the displayed image (e.g. make it wider, move it a little to the left, etc.). XF86Setup will allow you to run xvidtune at the appropriate time; if you use xf86config, you can use xvidtune afterwards.

All of these are explained in detail in the following sections. If you're the type that doesn't like to read the documentation, but would rather just try and figure your way through things, you can just type XF86Setup now. If you have problems, the documentation will still be here.

Although it is possible to use XF86Setup from within X to make changes to your existing configuration, such use is not specifically documented here. These instructions are primarily for those initially setting up XFree86 on their system.