HOWTO: Upgrade Xorg on Vector Linux 5.8

Howto Upgrade Xorg on Vector Linux 5.8
So you want to use some of the new fancy eye-candy do you? Whether it be beryl, xgl or compiz you'll need to Xorg 7 or higher to enjoy it. But bummer for you, Vector Linux hasn't made the move to Xorg 7 quite yet. However, with a little work you can get Xorg 7 to run on VL 5.8. So if you're not afraid to get your hands dirty or potentially hose your system let's begin:

Step 1: Download
You need to download the Xorg 7.2 packages from here:
http://www.orbitfiles.com/download/M0E_lnx

You need these files:
x11-7.2-i586-3vl60.tlz
x11-fonts-base-7.2-noarch-1vl60.tlz
x11-fonts-100dpi-7.2-noarch-4vl58.tlz
x11-fonts-75dpi-7.2-noarch-4vl58.tlz
x11-fonts-cyrillic-7.2-noarch-4vl58.tlz

Download them to /home/username/Xorg7.2 (for the purpose of this howto)

Step 2: Get out of the GUI!
You need to kill X so you can upgrade. So open up a terminal and login as root (type su and enter the password) then issue this command:

Code:

# init 2

Step 3: Do some funky gymnastics
Depending on your setup, you may have to login as root again after dropping to runlevel 2. Once you are logged in you need to remove the existing X11 symlink in /usr which points to X11R6.

Code:

# rm /usr/X11

Step 4: Install!
Now you are ready to install the Xorg 7.2 packages. So navigate to your folder where you downloaded them this way:

Code:

# cd /home/username/Xorg7.2

Now install the packages:

Code:

# upgradepkg –-install-new *.tlz

Step 5: Update configuration files
This is where we update our Xorg configuration file. This is really easy. Just run this command and follow the on screen instructions.

Code:

# vxconf

Step 6: More gymnastics
Now you need to create the symlink to X11 pointing to /usr like this:

Code:

# cd /usr && ln -s /usr X11

Step 7: A login screen might be nice
Now we need to edit the KDM configuration file to let the login manager know that we changed versions of X. Edit the file this way:

Code:

# mcedit /opt/kde/share/config/kdm/kdmrc

Go down to line 34 that should look like this:

Code:

ServerCmd=/usr/X11R6/bin/X -br

Change it to look like this:

Code:

ServerCmd=/usr/bin/X -br

Now hit F2 to save and then F10 to exit.

Step 8: Reinstall drivers
Reinstall your video drivers. If you have an Nvidia setup you should definitely do this. If you don't know what a driver is, you shouldn't be using this HOWTO.

Step 9: Testing, Oh my!
Now you should be ready to test your sweet new X server!

Code:

# init 4

Step 10: Final remarks
Hopefully you should see X fire up and then the KDM login screen. If you do then all went well and congratulations!

This has been tested successfully on VL SOHO 5.8 Final and it works perfectly for me. No glitches whatsoever! I just need some more testers to try it on VL Standard and with other hardware configurations.

Thanks to M0E-lnx for the packages and the original HOWTO!