[mythtv-users] Help: Disable X & Edit X config

[Brian Wood]

On Apr 18, 2006, at 9:47 AM, Travis N wrote:

> I am new to linux & myth, but at one point successfully had both  
> functioning.  In my blind attempts to get the S-video out hooked up  
> to my TV, I changed my X config file to force S-video out.  This  
> was successful, but the HorizSync setting seems to be set wrong, as  
> the output image seems to be smeared across/around the screen  
> horizontally.  Now when I plug my monitor into the VGA connection,  
> it will no longer output to the monitor and I cannot see what is on  
> the TV in order to log in and modify the config file in KDE.
>
> I am guessing that I have to prevent X from booting, and edit this  
> file from outside of KDE somehow, but have no idea of how to do it  
> (s-video works great until X loads)..  basic step-by-step  
> instructions would be greatly appreciated!
>
> Also, if someone could direct me to the appropriate config settings  
> (HorizSync) for a run-of-the-mill 27” RCA TV (NTSC), that would  
> also be greatly appreciated.


Hooo Boy. It should be illegal to allow Unix systems to boot directly  
into a graphical environment, or at least it shouldn't be the default  
behavior as it is with a lot of distros.

I don't know how or what distro you installed but here are some options:

If you can log into the machine remotely via ssh you could edit the  
file.

You could press CTRL-ALT-F2, which should get you into a virtual text  
terminal, and you can edit whatever you want.

Do you want to output just to the TV, or to a TV and a normal  
computer display? If the latter, it depends on what X server and  
driver you are using, nVidia has "TwinView", which is probably what  
you want. The README that comes with the nVidia driver explains how  
to set this up.

You might also want to be sure that both your display devices are  
connected at boot, again this depends somewhat on your setup.

Also, to prevent booting into a graphical environment, change the  
line in your /etc/inittab file that says "id:<x>:initdefault:" so  
that <x> is 3 and not whatever it is. I don't know how this might  
interact with whatever distro you are using though. Normally you'll  
just have to type "startx"to get into your graphical world.

But it's easy enough to just switch to a terminal after X starts I  
guess.
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