re: assistance required. can't open display message. (fwd)

[Dave Mielke <dave@mielke.cc>]

[quoted lines by mark muscat on October 12, 2002, at 17:06]

>I am getting the following error message ocasionally when I am trying to
>install package in particular the realplayer package.
>error: can't open display.

This error means that your DISPLAY environment variable isn't pointing to a
usable X server. There are a few ways you can resolve this.

You can use trplayer rather than realplay. It's a command-line version of the
Real Player.

You can install X and then point to it. Once X is running, you point to it by
doing:

    export DISPLAY=:0

Note that, since you're not pointing to it from an X session, you must
authorize such access with the command:

    xhost +localhost

This authorization must be done either from within an X session (probably
difficult) or from within an X session setup script, e.g.
"/etc/X11/xdm/Xsetup_0".

You can set up a pretend X server, attach it to some other (not 0) X server
number (I'll use 2), and point to it. You do this with the following commands:

    Xvfb :2 -ac -screen 2 800x600x32 -fn 7x14
    export DISPLAY=:2

Note that no xhost authorization is required if you do it this way.

-- 
Dave Mielke           | 2213 Fox Crescent | I believe that the Bible is the
Phone: 1-613-726-0014 | Ottawa, Ontario   | Word of God. Please contact me
EMail: dave@mielke.cc | Canada  K2A 1H7   | if you're concerned about Hell.
http://familyradio.com