problem with vncserver

[tegan]

Hello,
I tried to run vncserver and it almost immediately exited. I looked for the log in /home/terry/.vnc and here is what it said (formatting changed slightly to fit on this page):

07/03/03 18:08:39 Xvnc version 3.3.3r2+tight1.2.2
07/03/03 18:08:39 Copyright (C) AT&T Laboratories Cambridge.
07/03/03 18:08:39 All Rights Reserved.
07/03/03 18:08:39 See http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc for information on VNC
07/03/03 18:08:39 Desktop name 'X' (server:1)
07/03/03 18:08:39 Protocol version supported 3.3
07/03/03 18:08:39 Listening for VNC connections on TCP port 5901
failed to set default font path '/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc:unscaled,
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc,
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi:unscaled,
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi,
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi:unscaled,
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi,
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo,
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/PEX,
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/cyrillic,
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1,
/usr/share/fonts/ttf/western,
/usr/share/fonts/ttf/decoratives'
Fatal server error:
could not open default font 'fixed'

As per a helpful guy on #irc knoppix, i ran xfontsel and found that there was a 'fmly' (misc) that had 'fixed' in it's list. But, now I'm stuck. Do I need to add a font somehow? I really like to be able to access this knoppix box remotely.
Thanks
Terry Egan

[BlckJck]

I ran into the same problem when I first tried to use vnc, here is what I do to fix it. The following was learned from this post.

Thank you hamatoma for your advice.

These changes will not stay after a reboot.

The problem is with the /etc/vnc.conf.

1. Copy /etc/vnc.conf to a writable area:
cp /etc/vnc.conf /ramdisk
2. Remove /etc/vnc.conf (this is a sim link)
rm /etc/vnc.conf
3. Create a new sim link to the copied file.
ln -s /ramdisk/vnc.conf /etc/vnc.conf
Say yes to the prompt.
4. Edit /etc/vnc.conf, I use vi, but any editor will do.
You are looking for the following lines:
# Example: $fontPath = "";
# $fontPath .="/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc/,";
# $fontPath .= "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/:unscaled,";
# $fontPath .= "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/:unscaled,";
# $fontPath .= "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1/,";
# $fontPath .= "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo/,";
# $fontPath .= "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/,";
# $fontPath .= "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/,";

Delete # Example: on the first line, and delete # before the other lines. Do not delete the last 2 with freefont and share font.

I also like to change the geometry, I like the screen bigger than the default 640x490.
I delete the # Example: befre $geometry ="640x480";
I then change it to $geometry ="900x640";

Hope this helps.....

[BlckJck]

I noticed that your home directory is terry. If this is installed on the HDD, and not running from CD, then you should be able to edit the file where it is and have the ability to write. Meaning that you will not have to move it to ramdisk and recreate the sim link. Also the change will be there after you reboot.

[tegan]

Thank you BlckJck, that worked well. Now I can start vncserver with no errors.

Also, I created a file, /home/terry/.vnc/xstartup , that will give the viewer the X desktop. Here is xstartup:

#!/bin/sh
Xsession &


I have discovered 2 new problems however:

1) According to the vnc doc's on the web, I should be able to login to this machine via a webbrowser on some other machine (using some java witchery), using http://machine:5801. (vncserver's log file says that it is listening on TCP port 5901 and the doc's say to use port#-100.) However, this does not work and no message is listed in the logfile. If I try using machine:5901, the logfile notes the attempt and immediately kicks the client off. Here is the error message:

08/03/03 15:57:28 Got connection from client 192.168.1.7
08/03/03 15:57:28 rfbProcessClientProtocolVersion: not a valid RFB client
08/03/03 15:57:28 Client 192.168.1.7 gone

If I use vncviewer on the other machine, with machine:5901, vnc serves up a tasty helping of desktop.

2) I would like to have vncserver start up as soon as the system comes up. What is the best way to make that happen?
This machine will be in a closet and I would like to be able to have it recover from power failures by itself, as well as giving me the capability of modifiying it remotely.

Thank you
Terry Egan
P.S. Yes, this sw is installed on the hard drive.

[BlckJck]

1) The java aplet needs to be downloaded from the vnc site. I have not used it yet, so configuration or instalation is unknown to me.

2) If you search either here or google, you will find how to add files to startup. I beleave it's in the init script.

As far as X starting, I did not need to start X when I ran vncserver, the vncserver script did it for me. Maybe the HDD install is done different, I will install tonight and take a look if I have time.

[David Douthitt]

VNC has two different clients that can be used: the browser (with Java), and the VNC client. I like the Windows VNC client: no muss, no fuss - especially in Full Window mode

The browser should just need to have Java to present a Java desktop. I'd also look at the brand of browser - everything seems to work with IE and choke on everything else - aren't they nice?

I prefer to use the VNC clients, but if you have a browser with Java you can access the VNC server if you need too.

The browser/Java interface and the VNC client interface use different ports; the error you saw sounds like it didn't find a VNC client (which is true: you were running a browser...)