what command from login takes you to the graphical desktop

[velocity54]

I have what I believe to be a flawless new installation upon an old gateway that I formated. But Kubuntu displays the icon, and then loads into a command line startup. I can enter my name and password then it takes me to Linux line commands. I have no experience with Linux commands and their use.
I need the graphical desktop system while I learn Linux and would like it to boot into the graphical desktop. The operating system I installed is Kubuntu KDE4 8.04.
So....... would anyone be willing to help me get going? Please.
Thanks,
Steve

[cantab]

Re: what command from login takes you to the graphical desktop

startx

But if you're not getting the graphical login I expect that won't work either. Probably your graphics card isn't being auto-detected. Do you know what graphics card you have?

[velocity54]

Re: what command from login takes you to the graphical desktop

I did discover startx in the meantime, it tried, but driver 0 problems.

I pulled the graphics card- 1997 STB Systems, Inc. 1X0-0567-305 per the label. Additional numbers on th label are: 18 15/1998 LP2-T2
Numbers embedded in the actual board: 210-0262-001 9751

Apparently the 51rst week of 1997, or 15th day of 1998..... anyhow it is ancient.

I had switched an XP problem computer in my office to Ubuntu 8.04 about three weeks ago and it is performing well. It is a Gateway 2004 model. I had read that the Kubuntu version may have a "better" user interface, so I thought I would throw in on a discarded 233mhz, 256k memory, 17.5 gb hard drive machine to play with it. I am probably putting too much on an old machine.

I apprectiate your help.

[velocity54]

Re: what command from login takes you to the graphical desktop

I thought I would also add this: When the system boots I get

A beautiful kubuntu geared logo with the word kubuntu and graphical loading box with advancing blue booting bar all the way across the box.... then:

ACPI Unable to load system description tables.
Loading, please wait.
kinit: name_to_dev_t(/dev/sda6) = sda6(8,6)
kinit: trying to resume from /dev/sda6
kinit; No resume image, doing normal boot...

Ubuntu 8.04 ubuntuofficenorth tty1

ubuntuofficenorth login:

I can login fine and run line commands (which I am not well or even remotely familiar with)

[stealthbanana]

Re: what command from login takes you to the graphical desktop

The graphics you see are done via the framebuffer, not X.org. If you can, load up /var/log/Xorg.0.log and look for [EE] at the start of the line.

if you only have the command line you can install midnight commander

sudo apt-get install mc

and use its viewer facility or in the shell

cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log | grep EE

that will show what errors are occurring.

If it works ok you should see

$ cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log | grep EE
    (WW) warning, (EE) error, (NI) not implemented, (??) unknown.
(II) Loading extension MIT-SCREEN-SAVER

any other errors will help track down the error, I suspect if you alter /etc/X11/xorg.conf to have the line

Driver "vesa"

in the device section will fix it