debian packages

[Frank Carmickle]

Hi Jude

On Mon, Oct 08, Jude DaShiell wrote:
> I figured installing a desktop environment using tasksel and installing 
> orca with all dependencies should work with debian.  Wrong.  When I 
> rebooted the system, I find that the desktop environment won't come up 
> because /etc/X11/xorg.conf isn't fully and correctly built.  The debian 
> way to solve this problem is to do dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg and 
> answer the questions.  Unfortunately dpkg-reconfigure runs a utility 
> called dexconf and that utility will not rewrite the /etc/X11/xorg.conf 
> file under any circumstances I've been able to figure out.  I sent a copy 
> of a typescript output 14K long to a friend and also debian-user mailing 
> list and nobody so far has a clue why what's happening is happening. 
> Another contact I have may be willing to check this one out and put in 
> some good values for me but if that fails it's time to enter some bugs. 
> Short of that, I may be able to install ubuntu on this computer and get it 
> talking then copy the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file ubuntu creates and perhaps 
> use it in the debian system.

The trouble is that debian doesn't want to use the configure tool to write a file that has been modified by the admin.  Nice of it eh?  There is a hash of the file in /var/lib/x11/xorg.conf.md5sum If you remove this file it should create the new one when you run the dpkg-reconfigure.  

Please let me know if this works for you.

--Frank