## 9.2. Running XDarwin

XDarwin can be run in two modes: full screen or rootless. Either of these modes runs side-by-side with Aqua, although full-screen mode hides the Finder desktop. To launch the X server, double-click the XDarwin application (/Applications). You will be prompted to choose which of these two modes to run. In rootless mode, X11 applications take up their own window on your Aqua desktop. In full-screen mode, X11 takes over the entire screen and is suitable if you want to run an X11 desktop environment (DTE) like GNOME, KDE, or Xfce. If you prefer rootless mode, you will probably want to run OroborOSX, an X window manager with a look and feel similar to Aqua (see Section 9.5.1, later in this chapter).

> TIP: You can still access your Mac OS X desktop while in full-screen mode by pressing Option--A. To go back to the X11 desktop, either press Option- -A or click the XDarwin icon in the Dock.

### 9.2.1. Running XDarwin from the Console

You can also run XDarwin from the Darwin console. To run X11 from the Darwin console, first shut down Core Graphics by logging into the machine as >console. When the console prompt appears, log in with your normal username. Once logged in, start the X server by entering the command exec startx. To quit X11, type exit from the main login Terminal window. If there is a long delay, with only the spinning beach ball cursor visible, type logout to return to console mode. Note that in this situation, you will not see text appear on the screen as you type.

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