This is a bit off-topic, but still -
> Then when X tried to start after first reboot, complains of
> "failed to set default font path 'unix/:-1'
> fatal server error
> could not open default font 'fixed;"
This error message is quite misleading. It leads to to look for a problem
with the font "fixed".
If I may suggest:
* maybe check if xfs is runnig in startx, before running xinit, and issue
a big warning (or an error) if xfs is not running.
* alternatively - put some directory in the FontPath of XF86Config. At
least if xfs is not running - there will be some basic fonts availble. Is
it possible to use a directory both directly by X and by xfs?
The latter option may be useful, since currently all the new config tools
run under X, and not having X running severly cripples at least the
begginer. Actually - - this is what I like about Linuxconf - it runs
almost just as well from the console (al beit the command-line interface
is not good enough).
--
Tzafrir Cohen