How can I start CDE, GNOME/KDE or Xfce environment using Xstart?

Owned by Support
Last updated: Aug 10, 2021 by Netsarang Support
2 min read

If an XDMCP connection cannot be established between your PC and the remote host due to network configurations or a firewall, you will not be able to start a desktop environment such as CDE or GNOME/KDE using Xmanager. In these situations, you can start a UNIX/Linux desktop environment on your PC using Xstart by following the directions below.

  • Commands for starting UNIX/Linux desktop environments

    Common Desktop Environment (CDE)/usr/dt/bin/Xsession 
    (Set DISPLAY environment variable and run this command.)
    GNOME Environment/usr/bin/gnome-session
    K Desktop Denvironment (KDE)/usr/bin/startkde
    Xfce/usr/bin/xfce4-session
    XDM/usr/lib/X11/xdm/Xsession (Unix)
    /etc/X11/xdm/Xsession (Linux)
  • Starting a UNIX/Linux desktop environment from Xstart 

  1. Type DISPLAY=$DISPLAY; followed by one of the commands above in the Execution Command box. If you're using the SSH protocol, there is no need to set DISPLAY environment.

    DISPLAY=$DISPLAY; /usr/bin/gnome-session
  2. Click Advanced and select your desired Server Profile (Xconfig Profile).
  3. Click Configure and clear the 'Exit Xmanager when all connections are closed' option.
  4. We recommend you use Single Window Mode, but if you must use Multiple Window Mode, select Multiple Window Mode in the Window Mode area of the General tab and click settings.
    In the Window Manager list, select 'Automatic Switch' or 'Remote Only'. 

  • In the example below, we'll be running the CentOS GNOME user environment using Xstart.
  1. Open Xstart.
  2. Enter the necessary information.



  3. Click the Advanced button to open the 'Advanced Options' dialog box.
  4. In the X Server tab, select your desired Server Profile (Xconfig Profile).
    Among the default profiles, 'XDMCP sample' utilizes Single Window Mode, so we've selected that profile here. Click OK.



  5. In your Xstart window, save your session then click Run.
    If you are using a multi-monitor environment, a 'Select Monitor' dialog box may appear. Select the appropriate monitor.
  6. The following is a Gnome-session running in a single window.