elefino wrote:

...

I think you can probably solve your problem by running the command

ln -s /opt/kde3/bin/startkde /usr/X11R6/bin/kde

You can change the system default window manager (and therefore the default value of the $WINDOWMANAGER variable) by editing the script /etc/sysconfig/windowmanager

Thanks for the good, succinct explanation. It's nice when somebody explains something and I actually find the same stuff in the same places. :-)

Is there a reason you suggested creating the link, rather than just editing lines in xinitrc? I'm not really good at implications unless they're spelled out, or I trip over them.

X doesn't know where KDE or any other window manager might be installed. Therefore it expects a window manager to install at least a link in the X binary directory, and it uses that link to start up the appropriate window manager. The alternative is X would have to search the entire installed base every time looking for your window manager, in case it got moved for some reason (eg an update). Sort of like your mom wanting to be kept informed of where you were when you were a kid. Only this time, someone forgot to tell mom (X) where the kid (KDE) is, and mom isn't going looking :-)