Thanks Suhaib! installing xfree86-4.0-devel.tar.bz2 got it to stay and gave me the ability to type in the xterm window. Is there any online documentation for newbies to Linux???? I've wanted to play with this for awhile and I think I've got a "stable" install of cygwin. How do I add backgrounds colors and pretty things :0) -- Michael Kelley mkelley@nmsu.edu