VNC into Raspberry Pi - getting wrong display

Hello again!  I'm SSH'ing like a champ, but having trouble getting the correct GUI to come up.  Whenever I connect, it brings up a screen with the LXDE background, NOT the raspberry logo background.  Additionally, I can't click the toolbar…that is, it simply doesnt respond to my mouse click.  I did some research and I guess this is a different X display….?

Anyway, I did some more research, and found out about x11vnc at this page and installed it:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/X11vnc#Setting_up_x11vnc

Here's the bizarre thing: If I open startx from the raspberry pi itself and then move to my windows computer to SSH in & run tightVNC client, I'm able to remotely get the 'right' deskop with the rPi background.

If I do everything from the windows computer (SSH in, run startx, and run x11vnc) it gives me that blue LXDE desktop.

What am I doing wrong?

I don't know what you did exactly.

I just install tightvnc (sudo apt-get install tightvncserver) on the RPi

Ran: tightvncserver

and then could access the RPi desktop from my computer.

GvdB

Well, here's the thing.  What exactly is the 'right' background (ignoring the fact that the Pi sounds right )

For the first week or so I was plugging my Pi into my TV - I booted up, logged in (using pi/raspberry) and ran startx.  I was taken to the LXDE background.  Then 2 days ago I installed tightvncserver, connected in via VNC and found the Raspberry Pi background.

Does anyone know if there is a specific difference between the two desktops?  Is it simply a desktop, or something deeper?

{quote} Does anyone know if there is a specific difference between the two desktops?  Is it simply a desktop, or something deeper?

While I don"t actually have a Pi, I believe you are seeing two different workspaces. If you have ever use GNOME then you might remember that you can have multiple "virtual desktops". I believe the same applies to LXDE. But this is just my theory.

I know this is a month later, but I just got around to setting up VNC on my pi and noticed the same thing you did. I can replicate this by starting the vncserver either with or without sudo. If I launch it with "sudo vncserver", then I get the LXDE wallpaper. If I don't use sudo, then I get the raspi wallpaper. I assume by starting x under root, I must be pulling in another set of preferences. I don't know enough about linux to know if there are other implications of starting the session as root.

Seems that tightvnc gets its LXDE configuration from a hidden file 'LXDE.conf' in pi's home directory (the initial dot in the filename makes it hidden).

You can change the 'wallpaper' variable to the path of a different wallpaper image, or comment it out altogether. Using the nano text editor as user pi:

$ nano .config/pcmanfm/LXDE.conf

Code: Select all

[desktop]
...
wallpaper_mode=2
#wallpaper=/usr/share/lxde/wallpapers/raspberry_pi_transparent.png
...


Hope that helps.

Chris.

You can just right click on the desktop, then select 'Desktop Settings' from the popup. In there you will find an option to select the wallpaper.

Don`t know if this will help but here goes anyway.... If I su root and set myself up as admin I get LXDE and that's without using VNC. If I start non su, which is the recommended way) I get the normal Raspberry Pi desktop.

Steve