How do i install gnome on Debian and remote to it?

Question

I have a debian server that's been up and running for a while now, I access it via putty and it works great, however i would like to add a gui to make things prettier to look at and easier for me to manage my server (what can i say - i grew up with windows...). Can I do this solely from putty access? I will need to install VNC or something similar to remote into it as it is sitting in a closet. I would like to do this without having to take machine down, move into another room, hook up a monitor, etc. Can I do this all from command line? if so how?

Answer 1

The way I'm going to describe is using the GDM autologin which can be unsecure if someone has physical access to the machine.

First install Gnome, gdm, vino and xorg:

apt-get install gnome gdm xorg vino

Then activate autologin in gdm, edit /etc/gdm/custom.conf and add:

AutomaticLoginEnable=true
AutomaticLogin=yourusername

Reboot.

Then ssh as yourusername into the machine, and type this:

DISPLAY=:0.0
gconftool-2 --type list --list-type string --set /desktop/gnome/remote_access/authentication_methods '[vnc]'
gconftool-2 -s -t bool /desktop/gnome/remote_access/prompt_enabled false
vino-passwd
gconftool-2 -s -t bool /desktop/gnome/remote_access/enabled true

Reboot.

Then try connecting to your machine using VNC.