I have a Fedora 25 installation that was setup originally with server installation and have since added gnome desktop package groups and others.

On the console I get a standard non-graphical login prompt and from there I can type startx and get into gnome just fine.

I don't want to change that.

I do want to use VNC to connect in over net and run gnome. I have everything setup but when I connect into the VNC I initially got a blank screen. I can get more than a blank screen by changing my local user's xstartup script. For example if I add "gnome-terminal &" I'll have a gnome terminal up on the blank screen just fine. I can add vncconfig -iconic and that will be up as well.

However there is no window manager running so I can't move these windows and while I can start other applications from the gnome-terminal I have up I don't get the graphical icons available to click on to start programs.

Clearly I can not seem to get a window manager to startup.

I tried the default xstartup:
#!/bin/sh

unset SESSION_MANAGER
unset DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS
exec /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc

and another example called xstartup.gnome-try:

#!/bin/sh
[ -x /etc/vnc/xstartup ] && exec /etc/vns/startup
[ -r $HOME/.Xresources ] && xrdb $Home/.Xresources

if test -z "$DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS" ; then
eval `dbus-launch --sh-syntax -exit-with-session`
echo "D-BUS per-session daemon address is: $DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS"
fi
exec gnome-session

Like I said if I add lines like

gnome-terminal &

or

vnccnfig -icon &

Before any of the exec lines those apps seem to be running.

Just no window manager.

Any pointers would be appreciated.

I want to keep the console with an ASCII login and then use startx to get a GUI from the console, but I want to also be able to get a GUI via VNC

Thanks

Chris K