New Install Help - window manager stopped working

[Scott T. Hildreth]

Hi, hoping  for some help.  I installed 4.8 on a new server (FreeBSD 8.2, 64bit), so 
I have no old configs on the the server.  I started up xfce4 once and used the default 
layout.  I wanted to start fresh without my old settings/config.  I quit xfce, so I could 
install the nvidia driver (I was using the FreeBSD nv driver at first).  When I started xfce 
up again, the mouse pointer was a black X (like twm) and all the apps I tried to open start up
in the left corner and each new app starts over the next.  I can't move them since the window 
manager doesn't seem to be working.  I tried going into settings and clicking on window manager 
and window tweaks, nothing starts up.  I quit xfce, removed the dirs from my .config dir and 
started xfce up again.  I still get the same behavior.  Is the window manager a separate prog?

                              Thank You,
                                 Scott