[Techtalk] X11

[hobbit at aloss.ukuu.org.uk]

On Sun, May 12, 2002 at 01:35:16PM +0600 or thereabouts, kansas_kennedy at phreaker.net wrote:
> In my RHL 7.3 with default init 3 the X-server is not just starting. While
> running 'gdm' and 'kdm' it gives back the prompt. While running 'startx'
> the log file shows this following error.

If there is not an X server running when you flip between virtual
consoles with control-alt-F[1-8], then there is a "lock file"
sitting somewhere. Its existence is making X think that X is
already running. 

> A few months back I had this problem or something similar to it. While I
> deleted everything of a file & everything started normally..but I forgot
> the name of the file.
> 
> But I think it is one of these files......Xclients or xinitrc...

Are you sure it was an /etc file? /etc is where system configuration
files for everyone live. I wonder whether you are thinking of /tmp,
where temporary files live. I am running X at the moment and I see
a /tmp/.X0-lock which seems to have been created the last time I 
restarted X.

There are other ".something" files in /tmp which sometimes need
clearing up, but that looks like a start.

Telsa