I'm running Linux Mint 10, although I've had this same issue with other variants of Linux. I've been told/found while researching that if the X server hangs or otherwise errors, one can drop to a root prompt, usually at another tty, and execute init 3 (to drop to single user mode) and then init 5 to return to the default, graphical session.

Needless to say, I've tried this before in multiple configurations on multiple machines to no avail. The only feedback I receive form executing those two commands is a listing of VMWare services (from a kernel module) that are stopped and then restarted.

Note: If I run startx (either before or after init 3), then I am told that the xserver is still running and that I should remove /tmp/.X0-lock. Having tried that, it removes that error message, but claims that the xserver cannot be attached as another instance is running.

How do I kill the xserver completely? Can I killall some process name?

1

3 Answers

Linux Mint is based on Debian. In Debian, the single user run level is 1; 3 is still a multi-user run level and as such allows X to continue execution. So, you need to switch to run level 1, init 1, to stop all processes initiated by the default run level (2). Then you can re-init to the proper run level: init 2.

See Debian run levels for more information.

1

The easiest way to kill your X server is to press Ctrl+Alt+Backspace.

For example, on Ubuntu, the keyboard shortcut is called "DontZap", and can be re-enabled by following these instructions. It should be the same on Linux Mint.

---

It's best not to run startx. It is independent from init 3/init 5, and will confuse things.

---

These days, pkill is preferred over killall. It basically does the same thing, but it has a partner command pgrep you can use to see what it would kill before doing it.

So try pgrep X or pgrep Xorg, and then run pkill X or pkill Xorg if pgrep lists only programs you want to kill.

On my Ubuntu system, the most reliable command I can find is:

pgrep -f '^/usr/bin/X '

which means you can kill all X servers using

pkill -f '^/usr/bin/X '

(but I haven't tested it).

---

Finally, don't forget to have a look in /var/log/X.0.log and ~/.xsession-errors. Maybe you can figure out what is causing the X server hangs.

1

When I update Xorg or video drivers:

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+F1
2. Log in as a user

3. Type the following commands:

   sudo /etc/init.d/lightdm stop #or slim gdm mdm etc...
   #do stuff
   sudo /etc/init.d/lightdm start #or slim gdm mdm etc...

(Stopping the Display Manager also stops X.)

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Sign up using Google Sign up using Facebook Sign up using Email and Password Submit

Post as a guest

Post Your Answer Discard

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy