Can't load X with *any* .xinitrc present in ~ directory [solved]

MoonSwan · 2014-05-25 20:18:41

Good Sunday to all! I have a very new HP laptop up and running with gummiboot on a vanilla-flavoured Arch install. I have installed xorg-server and the synaptics driver along with the proprietary ATI drivers (I'll have to double-check that last bit in a while). I also have a stock xserverrc file and some .bash* config files in-place in my ~ folder. I'm trying to run X by using the "startx" script.

My issue is that after installing X it runs just fine only if I do not have an .xinitrc config file in my home directory. At first I thought I had something funky left over in my .xinitrc so I commented everything out that I could think of that might be problematic. When that failed I created a blank .xinitrc ("touch .xinitrc"). When I issued my next "startx" command X would attempt to start-up but then it would exit without having shown any windows on-screen. Just to be sure this was not an issue caused by a recalcitrant WM or DE I have only installed Xterm to allow me to at least see when X starts up correctly. I get no error messages and all I see at the end is "X shut-down properly." I can do this as root or a user. However, with no .xinitrc at all, as user or root, X does work and I see the Xterm windows on a desktop.

Thus far my web searches only generate hits regarding using .xinitrc to run X properly. I have not yet found anything relating to my issue. I am quite stymied as I've got no error messages of any kind (so far that I know of) to work from in order to properly diagnose the issue.

Thank you for your time and help.

Last edited by MoonSwan (2014-05-26 15:24:17)

Head_on_a_Stick · 2014-05-25 20:42:08

Have you seen the wiki page?
Have you installed xorg-xinit and xorg-server-utils?
I don't have a "xserverrc" file in my ~ folder, but startx works fine...

MoonSwan · 2014-05-25 21:17:53

I'm going to close this thread because it seems that my install got corrupted somehow. Probably my own fault. Thank you HonaS for the reply.

Trilby · 2014-05-25 21:57:01

FWIW, everything you describe is exactly as it should be. If there is no ~/.xinitrc, the system-wide xinitrc is used and xterm and xclock are launched. X then runs until these are closed.

With a ~/.xinitrc, only the commands in that file are launched - when they return, X shuts down successfully. So with an empty (or all commented) ~/.xinitrc, X should start up and shut down immediately: it did everything you told it to do (i.e. nothing).

MoonSwan · 2014-05-26 15:23:57

Tribly, thank you for the information! I sort of half-knew about the system-wide .xinitrc but obviously I wasn't aware of the fact that it contained no "directives." After some experimentation with another computer I figured out what you had been telling me. Now that I have that knowledge pounded into my skull I think I better grasp what was going on last night with the laptop (before it got corrupted that is).

Many thanks, as always you're a fount of useful information.

Arch Linux

#1 2014-05-25 20:18:41