cannot start kde

djre · 2007-11-05 02:03:00

Hi. I want to use kde. I have already edited /etc/inittab to set default at run level 5 and have uncommented x:5 respawn: /opt/kde/bin/ kdm -nodaemon. Still when I boot up, it runs command line. I thought it would just be asking for login and then would start kde. But after logging in Kde doesnt start.
Anyway, I installed kdebase only. Is it really like this? Should i download the whole kde to have gui?
Please help. Ive already spent about two weeks trying to figure out this first installation.
Thanks in advance.

somairotevoli · 2007-11-05 03:00:18

I assume you have xorg installed and configured?

Try running

killall kdm

and then

kdm

as root and see if that works and if there are any error messages.

Leigh · 2007-11-05 03:07:31

You could just add kdm to the daemons line in /etc/rc.conf

There's some good info about kde in the beginners guide.
http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Beginners_Guide#KDE

Cogar · 2007-11-05 05:00:39

I've gotten KDE running on two computers using these two steps:

1. Download all the KDE stuff. You may not need it all, but disk space is normally plentiful and I don't particularly like spending my time fixing stuff or finding missing packages. Besides, I suspect that someone using KDE like myself is not all that concerned about running "lean and mean." Anyway, the following command should do it:

pacman -S kde

2. Do two edits to the /etc/inittab file. Although you have done this, as a check, here is how it looks exactly:

a. Near the top is a line that reads:

id:3:initdefault:

Change this to:

id:5:initdefault:

That is, change the 3 to a 5.

b. Near the bottom is a line that by default looks like this:

x:5:respawn:/usr/bin/xdm - nodaemon

Change the path as follows:

x:5:respawn:/opt/kde/bin/kdm - nodaemon

(Note: there is no space in the bin/kdm part, unlike what you list in your first post.)

djre · 2007-11-05 06:40:46

ive read the begginners guide about kde but there's nothing there that helped me with my problem.

@Cogar
actually i am concerned (my freaking windows partition lags with just adobe pdf,firefox, and utorrent running) but of course what would "lean and mean" mean if i can't use it.

@leigh
added kdm hal and pam to daemon list. still no luck.

@somairotevoli
I tried your suggestion.
1. killall kdm says i dont have process running
2. kdm blacks out the screen for an instant and then back again to prompt

anyway, ive tried all of your suggestions. im still stuck with CLI.

i also noticed after trying those things, this message came up twice with a few minutes interval:
INIT: Id "x" respawning too fast: disabled for 5 minutes

another problem. when I run startkde, this message fills the whole screen so that i have to ctrl-c to stop it:
kpersonalizer: cannot connect to X server

i have Xserver installed so i don't know why it gives me that msg.

fwojciec · 2007-11-05 07:35:43

Sounds like a problem with configuration of xorg.conf. If you look into /var/log/Xorg.0.log and look for lines marked with EE (for errors) and WW (for warnings) you should get an idea of what is not working correctly. The errors are what you should be concerned with above all.

djre · 2007-11-05 13:41:22

youre right fwojciec! i looked to /var/log and i found several problems
first in Xorg.0.log, these lines appear:
(WW) Open ACPI failed (/var/run/acpid.socket) (No such file or directory)
(II) LoadModule: "vga"
(WW) Warning, couldn't open module vga
(II) UnloadModule: "vga"
(EE) Failed to load module "vga" (module does not exist, 0)
(II) LoadModule: "mouse"
(WW) Warning, couldn't open module mouse
(II) UnloadModule: "mouse"
(EE) Failed to load module "mouse" (module does not exist, 0)
(II) LoadModule: "kbd"
(WW) Warning, couldn't open module kbd
(II) UnloadModule: "kbd"
(EE) Failed to load module "kbd" (module does not exist, 0)
(EE) No drivers available.

Fatal server error:
no screens found

and in the errors.log, these lines repeat over and over especially the one boldened out:
Nov 5 19:54:35 4e01U5 sis630_smbus 0000:00:02.0: SIS630 comp. bus not detected, module not inserted.
Nov 5 19:54:42 4e01U5 kdm[7294]: Can't lock pid file /var/run/kdm.pid, another xdm is running (pid 7284)
Nov 5 19:54:44 4e01U5 kdm[7284]: X server for display :0 terminated unexpectedly
Nov 5 19:54:44 4e01U5 kdm[7284]: Unable to fire up local display :0; disabling.
Nov 5 19:59:43 4e01U5 kdm[7354]: Can't lock pid file /var/run/kdm.pid, another xdm is running (pid 7284)

its the same with daemon.log:
Nov 5 20:04:44 4e01U5 kdm[7417]: Can't lock pid file /var/run/kdm.pid, another xdm is running (pid 7284)
Nov 5 20:04:44 4e01U5 init: Id "x" respawning too fast: disabled for 5 minutes

sorry if i have too much trouble. if you have few little time to go into details
could you point me to some tutorial on how to fix this? i have no idea where and what to look for.

thanks.

moses · 2007-11-05 13:46:42

Looks like X isnt correctly installed,
not on arch atm, but I guess installing these
packages would fix a few of those X errors:

pacman -S xf86-video-vga (xf86-input-keyboard xf86-input-mouse)

iirc.

djre · 2007-11-05 13:47:02

also, where do i get those missing modules that caused the errors?

Misfit138 · 2007-11-05 13:55:32

Follow the directions in the Beginner's guide for installing X. There's about 7 packages to grab through pacman which will give you the mouse and keyboard modules, as well as xorg-server and xorg-server-utils. It's all in there.

byte · 2007-11-05 22:28:08

Remember the xorg metapkg that got nuked? There's a xorg group now:

$ sudo pacman -S xorg
:: group xorg:
    xf86-input-keyboard  xf86-input-mouse  xf86-video-vesa  xorg-fonts-100dpi  xorg-fonts-75dpi  xorg-res-utils  xorg-server
    xorg-twm  xorg-xinit  xterm
:: Install whole content? [Y/n]

Last edited by byte (2007-11-05 22:29:07)

Misfit138 · 2007-11-05 22:34:37

byte wrote:

Remember the xorg metapkg that got nuked? There's a xorg group now:

$ sudo pacman -S xorg
:: group xorg:
    xf86-input-keyboard  xf86-input-mouse  xf86-video-vesa  xorg-fonts-100dpi  xorg-fonts-75dpi  xorg-res-utils  xorg-server
    xorg-twm  xorg-xinit  xterm
:: Install whole content? [Y/n]

Really? must be pretty new. I installed on a laptop a couple weeks ago and there was no such group. (?)
If there is in fact a replacement for the old one, I'll change the wiki.

EDIT: yup, you are correct....when did this happen? Updated the Beginner's guide.

Last edited by Misfit138 (2007-11-06 15:07:35)

djre · 2007-11-06 12:43:34

Thanks guys. I just reinstalled arch. I have xterm working already. I'll install kdebase tomorrow. Seems I have to follow the guide step-by-step. Hahaha!
I started from kdebase and worked it from there previously. Seems it doesn't work that way.

Arch Linux

#1 2007-11-05 02:03:00

cannot start kde

#2 2007-11-05 03:00:18

Re: cannot start kde

#3 2007-11-05 03:07:31

Re: cannot start kde

#4 2007-11-05 05:00:39

Re: cannot start kde

#5 2007-11-05 06:40:46

Re: cannot start kde

#6 2007-11-05 07:35:43

Re: cannot start kde

#7 2007-11-05 13:41:22

Re: cannot start kde

#8 2007-11-05 13:46:42

Re: cannot start kde

#9 2007-11-05 13:47:02

Re: cannot start kde

#10 2007-11-05 13:55:32

Re: cannot start kde

#11 2007-11-05 22:28:08

Re: cannot start kde

#12 2007-11-05 22:34:37

Re: cannot start kde

#13 2007-11-06 12:43:34

Re: cannot start kde

Board footer