I am having problems with starting KDE, so I decided to post a question on the forum. But the problem is, I can't capture the error output during kde init that it gives I've tried using
startx | less [file] (which, naturally, works fine with anything else)
but it just doesn't seem to work. It captures only the first two strings of X initiation, which aren't very informative

Could anyone suggest the correct way to do this capture or point me to the right docs ?

Hey,

XFree and XOrg (basicly, programs containing graphic drivers) normally create a log at /var/logs.

Have a look at that directory, you will certainly find that file. It starts with a capital X I believe.

Oh, thanks for your answer. I've already had a look there. It's Xorg.0.log
actually. But from a brief look I gathered that It didn't give the same output I was having on screen.

I'll have another look, then.

But the question stands, anyway. Because I' d like to understand how to do it properly, in case I ever need it.

You should have a .xsession-errors file in your home directory. You might give that a look if you've not already done so. I've found it to be pretty helpful for these kinds of problems. Also, are you getting any type of KDE crash window? If so, click on the "Backtrace" tab. You should see a trace of the crash which may give you some indication of the modules involved. You could also save that output and then post it in a reply in this thread to see if anyone recognizes more about the problem. I've dealt with a couple of instances of the kind of problem you're describing. KDE is VERY dependent on the release of qt you're running, so, if you can get to a point you can query the qt level, you might take a look at whether there are any bug reports on http://bugs.kde.org that can give you some advice on either upgrading or downgrading your qt level as a way of dealing with this. Just a few ideas. Hope this helps.