Hi,

I had Linux/XP dual boot working well on my PC. I then upgraded the PC, but instead of installing the OS again, I simply swapped the hard drives. My Linux seem to not like the new hardware -

First, when I login as a user, the Desktop (Gnome) doesn't start. I then switched to shell (alt+ctrl+F1) and tried 'startx', but got an error that the file /tmp/X0-lock is the problem. I was able to remove the X0-lock file only after I logged in as Admin. Then 'startx' works fine. But the next time I restart the computer, the same problem happens again.

The question: What is th /tmp/X0-lock file? why is it there? How can I solve this for good?

Additionally, Linux doesn't recognize some of the hardware. For example, the internet isn't working.

My question: Can I make Linux to try and reconfigure all the hardware, as if it was the first time installation? Specifically, how do I configure the internet to work? (on the first compuetr it just worked as soon as I plugged it in).

Thanks!

WHAT linux distro are you using ???
are the hard drives in the same ORDER , as they were ?

Thanks for helping.

I am using Red Hat Enterprise 9. I have only one hard drive which is partitioned. I don't remember how was the previous order, but I am assuming that this is not the problem, because I can log in as root, the file system looks fine, etc. It is only this one user which the Desktop isn't loading (but works fine in shell), and when I delete the /tmp/X0-lock file (as admin), I can also 'startx' and everything works perfect. Any ideas??

I did not know that there is already a RH Enterprise 9. Sure it's not the old RedHat 9 (from 2002 or so) ? If it's that version, it's no longer supported so if there is no strong reason to stick with it I would considering getting a more recent distro. This is both for security as well as for hardware support (your network card).

The lock file is there because X has probably crashed during the boot. You can check the logs (probably /var/log/Xorg.0.log). I can not say why a second start of X (using startx) does not show the issue.

When swapping, what did change? New video card? Probably a bit to new


And yes, there is a tool to reconfigure some of the hardware. From my RH8 book, you can try XFREE86 -configure on the command line. Or system settings -> display in the GUI. Both only apply to the graphics part.
First make a backup of /etc/X11/XF86Config (or maybe /etc/X11/xorg.conf) !

Remove /tmp/X0-lock file manually, then try to start x-server with startx. Then check /var/log/Xorg.0.log for errors (grep 'EE' /var/log/Xorg.0.log).

rh9 is SO OLD -- VERY OLD that it will NOT RUN ON NEW HARDWARE

if you want to stick with red hat then install the current RHEL 5.3 ( red hat did a name change after rh9 )