Emacs inside X freezes when editing network file, outside X, works...?
 

Hi Guys

Strange problem. I'm trying to use emacs inside X to edit a file that is on a samba connection on a network.

I know the file is there and accessible - if I stay in text mode (runlevel 3) and run VI or Emacs in text mode (80x25), I can access, edit, and save the network-based file (the file is on a Linux machine, shared by samba)

However, here's the strange part:

If I go into X (with startx) and then try to edit the same file, NOTHING works (nothing x-based, that is). For example, I cannot open the file with emacs, OR kate OR kedit or openoffice - any graphical application refuses to open the file. Both emacs and kate and kedit and ooffice show the file and directory structure (so browsing over the samba connection works), but if I try to open the file, all freeze. The processes themselves seem to be running (they respond to kill -1 pid) but not graphical app ever actually loads the content of the file...

Even stranger: opening a terminal and using VI to edit the same file WORKS...

Any ideas at all? The defining thing seems to be that any and all X-Windows apps that try to read the file over the samba connection never do so, any character based app (VI -INSIDE- X-windows, and emacs -OUTSIDE- X-windows) can work with the file just fine...

What does being in X-windows have to do with a samba file not being accessible to any -graphical- app, while a character based app run in konsole AT THE SAME TIME on the SAME FILE (ie. with the x-server running ANYWAY) works just fine?

Any ideas? I can't make sense of this at all... FC6 with 2.6.18.1 kernel.

ANY help appreciated!

Thanks...

This issue is RESOLVED.

It was an older xemacs version that was causing the problem. Outside X, an emacs (NOT xemacs) binary was running, which was different from the xemacs version and had no trouble editing over a samba connection.

I upgraded my emacs version to the latest one, and the problem went away...