Launching apps under Root User Name

MDBlueIce · 08-19-2004, 11:58 PM

Weird...... I used the SU command to switch users to root. Then i tried to launch xemacs, i wasnt able to. I thought maybe it was just an issue with xemacs, so I tried emacs but I still got an error message. Then I tried xmms, but I couldnt run that either. Here are the error messages ( I have no idea what to make of them )...................

================================================================

drakeDoogle@linux:~> su root
Password:
linux:/home/lxuser # xemacs
Xlib: connection to ":0.0" refused by server
Xlib: No protocol specified

X server not responding
: ":0.0"
linux:/home/lxuser # emacs
Xlib: connection to ":0.0" refused by server
Xlib: No protocol specified

emacs: Cannot connect to X server :0.0.
Check the DISPLAY environment variable or use `-d'.
Also use the `xhost' program to verify that it is set to permit
connections from your machine.

linux:/home/lxuser # xmms
Xlib: connection to ":0.0" refused by server
Xlib: No protocol specified

** CRITICAL **: Unable to open display

==============================================================

Any idea what this means? Thanx again

Mikhail_16 · 08-20-2004, 12:03 AM

I know its something with locking of the screen for the current user, and mostly seem to happen in KDE. i never bothered to look it up though. Have you tried www.google.com ???

http://www.ethereal.com/lists/ethere.../msg00013.html

jev-bird · 08-20-2004, 05:15 AM

This is quite common. It generally depends on how your Xserver is set up and wether or not you have any virtual consoles free. For example, if you run slackware and you boot up into graphical mode or runlevel higher than 3, then it will only leave one virtual console open and all other login attempts will be refused by the Xserver when running any other graphical apps by use of su. Not sure with other distros. Except gentoo I prefer to not let root log in from a console at all.

Nevertheless GKSu should solve that problem for you. It's basically a graphical (gtk) gui to the su command.

Just go 'gksu appname' Sometimes you have to supply the full path name to the program if it's not in your path.

Hope that helps.