Slackware 12.0 (GNU/linux kernel 2.6)

Hi:
I am said slackware is very stable (I suppose this means it has few bugs). However, every time I run startx to start the graphical interface, for a brief moment I can see (just before the screen is put in graphical mode) a lot of error messages. How can this be? I use slack 12 a lot and have reinstalled this distro many times. However the described behavior always repeats. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading.

It would help if you pasted the actual errors. Not all of us own crystal balls like Gandalf you know..

It's impossible for me to do that. Between the moment I hit the Enter key and the moment the graphical screen appears there is one second at most. Thanks for your replay.

P.D.: besides, Shift+PgUp does not work in this case. That is, if go back to the console where I typed 'startx'.

Hi,

What about the Xorg.log file? Any messages in there?

Hope this helps.

No Xorg.log file in my system. I did locate -i xorg.log and there was no output.

Hi,

There's no /var/log/Xorg.log (or Xorg.0.log)?

How about looking in the other log files...... or even looking at the output of dmesg.

Hope this helps.

Hi:
Yes. There is a /var/log/Xorg.0.log, although I see no error messages there. Well, maybe I am wrong and the are no error messages on the screen when starting X.

Hi again,

Are you sure you are seeing error messages when X starts? There's always some text that is shown while X starts (most of which can be found in the Xorg.log file).

Why are you thinking these are errors and not informational messages?

Do you have any issue's once X is up and running?

Hope this helps.

1 members found this post helpful.

Perhaps I am wrong and they are all info messages. They scroll too fast. What is pretty sure is that when I shutdown the GUI and I am again in VT6 (where I run startx usually) I do see a lot of error messages. And I can't use Shift+PgUp in this case.

One issue is this: from time to time, I am in some internet page and a sign appears that says I need an activex control. I click, and a window entitled 'Plugin Finding Service', and subtitled 'Available plugin downloads' opens. It says 'The following plugins a available'. (Note: This is under KDE 3.5.7 and Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.2) Inside there is only one item: Adobe Flash Player (AFP)and I mark the box. Well; now the plugins are being installed. But then: 'No plugins were installed. Adobe Flash Player - Failed and a button labeled 'Manual install'. I click the button and find myself in the Adobe site (page). So here I can, at last, download AFP. I've done it a thousand times and, of course, I must compile and install. But to no use. Next time, I'm confronted with exactly the same problem.

Whereas in Win*, everything goes smoothly. If any time I had to download AFP, I did once and for all. Well; now I think this has not anything to do with X server startup. I don't know. But as I have already written it down, here I'll leave it.

Most obliged for you replies and regards.

Hi,

The error messages you are talking about are not X related, but related to (some of the) programs running under X. Most of the errors that are generated by programs running under X log their erros to the console X is started from (that's why you see them the moment you stop X and return to the CLI prompt).

I do believe the errors you are talking about are firefox (plugin) specific. I don't like and thus don't use Firefox and cannot help you there. I do have the same experience (way back...) you have: The "click here to install plugin Z" seldom worked.

The only advise I can give is to install them manually (if at all possible). Installing Adobe flash should be possible (instructions can be found on the Adobe site).

Hope this helps.

2 members found this post helpful.

Druuna:

I have found your post very useful. Thanks a lot and I hope to see you again in LQ.

You're welcome

Did you try for an error console on the other ttys by pressing <Ctrl<Alt><F1> to <F6>?

/edit: If it is a program under X there should be messages in /var/log/messages

Yes. I have. Errors only output on VT6, where I start X. I'll try to find one of the error messages in tty6 in /var/log/messages. Thanks.

Normally X will be running on tty7. To see the info/error messages you need to return to tty1 (assuming that is where you logged in).

Do this with the combination: <Alt> + <Ctl> + <F1>
To return to X, use <Alt> + <F7>.