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Old 03-07-2007, 09:26 AM   #1
gibson79
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running top shows 2 users


Hi. When running top, uptime, or w commands I often show 2 users when I am the only one logged on. I always figured the other user was root (running system processes) since when I log in as root it only shows 1 user.

However, last night when logged in as myself i was down to 1 user. When I'm showing 2 users and run the who command I am the only one logged in? Can someone explain this to me? Thanks for the help.
 
Old 03-07-2007, 10:23 AM   #2
theNbomr
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When i run 'w', it shows me which user(s) by name, where they are logged in from, and what process they are running. 'top' shows similar information. What additional information do you want? There are oftne numerous UIDs with active processes running. 1 or 2 sounds like a very low number.
--- rod.
 
Old 03-07-2007, 10:33 AM   #3
MensaWater
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He is saying that when there is only ONE person logged in (as shown by who, w, finger etc...) top is showing "2 users".

I was curious if this wasn't due to the console AND a pty (Putty/Telnet/ssh login) being open. I logged out of my PuTTY terminal and did top on console and it displayed only 1 user. Oddly enough who, w, finger et al show NO one logged in even though I am logged in on the console.
 
Old 03-07-2007, 10:35 AM   #4
gibson79
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Thanks for the reply,

Sorry if I didn't word the question very clearly. I was just trying to verify if it was normal that I would show more than 1 user when running the top command if I am the only one logged into the system. I had suspected as you point out that it would likely be other processes running.
 
Old 03-07-2007, 03:06 PM   #5
pdw_hu
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You'll always have 2 users: root (since some daemons/programs need root priviligies to run) and thyself. Don't worry
 
Old 03-07-2007, 05:39 PM   #6
MensaWater
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Nope - Logged in as myself on the console top shows only 1 user.
 
Old 03-07-2007, 05:39 PM   #7
XGizzmo
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Gibson79 this is a issue but the fix eludes me, something is not cleaning up the utmp file and the system thinks users logged in that are no longer logged in.

It is discussed here a bit also: http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...d.php?t=534867

I have gotten used to it now but the first time I noticed it I thought I had been owned

Last edited by XGizzmo; 03-07-2007 at 05:41 PM.
 
Old 03-08-2007, 09:48 AM   #8
gibson79
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Hi all,

I shut down my machine last night to see what would happen from a fresh boot, and went straight into my account. Only shows 1 user at the console and 1 user after I start x, so it must be something like XGizzmo is suggesting with the utmp file.

Oh well, I won't worry too much about it until I start to see other people logged in when I run who. That has always only shown me

Thanks for the help.
 
Old 03-08-2007, 10:19 AM   #9
pdw_hu
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jlightner
Nope - Logged in as myself on the console top shows only 1 user.
Hmm, yes you're right. My bad
 
  


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