I don't know if this is distro specific, config specific, or just me misconfiguring X11, but I am unable to log in to more than one virtual terminal at a time (when X is running, don't know without, haven't tested), which is jarring, because I'm trying to do some sysadmin stuff on my dev box, and would sooner do the sysadmin stuff as root (duh) while using a normal user for the associated browsing and documentation look up, mainly for security.

When I get time, I will test this when X is not running, and post back here. Help is much appreciated.

I suspect you have to use the appropriate keyboard shortcuts to get different terminals and you have to use the appropriate commands to run the parallel X Window sessions.

Let's assume you started X Window with 'startx' command. In such a case the first terminal is locked by X11. To reach the other terminals you have to use the appropriate keyboard shortcuts. For example 'Ctrl+Alt+F2' for the second one, 'Ctrl+Alt+F3' for the third one, etc. After login on the second terminal you can start parallel X Window session using the command 'startx -- :1' for the second session, after login on the third terminal you can start the consecutive parallel X Window session using the command 'startx -- :2' for the third session, etc. To go back to the first session use the keyboard shortcut 'Ctrl+Alt+F7' and to go forth to the second session use the keyboard shortcut 'Ctrl+Alt+F8'.

To recapitulate: you have six terminals to work -- from 'Ctrl+Alt+F1' to 'Ctrl+Alt+F6'.

My problem is not getting the individual X sessions, my issue is the fact that bash will return an error, complaining that I have an incorrect username/password, meaning that 2 users cannot be logged in simultaneously. At first guess (only speculation), something is locking the user database file, meaning that bash can't actually get to it to log me in. But that doesn't explain why I can log in over SSH, with X running...

You need to edit the /etc/inittab file and at the point where it reads:-

# These are the standard console login getties in multiuser mode:
c1edit it to read:-

Reboot and your done

Let us know the name and the version of your Linux distribution as well as the type of the installation (for example: full).

1 members found this post helpful.

Title: Slackware
Version: 13.37
Linux Kernel Version: 2.6.37.6-huge-smp
Installation: Full

And my inittab already says that... Sorry. Thanks for the idea though.

So you must have previously edited that file then? OOTB, it will read as the first entry. What DE are you using?

I don't remember editing the file...
I'm using XCFE.

In Slackware 13.37 inittab is a part of sysvinit-scripts-1.2-noarch-43.txz package and by default has the section:

So there's no need to edit /etc/inittab in order to get these settings.

Unfortunately that doesn't resolve the OP's problem.

My first problem I reported here concerned the second user and Midnight Commander. The program worked well for the first user but refused to work well for the second one. As it turned out I created both users using useradd command. When I removed them and recreated them using adduser command the problem disappeared.

If you used useradd command too you can try to use adduser command instead.

Here's the link to that old thread.

Could it be a keyboard layout problem? I ask because on my Slack install I seem to have a US keyboard layout on the ttys but GB (the correct one) for the display manager. This means, because one of my passwords has a character that is in a different place on each layout, it seems I typed my password wrong.

Just done a quick experiment on boot, the problem goes away when X isn't running. Therefore, logical deduction means that X is causing a problem. I have my keyboard in UK layout on the TTYs, and US layout in X, but that shouldn't make a difference, because the passwords are the same keys regardless.

Too bad the "no" option is gone from the "Did you find this post helpful?" question.

1 members found this post helpful.

@Richard Cranium

My question from post #5 that you evaluated as useless was related to vdemuth's advice from post #4. As it turned out in post #6 CWood uses Slackware 13.37. So in post #9 I explain that there is no need to do in Slackware 13.37 the changes suggested by vdemuth in post #4 because these settings are implemented in that Slackware version by default. So vdemuth took into consideration some older Slackware version.

My useless question was caused by useless vdemuth's advice.

@vdemuth

In fact I don't think your advice was useless as well as I don't think my question was useless. I called your advice useless in order to explain to Richard Cranium my question which he evaluated as useless.

To recapitulate: I think Richard Cranium's remark is useless.

1 members found this post helpful.

w1k0,

No offence taken. I go back tp Slack 10 where the No. of virtual terminals was limited to 2 and hadn't even noticed that was no longer the default TBH.

Anyway, for the OP, if he is using XFCE, is it safe to presume that he uses kdm as a login manager, in which case he should be able to just run a switch user from the login prompt.
Might be worth his while to login to KDE, and then try a switch user from that. Not certain how useful or otherwise that might be, but hey, an extra info is a help right?

Cheers