I have a multimedia box (knoppix 3.3) that serves up mp3s/oggs and plays them into my stereo. I control this from my Slackware machine.

I ssh into the box from an xterm window, start vncserver and then then try to use vncview

I always get a Error, can't open display and no real output as to why it fails.

If I do the same from my Knoppix laptop, I can always get vncviewer to work, any ideas why this isn't working from my Slackware 9.1 box?

thanks

Does your Slackware box know whatIP address xanadu has? If you try ping xanadu do you get an intelligent reply or an error? How about vncviwer xanaduIPaddy :1?

Yes, it would have to know the IP address, but I'm sshing into the knoppix box from my slackware box, in the hopes of running VNCViewer.

Yes, the VNCServer is running, I can grep the process, but from a Slackware term, I can't get it to run.

If I use my Knoppix laptop, from konsole, it will come up just fine.

odd...

OK, we're not working on the same wavelength here. Please point out where I'm wrong:

1)You ssh from your Slackware box to your knoppix box (xanadu) and start vncserver on xanadu.

2) On your Slackware box (NOT in the ssh session) you start vncviewer with the command vncviewer xanadu:1

3) Vncviewer fails to connect

If that is correct, then my original question still stands: Does your Slackware box actually know the IP address of xanadu? Is there a nameserver or hosts file that has the translation of xanadu into an IP address? That is why I asked if you run ping xanadu from your Slackware box do you get an error.

From the same ssh session that I ssh into the knoppix box, I run vncviewer xanadu:1 and get the error. This is from xterm, when I use my knoppix laptop, I use konsole, and do the same thing, ssh into it and run xanadu:1 and up comes vnc.

OK, that maybe where the problem is. Vncserver and vncviewer really ought to be running on separate machines. Try this:

SSH into xanadu and start vncserver the way you always do. Then from a separate xterm on the Slackware box, start vncviewer with the command vncviewer 1.2.3.4:1 where you replace 1.2.3.4 with the IP address of xanadu.

To be honest, I'm not sure why your method works with your Knoppix laptop. Technically you are running vncserver and vncviewer on the same machine (xanadu) and since konsole is, well, a console, it shouldn't really have the capability to display an X app like vncviewer.

to see from the vnc viewer you must write:
ip address:1

for example:
150.250.25.12:1