# XFCE says "X server already running"



## ddaley (Mar 24, 2012)

I have been running XFCE for about a month now with no issues.  This morning, I start up my computer and then do *startx* and get this:


```
X.Org X Server 1.7.7
Release Date: 2010-05-04
X Protocol Version 11, Revision 0
Build Operating System: FreeBSD 8.2-RELEASE-p4 amd64 
Current Operating System: FreeBSD shuttlebsd.localdomain 8.2-RELEASE-p4 FreeBSD 8.2-RELEASE-p4 #0: Sat Dec 31 09:24:06 CST 2011     
root@shuttlebsd.localdomain:/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/GENERIC amd64
Build Date: 18 February 2012  06:58:16PM
 
Current version of pixman: 0.24.2
	Before reporting problems, check http://wiki.x.org
	to make sure that you have the latest version.
Markers: (--) probed, (**) from config file, (==) default setting,
	(++) from command line, (!!) notice, (II) informational,
	(WW) warning, (EE) error, (NI) not implemented, (??) unknown.
(==) Log file: "/var/log/Xorg.0.log", Time: Sat Mar 24 08:37:57 2012
(==) Using config file: "/etc/X11/xorg.conf"
None
/usr/local/bin/startxfce4: X server already running on display :0
ssh-agent is already running; starting gpg-agent without ssh support
xfdesktop[1887]: starting up

(xfce4-session:1881): Wnck-CRITICAL **: wnck_workspace_activate: assertion `WNCK_IS_WORKSPACE (space)' failed
xfce4-settings-helper: Another instance is already running. Leaving...

(xfce4-settings-helper:1889): xfce4-settings-helper-WARNING **: Failed to get the _NET_NUMBER_OF_DESKTOPS property.
system-config-printer-applet: failed to start NewPrinterNotification service
xfce4-panel: No window manager registered on screen 0. To start the panel without this check, run with --disable-wm-check.
(xfce4-mixer-plugin:1929): xfce4-mixer-plugin-DEBUG: mixer_plugin->track_label = 'PCM 1'
running 'pkill -INT ^gpg-agent$; rm -f /home/ddaley/.cache/gpg-agent-info'
xinit: connection to X server lost


waiting for X server to shut down soffice: Fatal IO error 35 (Resource temporarily unavailable) on X server :0.0.
```

I didn't install anything or make any changes to the system yesterday.  If I change .xinitrc to start KDE instead, KDE starts up fine. I have restarted the system and turned off using kdm4 at start up.

Any ideas?


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## adamk (Mar 24, 2012)

The message about an X server already running is perfectly normal when running startxfce4 from inside X (such as when started from a .xinitrc file).  If you were to run startxfce4 from a console, it would attempt to start an X server.  In this case, it's telling you that an X server is already running. 

So start X with just a simple terminal ( *xinit /usr/local/bin/xterm*) and then, from inside the xterm that starts, run *startxfce4*.  See if you get any errors other than the ones listed above.

Adam


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## ddaley (Mar 25, 2012)

XFCE wasn't behaving correctly.  I haven't figured out exactly what was causing it yet, but luckily I had cloned my entire file system recently.  I renamed my home directory and restored it from the clone and now XFCE is working again.  I'll have to start comparing files to figure out what happened...  But, it must have been some user specific config file.


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## fonz (Mar 25, 2012)

It may have also been a "rogue" lockfile or PIDfile that hadn't been properly removed, although usually this results in an error message clearly describing the problem.


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## ddaley (Mar 28, 2012)

This problem happened again.  I haven't figured out exactly what happened, but I caught the problem soon enough that I could do a [CMD="find"] . -mtime -3h[/CMD] to narrow down what files had changed.  I renamed my ~/.cache/sessions directory and it fixed the problem.  So, apparently, the session information for XFCE is getting corrupted.

Also, I noticed that when I had exited XFCE on the previous run, it took a long time for it to shut down.


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