Can't use graphical login

[Alex Cavnar, aka alc6379]

Something has happened to my RH7.1/kernel2.4 system, and it turns out that it is impossible to log in as root. When I attempt to, it just restarts the X server after it accepts the password. It's done it to other users before, but I fix it then by just deleting the username and making it again. How do I fix this problem for root? Also, if it happens again with any other user, is there a better way of fixing the problem aside from deleting the user?

:) :)

[Whipping Boy]

The graphical login is a Bad Thing anyway.

For example, what if something's screwed up so you can't get into X--you're stuck. Sure, you can use a bootdisk or add linux single to the LILO prompt, but it's not worth the trouble. Just use a normal console login, then start X from there.

[Craig McPherson]

Originally posted by Whipping Boy:
<STRONG>For example, what if something's screwed up so you can't get into X</STRONG>

They gettys still spawn on the ttys like normal. If X blank-screens, you just hit ctrl-alt-F1 like you always do to switch to a text console. If X crashes or won't start at all, then you're at a text console anyway.

I couldn't live without a graphical login. I don't have any TTYs to spare. If you use a graphical login, X only uses one TTY. If you start it from a console, it hogs TWO TTYs: the one X actually runs on, and the one you started it from. Yeah, you can redirect both standard error and standard output to /dev/null and run X backgrounded to reclaim use of the terminal you start it from, but that's a royal pain.

I often have the first 11 TTYs in use for text consoles, with X running on TTY12. Using TTYs over 12 is another pain, so I don't have any terminals to spare. I imagine many other people who use a ton of TTYs at once are in a similar situation.

[wreckd]

just a thought. are you using the gnome display manager (gdm)? i'm using gdm on debian testing/unstable and i wondered why i couldn't log in as root at the prompt; it acted like i was entering the wrong password....then i found gdmconfig and disabled the "don't let root login" option ;)