Kill xserver from command line (init 3/5 does not work)
Solution 1
Linux Mint is based on Debian. In Debian, the single user run level is 1; 3 is still a multi-user run level and as such allows X to continue execution. So, you need to switch to run level 1, init 1
, to stop all processes initiated by the default run level (2). Then you can re-init to the proper run level: init 2
.
See Debian run levels for more information.
Solution 2
When I update Xorg or video drivers:
- Press Ctrl+Alt+F1
- Log in as a user
-
Type the following commands:
sudo /etc/init.d/lightdm stop #or slim gdm mdm etc... #do stuff sudo /etc/init.d/lightdm start #or slim gdm mdm etc...
(Stopping the Display Manager also stops X.)
Solution 3
The easiest way to kill your X server is to press Ctrl+Alt+Backspace.
For example, on Ubuntu, the keyboard shortcut is called "DontZap", and can be re-enabled by following these instructions. It should be the same on Linux Mint.
It's best not to run startx
. It is independent from init 3
/init 5
, and will confuse things.
These days, pkill
is preferred over killall
. It basically does the same thing, but it has a partner command pgrep
you can use to see what it would kill before doing it.
So try pgrep X
or pgrep Xorg
, and then run pkill X
or pkill Xorg
if pgrep
lists only programs you want to kill.
On my Ubuntu system, the most reliable command I can find is:
pgrep -f '^/usr/bin/X '
which means you can kill all X servers using
pkill -f '^/usr/bin/X '
(but I haven't tested it).
Finally, don't forget to have a look in /var/log/X.0.log
and ~/.xsession-errors
. Maybe you can figure out what is causing the X server hangs.
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Richard Martinez
Updated on September 17, 2022Comments
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Richard Martinez over 1 year
I'm running Linux Mint 10, although I've had this same issue with other variants of Linux. I've been told/found while researching that if the X server hangs or otherwise errors, one can drop to a root prompt, usually at another tty, and execute
init 3
(to drop to single user mode) and theninit 5
to return to the default, graphical session.Needless to say, I've tried this before in multiple configurations on multiple machines to no avail. The only feedback I receive form executing those two commands is a listing of VMWare services (from a kernel module) that are stopped and then restarted.
Note: If I run
startx
(either before or afterinit 3
), then I am told that the xserver is still running and that I should remove/tmp/.X0-lock
. Having tried that, it removes that error message, but claims that the xserver cannot be attached as another instance is running.How do I kill the xserver completely? Can I
killall
some process name?-
Rich Homolka about 12 yearsJust to call this out for emphasis, as @jsumners said, runlevel 3 is still multi-user.
-
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Jjames over 13 years
Ctrl + Alt + Backspace
has been disabled for a reason, because there's a Magic SysRq Key, speakAlt + Print + K
for it. Also, just for the record, Google is not considered helpful. -
Nethan over 13 years+1 Good point, on Debian, runlevel 3 and runlevel 5 are the same thing. See, e.g.
/etc/init/gdm.conf
.