vnc server

Hi,
I'm having a problem with vncserver which I hope somebody might be able to
help me with.

When I log into the machine via SSH and start vncserver everything works
perfectly. When I connect to the VNC desktop with a vnc viewer I get a gnome
desktop. Great.
However, when i start vncserver from a console session, and then use
xnvcviewer to access the vnc desktop, there is no window manager present,
only a grey screen and mouse cursor.
I have the following in the ~.vnc/xstartup file:
#!/bin/sh
gnome-session &

I'm using real vncserver 3.3.7-7 on debian 3.1.
I can't see why it works when I start it via SSH but not when I start it
from the console. Any ideas what might be wrong.

Thanks
Paul

paul wrote:
> Hi,
> I'm having a problem with vncserver which I hope somebody might be able to
> help me with.
>
> When I log into the machine via SSH and start vncserver everything works
> perfectly. When I connect to the VNC desktop with a vnc viewer I get a gnome
> desktop. Great.
> However, when i start vncserver from a console session, and then use
> xnvcviewer to access the vnc desktop, there is no window manager present,
> only a grey screen and mouse cursor.
> I have the following in the ~.vnc/xstartup file:
> #!/bin/sh
> gnome-session &
>
> I'm using real vncserver 3.3.7-7 on debian 3.1.
> I can't see why it works when I start it via SSH but not when I start it
> from the console. Any ideas what might be wrong.
>
> Thanks
> Paul
>
>

Paul,

How about the PATH variable? Perhaps your path is changed when you use ssh?

You could try using the full path to gnome-session instead.

I'm assuming you're starting it as the same user in both cases too.

Scott R. Haven
Sr. Systems Engineer
Paisley Systems Inc.
managed services, consulting, and support
www.paisleysystems.com

Checked the PATH variable, it is the same for both SSH and console login.
Also, I tried giving the full path to gnome-session but it didn't solve the
problem.
Anyone have any other suggestions.

Thanks
Paul.

"Scott R. Haven" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:rg9vf.40600$QW2.21108@dukeread08...
> paul wrote:
>> Hi,
>> I'm having a problem with vncserver which I hope somebody might be able
>> to
>> help me with.
>>
>> When I log into the machine via SSH and start vncserver everything works
>> perfectly. When I connect to the VNC desktop with a vnc viewer I get a
>> gnome
>> desktop. Great.
>> However, when i start vncserver from a console session, and then use
>> xnvcviewer to access the vnc desktop, there is no window manager present,
>> only a grey screen and mouse cursor.
>> I have the following in the ~.vnc/xstartup file:
>> #!/bin/sh
>> gnome-session &
>>
>> I'm using real vncserver 3.3.7-7 on debian 3.1.
>> I can't see why it works when I start it via SSH but not when I start it
>> from the console. Any ideas what might be wrong.
>>
>> Thanks
>> Paul
>
> Paul,
>
> How about the PATH variable? Perhaps your path is changed when you use
> ssh?
>
> You could try using the full path to gnome-session instead.
>
> I'm assuming you're starting it as the same user in both cases too.
>
> Scott R. Haven
> Sr. Systems Engineer
> Paisley Systems Inc.
> managed services, consulting, and support
> www.paisleysystems.com

paul wrote:
> Checked the PATH variable, it is the same for both SSH and console login.
> Also, I tried giving the full path to gnome-session but it didn't solve the
> problem.
> Anyone have any other suggestions.
>
> Thanks
> Paul.
>
> "Scott R. Haven" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:rg9vf.40600$QW2.21108@dukeread08...
>
>>paul wrote:
>>
>>>Hi,
>>>I'm having a problem with vncserver which I hope somebody might be able
>>>to
>>>help me with.
>>>
>>>When I log into the machine via SSH and start vncserver everything works
>>>perfectly. When I connect to the VNC desktop with a vnc viewer I get a
>>>gnome
>>>desktop. Great.
>>>However, when i start vncserver from a console session, and then use
>>>xnvcviewer to access the vnc desktop, there is no window manager present,
>>>only a grey screen and mouse cursor.
>>>I have the following in the ~.vnc/xstartup file:
>>>#!/bin/sh
>>>gnome-session &
>>>
>>>I'm using real vncserver 3.3.7-7 on debian 3.1.
>>>I can't see why it works when I start it via SSH but not when I start it
>>>from the console. Any ideas what might be wrong.
>>>
>>>Thanks
>>>Paul
>>
>>Paul,
>>
>>How about the PATH variable? Perhaps your path is changed when you use
>>ssh?
>>
>>You could try using the full path to gnome-session instead.
>>
>>I'm assuming you're starting it as the same user in both cases too.
>>
>>Scott R. Haven
>>Sr. Systems Engineer
>>Paisley Systems Inc.
>>managed services, consulting, and support
>>www.paisleysystems.com
>
>
>

I suspect it is not running X as your username. On Redhat I have a file:

/etc/sysconfig/vncserver

It says:

# Uncomment the line below to start a VNC server on display :1
# as my 'myusername' (adjust this to your own). You will also
# need to set a VNC password; run 'man vncpasswd' to see how
# to do that.


VNCSERVERS="1:scott"


The init script has a su command:

su ${display##*:} -c \"cd ~${display##*:}


From the console, perhaps you can su to your user account first?

Sorry I can't be more specific I'm not a Debian guy.

Scott R. Haven
Sr. Systems Engineer
Paisley Systems Inc.
managed services, consulting, and support
www.paisleysystems.com