We had a similar problem. I believe there was an error message in our system log files that pointed to the solution. I logged in remotely and deleted a problem file. I'm not 100% sure what the file was, but I think it was something like .ICEauthority or a variation on it. Some how the file got corrupted and when root tried to login, it was quickly kicked out. I hope this helps some. Good luck. -- Brent L. Bates (UNIX Sys. Admin.) M.S. 912 Phone:(757) 865-1400, x204 NASA Langley Research Center FAX:(757) 865-8177 Hampton, Virginia 23681-0001 Email: B.L.BATES at larc.nasa.gov http://www.vigyan.com/~blbates/