On 03/20/2012 02:21 PM Jack Bailey wrote: > Hello, > > I have several CentOS 6.2 hosts (2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.x86_64) that lock up > when attempting to use the Gnome desktop from the console. I can always > log in, but then all I get is the blue root window, the round initial > mouse pointer, and nothing else. The last process associated with the > console is "xprop -root" which strace shows as hanging indefinitely. > > There are cases (sporadic, unpredictable) when I get further; the screen > contains desktop icons, the menu at the top, and an arrow mouse pointer, > but the mouse and keyboard don't work. I can reproduce this behavior > frequently by setting the system run level to 3, logging into the > console, and running "strace -f startx". > > One other bit of information: I build all the hosts with the same > kickstart file, and most of the hosts work fine; only a handful are > acting up. > > Has anyone seen this before and/or know how to troubleshoot it? > > Thanks, > Jack It's been a long time since I've had to fix this problem, but I recall the necessity for setting the windowmanager variable to gnome before running startx. Also you may want to try invoking startx from runlevel 5. hth, ken