started by user with ~/ on vfat: cannot find a window manager

From: Florian von Savigny (florian265_at_uboot.com)
Date: 11/04/03 

Date: 04 Nov 2003 00:10:36 +0100

Hello,

I have a bizarre problem that seems to be separate from the one I also
posted here under the subject "xkbcomp problem ...?", but occurs in
the same setting, and does also not occur on my laptop:

I have three users besides root. Two of them have their home directory
on a vfat partition, the other one has it on an ext2 partition. To get
the stuff with the permissions and owners right (since vfat does not
have owners, and under Linux, its files are owned by the user who has
mounted the partition), I took to mounting these partitions during
system init using the su command, feigning to be the respective
user.

This seems to cause no problems with starting X on the laptop, where
the design is similar. On my desktop computer, however, the two users
with vfat partitions get a bleak X surface with a message box saying
"Cannot find a window manager. Please install one". After pressing
"OK", one xterm window opens, and when I enter "fvwm", thereby
starting it from the command line, the latter starts up normally. You
can then normally work with X, but always taking this detour ...

This does not happen with root and the user who has their home
directory on the ext2 partition, which is why I think there must be
some connection between file system of user's home directory and X
behaviour. Yet it must be very subtle, since this effect does not take
place on my laptop.

This is the whole output from startx (error messages lumped together
with normal ones):

xauth: error in locking authority file /home/florian/.Xauthority
xauth: error in locking authority file /home/florian/.Xauthority
xauth: error in locking authority file /home/florian/.Xauthority
xauth: error in locking authority file /home/florian/.Xauthority

warning: process set to nice value 0 instead of -10 as requested

XFree86 Version 3.3.6a / X Window System
(protocol Version 11, revision 0, vendor release 6300)
Release Date: xx November 2000
        If the server is older than 6-12 months, or if your card is newer
        than the above date, look for a newer version before reporting
        problems. (see http://www.XFree86.Org/FAQ)
Operating System: Linux 2.4.13 i686 [ELF]
Configured drivers:
  Mach64: accelerated server for ATI Mach64 graphics adaptors (Patchlevel 1)
(using VT number 7)

XF86Config: /etc/X11/XF86Config
(**) stands for supplied, (--) stands for probed/default values
(--) no ModulePath specified using default: /usr/X11R6/lib/modules
pex5.so: Unknown error loading module
xie.so: Unknown error loading module
(**) XKB: rules: "xfree86"
(**) XKB: model: "pc104"
(**) XKB: layout: "de"
(**) Mouse: type: PS/2, device: /dev/psaux, buttons: 5
(**) Mouse: 3 button emulation (timeout: 50ms)
(**) Mouse: zaxismapping: (-)4 (+)5
(**) Mach64: Graphics device ID: "Generic Video Card"
(**) Mach64: Monitor ID: "Generic Monitor"
(--) Mach64: Mode "1600x1200" needs hsync freq of 106.25 kHz. Deleted.
(--) Mach64: Mode "1792x1344" needs hsync freq of 106.27 kHz. Deleted.
(--) Mach64: Mode "1856x1392" needs hsync freq of 112.50 kHz. Deleted.
(--) Mach64: Mode "1920x1440" needs hsync freq of 112.50 kHz. Deleted.
Warning: The directory "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/cyrillic" does not exist.
         Entry deleted from font path.
Warning: The directory "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/CID" does not exist.
         Entry deleted from font path.
(**) FontPath set to "unix/:7100,/usr/lib/X11/fonts/misc,/usr/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/:unscaled,/usr/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/:unscaled,/usr/lib/X11/fonts/Type1,/usr/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo,/usr/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi,/usr/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi"
(--) Mach64: PCI: Mach64 Rage IIC rev 122, Aperture @ 0xe6000000, Registers @ 0xe5000000, Block I/O @ 0xd000
(--) Mach64: Card type: AGP
(--) Mach64: Memory type: SDRAM (4)
(--) Mach64: Clock type: Internal
(--) Mach64: Maximum allowed dot-clock: 230.000 MHz
(**) Mach64: Mode "1024x768": mode clock = 94.500
(--) Mach64: Virtual resolution: 1024x768
(--) Mach64: Video RAM: 8192k
(--) Mach64: Using hardware cursor
(--) Mach64: Using 16 MB aperture @ 0xe6000000
(--) Mach64: Using 4 KB register aperture @ 0xe5000000
(--) Mach64: Ramdac is Internal
(--) Mach64: Ramdac speed: 230 MHz
(--) Mach64: Pixmap cache: 2 256x256 slots, 8 128x128 slots, 32 64x64 slots
(--) Mach64: Font cache: 16 fonts
The XKEYBOARD keymap compiler (xkbcomp) reports:
> Error: No Symbols named "°V5@°V5@" in the include file "de"
> Exiting
> Abandoning symbols file "default"
Errors from xkbcomp are not fatal to the X server
Error. Can not find a window manager. Please install one.
Exit for now.

waiting for X server to shut down mach64ProgramClkMach64CT: Warning: Q < 10.66666667


xauth: error in locking authority file /home/florian/.Xauthority

I don't think it has to do with the authority file locking error,
which probably is caused by vfat, because I have already tried hacking
the startx script to the effect that it creates the authority file
elsewhere. This made this error message vanish, but did not fix the WM
finding troubles.

The xkbcomp error, which I have reported in a separate thread, occurs
also with root and the "ext2 user", so I think it is at least not
directly connected to this.

[Both errors, however, do not occur on the laptop, which merely uses a
different X server.]

Any help, as with the other error, greatly appreciated! 

-- 
Florian v. Savigny
If you are going to reply in private, please be patient, as I only
check for mail something like once a week. - Si vous allez répondre
personellement, patientez s.v.p., car je ne lis les courriels
qu'environ une fois par semaine.