How to close X Server, to avoid errors while updating nVidia driver?
I tried to update my nVidia driver but I got an error when I ran the driver installation. See the error:
ERROR: You appear to be running an X server; please exit X before installing. For further details, please see the section INSTALLING THE NVIDIA DRIVER in the README available on the Linux driver download page at www.nvidia.com. Note: I tried following a guide by typing init 3 but still nothing changed.. How to close the X server? So I can update the driver
9 Answers 9
I don’t think I’ve ever gotten that installing/updating nvidia, but here:
# To stop: sudo init 3 # To resume: sudo init 5 Though I’m not 100% sure that’ll work on Ubuntu, IIRC they moved away from init. On Ubuntu, try this (replace gdm with kdm/slim/whatever display manager you use):
# To stop: sudo service gdm stop # To start: sudo service gdm start I’m pretty sure that stops the whole X session
Less cleanly, you could just kill them:
I tried your first solution and didn’t work, then I tried your second solution it says unrecognised service(I tried all of them) I also tried your last solution and it says no proccess found
@CKM you need to be on a virtual console, ctrl-alt-f1 through f6. Ctrl-alt-f7 will get you back to the gui once you start it again.
Depending on your version the way of stopping the X server varies. You have to exit the graphic mode (by typing alt+ctrl+F1 , for example), login, and then type one of the following commands to stop the X server:
sudo service lightdm stop sudo service gdm stop sudo service kdm stop //this is the one that worked for mi as I use kdm and Linux mint Now you can install the drivers and then type
When you write sudo service press tab to see the options you have (gdm, kdm. )
As the error states, you are still running an X server. This error occurs when you try to install the Nvidia .run files while logged in.
Make sure you are logged out.
- Hit CTRL+ALT+F1 and login using your credentials.
- kill your current X server session by typing sudo service lightdm stop or sudo stop lightdm
- Enter runlevel 3 (or 5) by typing sudo init 3 (or sudo init 5 ) and install your .run file.
- You might be required to reboot when the installation finishes. If not, run sudo service lightdm start or sudo start lightdm to start your X server again.
Booting to a different runlevel
Runlevels in Linux dictate which services are started and stopped automatically when the system boots or shuts down. The runlevels typically range from 0 to 6, with runlevel 5 typically starting the X window system as part of the services (runlevel 0 is actually a system halt, and 6 is a system reboot). It is good practice to install the NVIDIA Linux Driver while X is not running, and it is a good idea to prevent X from starting on reboot in case there are problems with the installation (otherwise you may find yourself with a broken system that automatically tries to start X, but then hangs during the startup, preventing you from doing the repairs necessary to fix X). Depending on your network setup, runlevels 1, 2 or 3 should be sufficient for installing the Driver. Level 3 typically includes networking services, so if utilities used by the system during installation depend on a remote filesystem, Levels 1 and 2 will be insufficient. If your system typically boots to a console with a command prompt, you should not need to change anything. If your system typically boots to the X window system with a graphical login and desktop, you must both exit X and change your default runlevel.
On most distributions, the default runlevel is stored in the file /etc/inittab, although you may have to consult the guide for your own distribution. The line that indicates the default runlevel appears as
or similar, where n indicates the number of the runlevel. /etc/inittab must be edited as root. Please read the sections on editing files and root user if you are unfamiliar with this concept. Also, it is recommended that you create a copy of the file prior to editing it, particularly if you are new to Linux text editors, in case you accidentally corrupt the file:
# cp /etc/inittab /etc/inittab.original The line should be edited such that an appropriate runlevel is the default (1, 2, or 3 on most systems):
After saving the changes, exit X. After the Driver installation is complete, you may revert the default runlevel to its original state, either by editing the /etc/inittab again or by moving your backup copy back to its original name.
Different distributions provide different ways to exit X. On many systems, the init utility will change the current runlevel. This can be used to change to a runlevel in which X is not running.
There are other methods by which to exit X. Please consult your distribution.
List all yours processes with:
List all your runing services with:
stop/restart X server
I want to generate xorg.conf but for that X needs to not be running. How do I stop X or start without it? I tried ctrl + alt + F2 but the X server is still running. I’m running Lubuntu 14.10.
You can make changes to xorg.conf while X is running. You just need to restart X in order for the changes to take effect: killall X will restart it for you.
@drs X: no process found is what I got. I made minimal ubuntu installation. I’ve installed X11 and then openbox and fbpanel .
2 Answers 2
I ended up doing the following:
sudo service lightdm stop Then I had to run ctrl + alt + F2 and log in the second terminal, otherwise it would just sit there with dark screen. To start it back up:
sudo service lightdm start lxdm starts/stops the X server.
The default installation of lubuntu since 12.04 uses lightdm rather than lxdm as its display manager, I think — in which case it would more likely be sudo service lightdm stop
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How does one exit the X server?
The command sudo service gdm stop would successfully disable the X server in Ubuntu 11.04 temporarily. However, this same command no longer works in Ubuntu 11.10, because «gdm» is an «unrecognized service» according to Terminal. How, then, do I disable the X server in Ubuntu 11.10?
if you just want to restart x server just log in and out, otherwise ctr+alt+backspace normally does it to. perhaps that shortcut needs to be enabled under keyboard preferences
The question should be «how to stop the session manager» but as many people thinks that gdm is an «X server» this should stay like this.
7 Answers 7
GDM was switched out for LightDM, so:
Or in your service parlance:
sudo service lightdm stop For future reference, all these upstart services (that can be run with initctl’s service command and shortcuts) are .conf files in /etc/init/
The question is about exiting X server, but I believe lightdm is X server client ? No ? and the command in your answer will only stop the client and not the server ?
@Ahmed «DM» — desktop manager; yes gdm and lightdm are X clients, but they assume special responsibilities — managing other client window decorations, stacking order, drag-n-drop, cut-n-paste, etc.
The reason that doesn’t work is because Ubuntu 11.10 has switched from GDM to LightDM.
sudo service lightdm stop You can also use the keyboard shortcut:
A bit of a long winded keyboard shortcut, maybe too many people were pressing Ctrl+Alt+Backspace so they changed it to this.
I can confirm this as working from 10.04 through to 11.10.
@Oli pretty much nailed it, but I wanted to note that this probably won’t help you out much if you need to do something from the command line without X.
For that, you should press Ctrl + Alt + F1 , then log in from the console. Afterwards, you can kill and restart the lightdm service as needed.
Technically speaking gdm or lightdm are managing desktop session requests they are not X servers. (an X server is serving events to X application, xorg is an X server 🙂 .
Edit
To stop the X server killall X or sudo killall X if you are not owner of the process.
Of course you must have a terminal to do that.
One way if you cannot open a gnome terminal or an xterm is to start a text console; press simultaneously Ctrl + Alt + F1 keys, then login at the prompt (your password will not be shown, not even as asterisks). (F1 to F5 are ok)
How to kill and to start the X server?
In 12.04 How do you kill the X server from the command line and from the GUI interface and how do you start it from the virtual terminal?
If you just want to kill the X server, you can enable the Ctrl+Alt+Backspace key combinations on “Options” of keyboard layout settings.
4 Answers 4
One way to restart an instance of the X server is to run (from the commandline)
sudo service lightdm restart For Ubuntu 15.04 and later:
sudo systemctl restart lightdm.service and for Kubuntu 15.04 and later:
sudo systemctl stop sddm.service lightdm? I thought gdm was for GNOME, kdm for KDE, xdm for XFCE and lightdm for LXDE! and to stp it from the gUI?
lightdm starts only one instance of Xorg, so restarting lightdm should close the only open Xorg instance, unless you’re doing something much more complicated.
On 12.04, you can restart the server with the shortcut keys: Right Alt + Print Screen + K .
What a strange combination!. Print. It has no logic; and what would «(Right alt) + (Print Screen) + K» be in an Apple keyboard? I have right command and no print
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_SysRq_key has more info on it if you want to understand the logic behind it. printscreen is the same key as sysrq(System Request).
@semi: «printscreen is the same key as sysrq» — not on my keyboard. sysreq is the same key as delete .
In order for this to work you need to run this command once: sudo echo kernel.sysrq=1 > /etc/sysctl.d/10-magic-sysrq.conf
Press Ctrl + Alt + F1 and then run:
sudo service lightdm stop … depending on your display manager.
NOTE: To recover use startx , alternatively replace the stop with start in either of the above commands.
Kill : xkill -a . -a means it will kill all display instances. For more information run man xkill .
Run : xinit . Also startx but this command is to start an instance and not the server itself. For more information run man xint and man startx .
I don’t believe it’s possible to kill Xserver from GUI, and even if it were, it would not be the right way to do it.
Wouldn’t that kill all individual windows, which is not what the user wants? For example I don’t want to kill all my firefox windows, I want to restart the visualisation.
The user said: «kill and start the X server». That seems to be exactly what he wants. It’s not about restarting gnome-shell.