Running startx as user other than root

[Jonathan Scott]

Hello all,

I have an application I would like to start at bootup, without having to login first. The machine will be a public-access machine, providing certain content, and thus need to have just a default application started along with startx. I should also mention I would like to do this as other than root.

I have my .xinitrc setup properly, and if I log in as the user I chose, the application starts up and everything is fine. I came up with the "slick" idea of having the machine boot up in runlevel 3, and putting my own script in /etc/init.d/, with the appropriate links, that would start X and thus my application. My problem is, I get the following message:

===============
Fatal server error:
PAM authentication failed, cannot start X server.
Perhaps you do not have console ownership?

Please consult the The X.Org Foundation sup
at http://wiki.X.Org
for help.

xinit:  No such process (errno 3):  Server error.
===============

I am starting X with "su -l myuser -c startx". What can I do to get startx to properly start my X session? Any help in getting me on the right path would be very much welcome.

Jonathan Scott


-- 
Jonathan Scott, Programmer, Vanten K.K.
jwscott at vanten.com	Tel: 03-5919-0266
http://www.vanten.com	Fax: 03-5919-0267