topic Xwindow Problem - Can't open display: %s in Operating System - HP-UX

Xwindow Problem - Can't open display: %s

ashutosh99 — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 11:36:51 GMT

Hi All,

I'm facing an error while trying to get a HP-UX GUI using Xwindow. here are the details:

system : HPVM with HP-UX 11i v3

xclient : XMing

I've started the xfs deamon and set the display vairable as well

# ps -ef|grep -i x11
root 7100 1 0 04:03:58 ? 0:00 /usr/bin/X11/xfs -config /etc/X11/fs/config -port 7000 -daemon -quiet_if_addrinuse
# env|grep -i dis
DISPLAY=localhost:0.0
# xterm
xterm Xt error: Can't open display: %s

I don't what's wrong and how to fix it. Any help is really appreciaed.

Thanks,

Ashutosh Singh

Re: Xwindow Problem - Can't open display: %s

Torsten. — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 13:01:08 GMT

Maybe the variable is wrong. Not sure about your settings.

Try "mobaxterm" (X over ssh), works perfectly. Google it!

Re: Xwindow Problem - Can't open display: %s

Dennis Handly — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 15:57:41 GMT

>DISPLAY=localhost:0.0

>Maybe the variable is wrong.

That would be my thought too. I would have thought that is the location of the DISPLAY ON the server, not the PC.

When I use putty and ssh and xming, I get a variable like: localhost:##:0

Re: Xwindow Problem - Can't open display: %s

Bill Hassell — Fri, 08 Aug 2014 11:16:06 GMT

>> DISPLAY=localhost:0.0

Unless you are using a display, mouse and keyboard connected to the computer, this is not a valid setting. If you use Linux a lot (where the KVM is part of the computer), it is easy to make this mistake. The DISPLAY variable is used to tell Xwindows where to route the graphics. Since you mentioned Xming (which works quite well), you are probably using a PC as your display device. Therefore, the setting for DISPLAY must point to your PC, not the localhost:0.0 on the HP-UX system.

To set the DISPLAY variable automatically, run this command:

export DISPLAY=$(who -muR | awk '{print $NF}'):0.0"

What this does is (from the HP-UX side) to identify your PC's connection and set that address as the DISPLAY variable.

Additionally, Xwindows is considered to be a network security risk so if your Xwindow data is flowing across routers, your company may block port 7000 which will prevent Xwindows from working except within a local subnet.

Also, Xwindows is only useful when displaying graphic images. If you are using it to login to HP-UX with xterm, that is a very cumbersome and network-intensive way to communicate. Download PuTTY and you'll eliminate all the issues with Xwindow connectivity.

Re: Xwindow Problem - Can't open display: %s

Torsten. — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 11:53:35 GMT

As said, if you really need X, consider to tunnel via ssh.

Re: Xwindow Problem - Can't open display: %s

ashutosh99 — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 12:13:08 GMT

Thank you all for your valuable inputs.

I tried changing the display variable, but the problem presisted. I googled the problem and there were some directions reagrding the .Xauthority file being corrupt. I'm not sure what this file does and how to correct it. Maybe, if you guys have any ideas about the same, please let me know.

I'll try mobaxterm to see if it works for me.

And I know Xwindows is quite cumbersome, but I need to configure bastille in my environment and that can be only setup using GUI. So, I kind of need te GUI for the time being.

Thanks,

Ashutosh Singh

Re: Xwindow Problem - Can't open display: %s

Torsten. — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 12:26:50 GMT

Yes, bastille need it ...

Run mobaxterm on your pc, do ssh (sessions icon upper left corner, or just type ssh from the shell) to the server and start bastille.

This is cygwin in a single executable file, cool.

Re: Xwindow Problem - Can't open display: %s

Dennis Handly — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 18:57:42 GMT

>To set the DISPLAY variable automatically, run this command:

You have too many "$(":

export DISPLAY=$(who -muR | awk '{print $NF}'):0.0"

(You can edit your post by Post Options > Edit Reply.)

Re: Xwindow Problem - Can't open display: %s

Bill Hassell — Fri, 08 Aug 2014 11:17:22 GMT

>> You have too many "$(":

Yep. I fixed the line. Thanks.

Re: Xwindow Problem - Can't open display: %s

Steven Schweda — Fri, 08 Aug 2014 22:14:51 GMT

Re: Xwindow Problem - Can't open display: %s

ashutosh99 — Wed, 20 Aug 2014 12:30:06 GMT

I couldn't fix this problem using putty and xming.
Though mobaxterm worked like a charm.

Thanks to all for your valuable inputs.