CDE - Always something wrong.

[Tim Krego_1]

I get the following dialog box when trying to connect to a HP box.

The desktop messaging system could not be started.

I can telnet to the machine, but can't get X/CDE up and running.

I am trying to connect to a new K460 install using XWin32 on Windows 2000. It seems I am always having some new issue when trying to connect using X. It can be config on the HP box, firewall issues, networking, etc.

Where can I find a step-by-step guide to working with X/CDE?

[Abel Berger]

Hi Tim,

You can start the CDE by another Xterminal ?,
for example, Exceed, KeaX, Reflection...
Verify if you don?t have a firewall X11 packet
restrition.
And if you need a doc, search in www.docs.hp.com, the key world "CDE", OK !

I hope this helps ?

Regards,

Abel Berger

[Alfonso Figueroa_1]

Hi Tim,
I had some months a go a problem like yours.
I solved just reinstalling the CDE server software.

Hope this helps you.

Regards,
Alfonso

[neylan tokerler]

hi Tim,
if not still solved, /var/dt/Xerrors can be helpful. nslookup test to resolv its own hostname&ip also helps./etc/resolv.conf includes correct DNS entries? for some socket errors in Xerrors, you can rm /var/spool/sockets/X11/* & /var/spool/sockets/grmd .
file premissions, can be also important like /tmp.
firewall issues also to be checked as mentioned.
rpc errors & nfs related issues also effect CDE.
just a few thoughts...
better if I learn how you solved the case.

[Joe Colucci_1]

Tim,

Every problem I have ever had with CDE, including the one you are having, had to do with hostname resolution. Has the hostname been changed recently? Has there been any changes in /etc/resolv.conf, /etc/nsswitch.conf, or /etc/hosts??

--Joe

[Tim Krego_1]

It could be a hostname problem. The machine is behind a PIX firewall. When I do an nslookup I get errors for machine name or ip address.

I am not sure how to solve that problem. I could have Sprint add a DNS entry for the machine, but without a public ip address I don't think that will do the trick.

[Bill McNAMARA_1 · Accepted solution]

The solution to your problem may be found here:

http://forums.itrc.hp.com/cm/QuestionAnswer/1,1150,0x72b479bffde7d4118fef0090279cd0f9,00.html

Later,
Bill

[Tim Krego_1]

Here is what I have in /var/dt/Xerrors

/usr/bin/X11/xset: bad font path element (#36), possible causes are:

Directory does not exist or has wrong permissions
Directory missing fonts.dir
Incorredct font server address or syntax

Permissions on /usr/bin/X11 are:
dr-xr-xr-x bin bin

I think I am making progress. Thanks again for all the help.

[Tim Krego_1]

This did the trick.

mv /etc/resolv.conf /etc/resolv.old

This machine is behind a firewall with an ip of 192.168.1.100.

Another machine I have outside the firewall and in the Sprint DNS works.

Will this cause me any problems when I start to do other things?

[Joseph C. Denman]

I really don't understand what did the trick??

If moving resolv.conf to resolv.conf.old made it work, then your problem was with nsswitch.conf file.

If now, you do not have a resolv.conf, your DNS will not work. You need to move it back.

Then check your host file to make sure your have an entry for your hostname and IP.

Then make modifications to your nsswitch.conf as follows:
hosts: files [NOTFOUND=continue] dns

...jcd...

[Tim Krego_1]

I do not have a file nsswitch.conf. I have nsswitch.xxx with different extensions.

Can I copy one of those to nsswitch.conf?

[Joseph C. Denman]

The nsswitch.xxx is probably the hp default that you need to make modifications and rename. You should be able to cp nsswitch.xxx nsswitch.conf. Then make sure the hosts entry is as I stated above.

permissions should be 444

...jcd...

[Bill Thorsteinson]

Accessing the 192.168 address from outside the firewall
will be difficult if the firewall doesn't masquerade your
IP and NAT a connection to startup the clients.

Crossing the firewall to the outside (Sprint) is even more
of a problem.

Look at using SSH to tunnel your X connections across
the firewall. SSH may also speed up your x traffic.

[Tim Krego_1]

The K460 is a 192.168.x.x address. I am inside the firewall on the 192.168.x.x subnet also.

The problem I have is that Netscape cannot access websites using hostnames. I know it is some type of DNS issue, but being new to unix I don't know how resolution is done and what files I need to create/edit.

[Joseph C. Denman]

Resolution I done by 3 files.

/etc/hosts
/etc/nsswitch.conf
/etc/resolv.conf

/etc/hosts
#Should contain entries for local host or other hosts that are not in DNS

/etc/nsswitch.conf
#Should contain an entry as stated above. If the hosts in not in /etc/hosts, go to dns

/etc/resolv.conf
#Should look something like this
domain mydomain.com
nameserver xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx #primary dns
nameserver xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx #secondary dns

hope this helps.

...jcd...