Cannot get to CDE consistantly.
On bootup after entering as root or an ordinary user in log in screen, get to light blue screen starting cde where computer stays for 3 to 4 minutes then the screen goes black and curser is an hour glass. Have to hit reset.
using at command prompt either
#xinit /usr/dt/bin/Xsession
#/usr/dt/bin/dtconfig  -kill
I can get into cde desktop but it is a hit and miss affair. Get lock up more often.
Found a tip to colon out (: ) welcome:2:/usr/lib/assist/welcome.launch   line in /etc/inittab, but I do not have this line.
RS/6000 Power Station 7011-250 256mb GT4e Video 6091-19i terminal Netscape 4.75i AIX4.3.3.0


Reply
Run diagnostics (diag or smitty diag)


gheist. Thanks for replying.
This is the first time I have been in this area. There sure is a bewildering array of choices.
I read through all the screens but they all seem related to hardware where I seem to have a software problem.
Could you please be more specific as to what I use in smitty diag.
Sorry, but I am a real novice at AIX. Only started out a couple of months ago.

Your computer is old and not supported by later AIX.
Latest system patches ( maintenace level 11 ) are here
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/aix/fixes/43/ml/4330011/4330011.tar.gz
(backing up all before and after for sure)

After that go through all the nondestructive diagnostics - maybe some cable is loose with time.
Then pay attention to schedule all regular diagnostics at night at different times.
After all done and system still works or gives some problem reports, come back

Another releavant smitty menu is smitty errpt.

Read some sites like:

http://www-opensup.bull.com/
http://www.rootvg.net/
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/aix-faq/
http://www.matildasystems.com/hacmp/
http://www.adsm.org/
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/

Fear not to ask here.

Got an answer elsewhere that solved my problem. Refer to paragraph 3 below.
"By design, xinit starts the X server (using /usr/bin/X11/X as the executable to start the X server) and then it runs mwm (the Motif  Window Manager).   The mwm cannot coexist with CDE so if you want to run CDE, then you need to bring up the X server without another window manager. 

A lot of people use smit/smitty to set up their system so that they can login to their system and automatically bring up CDE.    If you want to do this, then start smit (if you X windows is up and running) or smitty (in any xterm or aixterm or lft).   
If you are using smit, then click on System Environments.  Then click on Change System User Interface.  Make sure the CDE shows up as the choice and then click ok.   You will have to reboot the system for it to take affect. 
  
If you are using smitty, then move line to System Environment and press enter.   Move line to Change System User Interface and press enter.   Make sure that AIX CDE is selected and press enter.   You will hav eto reboot the system for it to take affect. 

Some people don't want CDE to be their means of logging into their system (I don't).    In this case, you need to bring up the X server the way that you want it and then start CDE.   In my case, I want the GLX X extension running to I use 

        X -x abx -x dbe -x GLX 

as the command to start the X server.   Since I also don't want the screen saver to kick in automatically, I also use the -s 0 option on the X command (so the command looks like:   X -x abx -x dbe -x GLX -s 0) 

You probably don't need to use OpenGL so you use whatever parameters that is appropriate for your setup.   If you aren't sure what you want for parameters, then you can always bring up the X server using xinit and then use this command to see the parameters of the X process: 

        ps -elf | grep X 

Once you have the X server started, then /usr/dt/bin/Xsession  is the command to start CDE.     

A shell script is the easiest way of running this.   A shell script is merely a text file (given "executable" acls) that contains commands.   In my case, my shell script (which I call startcde) has the lines I put into the newsgroup update: 

#!/bin/ksh 
# start up X server so that it runs OpenGL 
X -x abx -x dbe -x GLX -s 0 & \; 
sleep 5 
DISPLAY=:0 /usr/dt/bin/Xsession & 

Once you create the text file with those commands, run: 

        chmod a+x startcde 

(which assumes that the file is called startcde).   

When you log into your system via command line through your graphics console, you are in an lft (low function terminal).   Run your shell script and the X server will come up and CDE will start up. "

 
Comment from gheist 
Date: 10/05/2005 12:53AM PDT
 Comment   


Smitty kind of allows you to do the same with simple keystroke on menus....