att3b1 logout

[Norman Yarvin]

In article <4486 at vaxwaller.UUCP> lefko at vaxwaller.UUCP (Marty Lefkowitz) writes:
>I'm having another problem though maybe someone else has run across.
>For some reason my machine decided to not let me log back in after I
>log out.  I have to reboot the system.  When I log out the window
>manager comes on the screen, whether I've been using the windows or
>not, with no menu.  I just get a blank window.  Does anybody know
>whats wrong?

The window manager pops up its window whenever it becomes the current window.
Generally that happens when you click on it, but in this case it's because
it just happened to be next in line to become the active window.  I think
each window has a 'parent' window to which focus shifts after the window
dies.

In any case, your problem is that you have no getty running.  (/etc/getty;
the program that prints out the login prompt.)  Init is supposed to respawn
another getty whenever the first getty dies.  Thus either:

	1) The new getty is exiting as soon as it is started, or is not
	   starting up correctly.  (not much reason for this to happen.)

	2) Init wasn't set up right to respawn the new getty.  (If you
	   didn't change /etc/inittab, there's not much reason for this to
	   happen either.)

	3) The first getty didn't exit.  Since 'exit' is a loose term here,
	   more explanation is in order.  Getty normally execs login,
	   subsequently to which login execs your shell.  However, the
	   process id is retained through calls to exec, so your shell has
	   the same pid as the original getty.  Thus after you log in, init
	   is waiting for your shell to exit.  And, surprise, you just
	   changed to a new shell (bash).  :-)

So, perhaps it's time to go hunting for bashes which have overstayed their
welcome.

--
Norman Yarvin					yarvin-norman at cs.yale.edu
 "Praise the humanities, my boy.  That'll make them think you're broadminded!"
	-- Winston Churchill