Portable Cygwin works, but XWin fails

Portable Cygwin works, but XWin fails

[fergus]

I have been able to run portable versions of Cygwin, reduced in one way or
another, both from writable USB memory sticks and from unwritable CDs.
Lately I tried running XWin from a writable stick. By observing which files
were written where, and as a consequence  setting up links using
    ln -s /dev/null /tmp/Xwin.log
    ln -s /dev/null /var/run/utmp
it really seemed that I had addressed all problems: in repeated uses,
nothing new was written to the stick at all. I then burned a CD, but
disappointingly XWin "dies" as soon as it is started. That is, I start the
process with bash, and then try
    XWin -multiwindow &
which I would normally follow with
    rxvt -display localhost:0.0 -e bash
but XWin does not persist. (Sorry: I don't know how to express what happens
other than to say it "dies" immediately.)
This is VERY disappointing. Any clues to what else I might try?
By the way, in mounting the portable version, I have already established
that the directory /cygdrive/c/tmp/ must exist, so I suppose I could try
    ln -s /cygdrive/c/tmp/XWin.log /tmp/XWin.log
before burning to CD. (I've already made 5 coasters. At this rate I'll be
able to floor the bathroom.)
Thanks.
Fergus

Re: Portable Cygwin works, but XWin fails

[Harold L Hunt II]

Fergus,

fergus@bonhard.uklinux.net wrote:

> I have been able to run portable versions of Cygwin, reduced in one way or
> another, both from writable USB memory sticks and from unwritable CDs.
> Lately I tried running XWin from a writable stick. By observing which files
> were written where, and as a consequence  setting up links using
>     ln -s /dev/null /tmp/Xwin.log
>     ln -s /dev/null /var/run/utmp
> it really seemed that I had addressed all problems: in repeated uses,
> nothing new was written to the stick at all. I then burned a CD, but
> disappointingly XWin "dies" as soon as it is started.

Look in /tmp and /var/run on your memory stick.  There is likely a file 
created for the symlink.  You can't create this file on your CD, so this 
fails, right?  Is that the problem?

Harold

Re: Portable Cygwin works, but XWin fails

[Brian Ford]

On Wed, 10 Dec 2003 fergus@bonhard.uklinux.net wrote:

> I have been able to run portable versions of Cygwin, reduced in one way or
> another, both from writable USB memory sticks and from unwritable CDs.
> Lately I tried running XWin from a writable stick. By observing which files
> were written where, and as a consequence  setting up links using
>     ln -s /dev/null /tmp/Xwin.log
>     ln -s /dev/null /var/run/utmp
> it really seemed that I had addressed all problems: in repeated uses,
> nothing new was written to the stick at all. I then burned a CD, but
> disappointingly XWin "dies" as soon as it is started. That is, I start the
> process with bash, and then try
>     XWin -multiwindow &
> which I would normally follow with
>     rxvt -display localhost:0.0 -e bash
> but XWin does not persist. (Sorry: I don't know how to express what happens
> other than to say it "dies" immediately.)
> This is VERY disappointing. Any clues to what else I might try?
>
What is your display variable set to?  Do you have a /tmp/.X11-unix/X0
file on your memory stick?  That might be the issue.

> By the way, in mounting the portable version, I have already established
> that the directory /cygdrive/c/tmp/ must exist, so I suppose I could try
>     ln -s /cygdrive/c/tmp/XWin.log /tmp/XWin.log
> before burning to CD. (I've already made 5 coasters. At this rate I'll be
> able to floor the bathroom.)
> Thanks.
> Fergus
>

-- 
Brian Ford
Senior Realtime Software Engineer
VITAL - Visual Simulation Systems
FlightSafety International
Phone: 314-551-8460
Fax:   314-551-8444

Re: Portable Cygwin works, but XWin fails

[fergus]

> What is your display variable set to?

localhost:0.0

> Do you have a /tmp/.X11-unix/X0
> file on your memory stick?

Yes: so I wonder whether in trying to make a CD version, as well as
re-routing the file /tmp/XWin.log, I ought also to try to re-route the file
/tmp/.X11-unix/X0.

But: the trouble seems to occur earlier, at the point that XWin atempts to
make the directory /tmp/.X11-unix. Can I trick XWin into creating this
elsewehere (i.e. somewhere writeable?)

Fergus

Re: Portable Cygwin works, but XWin fails

[Brian Ford]

On Wed, 10 Dec 2003 fergus@bonhard.uklinux.net wrote:

> > What is your display variable set to?
> >
> localhost:0.0
>
> > Do you have a /tmp/.X11-unix/X0 file on your memory stick?
> >
> Yes: so I wonder whether in trying to make a CD version, as well as
> re-routing the file /tmp/XWin.log, I ought also to try to re-route the file
> /tmp/.X11-unix/X0.
>
No, you don't need to.  Just Xwin.exe -nolisten local.

-- 
Brian Ford
Senior Realtime Software Engineer
VITAL - Visual Simulation Systems
FlightSafety International
Phone: 314-551-8460
Fax:   314-551-8444

Re: Portable Cygwin works, but XWin fails

[fergus]

> No, you don't need to.  Just Xwin.exe -nolisten local.

Thank you. This worked just fine. I take the point about Google-ing - that's
how I learned that diverting tmp/XWin.log might help. I didn't see the
"-nolisten local" advice ...

Just one final question: when I get into rxvt after "XWin -nolisten
local -multiwindow &", the keyboard suddenly becomes USA, whereas it is set
(correctly) to UK otherwise, within bash, within rxvt and for that matter
within Windows. In this case, when I exit rxvt back to bash, the UK keyboard
is recovered.

Does the "-nolisten local" switch impose some kind USA default, as it would
indeed appear to do?

Fergus

Re: Portable Cygwin works, but XWin fails

[Brian Ford]

On Wed, 10 Dec 2003 fergus@bonhard.uklinux.net wrote:

> Brian Ford wrote:
> > No, you don't need to.  Just Xwin.exe -nolisten local.
>
> Thank you. This worked just fine. I take the point about Google-ing - that's
> how I learned that diverting tmp/XWin.log might help. I didn't see the
> "-nolisten local" advice ...
>
I found both in the same message, although it is older than I stated:

http://sources.redhat.com/ml/cygwin-xfree/2002-07/msg00165.html

> Just one final question: when I get into rxvt after "XWin -nolisten
> local -multiwindow &", the keyboard suddenly becomes USA, whereas it is set
> (correctly) to UK otherwise, within bash, within rxvt and for that matter
> within Windows. In this case, when I exit rxvt back to bash, the UK keyboard
> is recovered.
>
I think the message listed above has another hint for you about this :).

> Does the "-nolisten local" switch impose some kind USA default, as it would
> indeed appear to do?
>
No, not related at all.

-- 
Brian Ford
Senior Realtime Software Engineer
VITAL - Visual Simulation Systems
FlightSafety International
Phone: 314-551-8460
Fax:   314-551-8444

Re: Portable Cygwin works, but XWin fails

[Alexander Gottwald]

On Wed, 10 Dec 2003 fergus@bonhard.uklinux.net wrote:

> Just one final question: when I get into rxvt after "XWin -nolisten
> local -multiwindow &", the keyboard suddenly becomes USA, whereas it is set
> (correctly) to UK otherwise, within bash, within rxvt and for that matter
> within Windows. In this case, when I exit rxvt back to bash, the UK keyboard
> is recovered.

please do not mix terms like rxvt and bash if you really mean rxvt, xterm or 
windows console. 

Assuming you meant the native console terminal of windows (cmd.exe) with bash:

Every X Client (and rxvt is one too) receives the input from the xserver which 
has a keycode to symbol translatio which is independent from windows. This
translation must be properly setup and this uses /tmp for this purpose. If /tmp
is not writable the you will end up with the default translation which is en_US.

Solution: Mount /tmp to the windows tempdir

mount -bu $(cygpath -m $TEMP) /tmp or
mount -bu $WINDIR/Temp /tmp  
 
bye
	ago
-- 
 Alexander.Gottwald@s1999.tu-chemnitz.de 
 http://www.gotti.org           ICQ: 126018723

Re: Portable Cygwin works, but XWin fails

[fergus]

Thank you:

No, I now think (on looking at a file /cygdrive/c/tmp/XWin.log, brought into
being by defining the link described in my previous email) that the problem
seems not to be with the creation of this file, but with the creation of the
directory /tmp/.X11-unix. (The file XWin.log says:

    _XSERVTransSocketUNIXCreateListener: mkdir(/tmp/.X11-unix) failed, errno
= 17
    _XSERVTransMakeAllCOTSServerListeners: failed to create listener for
local
    Fatal server error:
    Failed to establish all listening sockets
    winDeinitClipboard - Noting shutdown in progress
    winDeinitMultiWindowWM - Noting shutdown in progress

and the "noting shutdown in progress" must be what I have described as XWin
"dies".) So: is there a way I can try to get this directory (and,
specifically, I suppose, its contents) written to /cygdrive/c/tmp/ rather
than to /tmp/?

Fergus

PS: Entirely unrelated question. When I start XWin from a conventional HD
full installation of Cygwin, on a broadband 24-hour internet-connected
machine, it evidently accesses the web. (I know this, because when Norton is
up and running, I can tell that XWin specifically asks permission to do so.)
Why does it do this? As far as I can tell, if I pull the broadband plug,
Cygwin and XWin still work ...)

Re: Portable Cygwin works, but XWin fails

[Brian Ford]

On Wed, 10 Dec 2003 fergus@bonhard.uklinux.net wrote:

> PS: Entirely unrelated question. When I start XWin from a conventional HD
> full installation of Cygwin, on a broadband 24-hour internet-connected
> machine, it evidently accesses the web. (I know this, because when Norton is
> up and running, I can tell that XWin specifically asks permission to do so.)
> Why does it do this? As far as I can tell, if I pull the broadband plug,
> Cygwin and XWin still work ...)
>
It doesn't really access "the web".

Your display variable is set to localhost:0.0.  localhost is 127.0.0.1,
ie. a TCP/IP address.  Thus, X11 uses TCP/IP for loopback communications.

Even if you set your display variable to just :0.0, ie. use a local
AF_UNIX socket (which -nolisten local defeats), it would still use TCP/IP
because this is how Cygwin emulates local AF_UNIX sockets.

Secondly, I think there is one piece of code that tries to look up your
hostname via DNS.  That may actually breifly access "the web" depending
on your DNS configuration.

HTH

BTW, both of these questions that I answered for you are in the recent (<
3 month old) list archives.  Please try searching them and google before
posting.  Thanks.

-- 
Brian Ford
Senior Realtime Software Engineer
VITAL - Visual Simulation Systems
FlightSafety International
Phone: 314-551-8460
Fax:   314-551-8444

RE: Portable Cygwin works, but XWin fails

[Pille Geert (bizvdm)]

Hallo Fergus,

would it not be possible with cygwin to mount /tmp as an in-memory
filesystem?

Geert

> -----Original Message-----
> From: fergus@bonhard.uklinux.net [mailto:fergus@bonhard.uklinux.net]
> Sent: woensdag 10 december 2003 22:31
> To: cygwin-xfree@cygwin.com
> Cc: fergus@bonhard.uklinux.net
> Subject: Portable Cygwin works, but XWin fails
> 
> 
> I have been able to run portable versions of Cygwin, reduced 
> in one way or
> another, both from writable USB memory sticks and from unwritable CDs.
> Lately I tried running XWin from a writable stick. By 
> observing which files
> were written where, and as a consequence  setting up links using
>     ln -s /dev/null /tmp/Xwin.log
>     ln -s /dev/null /var/run/utmp
> it really seemed that I had addressed all problems: in repeated uses,
> nothing new was written to the stick at all. I then burned a CD, but
> disappointingly XWin "dies" as soon as it is started. That 
> is, I start the
> process with bash, and then try
>     XWin -multiwindow &
> which I would normally follow with
>     rxvt -display localhost:0.0 -e bash
> but XWin does not persist. (Sorry: I don't know how to 
> express what happens
> other than to say it "dies" immediately.)
> This is VERY disappointing. Any clues to what else I might try?
> By the way, in mounting the portable version, I have already 
> established
> that the directory /cygdrive/c/tmp/ must exist, so I suppose 
> I could try
>     ln -s /cygdrive/c/tmp/XWin.log /tmp/XWin.log
> before burning to CD. (I've already made 5 coasters. At this 
> rate I'll be
> able to floor the bathroom.)
> Thanks.
> Fergus
> 
> 


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Re: Portable Cygwin works, but XWin fails

[fergus]

>> Solution: Mount /tmp to the windows tempdir
>>    mount -bu $(cygpath -m $TEMP) /tmp
>>    mount -bu $WINDIR/Temp /tmp

Thank you. This worked just fine. I now possess a superb portable CD with
stats, emacs, vim, Perl, LaTeX, ..., which I can use in any Windows machine
with a CD drive. CD still only 640/700 full. ... Fergus

Re: Portable Cygwin works, but XWin fails

[Rasjid Wilcox]

On Friday 12 December 2003 08:52, fergus@bonhard.uklinux.net wrote:
> >> Solution: Mount /tmp to the windows tempdir
> >>    mount -bu $(cygpath -m $TEMP) /tmp
> >>    mount -bu $WINDIR/Temp /tmp
>
> Thank you. This worked just fine. I now possess a superb portable CD with
> stats, emacs, vim, Perl, LaTeX, ..., which I can use in any Windows machine
> with a CD drive. CD still only 640/700 full. ... Fergus

Are you thinking of putting up a mini-howto somewhere?

-- 
Rasjid Wilcox
Canberra, Australia (UTC +10 hrs)
http://www.openminddev.net