Group, In other messages, I have told how I somehow screwed-up my system (I was doing a big apt-get, with Synaptic in KDE3.0.3, SuSE8.0, when the locking screensaver activated, and when I returned from supper, my password no longer worked [on the screensaver], and I could not figure out how to do anything useful from the console that didn't kill X and my login, and when I shut down and re-started, KDM and GDM were no longer referenced and all I had was WindowMaker with many X-apps unusuable -- as well as most K and most G apps). So, I've been trying stuff that I found here and there (Googling) about X, as well as suggestions that people have been offering to Tom N. and to other people with vaguely similar problems. Well, every time I try nearly anything, the response is something about Display :0.0 not being available, or similar. For example, when I open an xterm, use sux -, and attempt to invoke YaST2, I get this: # yast2 Xlib: connection to ":0.0" refused by server Xlib: Protocol not supported by server y2controlcenter: cannot connect to X server :0.0 # When I tried elefino@thisbox: > /opt/kde3/bin/startkde I get: Fata server error: Server is already active for display 0 If this server is no longer running, remove /tmp/.X0-lock and start again. When reporting a problem.... xinit: No such file or directory (errno2): no program named "/opt/kde3/bin/startkde" in PATH Specify a program on the command line or make sure that /usr/X11R6/bin is in your path. Now, obviously the first part is because I'm running the xterm from WindowManager. But, the rest... well, it's true that "startkde" is not there, or anywhere, according to "locate". I hoped to find a KDE3 executable, so I did # locate kde | less Well, there's nothing in /bin (the listing only began at /etc... and the only thing in /sbin is "conf.d/SuSEconfig.kde3-api". OK, so it's not an executable that you can run directly (or it's been erased...), and it's not that "startkde" thing that somebody suggested, because that isn't anywhere. So, when KDE is actually working, how does it happen? What is the sequence of "things that are started by other things until you have a KDE3 desktop staring you in the face"?? I have dozens of directory containing many, many hundreds of kde2 files, and the same again for kde3. Apparently, something knew how to get to the heart of the business and rip out only the part that makes it all go, leaving the rest as useless clutter on my hard disk. Joy. Is there any point, at this point? Or should I just plug in the 8.1 DVD and say "New Installation"?? /kevin