Knowing Knoppix/Recovering from freezes

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It is possible for the X Window System, the K Desktop Environment, or an individual application to "freeze up". This section explains what to do if that happens.

[edit] Getting rid of an individual application

The most common situation is to have a program that just doesn't seem to want to go away. Even when you click the close button on its window, it still won't disappear. To get rid of it:

  1. Press Ctrl+Alt+Esc on the keyboard.
  2. The pointer will change into a skull and crossbones.
  3. Point anywhere inside the window that you want to get rid of.
  4. Click the left mouse button.
  5. The errant program will be killed.

[edit] Restarting the X Window System

If many programs or your entire graphical environment seems stuck, you can try to restart the X server entirely.

Pressing Ctrl-Alt-Backspace kills X. The display manager should bring it back up again.

An alternate way to restart X in Knoppix is to:

  1. Press Ctrl+Alt+F2.
  2. Type this command, then press Enter:
    init 2
  3. You will see the message "X Window System shut down". This will also end the K Desktop Environment and all its open applications.
  4. Then enter:
    init 5
  5. The X Window System will be restarted. The KDE desktop will appear again as it did when you first started Knoppix.
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