How to restart a frozen X-Windows

by allikat, newmikey, wayne1932, and lwolfers

X froze recently, and I had to restart it. Things were frozen up so bad it took 5 minutes to swap to a text console.

  1. To get a text console, press [ctrl][alt][F2]
  2. Log in as root
  3. Type: top
  4. Press K (for kill)
  5. Enter the task number for X, which is in the list on the screen
  6. Confirm with a Y

X will then shut down, and on default settings, will restart to your login screen.

OR:

  1. To get a text console, press [ctrl][alt][F2]
  2. Log in as root
  3. Type INIT 3
  4. X will shut down. Wait a couple of seconds
  5. Type INIT 5

X will restart to your login screen.

OR:

  • Wanna get there quick? [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[Backspace]

Top

Menu