Knowing Knoppix/Recovering from freezes

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.

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.

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.