I needed to remotely start VNC server software on an Apple OS X 10.3, aka Panther, system. I had SSH access to the system.
I could tell the software wasn't currently running by checking to
see if the system was listening for connections on the default port,
tcp port 5900, using the netstat command.
$ netstat -a | grep 5900 $
I tried started the software running in the background by issuing the command
/Applications/OSXvnc.app/OSXvnc-server & at a terminal prompt, but
OSXVnc didn't start, because, though I was logged into an account with
administrator privileges, I wasn't logged into the root account.
$ /Applications/OSXvnc.app/OSXvnc-server & 2011-11-29 10:22:55.218 OSXvnc-server[385] Main Bundle: /Applications/OSXvnc.app kCGErrorRangeCheck : Window Server communications from outside of session allowed for root and console user only 2011-11-29 10:22:55.225 OSXvnc-server[385] screen format not supported. exiting.
So I then used sudo to assume the identity of the root account to run the coomand. When prompted for a password I entered the password for the administrator account under which I was already logged into the system I was then able to successfully start OSXvnc.
Greg-Computer:/ JDoe$ sudo -s Password: Greg-Computer:/ root# /Applications/OSXvnc.app/OSXvnc-server & [1] 397 Greg-Computer:/ root# 2011-11-29 10:29:50.345 OSXvnc-server[397] Main Bundle: /Applications/OSXvnc.app 2011-11-29 10:29:50.353 OSXvnc-server[397] Waiting for clients 2011-11-29 10:29:50.353 OSXvnc-server[397] Started Listener Thread on port 5900
By then hitting enter, I could get back to the shell prompt and check to ensure the program was listening on port 5900.
Greg-Computer:/ JDoe$ netstat -a | grep 5900 tcp4 0 0 *.5900 *.* LISTEN
If you need to change the VNC password, you can use the storepasswd
command in the /Applications/OSXvnc.app directory.
$ /Applications/OSXvnc.app/storepasswd -h usage: storepasswd <password> <filename> Stores a password in encrypted format. The resulting file can be used with the -rfbauth argument to OSXvnc.
The VNC password is normally stored in
/Applications/OSXvnc.app/.osxvncauth.
You can change the password by using sudo to assume the identity of the
root account and then using the storepasswd command,
similar to the example below:
Greg-Computer:~ JDoe$ sudo -s Password: Greg-Computer:~ root# /Applications/OSXvnc.app/storepasswd Some-Password /Applications/OSXvnc.app/.osxvncauth storing password succeeded. Greg-Computer:~ root#
You can then use ps | grep OSXvnc | grep -v grep to find
the process ID for the the existing OSXvnc server process, kill it
with kill -9 <PID> and restart the
software using the -rfbauth parameter. E.g.,
/Applications/OSXvnc.app/OSXvnc-server -rfbauth /Applications/OSXvnc.app/.osxvncauth &
will start OSXvnc running again using the password stored in
/Applications/OSXvnc.app/.osxvncauth. Putting an
ampersand, &, at the end of the line puts the process running in the
background, so that it will continue to run even after you log off.
Greg-Computer:~ root# ps | grep OSXvnc | grep -v grep 397 std- S 3:12.77 /Applications/OSXvnc.app/OSXvnc-server Greg-Computer:~ root# kill -HUP 397 Greg--Computer:~ root# /Applications/OSXvnc.app/OSXvnc-server -rfbauth /Applications/OSXvnc.app/.osxvncauth & [1] 466 Greg--Computer:~ root# 2011-11-29 20:04:00.879 OSXvnc-server[466] Main Bundle: /Applications/OSXvnc.app 2011-11-29 20:04:00.886 OSXvnc-server[466] Waiting for clients 2011-11-29 20:04:00.887 OSXvnc-server[466] Started Listener Thread on port 5900
References:
-
OSXvnc 1.71 Frequently Asked Questions
Last Modified: 20 July 2006
Redstone Software
