Just installed skype for linux and am having a hard time getting it to work. I appear to generate bad computer karma. :-)
Symptoms: First of all, it gave me a generic failure message when trying to create my skype name. It seems to have actually worked, but this was far from obvious from the user interface. Anyway, that's now sorted...
Unfortunately, now when I try to connect I get the error message "Sign in failed: Another skype instance may exist". I'm pretty sure this is the only skype instance running on my computer. I restarted and opened it up first thing to make sure of this.
Looking at the release notes, I see the following:
"cleanup: Change 'Database failure' error to alert user another instance may be running."
So I conjecture there might be some other nonspecific database error which is giving me this error message? I don't know. There doesn't appear to be any obvious error logging with which I can debug the problem.
There seem to be some known problems with connecting through proxies, etc. I do have a router acting as a hardware firewall, but it allows all outbound connections, so I should be able to treat it just as a direct connection to the internet. Additionally, the fact that it managed to create my skype name (even if it wasn't so sure of this fact itself) proves that it's able to at least partially connect.
Information about setup: I'm running Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) on AMD64. I have skype installed inside a 32-bit chroot, installed from the .deb file provided for Ubuntu.
Any thoughts?
Full Version: Failure signing in - "Another skype instance may exist"
QUOTE(DRMacIver @ Sat Aug 11 2007, 12:12) [snapback]427131[/snapback]
Just installed skype for linux and am having a hard time getting it to work. I appear to generate bad computer karma. :-)
Symptoms: First of all, it gave me a generic failure message when trying to create my skype name. It seems to have actually worked, but this was far from obvious from the user interface. Anyway, that's now sorted...
Unfortunately, now when I try to connect I get the error message "Sign in failed: Another skype instance may exist". I'm pretty sure this is the only skype instance running on my computer. I restarted and opened it up first thing to make sure of this.
Looking at the release notes, I see the following:
"cleanup: Change 'Database failure' error to alert user another instance may be running."
So I conjecture there might be some other nonspecific database error which is giving me this error message? I don't know. There doesn't appear to be any obvious error logging with which I can debug the problem.
There seem to be some known problems with connecting through proxies, etc. I do have a router acting as a hardware firewall, but it allows all outbound connections, so I should be able to treat it just as a direct connection to the internet. Additionally, the fact that it managed to create my skype name (even if it wasn't so sure of this fact itself) proves that it's able to at least partially connect.
Information about setup: I'm running Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) on AMD64. I have skype installed inside a 32-bit chroot, installed from the .deb file provided for Ubuntu.
Any thoughts?
Are you just "pretty sure" that no other skype is still running, or have you checked it? If the first applies try:
CODE
$ ps ax | grep skype
in a terminal. Restarting and opening skype first is not 100% clean, because, if you run a desktop environment it may well be the case that skype was added to your default session and gets started automatically before you can start it.
I once had a similar problem. It was related to the fact that my window manager does not support a systray or dock or whatever one wants to call it. So I could not see the systray icon. Since you are running from a chroot this might apply to your setup too, since I think the chrooted app is not allowed to draw into the systray of your desktop/WM. I am not familiar with chrooting, but from my understanding of it so far this seems reasonable.
If you then just close the main window of skype and don't quit via CTRL-Q (or the appropriate menu item), then the instance is still running but invisible, because the systray icon is stil active but hidden. In my case even 'kill -9' did not help. I had to restart the whole X session.
JD
QUOTE(John Do @ Mon Aug 13 2007, 19:37) [snapback]427761[/snapback]
Are you just "pretty sure" that no other skype is still running, or have you checked it? If the first applies try:
CODE
$ ps ax | grep skype
in a terminal. Restarting and opening skype first is not 100% clean, because, if you run a desktop environment it may well be the case that skype was added to your default session and gets started automatically before you can start it.
I once had a similar problem. It was related to the fact that my window manager does not support a systray or dock or whatever one wants to call it. So I could not see the systray icon. Since you are running from a chroot this might apply to your setup too, since I think the chrooted app is not allowed to draw into the systray of your desktop/WM. I am not familiar with chrooting, but from my understanding of it so far this seems reasonable.
If you then just close the main window of skype and don't quit via CTRL-Q (or the appropriate menu item), then the instance is still running but invisible, because the systray icon is stil active but hidden. In my case even 'kill -9' did not help. I had to restart the whole X session.
JD
I am having exactly the same problem, before the last update i was getting the database error message, now i get the another instance may be running message. I have checked and there is no other copy of skype running on the system, i have run skype from terminal and are no messages dumped there during the running to indicate any errors.
Im running Ubuntu 7.04 - fully patched up
slaine: Are you on 64bit as well? Are you running Skype as chroot as well?
Skype is storing it's date in a ".Skype"-directory inside the home folder. If it fails to write data there... it might be throwing that exact error message.
Skype is storing it's date in a ".Skype"-directory inside the home folder. If it fails to write data there... it might be throwing that exact error message.
QUOTE(Claudius @ Wed Aug 15 2007, 23:40) [snapback]428621[/snapback]
slaine: Are you on 64bit as well? Are you running Skype as chroot as well?
Skype is storing it's date in a ".Skype"-directory inside the home folder. If it fails to write data there... it might be throwing that exact error message.
i do have an AMD64 processor, but running the 32bit version of ubuntu, I dot know about the chroot side of things, i am still relativly new to the world of linux but learnign fast, how would i check? i installed from the source repositry, and ubuntu keeps skype updated and added to the menus etc. What persmissions should be on the .Skype directory, as this does sound like its the likely cause as i get the EULA appear every time i run to so it doesnt know it has shown me that either.
Many thanks for your help.
any update on this? is there anyway i can check the permissions?
It should have permissions for your user to read/write files. Unless you have some super-paranoid permission system preventing any new files being created, it might be easier to simply remove this directory (or rename it elsewhere) and start Skype afresh.
Andrew.
Andrew.
for me " sudo chown user:user .Skype" did the trick.
QUOTE(ovnis @ Mon Aug 20 2007, 17:48) [snapback]431633[/snapback]
for me " sudo chown user:user .Skype" did the trick.
thanks for this i will try when i get home
It worked for me, i had to clear the .skype folder of its contence though as i was getting a different error every time i tried logging in .. something went wrong somewhere ...
I cleared it all out and it logged in first time no problem
I cleared it all out and it logged in first time no problem
If you do sudo chown -R user.group .Skype, this will change permissions of all files in the directory also.
Andrew.
Andrew.
Thanks!
It worked for me too the trick with directory ownership.
I saw that with sodo skype, i could login and use skype, but when opening from menu by clicking the shortcut i was getting the error "Another skype instance may exist" and already was thinking about how to change the shortcut to start with SU permissions, rather than changing configuration directory ownership
Skype install, and first start is done with sodo. This sets the ownership for configuration directory /home/<user>/.Skype
It worked for me too the trick with directory ownership.
CODE
sudo chown -R user.group .Skype
I saw that with sodo skype, i could login and use skype, but when opening from menu by clicking the shortcut i was getting the error "Another skype instance may exist" and already was thinking about how to change the shortcut to start with SU permissions, rather than changing configuration directory ownership
Skype install, and first start is done with sodo. This sets the ownership for configuration directory /home/<user>/.Skype
I'm having this issue and it's not related to either another instance of skype or a permission issue on ~/.Skype
I was having the issue with 2.0.0.27 so I upgr. to 2.0.0.72, still seeing it. I've wiped ~/.Skype and let it create a new one:
The state of things when the error occurs:
I straced skype and see a lot of:
which I assume are benign (I'm using an NFS mounted home dir btw).
Also see tons of this, which I think is the problem:
fd 7 is a socket created by skype:
It didn't always fail, here are the last couple successful operations on the socket (this strace is not from the same run of skype as the one posted above from the ps command):
...errors repeat
I was having the issue with 2.0.0.27 so I upgr. to 2.0.0.72, still seeing it. I've wiped ~/.Skype and let it create a new one:
CODE
$ ll -d .S*
drwx------ 3 bruss users 4096 2008-07-29 14:20 .Skype
drwx------ 3 bruss users 4096 2008-07-29 14:20 .Skype
The state of things when the error occurs:
CODE
$ ps aux|grep -i skype
bruss 7657 0.0 0.9 57796 29296 ? Sl 14:29 0:02 skype
bruss 8346 0.0 0.0 5120 828 pts/25 R+ 15:59 0:00 grep -i skype
bruss 7657 0.0 0.9 57796 29296 ? Sl 14:29 0:02 skype
bruss 8346 0.0 0.0 5120 828 pts/25 R+ 15:59 0:00 grep -i skype
I straced skype and see a lot of:
CODE
fcntl64(10, F_SETLK, {type=F_WRLCK, whence=SEEK_SET, start=589330132179615744, len=-642290884280320000}) = -1 ENOLCK (No locks available)
which I assume are benign (I'm using an NFS mounted home dir btw).
Also see tons of this, which I think is the problem:
CODE
read(7, 0x943faec, 4096) = -1 EAGAIN (Resource temporarily unavailable)
fd 7 is a socket created by skype:
CODE
socket(PF_FILE, SOCK_STREAM, 0) = 7
It didn't always fail, here are the last couple successful operations on the socket (this strace is not from the same run of skype as the one posted above from the ps command):
CODE
7587 read(7, "\22\0\377\23\221*\0\2\221*\0\2\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0"..., 4096) = 96
7589 <... futex resumed> ) = 1
7587 writev(7, [{"\23\0\3\0=\0\0\0B\2\0\0\n\0\2\0=\0\0\0\31\0\v\0=\0\0\0\0\0\30\0"..., 64}], 1) = 64
7587 read(7, "\34\361\1\24=\0\0\0B\2\0\0Vx\23p\1a\217H\0\0\0\0`\243<\2\0\0\0\0", 4096) = 32
7587 read(7, 0x943faec, 4096) = -1 EAGAIN (Resource temporarily unavailable)
7587 read(7, 0x943faec, 4096) = -1 EAGAIN (Resource temporarily unavailable)
7587 read(7, 0x943faec, 4096) = -1 EAGAIN (Resource temporarily unavailable)
7587 read(7, 0x943faec, 4096) = -1 EAGAIN (Resource temporarily unavailable)
7587 select(8, [7], [7], NULL, NULL <unfinished ...>
7589 _exit(0) = ?
7587 <... select resumed> ) = 1 (out [7])
7587 writev(7, [{"\235\7\2\0c\0\0\2\235\7\2\0\374\1\0\2\22\0\n\0\373\1\0\2\6\1\0\0\6\1\0\0"..., 708}], 1) = 708
7587 select(8, [7], [], NULL, NULL) = 1 (in [7])
7587 read(7, "\34\0\6\24\373\1\0\2\6\1\0\0Xx\23p\0\361}\0\0\0\0\0=6\351\n\0+\0\0"..., 4096) = 3328
7587 read(7, 0x943faec, 4096) = -1 EAGAIN (Resource temporarily unavailable)
7587 read(7, 0x943faec, 4096) = -1 EAGAIN (Resource temporarily unavailable)
7589 <... futex resumed> ) = 1
7587 writev(7, [{"\23\0\3\0=\0\0\0B\2\0\0\n\0\2\0=\0\0\0\31\0\v\0=\0\0\0\0\0\30\0"..., 64}], 1) = 64
7587 read(7, "\34\361\1\24=\0\0\0B\2\0\0Vx\23p\1a\217H\0\0\0\0`\243<\2\0\0\0\0", 4096) = 32
7587 read(7, 0x943faec, 4096) = -1 EAGAIN (Resource temporarily unavailable)
7587 read(7, 0x943faec, 4096) = -1 EAGAIN (Resource temporarily unavailable)
7587 read(7, 0x943faec, 4096) = -1 EAGAIN (Resource temporarily unavailable)
7587 read(7, 0x943faec, 4096) = -1 EAGAIN (Resource temporarily unavailable)
7587 select(8, [7], [7], NULL, NULL <unfinished ...>
7589 _exit(0) = ?
7587 <... select resumed> ) = 1 (out [7])
7587 writev(7, [{"\235\7\2\0c\0\0\2\235\7\2\0\374\1\0\2\22\0\n\0\373\1\0\2\6\1\0\0\6\1\0\0"..., 708}], 1) = 708
7587 select(8, [7], [], NULL, NULL) = 1 (in [7])
7587 read(7, "\34\0\6\24\373\1\0\2\6\1\0\0Xx\23p\0\361}\0\0\0\0\0=6\351\n\0+\0\0"..., 4096) = 3328
7587 read(7, 0x943faec, 4096) = -1 EAGAIN (Resource temporarily unavailable)
7587 read(7, 0x943faec, 4096) = -1 EAGAIN (Resource temporarily unavailable)
...errors repeat
Bump. Andypoo, do you have any thoughts on this?
thanks
thanks
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