Anyway i fixed the problem and also found out why its was happening: (from my post at www.screamingelectron.org) I think you are not allowed to start things in /etc/rc, and redirect cause the default starts as nobody. heres what I put in to get this thing going: su - root -c "/etc/check_syslog-ng2mysql.sh" & I know not the most secure method, but its a start. so I put the following in my /etc/rc.local file : # MYSQL if [ X"${mysql}" == X"YES" ]; then if [ -x /usr/local/bin/mysqld_safe ]; then echo -n " mysql"; /usr/local/bin/mysqld_safe --socket=/var/www/var/run/mysql/mysql.sock & sleep 10 echo -n " syslog-ng2mysql"; su - root -c "/etc/check_syslog-ng2mysql.sh" & fi fi where /etc/check_syslog-ng2mysql.sh is: #!/usr/local/bin/bash -x ps=`ps -ax | grep "\--password=x" | awk '{ print $9 }'` if [[ $ps != "" ]]; then echo "syslog-ng2mysql is alive." else if [ ! -p /tmp/mysql.pipe ]; then mkfifo /tmp/mysql.pipe kill -HUP `cat /var/run/syslog-ng.pid` fi mysql -u root --password=password syslog < /tmp/mysql.pipe & fi You can find the thread here: http://www.screamingelectron.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2029 Thanks for all your help.

What does, ps=`ps -ax | grep "\--password=x" | awk '{ print $9 }'` do and how do you know it is not running?

-Steve S.

Just a sloppy way for checking for the mysql client connection. --- 18 January 2005 "Christianity has operated with an unmitigated arrogance and cruelty -- necessarily, since a religion ordinarily imposes on those who have discovered the true faith the spiritual duty of liberating the infidels." (James A. Baldwin, (1924-1987) --- Robert V. Coward UNIX System Administrator Computer Science Corporation