unable to connect to system bus: failed to connect to socket /var/run/dbus/system_bus_socket

Question

I started to use a new VPS system with ubuntu 12.04 After following the commands here I installed php, mysql, apache2 PHP and apache are working great but when I run : ``` service mysql start ``` I get : `unable to connect to system bus: failed to connect to socket /var/run/dbus/system_bus_socket: No such file or directory.` I googled but didn't find enough to help me. There is no /var/run/dbus/ directory and I don't know what I need to create one or even if this is the problem for mysql.

Accepted Answer

I had this error message and discovered that it was a sign that `initctl` (the 'init daemon control tool') was being called (indirectly) without the necessary privileges.

In other words:

It failed because:

- I was not logged in as the `root` user,

- nor was I prefixing my 'daemon control' command with `sudo`.

Either one would have solved the issue.

It's a bit confusing because you would have thought a 'privilage issue' would trigger an error message that talks about 'privilage thangs'. But, no. It talks about being "unable to connect to system bus".

So, may I suggest:

Try temporarily elevating your privileges by prefixing your command with `sudo`.

Assuming that the hash symbol (`#`) indicates your command prompt, run the following command instead:

```
# sudo service mysql start 
```

Then, type in your user password as prompted.

OR

If you have set a password for the `root` user on your installation of Ubuntu, you could elevate to that Super User by typing:

```
# su
```

Then, type in the `root` password as prompted.

Then, in this context, your original command should, now, work:

```
# service mysql start 
```

See it's man page DESCRIPTION for more information about `initctl`'s connection to service `start`, `stop`, `restart`, `reload` and `status` commands.

unable to connect to system bus: failed to connect to socket /var/run/dbus/system_bus_socket

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