Restart Screen Sharing Service on Mac mini Server

Question

I'm running Mac OS X (think it's Snow Leopard - 10.6.7) on a Mac mini. I'm trying to connect remotely from an iMac (this has been working fine in the past, for some time). When I click "Share Screen..." in finder on the iMac, I (eventually) see the server's desktop, but it appears to be frozen. However, I've managed to determine (from closing the window and sharing screen again, on repeat) that it IS actually receiving input, just not updating the display.

I can ssh into the server, but how can I restart the screen sharing service?

score 59 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 15 '12 at 19:59

59

I had the same trouble, and to a headless Mini also. This is what I found that worked…

sudo launchctl unload /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.screensharing.plist  
sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.screensharing.plist

I had the opportunity to install an SSD in my Mini, and did a clean install of Lion at that time, and the issue persisted.

I made an alias

alias fixscreen='sudo launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.screensharing.plist &&  sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.screensharing.plist'

answered Mar 15 '12 at 19:59

Greg Cain

3,161

Thanks for this solution, was looking for it already for years! – t0r0X Nov 02 '14 at 19:41
Of course, you need ssh enabled on the server. – Greg Glockner Nov 09 '15 at 15:35
1

Works in MacOS High Sierra A+ – a2f0 Dec 11 '17 at 18:28
Just tried this on High Sierra (10.13.5) and it worked like a charm. – Markus Amalthea Magnuson Jul 07 '18 at 22:09

score 7 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 26 '16 at 21:11

7

Using launchctl unload and launchctl load still works but the commands are now "legacy commands".

Here's a more recent approach that also works with a single command:

sudo launchctl kill KILL system/com.apple.screensharing

This instructs launchctl to kill the screensharing service and then launchctl automatically restarts it after it has exited.

answered Oct 26 '16 at 21:11

Adrian

229

Does that work on Snow Leopard, as the question asks about? – tubedogg Oct 26 '16 at 21:17
No, it doesn't work in Snow Leopard: "Unknown subcommand 'kill'"! – awado Jan 23 '17 at 11:28
Does this still work on macOS 14? I'm running the develop beta, and screen sharing is working but this service isn't running. Fails with No process to signal. – Carl Walsh Sep 20 '23 at 22:09

score 5 · Answer 3 · edited Jun 01 '12 at 23:11

5

OK, managed to find the answer (or, at least, an answer; I'm not quite sure on all the details of this command):

$ sudo /System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/Resources/kickstart -activate -configure -access -on -users admin -privs -all -restart -agent -menu

As always - be careful when you paste something into terminal - best to inspect the command before running it. Doubly so when sudo is involved.

edited Jun 01 '12 at 23:11

bmike

235,889

answered Mar 15 '12 at 14:46

Bobby Jack

1,339

I'm not clear about the relationship between ARDAgent (ie remote management) and just screen sharing. The the UI, you can tick Screen Sharing and NOT Remote Management but kickstarting ARDAgent remotely ticks Remote Management and NOT Screen Sharing (although it enables VNC). Does that make sense? – Toby Sep 29 '12 at 13:00

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Nov 05 '23 at 05:54

1

The launchctl kill command now returns an error on Sonoma beta (14.1 Beta (23B5067a)):

> sudo launchctl kill KILL system/com.apple.screensharing
Not privileged to signal service.

The launchctl kickstart command works ok though:

> sudo launchctl kickstart -kp system/com.apple.screensharing
service spawned with pid: 19278

answered Nov 05 '23 at 05:54

jamieoo

21

If you have a new question, please ask it by clicking the Ask Question button. Include a link to this question if it helps provide context. - From Review – Allan Nov 05 '23 at 08:16

score -1 · Answer 5 · answered Mar 15 '12 at 19:37

-1

Rather than restart just the screen sharing service, I would suggest remote restarting the Mac Mini. You can do this via SSH by typing in:

`sudo shutdown -r now`

This will not only restart the screen sharing service, but may also resolve the issue that caused it to act up in the first place.

answered Mar 15 '12 at 19:37

Matt Love

6,403

1

Sometimes you need to use the big hammer. It is a valid tool and should not be downvoted just because it is not subtle. In my case to regain access to a remote login I had to restart the whole machine to clean up a failed icloud setup wizard. – BitByteDog Mar 02 '21 at 02:19

Restart Screen Sharing Service on Mac mini Server

5 Answers5

`sudo shutdown -r now`

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