This is also the case when using sudo, i.e., "sudo /etc/init.d/gdm stop". And by extension, affects "restart" as well.
The main problem is that it prevents the user from restarting gdm without rebooting - necessary when trying to solve xorg problems on the Live CD. "killall -HUP gdm" can be used as a workaround. -- /etc/init.d/gdm stop falsely reports gdm stopped https://launchpad.net/bugs/47320 -- desktop-bugs mailing list desktop-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/desktop-bugs
