sudo startx will work, but startx will not.
I can see the .Xauthority file in the root directory, but man says it should be located in /run/gdm
I know the problem has something to do with permissions and the location of the file, but I can't find where to change configuration of the default to be NOT in the // directory. I am going to try adding setting in the custom.conf file with a document I found on x.org
:/$ startx
xauth: timeout in locking authority file //.Xauthority
(EE)
Fatal server error:
(EE) Cannot open log file "//.local/share/xorg/xorg.0.log"
(EE)
(EE)
Please consult the The X.org Foundation support at http://wiki.x.org for help
(EE)
xinit: giving up
xinit unalble to connect to X server: Connection refused
xinit: server error
xauth: timeout in locking authority file //.xauthority