Newbie dumb question number 987:

Where does ps get the PIDS which it reports? From a
file someplace? From a certain directory? From the 
running OS?

I'm wondering because I use find to look for nmbd's
PID and find it in /var/run/samba but I find inetd's
PID in /var/run.

I can't get nmbd to run as daemon. I check with ps and
don't see nmbd listed. I'm wondering: should nmbd's
PID be in /var/run/samba? Why isn't it in /var/run?
Is ps not listing nmbd's PID because it is in
/var/run/samba instead of in /var/run? Is kill reporting
"no such process" because nmbd's  PID is not in /var/run
but rather in /var/run/samba?

Or is /var/run/samba okay for nmbd's PID and nmbd truly
isn't running?

Gan Starling
Kalamazoo MI USA

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To paraphrase Hitler... 
"Who remembers the Amalekites?"