MySQL: Startup MySQL Server Failed

Starting MySQL/etc/init.d/mysql: line 159: kill: (9193) - No such process [FAILED]

When tried to start the MySQL server ( v. 5.0.51a, in RedHat Linux 4) using /etc/init.d/mysql start, I got the following error message and the server failed to start.

#>/etc/init.d/start
Starting MySQL/etc/init.d/mysql: line 159: kill: (9193) - No such process [FAILED]

Unforturalely, there was not error in the error log to tell what caused the problem. After some debugging, it turned out, it was because there was one of the server variable, which was added to the my.cnf file after the last successfull server start, was not supported. The server variable was:

    open_file_limit

After command out this variable in the my.cnf file, there server started without problem,

In general, if there is any variable which was wrongly entered (misspelled, for example) in the my.cnf file, the server will fail to start. However, there will not be any error message in the error log to inform the user what cause the error.
References:

• MySQL Manual: Server System Variables.
• MySQL Manual: Using System Variables.
• High Performance MySQL: Chapter 6, Optimizing Server Settings
• Other Reference On The Web.

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