So, I'm trying to set the X11vnc server to start automatically when the phone boots by creating a startvnc script in /etc/init.d and then sym-linking that to an /etc/rc3.d/S99vnc entry.

Everything is set up and the startvnc script runs just fine when I invoke it manually with:
"/etc/init.d/startvnc start"

However, when I reboot the phone, no vnc processes are running at boot.

I tried copying the symbolic link to /etc/rc5.d and /etc/rcs.d with no luck.

I even tried creating .login and .autostart files with the vnc start command in my user home directory and got nothing...

Am I missing something about the basic run level physics of a Maemo device?

I have no N900 and no idea what I'm writing about here - but I have this faint memory that the default runlevel on maemo devices is 2, not 5. Do you see a /etc/rc2.d?

Does the device have file /etc/inittab. It should contain the following line with default runlevel specified.

id:2:initdefault:

Don't have the device and my scratchbox is on different machine, but this is a common way in linux distributions.

Run level 2, eh?

I hadn't heard that one, but what the hell.

So, I copied the start sym-link to /etc/rc2.d and rebooted.

Still no vnc processes running at boot.

edit: nevermind

The N900 uses Upstart, not init.

Make a file in /etc/event.d/.

Well, I copied the /etc/event.d/welcome script to a vncstart file and replaced it's echo statement with /usr/bin/x11vnc -forever&

Chmod 777 on /etc/event.d/vncstart and rebooted.

Still no vnc processes running at boot.

Am I missing something in the formatting of an event.d script?

To clarify:

My /etc/event.d/vncstart script looks like this:

Start at startup

script
/usr/bin/x11vnc -forever&
end script

try
start on startup
(better even "start on X11", since X11vnc needs a running X, although i don't know if X11 is actually exposed as event)

http://upstart.ubuntu.com/getting-started.html

Does X need to be running before x11vnc is launched?

Edit: SubCore beat me to it