hi Sorry for using this way to get help, but I can't solve it myself. I get the foloving error: fatal: daemon() failed: Success in syslog. Looks like forking into background does not work. I'v tried different kernels(2.2.19,2.4.18,2.4.19), versions of openssh (3.3p1,3.4p1,3.5p1). 3.3p1 was working, then I got off network, didn't use sshd. I made some changes in the system, but can't track the relevant one. sshd -d or -D works fine. if u need more info, just mail me. thanks Lubos Soltes soltes at intrak.sk