Learn how to fix the “A mysqld process already exists” Error. Our MySQL Support team is here to help you with your questions and concerns.

“A mysqld process already exists” Error – Resolved

If you have been running into the following error message, you have come to the right place.

a mysqld process already exists

This error often occurs when we try to start the MySQL server, but there is already an instance of the MySQL server running on the system.

In other words, the error lets us know that another MySQL process is already running and occupying the required resources.

We can address this issue with these steps:

1. First, we have to use system-specific commands to verify if there are any running MySQL processes. For example, we can use this command on Linux:

   ps aux | grep mysqld
2. Next, we can locate a running MySQL process and stop it before starting a new one.
   The command to stop the MySQL process depends on our operating system and how we have installed MySQL.

   For instance,

   • On Linux with systemd:

     sudo systemctl stop mysql
     Or
     sudo systemctl stop mysqld
   • On macOS with Homebrew:

     brew services stop mysql
3. After we stop the MySQL process, we can verify if it has actually stopped by rechecking the running processes as seen in step 1.
4. Now that we are sure no other MySQL processes are running, we can try starting the MySQL server again.
   • On Linux with systemd:

     sudo systemctl start mysql
     Or
     sudo systemctl start mysqld
   • On macOS with Homebrew:

     brew services start mysql
5. Next, we have to check the status of MySQL to ensure it is running correctly.
   • On Linux with systemd:

     sudo systemctl status mysql
     Or
     sudo systemctl status mysqld
   • On macOS with Homebrew:

     brew services list

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Conclusion

To conclude, our Support Techs demonstrated how to resolve the “A mysqld process already exists” Error