I find it easier to use pidof I'm using bash: if [ ! "$(pidof mythfrontend)" ] then echo "Mythfrontend is not started. Starting Mythfrontend..." sleep 3 DISPLAY=:0 xset -dpms ulimit -c unlimited DISPLAY=:0 mythfrontend --syslog local7 -q 2>&1 & else echo "Mythfrontend is already started." fi Doug