Apache Friends Support Forum

Hello -about ready to give up on xampp/lampp due to a lot of frustration with it.
Ubuntu 16.04
installs fine but xampp-linux-x64-5.6.39-0 version 5.6.39-0 control panel refuses to start mysql.
running:
/opt/lampp/lampp startmysql
XAMPP: Starting MySQL...ok.
root@xxx:/opt/lampp/etc# /opt/lampp/bin/mysql.server: 260: kill: No such process

Also:
/opt/lampp/etc# /opt/lampp/lampp start
Starting XAMPP for Linux 5.6.39-0...
XAMPP: Starting Apache...ok.
XAMPP: Starting MySQL...ok.
root@xxx:/opt/lampp/etc# /opt/lampp/bin/mysql.server: 260: kill: No such process
MySQL said: Documentation
yet:
root@xxx:/opt/lampp/etc# ps aux | grep mysql
root 9853 0.0 0.0 4504 748 pts/17 S 11:21 0:00 /bin/sh -c "/opt/lampp/ctlscript.sh" start mysql
root 9854 0.0 0.0 4504 700 pts/17 S 11:21 0:00 /bin/sh /opt/lampp/ctlscript.sh start mysql
root 9855 0.0 0.0 4504 1740 pts/17 S 11:21 0:00 /bin/sh /opt/lampp/mysql/scripts/ctl.sh start
root 10558 0.0 0.0 21292 1080 pts/17 S+ 11:22 0:00 grep --color=auto mysql

and clicking on phpmyadmin shows:

Cannot connect: invalid settings.
mysqli_real_connect(): (HY000/2002): No such file or directory
Connection for controluser as defined in your configuration failed.
mysqli_real_connect(): (HY000/2002): No such file or directory
phpMyAdmin tried to connect to the MySQL server, and the server rejected the connection. You should check the host, username and password in your configuration and make sure that they correspond to the information given by the administrator of the MySQL server.

Note: there is a separate mysql install on the Ubuntu 16.04 but it *is not* running and systemctl shows it dead.

had to stop the computer's - as opposed to xampp/lampp - mysql from starting on computer reboot.

Somehow when the local, hard drive has a separate install of mysql running and it boots at startup, this conflicts with xampp/lampp.