vncserver does not start automatically with Mandrake 9.0

[Andre Leitenberger]

Hello all,

I just installed Mandrake 9.0 with the latest TightVNC release. I can
start vncserver by hand with root and other users and it works fine. I
also created password files for all users and edited
/etc/sysconfig/vncservers. But I always have to enter the password again
when I run vncserver. And when I try to start vncserver at startup for
root on display :1 the system tells me the following: 

Starting VNC server: 1:root vncserver: The USER environment variable is
not set.

When I try it for a different user I get the following:

You will require a password to access your desktops.
Password: Password too short

I have the passwd file in my /home/[user]/.vnc directory and the
password is 7 characters long. Any idea why this doesn't work for both
of those users?

Andre