Problems when booting up...

[Nils Kassube]

On Wednesday 25 April 2007 16:38, Larry Shields wrote:
> Nils Kassube wrote:
> > On Wednesday 25 April 2007 14:49, Larry Shields wrote:
> >> Derek Broughton wrote:
> >>> Larry Shields wrote:
> >>>> I'm not sure if anyone has had this problem or not, but here is
> >>>> what happens when I boot the system up...
> >>>
> >>> Not in a long, long, time...
> >>>
> >>>> It starts out with grub, then show a black screen with a loading
> >>>> bar, but the bar gets just about to the end, then it reverts back
> >>>> to a black screen, with a login prompt...
> >>>>
> >>>> I now have to login, then startx to get it up and running...Might
> >>>> anyone know how to correct the problem, so that it will bootup
> >>>> correctly...???
> >>>
> >>> What do you _want_ to happen?  startx starts X for a single user,
> >>> and afaik isn't ever set up to automatically run from init (though
> >>> I'm sure you could do it, I wouldn't recommend it).  If you want a
> >>> GUI login (GDM, KDM, XDM), then first you need to have the
> >>> appropriate package installed, and active in /etc/rc2.d/
> >>> (installing one of the *dm packages _should_ set up the init
> >>> links).
> >>>
> >>> If you can run that script from sudo, then check
> >>> /var/log/Xorg.*.log and /var/log/*dm.log for error messages.
> >>>
> >>> Since startx does work, I would expect that you're using a login
> >>> manager and the errors are in the /var/log/*dm.log file.
> >>
> >> Hello Derek,
> >> Well what I want it too do it to start up as it all ways did when it
> >> was first installed...
> >> Showing the bar loading, then it switches to a screen with a light
> >> brown in color with a small rectangular box for loging in...
> >> At that point typing my username & password, hiting enter it brings
> >> up Gnome desktop...
> >>
> >> But now what it does is show the loading bar, but it never finishes
> >> loading, then it switches me to a back screen with a log in
> >> prompt...From that point I log in, then I have too use startx to
> >> bring up my desktop...So I suppose it is GDM that I am looking
> >> for...So what is the appropriate package that I am missing...???
> >> Plus why would it be missing since it has all ways worked prior to
> >> this problem, I can not see what has been changed, or remove and
> >> why...
> >
> > Please check if the package gdm is installed. Furthermore there
> > should be a file /etc/X11/default-display-manager which has the path
> > to gdm, i.e. there is a line
> >
> > /usr/sbin/gdm
> >
> > in that file.
> >
> >> I looked in my /var/log dir., but did not see a *dm.log file, so
> >> what may I ask is *dm, do you mean the dmesg.gz log's...???
> >
> > Derek meant the logfile of your display manager which should be gdm
> > in your case. The logfile for gdm is in /var/log/gdm/ at least on my
> > machine which runs Dapper. However, if you have used kdm also (that's
> > the display manager for Kubuntu / KDE), there should be a logfile
> > /var/log/kdm.log as well.
> >
> >
> > Nils
>
> Hello Nils,
>
> It now looks like we are getting closer on why it does not bootup
> correctly...
> There isn't a script gdm in the /usr/sbin/??? area...
>
> But it does have the path in the /etc/X11/default-display-manager
> showing /usr/sbin/gdm...
>
> How that script was deleted is beyond me, but at anyrate where can I
> get it from, maybe the Ubuntu 6.10 CD...???

It should be on the Ubuntu CD (I don't have one here, so I can't check 
that). However, there are some more files in the package gdm. As we don't 
know what happened to the package on your machine, I would suggest you 
reinstall the package. Start the package manager synaptic. There you 
search for gdm and mark the package for reinstallation (or for 
installation if it isn't installed). Then click the apply button.


Nils