[ubuntu-za] problem with synaptic package manager

[Robert Schumann]

On Sun, 2006-05-07 at 15:22 +0200, Dimitri Mallis wrote:
> hi list,
> 
> i installed ubuntu to a external usb hdd, i boot into ubuntu sort of
> fine, but now i want to add packages thru synaptic. when i cilck on it
> nothing happenes. the sames with user login screen
> 
> i can still use the console in root mode fine. 
> 
> any sugestions?

What do you mean about the login screen?  Are you able to start an X
terminal?

If so, what happens when you try to launch synaptic from the command
line?  You could try just typing "synaptic" at the command line (which
will start it in non-privileged mode) or "gksudo synaptic" to start as
root.

Let us know what messages are printed to the terminal if you try this.

If you want some real geek output, you could try putting "strace" (to
trace system calls) or "ltrace" (to trace library calls) before the
command, i.e. "ltrace synaptic".  You'll get a lot of output, about 1%
of which will be useful.

If someone else knows what the problem is, then ignore all this geek
stuff....

Robert.