Question

3

Can't login due to unity/gnome config problem

rated 0 times [ 3] [ 0] / answers: 1 / hits: 3316 / 2 Years ago, sun, november 21, 2021, 8:06:28

Following user: "coteyr's" suggestions (5.5.13)
'sudo X :2' did give me a black screen but no "X" for the mouse pointer. The log for this is apparently /var/log/X.2.log, but this did not show any errors. Also had to ctrl-alt-del out of this.

I then created a new user and could login using it, but it would not log out. I could also look into the old-user directories down about 5 levels but had no rights to look at any files. If I read your logic correctly this all means that xorg and lightdm are both ok and that it is a problem with my old user configuration.

Performed logical testing procedure thanks to coteyr and followed his advice step by step to find the personal config was "borked" for unknown reasons. Instead of deleting .config I did as suggested and typed:
mv .config .config.old
which I gather backs it up and allows a new .config to be created next time you boot/login.
This allowed login of my original user and hence direct access to all my old files.
However, there were a few "12.04 has experienced an error" windows popping up to do with:
/usr/bin/gnome-session
/usr/bin/gsettings
/usr/bin/l2tpIPsecVpn
all crashed.
So in the end this was not a lightdm or xorg problem, but a unity/gnome config problem.
7th May: Since the second login on 12.04 I have not been able to get online, but have just been able to check using wifi, which works. So my DSL connection is now not recognised. I know this is not the same question but can anyone help or should I post this as an additional problem?

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icielight

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answered 2 Years ago scrubuz · Accepted Answer

Seperate your login issues from X issues.

First try logging in to a VTY. Press Ctrl + Alt + F1 and login.

Once logged in try running sudo X :2 & you should be taken to a black screen with a X for a mouse pointer. If you do then X is fine, and your problem is your configuration of either lightdm or your desktop. This is common with large upgrades.

If X doesn't start then back at the terminal (etrl + alt + f1) run cat /var/log/X.2.log | grep EE that will return all errors. We will need that to really go any further down this path.

If X did start then go back to the terminal (ctrl + alt + f1) and create a new user, then try to log in using that user. sudo adduser testing will create a new user called testing.

If you were able to log in as testing, then your personal configuration is borked. If you could not log in as testing (in X) then lightdm is borked.

To fix your login the best way is to just delete (after backing up of course) your home directory contents. Then copy back the files you need from backup. This will reset all your settings but is a sure fire way to make sure your config issue is addressed. You could also delete just the .config directory, or all the hidden directories. However make sure you have backups.

To fix lightdm, you can probably just do sudo dpkg-reconfigure lightdm. If it's still lightdm and still causing the issue, we will need the full lightdm log (/var/log/lighdm) use pastebin or something to add it to your question.