Description of problem: My old laptop (Dell Inspiron / Intel i5-3317U) ran Mageia 8 like a charm, until this morning when I decided to upgrade from Mageia V5.10.9 to V5.15.6. A lot (> 350) of module were downloaded and installed, apparently without any problem, but when I re-started my system, it doesn't work anymore : the initialization procedure runs to the login box, but without displaying the usual Mageia wallpaper (the cauldron with the bubbles) - only a black screen with three small "?" characters. And when I type-in my login/password, I get a message "La session n'a pu démarrer" ("the session could not start"). Idem as "root". When I launch the previous Mageia version (in Grub), I get back the Mageia wallpaper, but the connection is still blocked with the same error message. This machine is not critical for Me, I only wanted to inform you before I reinstall the system. Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable): How reproducible: Steps to Reproduce: 1. 2. 3.
Thank you for reporting. But it is not much use without more information. Can you provide a compressed file from system journal of the failing boot? As root issue journalctl -b > file.txt xz file.txt and attach the resulting file.txt.xz
CC: (none) => fri
Note that 'Mageia V5.10.9' etc is the kernel version. So this was a long delayed update, hence its size. > before I reinstall the system Please do not do so for the moment. You should be able to do what Morgan asks from a virtual console, Ctrl/Alt/Fn.
Source RPM: ? => (none)CC: (none) => lewyssmith
Created attachment 13034 [details] System journal of the failing boot
Hi Morgan & Lewis, Thanks for your reactivity. Please find attached the journal copy. Rgds, Michel.
That journal output is from a boot using failsafe, not from a boot that shows the error. The most common cause of gui login problems stems from using "su" instead of "su --login root" (which can be abbreviated as just "su -"). https://wiki.mageia.org/en/Never_use_just_su See that page for the chown/chgrp commands to fix those problems, if that is the cause. Then reboot normally. If the problem still occurs, use "alt+ctrl+f3" to get to a text login. Login as the normal user and start the gui. If using xorg, one of ... $ startx startkde -- :1 $ startx startgnome -- :1 $ startx startxfce4 -- :1 depending on the desktop normally used. If using wayland instead of xorg, either ... $ XDG_SESSION_TYPE=wayland dbus-run-session startplasmacompositor $ XDG_SESSION_TYPE=wayland dbus-run-session gnome-session Then use $ journalctl --no-hostname -b > file.txt $ xz file.txt and attach the file.txt.xz
CC: (none) => davidwhodgins
Created attachment 13039 [details] Boot log
Hoping this one is better ... (see attachments)
I also launched a "chown/chgrp" on my home directory. That didn't have any effect.
Check if you have bug#20835
bug#20835 problems would have been fixed by the chown commands. The boot.log from comment 6 still has Command line: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-5.15.6-desktop-2.mga8 root=UUID=eb190f92-a978-40b9-8a44-b68b1f7c1163 ro failsafe The failsafe indicates it was not a normal boot. Please try comment 5 again, but make sure it's a normal boot being tried, not a failsafe boot.
Created attachment 13047 [details] Boot log #3 One more trial (see attachments) ... Just a bit tricky to do with a computer which doesn't want to start ... I do not have any permission problem with my .Xauthority file (I'm the owner with R/W permissions), but it's completely empty (0).
The relevant line is déc. 12 09:51:38 lightdm[1916]: /usr/bin/sessreg: missing required user-name argument Changing the bug summary to reflect the problem. This is not an error I've seen before. Assigning to Jani, the registered packager for lightdm. Jani, have you seen this before or have any suggestions for how to fix? Michel, as a workaround until the cause is identified and fixed, if you want you can switch to another display manager ... - Install the package xdm, if it isn't already installed with "urpmi xdm". - Edit the file /etc/sysconfig/desktop change the line with DISPLAYMANAGER=lightdm to have DISPLAYMANAGER=xdm - reboot
Assignee: bugsquad => jani.valimaaSummary: My laptop doesn't work anymore after last Magiea upgrade => lightdm failing with "/usr/bin/sessreg: missing required user-name argument"
That doesn't work better with xdm in place of lightdm. The symptoms are exactly the same.
Sorry, forgot that when switching dm, also need to change the services with # systemctl disable lightdm.service # systemctl enable xdm.service Then reboot
Nops. Now I have the (ugly) Xdm login box, but it just loops when I type-in my connection informations. And before it (and after the Grub screen), I did not recover the usual Mageia wall-paper, with the Cauldron and bubbles. Only a black screen with three small "?" characters/indicators in the center.
For switching display managers, it is easier to log into a virtual console (Ctrl/Alt/Fn) as root and just do: # drakdm Normally you have to re-boot for it to take effect. > the initialization procedure runs to the login box, > but without displaying the usual Mageia wallpaper > (the cauldron with the bubbles) - > only a black screen with three small "?" characters This rings a bell from ISO testing days. I am CC'ing Martin in case he has the time & can remember what caused this. > when I type-in my login/password, I get a message > "La session n'a pu démarrer" ("the session could not start") > That doesn't work better with xdm in place of lightdm. > The symptoms are exactly the same From the latest journal (3) lightdm messages: déc. 12 09:49:25 dbus-daemon[810]: [system] Activating via systemd: service name='org.freedesktop.Accounts' unit='accounts-daemon.service' requested by ':1.34' (uid=0 pid=1587 comm="/usr/sbin/lightdm") déc. 12 09:49:31 systemd-logind[840]: New session 1 of user lightdm. déc. 12 09:49:32 systemd[1]: Started Session 1 of user lightdm. déc. 12 09:49:32 lightdm[1845]: pam_unix(lightdm-greeter:session): session opened for user lightdm by (uid=0) déc. 12 09:49:34 dbus-daemon[1875]: [session uid=989 pid=1875] Activating via systemd: service name='org.a11y.Bus' unit='at-spi-dbus-bus.service' requested by ':1.3' (uid=989 pid=1873 comm="/usr/sbin/lightdm-gtk3-greeter") déc. 12 09:49:34 dbus-daemon[1875]: [session uid=989 pid=1875] Activating via systemd: service name='org.gtk.vfs.Daemon' unit='gvfs-daemon.service' requested by ':1.5' (uid=989 pid=1873 comm="/usr/sbin/lightdm-gtk3-greeter") déc. 12 09:49:36 at-spi-bus-launcher[1887]: dbus-daemon[1887]: Activating service name='org.a11y.atspi.Registry' requested by ':1.0' (uid=989 pid=1873 comm="/usr/sbin/lightdm-gtk3-greeter") déc. 12 09:51:38 lightdm[1916]: /usr/bin/sessreg: missing required user-name argument déc. 12 09:51:38 lightdm[1916]: /usr/bin/sessreg: usage /usr/bin/sessreg {-a -d} [-w wtmp-file] [-u utmp-file] [-L lastlog-file] déc. 12 09:51:38 lightdm[1916]: [-t ttys-file] [-l line-name] [-h host-name] [-V] déc. 12 09:51:38 lightdm[1916]: [-s slot-number] [-x servers-file] user-name
CC: (none) => mageia
The black (or more usually grey) screen with three question mark characters indicates that plymouth has fallen back to text mode because a DRM graphics device is not available at the time it starts to display the splash screen. I doubt this is the main problem here (because the login screen is displayed correctly), but to check, switch to a virtual console, log in, and enter the command ls /dev/dri
# ls /dev/dri by-path/ card0 renderD128 #
Hi buddies, I regret to inform you that my old computer died (definitely) yesterday and that I buried it today in the dumpster... #RIP Thank you all, I guess you may close this ticket...
Sorry we could not help you more. Did you ever try a reinstall, and did that work? Most of my machines are elder... Hope it got in the correct dumpster slot :) Closing
Status: NEW => RESOLVEDResolution: (none) => WORKSFORME
Computers are (or at least seem) to be recycled in my location. Maybe there is a specific paradise for them. Yes, I tried to reinstall the system with the same result. Yesterday I switched on the thing and this time was the last one ... Maybe it was already dying when I got this problem and Mageia has nothing to see with it. I could have tried to install Windows, but I don't have more time to spend on it ...