Can't start gnome since trying Jaunty

[rickwookie]

Hi

I was happily running Ubuntu for a number of years but since trying to upgrade to Jauinty something went wrong and I could no longer log in to gnome.

I tried lots of things to get it to work again but then gave up for a while. Anyway, I thought that since Karmic is now in beta I'd give that a try to see if all the package updates would make my gnome desktop function again. Alas, since the new GDM now uses gnome, I then couldn't even get to the login prompt!

I managed to solve that problem by installing GDM-2.20 and setting that as my login manager, but still obviously I can't get gnome to work. I've installed xbuntu-desktop, and xfce won't start either, and I installed kubuntu-desktop and KDE does work, but I hate it.

If anyone could give me a pointer as to what log file I could check to try to see why gnome won't start (gnome failsafe also, well, fails!) I would really appreciate it.

[rickwookie]

If it's any use to anyone, here's the output of ps aux when gnome is trying to start (and doing nothing):

USER PID %CPU %MEM VSZ RSS TTY STAT START TIME COMMAND
root 1 0.0 0.0 2780 1512 ? Ss 09:19 0:01 /sbin/init
root 2 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [kthreadd]
root 3 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [migration/0]
root 4 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [ksoftirqd/0]
root 5 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [watchdog/0]
root 6 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [events/0]
root 7 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [cpuset]
root 8 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [khelper]
root 9 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [netns]
root 10 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [async/mgr]
root 11 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [kintegrityd/0]
root 12 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [kblockd/0]
root 13 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [kacpid]
root 14 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [kacpi_notify]
root 15 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [kacpi_hotplug]
root 16 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [ata/0]
root 17 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [ata_aux]
root 18 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [ksuspend_usbd]
root 19 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [khubd]
root 20 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [kseriod]
root 21 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [kmmcd]
root 22 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [bluetooth]
root 23 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S 09:19 0:00 [khungtaskd]
root 24 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S 09:19 0:00 [pdflush]
root 25 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S 09:19 0:00 [pdflush]
root 26 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [kswapd0]
root 27 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [aio/0]
root 28 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [ecryptfs-kthrea]
root 29 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [crypto/0]
root 33 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [scsi_eh_0]
root 34 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [scsi_eh_1]
root 35 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [scsi_eh_2]
root 37 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:02 [scsi_eh_3]
root 40 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [kstriped]
root 41 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [kmpathd/0]
root 42 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [kmpath_handlerd]
root 43 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [ksnapd]
root 44 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [kondemand/0]
root 45 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [kconservative/0]
root 46 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [krfcommd]
root 235 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [khpsbpkt]
root 240 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [knodemgrd_0]
root 264 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [knodemgrd_1]
root 353 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [kjournald]
root 403 0.0 0.0 2552 1136 ? S 09:19 0:00 mountall --daemon --tmptime=0
root 416 0.0 0.0 2296 780 ? S 09:19 0:00 upstart-udev-bridge --daemon
root 418 0.0 0.0 2760 1084 ? S<s 09:19 0:00 udevd --daemon
root 545 0.0 0.0 2756 944 ? S< 09:19 0:00 udevd --daemon
root 554 0.0 0.0 2756 1064 ? S< 09:19 0:00 udevd --daemon
root 636 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [kpsmoused]
root 681 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [kgameportd]
root 766 0.0 0.0 2300 656 ? S 09:19 0:00 mount -a -t cifs -o defaults //192.168.11.2/media /media/nasmedia
root 767 0.0 0.0 2004 736 ? S 09:19 0:00 /sbin/mount.cifs //192.168.11.2/media /media/nasmedia -o rw
root 789 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< 09:19 0:00 [kjournald]
root 856 0.0 0.0 2264 384 ? Ss 09:19 0:00 dhclient3 -e IF_METRIC=100 -pf /var/run/dhclient.eth0.pid -lf /var/lib/dhcp3/dhclient.eth0.leases eth0
root 863 0.0 0.0 3960 964 ? Ss 09:19 0:00 /sbin/mount.ntfs-3g /dev/sda3 /media/hda3 -o rw,locale=en_GB.UTF-8
root 886 0.0 0.0 3964 960 ? Ss 09:19 0:00 /sbin/mount.ntfs-3g /dev/sda1 /media/hda1 -o rw,locale=en_GB.UTF-8
syslog 923 0.0 0.0 33888 1716 ? Sl 09:19 0:00 rsyslogd -c4
root 924 0.0 0.0 1936 532 ? Ss 09:19 0:00 dd if=/proc/kmsg of=/var/run/rsyslog/kmsg
root 931 0.0 0.0 3960 960 ? Ss 09:19 0:00 /sbin/mount.ntfs-3g /dev/sda2 /media/hda2 -o rw,locale=en_GB.UTF-8
root 1019 0.0 0.0 1784 540 tty4 Ss+ 09:20 0:00 /sbin/getty -8 38400 tty4
root 1021 0.0 0.0 1784 544 tty5 Ss+ 09:20 0:00 /sbin/getty -8 38400 tty5
root 1033 0.0 0.0 1784 540 tty2 Ss+ 09:20 0:00 /sbin/getty -8 38400 tty2
root 1034 0.0 0.0 1784 544 tty3 Ss+ 09:20 0:00 /sbin/getty -8 38400 tty3
root 1036 0.0 0.0 1784 544 tty6 Ss+ 09:20 0:00 /sbin/getty -8 38400 tty6
root 1038 0.0 0.0 2060 840 ? Ss 09:20 0:00 acpid -c /etc/acpi/events -s /var/run/acpid.socket
daemon 1045 0.0 0.0 2060 412 ? Ss 09:20 0:00 atd
root 1046 0.0 0.0 2204 868 ? Ss 09:20 0:00 cron
root 1223 0.0 0.0 5732 1024 ? Ss 09:20 0:00 /usr/sbin/sshd
103 1242 0.0 0.0 3392 1600 ? Ss 09:20 0:03 dbus-daemon --system --fork
avahi 1248 0.0 0.0 3120 1520 ? Ss 09:20 0:00 avahi-daemon: running [Kylie.local]
avahi 1249 0.0 0.0 2988 524 ? Ss 09:20 0:00 avahi-daemon: chroot helper
ntp 1273 0.0 0.0 4492 1264 ? Ss 09:20 0:00 /usr/sbin/ntpd -p /var/run/ntpd.pid -u 111:121 -g
107 1274 0.0 0.1 6440 4108 ? Ss 09:20 0:00 hald --daemon=yes
root 1331 0.0 0.1 19872 3016 ? Ssl 09:20 0:00 /usr/sbin/console-kit-daemon
root 1394 0.0 0.2 9732 4264 ? Ss 09:20 0:00 NetworkManager
root 1395 0.0 0.0 3560 1212 ? S 09:20 0:00 hald-runner
root 1397 0.0 0.1 4144 2092 ? S 09:20 0:00 /usr/sbin/modem-manager
root 1444 0.0 0.0 5064 1660 ? S 09:20 0:00 /sbin/wpa_supplicant -u -s
root 1478 0.0 0.0 3640 1140 ? S 09:20 0:00 hald-addon-input: Listening on /dev/input/event3 /dev/input/event1 /dev/input/event0
root 1485 0.0 0.0 3640 1140 ? S 09:20 0:00 hald-addon-storage: polling /dev/sr0 (every 2 sec)
root 1486 0.0 0.0 1836 544 ? S 09:20 0:00 /bin/sh /usr/bin/mysqld_safe
root 1488 0.0 0.0 3640 1140 ? S 09:20 0:00 hald-addon-storage: polling /dev/sr1 (every 2 sec)
root 1489 0.0 0.0 3640 1132 ? S 09:20 0:00 hald-addon-storage: no polling on /dev/fd0 because it is explicitly disabled
107 1498 0.0 0.0 3460 1120 ? S 09:20 0:00 hald-addon-acpi: listening on acpid socket /var/run/acpid.socket
mysql 1598 0.0 0.9 146240 19316 ? Sl 09:20 0:04 /usr/sbin/mysqld --basedir=/usr --datadir=/var/lib/mysql --user=mysql --pid-file=/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.pid --socket=/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock --port=3306
root 1600 0.0 0.0 1752 536 ? S 09:20 0:00 logger -t mysqld -p daemon.error
root 1712 0.0 1.3 30732 27876 ? Ss 09:20 0:02 /usr/sbin/spamd --create-prefs --max-children 5 --helper-home-dir -d --pidfile=/var/run/spamd.pid
games 1884 0.0 0.0 6396 800 ? Ss 09:20 0:00 /usr/sbin/ggzd
kernoops 1907 0.0 0.0 3564 908 ? Ss 09:20 0:00 /usr/sbin/kerneloops
root 1924 0.0 0.1 5524 2524 ? S 09:20 0:00 /usr/lib/devicekit-power/devkit-power-daemon
root 1981 0.0 1.2 30732 25924 ? S 09:20 0:00 spamd child
root 1982 0.0 1.2 30732 25924 ? S 09:20 0:00 spamd child
root 1983 0.0 0.0 9024 1700 ? Ss 09:20 0:00 /usr/sbin/nmbd -D
root 1992 0.0 0.1 16016 2864 ? Ss 09:20 0:00 /usr/sbin/smbd -D
root 2024 0.0 0.0 16016 1312 ? S 09:20 0:00 /usr/sbin/smbd -D
spampd 2029 0.0 1.1 27624 23824 ? Ss 09:20 0:00 /usr/bin/perl -T /usr/sbin/spampd --L --tagall --port=10025 --host=127.0.0.1 --relayport=10026 --relayhost=127.0.0.1 --pid=/var/run/spampd.pid --children=3 --user=spampd --group=spampd --logsock=unix
spampd 2034 0.0 1.1 27624 22960 ? S 09:20 0:00 /usr/bin/perl -T /usr/sbin/spampd --L --tagall --port=10025 --host=127.0.0.1 --relayport=10026 --relayhost=127.0.0.1 --pid=/var/run/spampd.pid --children=3 --user=spampd --group=spampd --logsock=unix
spampd 2035 0.0 1.1 27624 22816 ? S 09:20 0:00 /usr/bin/perl -T /usr/sbin/spampd --L --tagall --port=10025 --host=127.0.0.1 --relayport=10026 --relayhost=127.0.0.1 --pid=/var/run/spampd.pid --children=3 --user=spampd --group=spampd --logsock=unix
spampd 2036 0.0 1.1 27624 22816 ? S 09:20 0:00 /usr/bin/perl -T /usr/sbin/spampd --L --tagall --port=10025 --host=127.0.0.1 --relayport=10026 --relayhost=127.0.0.1 --pid=/var/run/spampd.pid --children=3 --user=spampd --group=spampd --logsock=unix
root 2052 0.0 0.0 12252 1528 ? Ss 09:20 0:00 /usr/sbin/winbindd
root 2065 0.0 0.0 2244 808 ? Ss 09:20 0:00 /usr/sbin/dhcdbd --system
root 2070 0.0 0.0 12252 1284 ? S 09:20 0:00 /usr/sbin/winbindd
root 2092 0.0 0.1 7064 2780 ? Ss 09:20 0:00 /usr/sbin/cupsd -C /etc/cups/cupsd.conf
rtkit 2150 0.0 0.0 22936 1144 ? SNl 09:20 0:00 /usr/lib/rtkit/rtkit-daemon
root 2154 0.0 0.1 6348 3648 ? S 09:20 0:00 /usr/lib/policykit-1/polkitd
root 2226 0.0 0.3 30608 7644 ? Ss 09:20 0:00 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start
root 2282 0.0 0.1 5368 2104 tty1 Ss 09:20 0:00 /bin/login --
richard 2426 0.0 0.1 6812 4008 tty1 S 09:33 0:00 -bash
www-data 3186 0.0 0.1 30608 3756 ? S 09:36 0:00 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start
www-data 3187 0.0 0.1 30608 3756 ? S 09:36 0:00 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start
www-data 3188 0.0 0.1 30608 3756 ? S 09:36 0:00 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start
www-data 3189 0.0 0.1 30608 3756 ? S 09:36 0:00 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start
www-data 3190 0.0 0.1 30608 3756 ? S 09:36 0:00 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start
root 20158 0.0 0.1 5412 2816 ? S 10:08 0:01 /usr/lib/devicekit-disks/devkit-disks-daemon
root 20162 0.0 0.0 5184 748 ? S 10:08 0:00 devkit-disks-daemon: polling /dev/sr1 /dev/sr0
richard 20753 0.0 0.0 4216 756 ? Ss 10:10 0:00 /usr/lib/libmenu-cache/libexec/menu-cached
root 23527 0.0 0.0 16744 1840 ? Ss 10:45 0:00 /usr/sbin/gdm
root 23528 0.1 0.1 19440 3816 ? R 10:45 0:00 /usr/sbin/gdm
root 23534 3.4 0.3 15404 7952 tty7 Rs+ 10:45 0:04 /usr/bin/X :0 -br -audit 0 -auth /var/lib/gdm/:0.Xauth -nolisten tcp vt7
richard 23607 0.0 0.1 33016 3492 ? Sl 10:46 0:00 /usr/bin/gnome-keyring-daemon --daemonize --login
richard 23621 5.1 0.3 26248 6460 ? Rsl 10:46 0:03 gnome-session
richard 23686 0.0 0.0 5028 608 ? Ss 10:46 0:00 /usr/bin/ssh-agent /usr/bin/dbus-launch --exit-with-session /usr/bin/pulse-session gnome-session
richard 23689 3.1 0.0 2868 920 ? Ss 10:46 0:01 /bin/dbus-daemon --fork --print-pid 6 --print-address 9 --session
richard 23690 0.0 0.0 3484 696 ? S 10:46 0:00 /usr/bin/dbus-launch --exit-with-session /usr/bin/pulse-session gnome-session
richard 23694 0.2 0.2 94520 4476 ? Ssl 10:46 0:00 /usr/bin/pulseaudio --start
richard 23697 0.0 0.1 10956 2896 ? S 10:46 0:00 /usr/lib/pulseaudio/pulse/gconf-helper
richard 23699 6.3 0.2 8124 4788 ? S 10:46 0:03 /usr/lib/libgconf2-4/gconfd-2
richard 23715 1.5 0.3 18432 7024 ? S 10:46 0:00 metacity
richard 23719 1.0 0.6 30436 14352 ? R 10:46 0:00 python /usr/share/system-config-printer/applet.py
richard 23721 0.8 0.3 17860 6704 ? S 10:46 0:00 gnome-power-manager
richard 23722 0.4 0.4 22004 8340 ? S 10:46 0:00 nm-applet --sm-disable
richard 23723 0.3 0.5 68980 11396 ? Sl 10:46 0:00 /usr/lib/evolution/2.28/evolution-alarm-notify
richard 23729 0.3 0.2 18080 6080 ? S 10:46 0:00 /usr/lib/notify-osd/notify-osd
richard 23731 0.2 0.4 96328 8996 ? S 10:46 0:00 gnome-volume-control-applet
richard 23734 0.3 0.3 17752 6676 ? S 10:46 0:00 bluetooth-applet
richard 23738 0.0 0.2 17324 5536 ? S 10:46 0:00 /usr/lib/policykit-1-gnome/polkit-gnome-authentication-agent-1
richard 23743 0.3 0.1 18088 2596 ? Ss 10:46 0:00 gnome-screensaver
richard 23752 0.0 0.0 3908 1828 ? S 10:46 0:00 /usr/lib/xfconfd
richard 24115 0.2 0.1 32932 3548 ? Ssl 10:46 0:00 /usr/lib/bonobo-activation/bonobo-activation-server --ac-activate --ior-output-fd=21
richard 24122 0.4 0.5 45524 11036 ? Sl 10:46 0:00 /usr/lib/evolution/2.28/evolution-exchange-storage --oaf-activate-iid=OAFIID:GNOME_Evolution_Exchange_Connector_CalF actory:1.2 --oaf-ior-fd=18
richard 24437 0.0 0.3 23328 7412 ? S 10:47 0:00 nautilus
richard 24438 0.0 0.0 2740 1008 tty1 R+ 10:47 0:00 ps aux

[Anarci]

Are you using a propriety driver? A kernel upgrade broke my gnome recently when I upgraded to karmic beta.

You can also try going into recovery mode and doing a dpkg recovery to fix any possibly broken packages from the upgrade

[rickwookie]

No, I was using fglrx but now I'm using radeon or ati.

[Anarci]

Hmmm that makes me think that this might be the result of a bad upgrade, have you tried a fresh install of ubuntu or if you don't want to try that - A fresh install should be your last resort - You can wait 3 weeks until karmic is released and upgrade which might fix your problems.

If you don't feel like waiting you can always upgrade to karmic beta now. Just remember to backup

[theZoid]

Yeah, I just won't go the upgrade route anymore...clean install is too easy.

[rickwookie]

Yeah I'm sure it was a bad upgrade, that was to Jaunty.

But how to fix it is the question, surely there's a way to make it work without a fresh install. If the Jaunty release upgrade broke it, and it's still broken with the Karmic beta, then I doubt it will fix itself with the Karmic release.

Thanks anyway.