forgot to attach the screenshot from top (not sure if it will go through): On Tue, Aug 18, 2009 at 10:02 AM, Mark Phillips wrote: > > On Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 8:08 PM, Ryan Rix wrote: > >> gnome is a metapackage, an empty package depending on all the things >> the a full GNOME system requires[1]. try dpkg-reconfigure gnome* >> >> [1] http://packages.debian.org/squeeze/gnome >> >> Ryan >> (top posting because I don't have a real mail client, sorry.) >> >> On Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 6:55 AM, Mark >> Phillips wrote: >> > I ran my usual apt-get update apt-get dist-upgrade last night on my >> Debian >> > squeeze system. There were no errors, and when I rebooted, I was able to >> > login, but gnome (1) generated an error message and (2) I only got as >> far as >> > my wallpaper and items on the Desktop. No menu bar (just white band) and >> no >> > panel at the bottom of the screen. I tried dpkg-reconfigure gnome, but >> gnome >> > had been removed! So I reinstalled it, and still the same problem. Any >> > suggestions where to look for the problem or how to fix it? Right now my >> > main machine is no more than a paperweight! >> > >> > The gnome error message: >> > >> > There was an error starting the GNOME Settings Daemon. >> > >> > Some things, such as themes, sounds, or background settings may not work >> > correctly. >> > >> > The last error message was: >> > >> > Did not receive a reply. Possible causes include: the remote application >> did >> > not send a reply, the message bus security policy blocked the reply, the >> > reply timeout expired, or the network connection was broken. >> > >> > GNOME will still try to restart the Settings Daemon next time you log >> in. >> > >> > Thanks! >> > >> > Mark >> > >> > P.S. Iupdated three other machines the same way. This same error message >> > appears sometimes on those machines, but gnome manages to get everthing >> > running in spite of it. This is the first failure to actually load the >> menu >> > bar and panel. >> > >> > --------------------------------------------------- >> > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us >> > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: >> > http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss >> > >> >> >> >> -- >> Thanks and best regards, >> Ryan Rix >> OnBoard-NG >> --------------------------------------------------- >> PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us >> To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: >> http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss >> > > Ryan and James, > > Thanks for your suggestions. I read through the ubuntu posts about this > problem, and tried all the recipes they suggested, and none of them fixed > the problem. This is what I did: > > 1. (ubuntu post) - removed all the .gnome directories in /home/mark, ran > dpkg-reconfigure gnome, and rebooted. Gnome made new .gnome files, but the > menu bar at the top of the screen is blank and the panel at the bottom is > missing. The dirs/files are .gnome, .gnome2, .gnome2_private, and > .gtkrc-1.2-gnome2. > > 2. (other ubuntu post) made sure my /etc/network/interfaces file had the > following, > auto lo > iface lo inet loopback > > and /etc/hosts had: > 127.0.0.1 localhost lo narwhale > > 3. Created a new user fred, and I can login with user fred and everything > works correctly - menu bar is at the top, panel at the bottom, and I can use > the sysem. > > Some more data about the problem: > > 1. Before the apt-get update/upgrade, I was able to remotely login with ssh > -X, but now I get the error message can't open display. > > 2. When I login is mark (the old user from before the > apt-get/update/upgrade), the system locks up after a few minutes. Three > processes take over 80% of the cpu - gnome-panel, Xorg, and metacity. (I > have attached a screenshot of top). This is not the case when I log in as > fred. > > Any suggestions on how to fix this mess, short of moving all my files from > user mark to user fred? > > Thanks! > > Mark >