The problem was in the .gconf/apps directory. I
don't know what file, but when I removed that directory I was able to
login with my old account. I still get that annoying error dialog
whenever I log in, but at least all I have to do is close it and I can
use my system again.<br>
 <br>Ahhhhh....the joys of running Debian testing!<br> <br>Mark<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 6:55 AM, Mark Phillips <span dir="ltr">&lt;<a href="mailto:mark@phillipsmarketing.biz">mark@phillipsmarketing.biz</a>&gt;</span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">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!<br>

 <br>The gnome error message:<br> <br style="font-family: courier new,monospace;"><span style="font-family: courier new,monospace;">There was an error starting the GNOME Settings Daemon.</span><br style="font-family: courier new,monospace;">

<br style="font-family: courier new,monospace;"><span style="font-family: courier new,monospace;">Some things, such as themes, sounds, or background settings may not work correctly.</span><br style="font-family: courier new,monospace;">

<br style="font-family: courier new,monospace;"><span style="font-family: courier new,monospace;">The last error message was:</span><br style="font-family: courier new,monospace;"><br style="font-family: courier new,monospace;">

<span style="font-family: courier new,monospace;">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.</span><br style="font-family: courier new,monospace;">

<br style="font-family: courier new,monospace;"><span style="font-family: courier new,monospace;">GNOME will still try to restart the Settings Daemon next time you log in.</span><br> <br>Thanks!<br><font color="#888888"> <br>
Mark<br></font> <br>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. <br>

</blockquote></div><br>