Hi Guys

I hope someone can help

I've been using ubuntu 10.01 for about 3 years. I use it from a USB stick and all has worked very well. It does exactly what i want.

Recently though the login screen colors changed and I couldn't log in. Ubuntu seems to load correctly up to the login screen I enter user name and password. it grinds away for a few mins and then returns to the login screen. it';s like it cannot find the desk top.

Here's what I've tried
Start with the recovery console and made free space reinstall configuration option 3 on recovery screen.
This didn't work

I then tried purge and install gnome-power- management this didn't work, but did get rid of the config default message
I also tried install gnome shell as well as reinstall install ubuntu-desktop.
it does try to the install but I keep getting the message could not resolve archive ubuntu.com

I guess this is the problem when I run sudo apt-get it can't get the archives to reinstall

Any solutions would be helpful. I really don't want to to a reinstall from ubuntu as I have the configuration exactly the way I want it

Thanks in advance

CP

I believe 10.01 is no longer supported, so you may want to upgrade to the current version as you won't get updates, that's why you're getting unresolved errors.

Is that a typo? It's either 10.10 which is no longer supported or 10.04 which will be supported until April, 2013.

Did you do any updates or upgrades recently?

I did and funnily enough this is when all the fun started. I need to check the version though

I'm really sorry guys

I should have checked the version is 10.04, not 10.01 as quoted, Lucid Linux

I have considered an upgrade but I want to to this from Linux rather than down load a copy in windows and run the upgrade separately as i don't want lose my applications or updates.

or for that matter my email history and browsing history

Thanks for your help so far

CP

Can you login safe mode. If so create a new user.
adduser <username>
Then transfer all important files along with permissions to the new user.

Thanks for your response.

Wen I log in the machine churns over for a coup,e of minutes and returns me back to the login screen

I have another user and have tried logging with those credentials but I get exactly the same problem.

the plan x would be to open the disk using knoppix of something capturing the data, saving it to another stick then reinstalling and copying the data back. This would mean applications would have to be reloaded, data would have to be reloaded and with the best will in the world something will be lost.

You appreciate a fix would be the optimum solution

Thanks again

CP

What graphics card are you using,I ask, becauseI have a fairly new mobo with ati hd4290 graphics & now it's unsupported,also it caused gnome to go to fallback mode.

Hi Edddy1

Thanks for your response. The card, as far as I understand things is an NVIDIA card.

If I may return to your earlier point I did start the machine in graphics fail safe mode with exactly the same result.

Personally I think this is a gnome issue more than anything else but hey if I was certain then I wouldn't need help, but there is certainly something very peculiar here going on and I guess sheer 'bloody mindedness' persuades me to pursue this to a solution.

Thanks again

CP

I would set initdefault to 3 in /etc/inittab, or whatever number they use for console mode. Then you can log in, and trap errors as X starts. The stuff you want is probably in /var/log/Xorg.0.log but I'm not an ubuntu user

Hi Business|_Kid

I'm struggling with this one.

I went into failsafe mode with networking. Seems the easiest way to get ot the command terminal. went to etc I can find a directory inittab is intab some kind of ini file or ami I looking in the wrong place for the wrong file.

Google wasn't vey helpful on this on either. Could you expand or better still add some detail to this solution I live in hope this has some possibilities

Thanks for your help ot date

CP

gets you in there with or without X

# Default runlevel. (Do not set to 0 or 6)
id:3:initdefault:

There's usually an explanation of what the runlevels do. You want multi user but not X. Then you can run to start X and collapse it with Ctrl_Alt_Backspace

OK Guys

You've all been great but I now have a solution to the problem.

Following guidance from business kid I opened up using the recovery console and slected the last option

This brought up the command window and I used the startx command and this brought up the desktop as root user.

I connected to the Internet and did a sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop and there it was already to go again my original desktop back up and running

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