desktop not loading (.Xauthority)

Limnos · 12-03-2020, 02:40 PM

hi, i'm a newbie to linux. i installed Ubuntu 20.04.1 LTS on my older MacBook Pro 6.2 (p4, i7).

When i startup my laptop i get to the first screen and enter my p/w. I then get a blank screen.

I can access the system(alt ->) and login with my login and p/w information

When i try to load a Lightdm file (https://unix.stackexchange.com/quest...w-can-i-fix-it) i get the message:

E: you don't have enough free space in /var/caches/apt/archives/

When i try 'startx' i get the blank screen again.

As a super user (sudo -s), startx works and i get into the desktop as a super user. All my files are there...i just can't login and get my desktop.

help!

hazel · 12-04-2020, 06:58 AM

If apt is running out of space, you can clear the cache by running

Code:

sudo apt-get autoclean

But if you have .Xauthority problems, it's probably because you have accidentally transferred ownership of this file to root. Starting a desktop as root is one way to do that, and it's bad practice anyway for security reasons. From a text console, type

Code:

rm ~/.Xauthority

If that doesn't work, do it with sudo. Then try logging on as yourself again.