X server won't start; possibly connected to apm
 

when I boot up, just as the X server is about to start,

modprobe: FATAL: error inserting apm
(somethingorother/apm.ko): no such device

comes up, and the screen starts to change resolutions, as expected, but then it goes back to the text screen, and tries again (modprobe... comes up again on each try) finally the Xkeepscrashing script comes up, and if I tell it I want to view X server output, i doesn't even bring up a blank window, it just skips right on to "I will disable the X server for now..."

I've looked up descriptions of the apm module issue without any mention of the X server not starting, so they might not be related, but if they're not, I have no clue what's keeping my X server from starting.


2.6.12-1 kernel
nvidia geforce FX 5600 (nv driver)

Tejing

Have a look at the XFree86 log which you will find in /var/log/XFree86.0.log. You can read this from the console by doing cat /var/log/XFree86.0.log | more. This should give the reason for the crash. If you are unsure about the messages post the log.

well, after fixing 2 issues (mousedev module wasn't loaded, and several font packages were missing) I'm all up and running again. thanks for the tip to go look at the logs manually. I must be a dunce...

Tejing

Hi. I had similar problems with X not starting when I started using a 2.6 kernel. The 2.4 kernel started X with no problems, but X just refused to start with the 2.6 one. As you found out mousedev needed loading. Also when X then started the ps2 mouse pointer was frozen, and I also had to modprobe psmouse to fix this. These I then added to /etc/modules so that they would autoload. A couple of other modules that don't seem to autoload if you are using the USB, perhaps with a usb midi keyboard are. uhci_hcd and snd-usb-audio (if you're using Alsa for sound) you're not a dunce. This is just computers. All the best. Nigel. aka farpoint.

Debian Sarge with kernels 2.4.27-2-386, 2.6.8,
Debian Sarge/Etch with kernels 2.4.27-2-386, 2.6.8 , 2.6.11

I had a 2.4 kernel around and tried it at one point in this. the X server started, but it was unusable for other reasons (some things I had simply required a 2.6) so it's probably the same problem you described

and the dunce bit was about not thinking of manually looking at the log files...

what I don't unerstand is why this just cropped up out of nowhere... I updated using apt, and everything went crazy.... must have been some dependency issues I guess. SID will do that to ya every so often.

Tejing

Hi. I didn't realise you were using SID. I've only got Sarge and Sarge/Etch. I havn't been working with Linux for too long and Etch is as far as I want to go. SID is sailing just too close too tjhe wind for me, but it's folks like you using the cutting edge of Debian, posting bugs,etc, that are helping to benfit people like me using Etch. Glad you've got it fixed. Nigel.aka farpoint

















sid.