Not able to get to desktop
 

For several days I had an issue about my loudspeakers playing some "bumbs" all the time. So last night I decided to fix it.

So I searched the web for a solution. I ended up trying to edit "/etc/pulse/default.pa" where I did a modification to a single line.

This morning I suddenly couldn't log in to the desktop (Linux Mint 17.2). When I enter my credentials and press enter the screen goes black as usual and after a few seconds the login-screen is shown again. So it's a never ending loop.

So I bootet into Windows 10 instead. Here the sound-issue continued so my "fix" wasn't the correct one (as it wasn't an OS-error). I thought my fix could have disrupted the system (although an edit in that file did NOT sound like the source to my login-problem). I made a backup of the file before I did the editing so I simply restored the original file again.

But the login-issue wasn't fixed.

So I did some new searching on the web. And I tried all of the following:

made sure my password wasn't changed by login in to the terminal through CTRL+ALT+F1
->login still valid

selected both default, cinnamon, cinnamon-"something" as desktop at the login-screen
->all options had the same result

deleted "/etc/X11/xorg.conf"
->not fixed

deleted everything in /tmp
->not fixed

removed compiz
->not fixed

sudo apt-get purge nvidia*
->not fixed

sudo ubuntu-drivers devices
->info that couldn't really be used

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:graphics-drivers
installed nvidia-346-updates from terminal
->reboot -> tried to login -> not fixed. Now only black screen.

So please: what am I to do?

I'd log in as root on the first terminal and change the user pass...
By the way (I had that oe too) check to se if the num, caps, shiftlock are on the right setting... :)

But I'm able to log in to the terminal as that user. So which difference would changing the password have?
If any of the keys like Num Lock is pressed then I would probably receive an error, right? But I don't receive any messages at all when trying to login to the desktop....

Ow, interesting detail...
post your /home/[user]/.xinitrc here please...
Chances are that file points to something that does not exist...(anymore)...

I checked /home/user/.initrc
and it was completely empty.

I changed to root to be sure that the file was visible but root couldn't see any content either.

I noticed that you did delete quite some important stuff, try to restore that for starters....
then reboot, go into the terminal and do a system update:
there is a 17.3, I'd go with
consider some things, like data, do you have a backup? if not, make one...boot up with a live CD (Knoppix come to mind) and mount the external drive along with the hard drive, the rest is a copy-n-paste...yep, a backup CAN be this simple... :)
Thor

Update:
I tried:
sudo apt-get install --fix-missing
-> nothing happened. Just a new line in the terminal.

sudo dpkg --configure -a
-> nothing happened. Just a new line in the terminal.

So I tried sort of the same approach as a few years ago when I had big problems regarding my Nvidia-driver.
So I tried removing MDM. Then I installed MDM again.
->still not able to login.

Well, then I tried installing GDM.
NOW I was able to login to the desktop. So I removed GDM again and installed MDM
->not able to login.

Installed GDM again and now I'm able to login. So I guess I have to live with this desktopmanager. A pity I can't install a classic menuindicator (I tried but the icon doesn't show up as supposed to).

Is 17.3 out already? I tried a dist-upgrade in the process and that didn't show anything. Well, the new distribution might be the reason for this mess as I experienced my desktop acting strange when an upgrade was released.

But I can't figure out why MDM does NOT work anymore, but GDM does....?

Hey, you have a pretty scientific aproach here, kudos...
Maybe reviewing what MDM does need instead of GDM. Honestly, I use SLIM (outdated since quite a while) and would like to install MDM, but, it it works, dont fix it ;)
GDM is quite system demanding too, I can totally agree you not really wanting that one since you do HAVE the choices (the creed of Linux: freedom to choose)
So, let's review what MDM needs. However, maybe looking at the logs can help. There should be a system location (/var/log) for that...what errors MDM encoutered...then, you should be able to figure out what was missing for MDM to complete...
I for one am glad your system is functional again, I hate it when something gives and you're left with a black screen... :)
Thor

???
why would you expect a change on a LINUX operating system to MAGICALLY!!!!! fix something on a WINDOWS operating system ???????????


you can not fix windows by editing a linux os
and you can not fix a linux os by editing a windows os


please use those little gray cells

if TWO os's have the same problem on the same hardware , then it is likely that it is THE HARDWARE that has a problem and NOT the linux OS ( or Windows)


you edited it using win10 ??????
how????

microsoft OS's can not read a ext4 partition

Thankyou :-) I live and I learn (and I write a whole lot of notes).

I wasn't. I was searching for a GUI and as my linux was corrupted my only other choice was Windows 10.

Hmmm. Please don't point fingers.

Of course (???)

Nope. During bootup you'll have to choose normal boot or recovery-mode. I could also edit through some boot-stick. I think it was BootCorrector or something like that (back in the days I was using that system quite a lot to fix my linux-system).

And by the way: I'm not able to do a dist-upgrade. The terminal tells me that there isn't any upgrade. Strange!
lsb_release -a
says "Linux Mint 17.2 Rafaela"

Not even
sudo sed -i 's/rebecca/rafaela/g' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list
did the trick

The only critical problem now is whenever I open RssOwl. Then the computer thinks a little and then logs me out. When I log back in all my programs are shutdown.

This morning I was able to update linux-source 3.13.00. After that my usual desktop AND RssOwl are functioning correct again :-)

Yay! :)