Cursor & keyboard frozen at login screen
Stuck using Debian 7 (wheezy) on login with the cursor and keyboard frozen. Can't enter password. Can only switch off power. Have used Debian happily for years and nothing like this has ever happened.
Can boot in fallback mode but I don't know how to find a command that will fix the problem. I tried startx and a screen came up but still stuck, so maybe X is not the problem. Am writing with pclinux on the same machine, so it does not seem to be a hardware problem. How to proceed? |
You could try booting Debian from a live DVD (or USB) to see if the problem remains...
Can you look at your Debian logs from pclinux? |
You can boot into the fallback mode and check the various logs in the /var/log folder. The dmesg file is a good place to start.
jdk |
Thanks, both of you. I have screened through virtually all the logs, thousands of lines that I am not competent to understand fully, but they don't seem unusual except for in user.log, a lot of lines with "debian ......... tests: debug:........" and "debian .........debug: parsing:......." which seem to have to do with checking or locating disk partition devices rather than anything to do with the screen freezing.
I have not booted with a DVD but booting with Debian 6 "squeeze" which is also on the box, the cursor moves normally. Therefor the problem is only in "wheezy" and specifically in corruption of a setting affecting the cursor and display. My hope is to find out how to locate and correct that. |
Wheezy might not be the best choice in this moment in time. It's been frozen pending the release of Jessie (the next version which I believe is Debian 8). In any event you might want to try a Debian Live Install CD and see if the problem persists.
jdk |
Thank you jdk for taking an interest in my freeze-up problem.
I don't see what is to be gained by running a live CD, inasmuch as Debian 6 functions on the same machine without freezing and Debian 7 "wheezy" has always also, until this current glitch. As to Debian 8 "jessie", I plan to upgrade to it when stable (as in essence it probably is now), as I have done in the past from "etch", "lenny", and "squeeze". But I want to use my "wheezy" until then because it is configured as needed for my regular work. Do you think running apt-get upgrade from failback might replace whatever element is misbehaving with a properly functioning one? |
Thanks jdk for your advice. Why try with a live CD (which I don't have for wheezy) when it is clear that other OS's including squeeze are not frozen.
Do you think running apt-get upgrade would replace whatever element is freezing the login? Or better, if one knew the name of the element or its package, apt-get reinstall? I've taken pains to get wheezy configured for my purposes so would like to restore it . |
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jdk |
jdk, with business and personal programs, and records both current and going back many years, Debian stable seems to be the choice for reliability and dependability. I use Arch for learning linux and for using the latest packages of interest, and PCLinux as a fallback and sometimes for cues on how to set somethings up. Right now my Arch is broken by a mistake I made and the Debian stable is blocked by the freeze at the login screen. I really need it back.
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jdk |
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