Mint Linux - Black X - Windows manager problem
 

I have Mint Linux installed. Everything was working perfectly. All of a sudden I rebooted the machine and the mouse pointer wasn't there. I rebooted again and now there is a black X as the mouse pointer.

On top of that, if I click on the desktop icon it shows the following error:
"Your window manager does not support the show desktop button, or you are not running a window manager."

In addition, there are no window controls (maximize, minimize, close).

The weird thing is that this just all of a sudden happened.

How can I get this fixed.

The black "X" as a pointer is typically the xorg pointer, which would support the message that you are not running a window manager.

Check that gdm3 and metacity are installed and haven't been accidentally removed.

I went into the Software Manager and searched for Metacity and it is there. I also searched for gdm3 but nothing came up at all (no packages listed).

I can't use the Package Manager because I can't type in the text boxes. Can't type in the terminal either.

OK, when you boot after the "desktop" has loaded press Ctrl-Alt-F1 on your keyboard which should take you to a console (TTY1). Login there and type:
It will ask for your password, which is OK. Let it finish and then reboot:

I can't believe that gdm3 is missing from synaptic. It's an integral part of your Mint desktop environment. If there are any errors write them down exactly and post back.

*** NOTE - I'm assuming you are using the GNOME desktop that Mint comes with. If not, post back with details before you do the above ***