hi all
Boy did i do it to my best operating system..I read a thread here about 3D desktop so I tried it...Mistake!!! First I lost my logon screen..Then my fonts are all smaller,next my system is so unstable that each time I try to do anything I am dropped back to the logon screen and have to log in again..
I am not sure this will even post..
Any suggestions?
thanks,
jolphil

If you installed via urpmi, you could drop into a terminal (ctrl+alt+Fn) and remove the bits you added. Of course, that may mean that you have to then re-setup xorg.....

How did you install them?

Hi XavierP,
I had to load my suse Hard drive even to get back to this forum..Anytime I do a action I am dropped back to logon..
Anyway I had Mandy2007 free with the nvidia drivers installed..
I even re-installed the Nvidia driver but that did not correct the problem..
I did not use urpmi, i used the Mandy control center to do it..
The situation is Mandriva boots to my desktop but almost anything I do will drop me into the logon screen..
I don't know all that much about "under the hood " but I guess
I don't have a lot of choices..
Thank you for your quick post,
jolphil

Update,
I tried Gnome to see if it was in KDE but Gnome seems just as Un-stable..I suspect that it's in Xorg...I see a configuration for XF86free ..
Is it possible to switch from Xorg to XF86?
If so how is it done..
Thank you for any input..
I would hate to reinstall since I put a lot of work to get this distro
where it is..(not the bad stuff..That was easy)
Thank you
jolphil

Much later edit: I decided after much messing around,that things are spinning out of control..I have no urpmi,draktools, and the only updater was smart which did not work..Then I tried to logon to Gnome from KDE and I am stuck at the splash screen with no way out..I did a update from the dvd but still stuck in Gnomes splash screen with no option to do anything..
Looks Like the Big Re-I...I must say though the core system still reboots ..A real credit to Mandriva.. I killed just about everything else..Sadder but Wiser..
jolphil

If you need to reconfigure X, it is not hard to do. When you get to the log in screen, press <CTRL>+<ALT>+<F1-6> to get to a console screen.

You must become root. Enter:

su

Enter your root password when it is requested.

Now you can automatically reconfigure X:

Xorg -configure

When finished, you can test the new configuration with the command provided in the program output. You will get a blank screen with the mouse cursor. There will be no desktop or window manager loaded.

Finally, you must make the new configuration load when Xorg starts. The new configuration file was created in /root but Xorg looks for it in /etc/X11. Copy it there:

cp /root/xorg.conf.new /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Confirm the action when you are warned that there is already a file at /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Restart the computer. If the problem was with X, it should now be fixed.

HTH,

ernie..Thank you for your post..
The situation is from kde GDM,I selected Gnome and to re-log in but instead
of gnome starting I get the Gnome splash screen..No menus no desktop,
only a mouse..If I reboot it goes back to the same Gnome splash screen..I do not know how to get back to KDE which did work of sorts..I evidently wiped out urpmi as well as draktools and
who knows what else as part of the first problem..
I tried to do an update/repair from the DVD install disk but it stops with an error and will not repair..I don't know enough to
do it from the command line because urpmi or no other installer works.. Unless there is some magic command I'm sunk I think..
Thanks again ernie
jolphil

PS If you still think the Xorg config will work with the above problems I will give it a try..

If you have a GUI log in screen, Xorg is working OK so Xorg -config will serve no purpose.

If you have a text log in and startx fails, Xorg -config may help.

If your system goes directly to a Gnome splash screen with no log in, try pressing <CTRL>+<ALT>+<Backspace> to restart Xorg. If that gives you a log in screen, you can click the 'Session Type' menu at the bottom of the screen and select KDE then log in.

If none of this works, try to update Mandriva from the Install disk. If it stops with an error again write the error down and post it here. I will check back later this evening (I'm in the Eastern time zone here).

WOW !! ernie
your ctrl-alt-backspace got me back to KDE where I am writing this post..
"You are the man' Thank you
I will be off the computer for a while but the error when trying to repair from the install dvd was just after scanning for hardware ..
It was some non-descript message that I can't recall at the moment
I wll try again later and keep you posted in this thread..
Thanks again,
jolphil

ernie,
I tried to configure X again as you post suggested and it did fine..
BUT it did not fix my problem so I guess Xorg was OK to start with..I
tried to upgrade from the install DVD and it did install a bunch of rpm's but
made no difference in my system..
I only have SMART package installer which does not install anything..
I have never used SMART so everything I tried ends up in failure..It looks online and has some network activity from my router lights but gives a whole list of failures..This really looks bad as I cannot install missing packages
or fix whats needed..No urpmi,nodrakxtools, and who knows what else...
Sinking fast here!!!
Thanks for you efforts..
I guess theres no magic solution..
jolphi

Try smart again as root. My guess is that smart did not require the root password to run. If it did not, <ALT>+Click the menu button in kicker, then select Menu Editor. Navigate the menu tree in the editor to where Smart is located. Near the bottom of the right pane is an option to 'Run as different user'. Click the check box, then enter 'root (no quotes) in the 'Uaername:' text entry field. Click the save button in the tool bar (top left). Now when you run smart, the menu system will pop up an information dialog requesting the root user password before it runs the program.

Also, if you are trying to run urpmi as a regular user, you will get a not found error because /usr/sbin is not in a regular user's path. you must first enter 'su <ENTER>' followed by the root password. Then you should be able to run urpmi. If not, it may well not be present.

If KDE runs, but the appearance is wrong, you may be able to restore the default user configuration. Open Konqueror File Manager (Home icon), Open the 'View' menu and click 'Show hidden files'. Delete the .kde directory in your home directory. Press <CTRL>+<ALT>+<Backspace> to restart X. When you log in, KDE should create a default configuration.

Hope one of these help

Thanks ernie,
You are suppling lots of useful information that I did not know..
That said:
It does ask for the root password but as described fails to install anything..

I am running urpmi as su _ and root password..
it answers..command not found..Additionaly SMART also confirms that urpmi is NOT installed and when I ask it to install packages..

KDE runs and looks fairly normal but say for example you go to
your home icon on your desktop and place you mouse over it the letters turn to a scrambled small block of colored jibberish.. If you click else where on you desktop it returns to the text HOME again..Also it is very unstable for example if you are in firefox and click on another link you are bounced back to the logon screen where you have to logon again..
I wish I could describe it better but it's the most unusual symptons I have ever seen..
I have not tried to use a default KDE configuration but B4 I re-install I will give it a go.

jolphil

Later Edit: I just reset KDE to the default settings and sure enough went to the standard KDE desktop but that did not fix my problems..Still bad fonts,still unstable..For example when I
clicked to enter a "REPLY" on this thread I am bounced back to the logon screen..I thin at this point a re-install is in order..
I can not tell you how much I appreciate you help and suggestions..
jolphil
Much later Edit: reinstalled Mandriva and all is working perfectly..Thanks to everyone for their help..What a nice distro...
jolphil