Display managers are looping in runlevel 4
 

Although in runlevel 3, I can login within a tty and startx, when I enable runlevel 4, the display manager asks me for login and password and when I enter them and press enter it asks for them again.
It loops and never stops.

I tried two different display managers: xdm and SLiM.

The strange thing is that xdm logs don't show any errors or warnings:

What is this sorcery again? Any help would be appreciated, thank you in advance!

For starters runlevel4 is undefined, use runlevel5

EDIT: Sorry. Did not know that Slackware does use runlevel4!

For starters, this is a Slackware forum. Slackware does not use runlevel 5. The graphical session manager runs in level 4.

Slackware does not come with SLIM. How did you install it? Are you perhaps running a Slackware derivative or a stripped-down version of Slackware?
If you can successfully start an X session in runlevel 3 then the issue is likely with the graphical session managers. In runlevel 4, the logging of your session is done in the file "~/.xsession-errors". Anything relevant in there? Also, X.Org logs into "/var/log/Xorg.0.log". Anything in there that sheds light on your issue?

Can you login as root from runlevel 4? If so;

In runlevel 3 issue this command:
Replacing *username* with your username of course, and try runlevel 4 again.

It could be that you are just missing that file in your user profile.

This is not true for Slackware, as already pointed out by Alien Bob and as show these excerpts of /etc/inittabSo what happens is that rc.4 fails to start the X server for some reason (through execution of "exec /usr/bin/xdm -nodaemon" line 38, probably), thus is respawned by init.

So what we really need to know is why X fails to start.

To investigate further, please LoveMetal save two states of /var/log/Xorg.0.log: after a failed attempt to start X (in runlevel 4) and after a successful one (in runlevel 3) and post them here.

Also, do you have a genuine xdm package as found in Slackware? Be also aware that using another desktop starter session manager that xdm gdm or kdm needs to edit /etc/rc.d/rc.4.

Anyway after having posted this I will try here to see if my log looks like yours

I've realized that and edited and struck out my text. Sorry, didn't know that about Slackware.

@rtmistler: no problem, don't worry.

@LoveMetal: I just tried and here is the content of /var/log/xdm.log:As you can see, xdm becomes mute just after having started a session.

In your log instead I see that the same process that sourced GiveConsole then sources TakeConsole and that another process sources Xsetup_0 again.

I have no idea why and what are the actual consequences, but that looks weird.

You learn something new every day. When that stops, you realize you are too old for this business :-)

I have a genuine Slackware64 14.2, and I installed SLiM with your very own slackbuild. :)
I have of course edited /etc/inittab accordingly.

The only things I did before trying to change that damn runlevel, are adding multilib support, adding bumblebee (I've got a laptop with both nvidia and intel gfx), installing awesomewm.

The interesting thing in Xorg.0.log in runlevel 4, is that there is absolutely no errors... it seems like Xorg starts and stops perfectly fine: http://pastebin.com/CmEpKMNv

As you said, there is something interesting in xsession-errors:
However, awesomewm website seems to be down for now so I can't check the sources. But I tried with twm... and it works fine so it's probably somewhat tied to awesome.


@Skaendo, about the .xinitrc:
It appears that not me nor root have a .xinitrc, so I created one empty both for me and root, but... It doesn't work in runlevel4, as before, but now it doesn't even work in runlevel3 with manual startx!
And in Xorg.0.log, there are still no errors... It just start, then stop..: http://pastebin.com/NWkUbD5W

@Didier Spaier
I have the original xdm package. Here is the Xorg.0.log with a successful startup in runlevel 3: http://pastebin.com/VRNFYht8
And yes, I agree, that looks weird. :p

So as you are still here, I assume you are still learning new things from Slackware every day? I don't trust you. :p

Last thing, maybe it's tied, sometimes lilo is checking BIOS data in around 5 seconds, and sometimes it takes around one minute.

I agree :D

I'm also in an really awkward position here ...

I didn't notice the forum, I answered from the Zero Reply thread list, hence my involvement where I'm less experienced with Slack.

The other part of this is, "yes" I tried Slackware earlier this year. I hated it. I realize that TONS of people love it and have loved it for years. It's just not for me, or at least not right now. :(

A proper ~/.xinitrc file will be created by the program "xwmconfig". Try running that (under your own user account), it will allow you to select a Window Manager.

I did not see weird things in there but I just skimmed the content.

Well, the questions in the forum teach me new things, when I have to search for answers. And this topic is related to hybrid graphics, an area I know nothing about because I do not own the hardware. So there's something to be learnt about making that work.
On the topic of bumblebee, is it not so that your user account needs to be in a specific group for it to work? Group membership works a bit differently when you are logging in through runlevel 4: the only groups you are a member of are those that have been configured for you in /etc/group . Whereas in runlevel 3 (console login) your account will be dynamically added to several groups for the duration of your login. From "/etc/login.defs":
The "video" group may be required for your bumblebee (just guessing)? Does "grep video /etc/group" show your user account? If not, try adding it.

With xwmconfig to choose my window manager, it still doesn't work in runlevel 4 but at least the generated .xinitrc doesn't block Xorg from starting in runlevel 3.
And yes, my user is in the video group (and also in the bumblebee group needed for hybrid graphics).