Black screen with nothing but mouse pointer after boot and before login

Support
1

After breaking the virtual ‘wall’ to get a new Manjaro-Gnome installed on my ‘new’ (used) notebook, with help from ‘Nachlese’ and the reminder from ‘Phemisters’ (cp. ‘Calamares in infinite loop …’) I should have a working Manjaro-Gnome on that target system …
But booting ends in this black/blank- instead of the login-screen.
There are many similar topics in this support forum but none holds the exact solution for me. A few of them suggest to suspect the display manager or its settings of being this failure’s source. (And the fact that Gnome wants to use Wayland while (the working) KDE uses X11 as display server might support the suspect.)
I can access /etc/gdm/ and its files from the live system and probably edit the settings permanently, but I don’t know how.
/etc/gdm/custom.conf:

# GDM configuration storage

[daemon]
AutomaticLoginEnable=False
# Uncomment the line below to force the login screen to use Xorg
#WaylandEnable=false

[security]

[xdmcp]

[chooser]

[debug]
# Uncomment the line below to turn on debugging
#Enable=true

/etc/gdm/Init/Default:

#!/bin/sh
# Stolen from the debian kdm setup, aren't I sneaky
# Plus a lot of fun stuff added
#  -George

PATH="/usr/bin:$PATH"
OLD_IFS=$IFS

gdmwhich () {
  COMMAND="$1"
  OUTPUT=
  IFS=:
  for dir in $PATH
  do
    if test -x "$dir/$COMMAND" ; then
      if test "x$OUTPUT" = "x" ; then
        OUTPUT="$dir/$COMMAND"
      fi
    fi
  done
  IFS=$OLD_IFS
  echo "$OUTPUT"
}

if [ -f /etc/X11/Xresources ]; then
    sysresources=/etc/X11/Xresources
else
    sysresources=/usr/etc/X11/Xresources
fi

# merge in defaults
if [ -f "$sysresources" ]; then
    xrdb -nocpp -merge "$sysresources"
fi

if [ -f /etc/X11/Xmodmap ]; then
    sysmodmap=/etc/X11/Xmodmap
else
    sysmodmap=/usr/etc/X11/Xmodmap
fi

XMODMAP=`gdmwhich xmodmap`
if [ "x$XMODMAP" != "x" ] ; then
  if [ "x$GDM_PARENT_DISPLAY" = "x" ]; then
    if [ -f $sysmodmap ]; then
      $XMODMAP $sysmodmap
    fi
  else
    ( DISPLAY=$GDM_PARENT_DISPLAY XAUTHORITY=$GDM_PARENT_XAUTHORITY $XMODMAP -pke ) | $XMODMAP -
  fi

  #
  # Switch Sun's Alt and Meta mod mappings
  #

  UNAME=`gdmwhich uname`
  PROCESSOR=`$UNAME -p`
  if [ "x$PROCESSOR" = "xsparc" ]; then
    if $XMODMAP | grep mod4 | grep Alt > /dev/null 2>/dev/null
    then
      $XMODMAP -e "clear Mod1" \
               -e "clear Mod4" \
               -e "add Mod1 = Alt_L" \
               -e "add Mod1 = Alt_R" \
               -e "add Mod4 = Meta_L" \
               -e "add Mod4 = Meta_R"
    fi
  fi
fi

SETXKBMAP=`gdmwhich setxkbmap`
if [ "x$SETXKBMAP" != "x" ] ; then
  # FIXME: is this all right?  Is this completely on crack?
  # What this does is move the xkb configuration from the GDM_PARENT_DISPLAY
  # FIXME: This should be done in code.  Or there must be an easier way ...
  if [ -n "$GDM_PARENT_DISPLAY" ]; then
    XKBSETUP=`( DISPLAY=$GDM_PARENT_DISPLAY XAUTHORITY=$GDM_PARENT_XAUTHORITY $SETXKBMAP -v )`
    if [ -n "$XKBSETUP" ]; then
      XKBKEYMAP=`echo "$XKBSETUP" | grep '^keymap' | awk '{ print $2 }'`
      XKBTYPES=`echo "$XKBSETUP" | grep '^types' | awk '{ print $2 }'`
      XKBCOMPAT=`echo "$XKBSETUP" | grep '^compat' | awk '{ print $2 }'`
      XKBSYMBOLS=`echo "$XKBSETUP" | grep '^symbols' | awk '{ print $2 }'`
      XKBGEOMETRY=`echo "$XKBSETUP" | grep '^geometry' | awk '{ print $2 }'`
      if [ -n "$XKBKEYMAP" ]; then
        $SETXKBMAP -keymap "$XKBKEYMAP"
      elif [ -n "$XKBTYPES" -a -n "$XKBCOMPAT" -a -n "$XKBSYMBOLS" -a -n "$XKBGEOMETRY" ]; then
        $SETXKBMAP -types "$XKBTYPES" -compat "$XKBCOMPAT" -symbols "$XKBSYMBOLS" -geometry "$XKBGEOMETRY"
      elif [ -n "$XKBTYPES" -a -n "$XKBCOMPAT" -a -n "$XKBSYMBOLS" ]; then
        $SETXKBMAP -types "$XKBTYPES" -compat "$XKBCOMPAT" -symbols "$XKBSYMBOLS"
      elif [ -n "$XKBSYMBOLS" ]; then
        $SETXKBMAP -symbols "$XKBSYMBOLS"
      fi
    fi
  fi
fi

exit 0

I hope that the right edit of (one of) these files should fix the issue …
… and that someone who reads this knows how to edit which file and takes the time to tell me …

2

I don’t use Gnome, but the first thing I’d try is this, if you haven’t already (you didn’t specify):

…. maybe from a chroot environment. Hope this helps. :wink:

3

Thanks a lot for your prompt reaction.
Do I really need chroot? Or shouldn’t it work by editing and saving the file from the live system - then reboot?
Anyway, I’ll just give it a try.

Btw - I like your profile picture - a lot! :wink:

1 Like
4

chroot is -needed- an option otherwise the changes only occur in the Live system and are not persistent. :smile_cat:

Modifying from the live system on a partition mounted there, will achieve the same result.

Note: I’ve corrected the above.

P.S.: Profile picture comment appreciated! :smiley:

8

Well that directory is in the installed partition - not a file of the live system. And it shows the saved edit after rebooting … But again from the live system, because the edit hasn’t repaired the issue.

p.s.: How can I chroot a system before logging into it?

9

When running from the live USB, open a terminal window and type… :point_down:

sudo -i
manjaro-chroot -a

If you have more than one GNU/Linux system on your drive, select the Manjaro system.

If your system uses btrfs, the procedure is a bit more complicated. :point_down:

Note: It is not necessary to chroot in order to only edit a file. Mounting the filesystem and opening the file in an editor will do just fine.

10

Have not yet gone to btrfs …
And re the last line of your post: that’s what I have tried and the edit is persistent.
But it doesn’t fix the issue: still no login screen.
Maybe the display server is not or not alone the source of the problem.
→ Display manager?
How could I get the system to use lightdm for the login instead of gdm?

11

I wouldn’t recommend that. gdm is pretty tied-in with GNOME.

You have not supplied us with any information about your hardware, so if you happen to have an Nvidia graphics adapter, then that may already be a cause of trouble.

Another potential cause could be a no longer compatible GNOME extension. GNOME is pretty picky about that, and the GNOME developers regularly break third-party extensions.

12

The system is a fresh install on a virgin platter.
But it has an Nvidia, which can be used as an option.

KDE had no problems at all - and it will be the future sometime this summer.

13

In case it’s related;

From Known Issues and Solutions:

1 Like
14

It’s indeed an Nvidia 570.
But …

… did remove the Plymouth (which I don’t like in its default, anyway) but didn’t open the route to the log-in-screen.
The difference: screen is no more completely black but shows 1 “_” (underscore) in the top-left corner. It still doesn’t react on keyboard or mouse-click actions.

update-grub response as a supplement:

[manjaro-gnome ~]# manjaro-chroot -a
==> Mounting (ManjaroLinux) [/dev/nvme0n1p3]
 --> mount: [/mnt]
 --> mount: [/mnt/boot/efi]
 --> mount: [/mnt/home]
 --> mount: [/mnt/data]
[manjaro-gnome /]# update-grub
Generating grub configuration file ...
Found theme: /usr/share/grub/themes/manjaro/theme.txt
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-6.12-x86_64
Found initrd image: /boot/intel-ucode.img /boot/amd-ucode.img /boot/initramfs-6.12-x86_64.img
Found initrd fallback image: /boot/initramfs-6.12-x86_64-fallback.img
Warning: os-prober will be executed to detect other bootable partitions.
Its output will be used to detect bootable binaries on them and create new boot entries.
ERROR: mkdir /var/lock/dmraid
Adding boot menu entry for UEFI Firmware Settings ...
Root filesystem isn't btrfs
If you think an error has occurred, please file a bug report at "https://github.com/Antynea/grub-btrfs"
Found memtest86+ image: /boot/memtest86+/memtest.bin
/usr/bin/grub-probe: warning: unknown device type nvme0n1.
Found memtest86+ EFI image: /boot/memtest86+/memtest.efi
/usr/bin/grub-probe: warning: unknown device type nvme0n1.
done
[manjaro-gnome /]#

any noticeable problems?

… and the inxi output from some days ago (with KDE running):

System:
  Kernel: 6.12.25-1-MANJARO arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 14.2.1
    clocksource: tsc avail: acpi_pm
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.12-x86_64
    root=UUID=ad04c26f-ab5f-4bf3-99c9-3a28b2423a9f rw quiet splash
    resume=UUID=6c89b27c-c763-4e91-b5ee-679eb7fc3db7 udev.log_priority=3
  Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.3.4 tk: Qt v: N/A wm: kwin_x11 dm: SDDM
    Distro: Manjaro base: Arch Linux
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: FUJITSU product: CELSIUS H780 v: N/A serial: <filter>
    Chassis: type: 10 serial: <filter>
  Mobo: FUJITSU model: FJNBB5D v: 757383-01R9500225 serial: <filter>
    part-nu: SK00 uuid: a41a3b37-7475-e911-8b14-a06610a7488b
    UEFI: FUJITSU // Insyde v: Version 1.22 date: 11/16/2023
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT1 charge: 81.0 Wh (95.3%) condition: 85.0/96.5 Wh (88.1%)
    volts: 16.5 min: 14.4 model: PAC CP722160-01 type: Li-ion serial: <filter>
    status: not charging cycles: 20
Memory:
  System RAM: total: 32 GiB available: 31 GiB used: 1.58 GiB (5.1%)
    igpu: 64 MiB
  Array-1: capacity: 64 GiB slots: 4 modules: 2 EC: None
    max-module-size: 16 GiB note: est.
  Device-1: ChannelA-DIMM0 type: DDR4 detail: synchronous size: 16 GiB
    speed: 2400 MT/s volts: curr: 1.2 min: 1.35 max: 1.35 width (bits): data: 64
    total: 64 manufacturer: SK Hynix part-no: HMA82GS6AFR8N-UH
    serial: <filter>
  Device-2: ChannelA-DIMM1 type: no module installed
  Device-3: ChannelB-DIMM0 type: DDR4 detail: synchronous size: 16 GiB
    speed: 2400 MT/s volts: curr: 1.2 min: 1.35 max: 1.35 width (bits): data: 64
    total: 64 manufacturer: SK Hynix part-no: HMA82GS6AFR8N-UH
    serial: <filter>
  Device-4: ChannelB-DIMM1 type: no module installed
PCI Slots:
  Message: No PCI Slot data found.
CPU:
  Info: model: Intel Core i7-8750H socket: BGA1440 bits: 64 type: MT MCP
    arch: Coffee Lake gen: core 8 level: v3 note: check built: 2018
    process: Intel 14nm family: 6 model-id: 0x9E (158) stepping: 0xA (10)
    microcode: 0xFA
  Topology: cpus: 1x dies: 1 clusters: 6 cores: 6 threads: 12 tpc: 2
    smt: enabled cache: L1: 384 KiB desc: d-6x32 KiB; i-6x32 KiB L2: 1.5 MiB
    desc: 6x256 KiB L3: 9 MiB desc: 1x9 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 800 min/max: 800/4100 scaling: driver: intel_pstate
    governor: powersave volts: 0.8 V ext-clock: 100 MHz cores: 1: 800 2: 800
    3: 800 4: 800 5: 800 6: 800 7: 800 8: 800 9: 800 10: 800 11: 800 12: 800
    bogomips: 52815
  Flags: 3dnowprefetch abm acpi adx aes aperfmperf apic arat
    arch_capabilities arch_perfmon art avx avx2 bmi1 bmi2 bts clflush
    clflushopt cmov constant_tsc cpuid cpuid_fault cx16 cx8 de ds_cpl dtes64
    dtherm dts epb ept ept_ad erms est f16c flexpriority flush_l1d fma fpu
    fsgsbase fxsr ht hwp hwp_act_window hwp_epp hwp_notify ibpb ibrs ida
    intel_pt invpcid lahf_lm lm mca mce md_clear mmx monitor movbe mpx msr
    mtrr nonstop_tsc nopl nx pae pat pbe pcid pclmulqdq pdcm pdpe1gb pebs pge
    pln pni popcnt pse pse36 pti pts rdrand rdseed rdtscp rep_good sdbg sep
    smap smep ss ssbd sse sse2 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 stibp syscall tm tm2
    tpr_shadow tsc tsc_adjust tsc_deadline_timer vme vmx vnmi vpid x2apic
    xgetbv1 xsave xsavec xsaveopt xsaves xtopology xtpr
  Vulnerabilities:
  Type: gather_data_sampling mitigation: Microcode
  Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: Split huge pages
  Type: l1tf mitigation: PTE Inversion; VMX: conditional cache flushes, SMT
    vulnerable
  Type: mds mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT vulnerable
  Type: meltdown mitigation: PTI
  Type: mmio_stale_data mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT vulnerable
  Type: reg_file_data_sampling status: Not affected
  Type: retbleed mitigation: IBRS
  Type: spec_rstack_overflow status: Not affected
  Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via
    prctl
  Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer
    sanitization
  Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: IBRS; IBPB: conditional; STIBP: conditional;
    RSB filling; PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected; BHI: Not affected
  Type: srbds mitigation: Microcode
  Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel CoffeeLake-H GT2 [UHD Graphics 630] vendor: Fujitsu
    driver: i915 v: kernel arch: Gen-9.5 process: Intel 14nm built: 2016-20
    ports: active: eDP-1 empty: none bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:3e9b
    class-ID: 0300
  Device-2: NVIDIA GP107GLM [Quadro P600 Mobile] vendor: Fujitsu
    driver: nvidia v: 570.144 alternate: nouveau,nvidia_drm
    non-free: 550-570.xx+ status: current (as of 2025-04; EOL~2026-12-xx)
    arch: Pascal code: GP10x process: TSMC 16nm built: 2016-2021 pcie: gen: 1
    speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 16 link-max: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s ports:
    active: none empty: DP-1, DP-2, DP-3, DP-4, DP-5 bus-ID: 01:00.0
    chip-ID: 10de:1cbc class-ID: 0300
  Device-3: Chicony FJ Camera driver: uvcvideo type: USB rev: 2.0
    speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 bus-ID: 1-7:4 chip-ID: 04f2:b3b4
    class-ID: 0e02 serial: <filter>
  Display: unspecified server: X.Org v: 21.1.16 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.6
    compositor: kwin_x11 driver: X: loaded: modesetting,nvidia
    alternate: fbdev,nouveau,nv,vesa dri: iris gpu: i915 display-ID: :0
    screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1920x1080 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 508x285mm (20.00x11.22")
    s-diag: 582mm (22.93") monitors: <missing: xrandr>
  Monitor-1: eDP-1 model: BOE Display 0x0630 built: 2016 res: 1920x1080
    dpi: 142 gamma: 1.2 chroma: red: x: 0.584 y: 0.365 green: x: 0.349 y: 0.580
    blue: x: 0.161 y: 0.141 white: x: 0.314 y: 0.329
    size: 344x194mm (13.54x7.64") diag: 395mm (15.5") ratio: 16:9
    modes: 1920x1080
  API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: intel iris drv: nvidia nouveau drv: nvidia
    platforms: device: 0 drv: nvidia device: 1 drv: nouveau device: 2 drv: iris
    device: 3 drv: swrast gbm: drv: nvidia surfaceless: drv: nvidia x11:
    drv: iris inactive: wayland
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6.0 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: intel mesa v: 25.0.4-arch1.1
    glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: Mesa Intel UHD Graphics 630 (CFL
    GT2) device-ID: 8086:3e9b memory: 15.14 GiB unified: yes
  API: Vulkan v: 1.4.309 layers: 1 device: 0 type: discrete-gpu
    name: Quadro P600 driver: nvidia v: 570.144 device-ID: 10de:1cbc
    surfaces: xcb,xlib
  Info: Tools: api: clinfo, eglinfo, glxinfo, vulkaninfo
    de: kscreen-console,kscreen-doctor gpu: nvidia-settings,nvidia-smi
    wl: wayland-info x11: xdpyinfo,xprop
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Cannon Lake PCH cAVS vendor: Fujitsu driver: snd_hda_intel
    v: kernel alternate: snd_soc_avs,snd_sof_pci_intel_cnl bus-ID: 00:1f.3
    chip-ID: 8086:a348 class-ID: 0403
  Device-2: NVIDIA GP107GL High Definition Audio vendor: Fujitsu
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 16
    bus-ID: 01:00.1 chip-ID: 10de:0fb9 class-ID: 0403
  API: ALSA v: k6.12.25-1-MANJARO status: kernel-api with: aoss
    type: oss-emulator tools: alsactl,alsamixer,amixer
  Server-1: JACK v: 1.9.22 status: off tools: N/A
  Server-2: PipeWire v: 1.4.2 status: n/a (root, process) with:
    1: pipewire-pulse status: active 2: wireplumber status: active
    3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
  Device-1: Intel Cannon Lake PCH CNVi WiFi driver: iwlwifi v: kernel
    bus-ID: 00:14.3 chip-ID: 8086:a370 class-ID: 0280
  IF: wlp0s20f3 state: down mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Intel Ethernet I219-LM vendor: Fujitsu driver: e1000e v: kernel
    port: N/A bus-ID: 00:1f.6 chip-ID: 8086:15bb class-ID: 0200
  IF: enp0s31f6 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
  IP v4: <filter> type: dynamic noprefixroute scope: global
    broadcast: <filter>
  IP v6: <filter> type: dynamic noprefixroute scope: global
  IP v6: <filter> type: dynamic noprefixroute scope: global
  IP v6: <filter> type: noprefixroute scope: link
  IF-ID-1: wwp0s20f0u4i12 state: down mac: <filter>
  Info: services: NetworkManager, systemd-timesyncd, wpa_supplicant
  WAN IP: <filter>
Bluetooth:
  Device-1: Intel Bluetooth 9460/9560 Jefferson Peak (JfP) driver: btusb
    v: 0.8 type: USB rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 bus-ID: 1-14:6
    chip-ID: 8087:0aaa class-ID: e001
  Report: rfkill ID: hci0 rfk-id: 2 state: up address: see --recommends
Logical:
  Message: No logical block device data found.
RAID:
  Message: No RAID data found.
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 476.94 GiB used: 13.4 GiB (2.8%)
  SMART Message: Required tool smartctl not installed. Check --recommends
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 maj-min: 259:0 vendor: Samsung
    model: MZVLB512HAJQ-00007 size: 476.94 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B
    logical: 512 B speed: 31.6 Gb/s lanes: 4 tech: SSD serial: <filter>
    fw-rev: EXA7302Q temp: 27.9 C scheme: GPT
  Message: No optical or floppy data found.
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 93.13 GiB size: 91.11 GiB (97.83%) used: 12.13 GiB (13.3%)
    fs: ext4 block-size: 4096 B dev: /dev/nvme0n1p3 maj-min: 259:3
    label: sme500.manjaro_k uuid: ad04c26f-ab5f-4bf3-99c9-3a28b2423a9f
  ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 954 MiB size: 952.1 MiB (99.80%)
    used: 424 KiB (0.0%) fs: vfat block-size: 512 B dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1
    maj-min: 259:1 label: sme500_efi uuid: ECC7-B9AD
  ID-3: /home raw-size: 93.13 GiB size: 91.11 GiB (97.83%)
    used: 1.26 GiB (1.4%) fs: ext4 block-size: 4096 B dev: /dev/nvme0n1p4
    maj-min: 259:4 label: sme500.mk_home
    uuid: 5d4ed9e7-3964-42ee-9a65-65b09c190c4d
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 60 (default) cache-pressure: 100 (default) zswap: no
  ID-1: swap-1 type: partition size: 36.32 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%)
    priority: -2 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 maj-min: 259:2 label: N/A
    uuid: 6c89b27c-c763-4e91-b5ee-679eb7fc3db7
Unmounted:
  Message: No unmounted partitions found.
USB:
  Hub-1: 1-0:1 info: hi-speed hub with single TT ports: 16 rev: 2.0
    speed: 480 Mb/s (57.2 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 chip-ID: 1d6b:0002
    class-ID: 0900
  Device-1: 1-3:2 info: Areson Corp Elecom MR-K013 Multicard Reader
    type: keyboard,mouse driver: hid-generic,usbhid interfaces: 2 rev: 1.1
    speed: 12 Mb/s (1.4 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 power: 100mA
    chip-ID: 25a7:fa61 class-ID: 0301
  Device-2: 1-4:3 info: Sierra Wireless EM7455 type: communication,CDC-data
    driver: cdc_mbim interfaces: 5 rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s (57.2 MiB/s)
    lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 power: 500mA chip-ID: 1199:9075 class-ID: 0a00
    serial: <filter>
  Device-3: 1-7:4 info: Chicony FJ Camera type: video driver: uvcvideo
    interfaces: 2 rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s (57.2 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 2.0
    power: 500mA chip-ID: 04f2:b3b4 class-ID: 0e02 serial: <filter>
  Device-4: 1-14:6 info: Intel Bluetooth 9460/9560 Jefferson Peak (JfP)
    type: bluetooth driver: btusb interfaces: 2 rev: 2.0
    speed: 12 Mb/s (1.4 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 power: 100mA
    chip-ID: 8087:0aaa class-ID: e001
  Hub-2: 2-0:1 info: super-speed hub ports: 10 rev: 3.1
    speed: 10 Gb/s (1.16 GiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 3.2 gen-2x1 chip-ID: 1d6b:0003
    class-ID: 0900
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 39.0 C pch: 40.0 C mobo: N/A
  Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A
Repos:
  Packages: pm: pacman pkgs: 1201 libs: 327 tools: pamac pm: flatpak pkgs: 0
  Active pacman repo servers in: /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
    1: https://mirrors.cicku.me/manjaro/stable/$repo/$arch
    2: https://mirror.dkm.cz/manjaro/stable/$repo/$arch
    3: https://mirror.komelt.dev/manjaro/stable/$repo/$arch
    4: https://mirror.futureweb.be/manjaro/stable/$repo/$arch
    5: https://quantum-mirror.hu/mirrors/pub/manjaro/stable/$repo/$arch
    6: https://ftpmirror1.infania.net/mirror/manjaro/stable/$repo/$arch
    7: http://kartolo.sby.datautama.net.id/manjaro/stable/$repo/$arch
    8: https://mirror.aarnet.edu.au/pub/manjaro/stable/$repo/$arch
Processes:
  CPU top: 5 of 259
  1: cpu: 1.9% command: kwin_x11 pid: 882 mem: 180.6 MiB (0.5%)
  2: cpu: 1.6% command: Xorg pid: 685 mem: 132.6 MiB (0.4%)
  3: cpu: 1.3% command: kwrite pid: 1625 mem: 168.2 MiB (0.5%)
  4: cpu: 1.0% command: plasmashell pid: 919 mem: 306.7 MiB (0.9%)
  5: cpu: 0.9% command: konsole pid: 1278 mem: 109.3 MiB (0.3%)
  Memory top: 5 of 259
  1: mem: 306.7 MiB (0.9%) command: plasmashell pid: 919 cpu: 1.0%
  2: mem: 186.2 MiB (0.5%) command: thumbnail.so started-by: kioworker
    pid: 1762 cpu: 0.1%
  3: mem: 180.6 MiB (0.5%) command: kwin_x11 pid: 882 cpu: 1.9%
  4: mem: 168.2 MiB (0.5%) command: kwrite pid: 1625 cpu: 1.3%
  5: mem: 132.6 MiB (0.4%) command: Xorg pid: 685 cpu: 1.6%
Info:
  Processes: 259 Power: uptime: 10m states: freeze,mem,disk suspend: deep
    avail: s2idle wakeups: 0 hibernate: platform avail: shutdown, reboot,
    suspend, test_resume image: 12.37 GiB services: org_kde_powerdevil,
    power-profiles-daemon, upowerd Init: systemd v: 257 default: graphical
    tool: systemctl
  Compilers: N/A Shell: Sudo (sudo) v: 1.9.16p2 default: Bash v: 5.2.37
    running-in: konsole inxi: 3.3.38
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The bottom line beforehand:
Neither Nvidia, Plymouth, display server, display manager, … by themselves are the source of the issue - it’s an incompatibility of the install script in the manjaro-gnome-25.0.1-250508-linux612.iso with a virgin HW of this type.
In hindsight I think that soundofthunder in post 10 wanted to tell me that it’s a known issue and that the 2025-05-14-version could solve it … what I didn’t understand at that time. (And I won’t test it now that I have a working system.)

The redeeming idea came to me yesterday ~ 2 am:
If the login in the Manjaro-Gnome iso is broken, but that of the Manjaro-KDE has worked …
why not try to install both parallel in reversed sequence so that the KDE’s working Grub opens a route to Gnome’s login screen?

So I spent the day re-partitioning the disk to use its space more efficiently. Comparing the used space on the ‘desk-side’ computer showed that the roots for each system wouldn’t need more than 50 GB each and for the homes 10 GB are ~ twice of what’s going to be filled. (The actual workspace goes to a common ‘data’-partition which is DE-independent, safer from being affected by automatic updates, and easier in backup handling.)

And installing Gnome in parallel to the KDE (which can login but doesn’t allow to use any wifi (a no-go for a mobile device)) indeed brought me to Gnome’s login. (Have to edit the Grub menu, because the automatic install left it in a somehow cryptic state: one (as I found: Gnome) just “Manjaro Linux”, the other one something like “Manjaro 25.… on …p2” (KDE on partition 2).)

Since KDE has no wifi, I’ll have to use Gnome - which I intended (at least temporarily) anyway, because I know the > 1000 settings that made it productive for me, so far. (A job for the week end, rather than the next 6 weeks which I’d have needed to configure KDE.)

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How did you come to that conclusion, exactly? How can it be fixed?

Please also see:

1 Like
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I doubt that another answer from me is still expected, cause I think that the refinement of my answer 11 of May 16 holds all available information.
But seeing that ‘Yochanan’ has left these questions on-line, some redundancy for those who don’t have the time to read through the whole topic might still be helpful:

1st paragraph of answer 11: … made me sure that the install script, which failed of my HW (re-set to a virgin state) is just incompatible with type of HW.

4th paragraph of answer 11: Installing on a system that has another OS (here Manjaro-KDE) rather than on the virgin HW makes Grub show its menu and thus opens the route to the Gnome login as well.

I’ve seen many topics like “Gnome … black screen … cannot log in …” during my initial research through this forum, most of them unsolved. And I’d hope that this solution might work for them (and those to come) as well.

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