Desktop Manager Error

Support GNOME
1

Hey all, I encountered some weird behavior after a recent update.
Would love your insights into this issue!

System Info

Lenovo Thinkpad T420
x86_64
Intel(R) Core™ i5-2520M with integrated graphics

Kernel 6.10.13-3-MANJARO

Issue

After a recent update, booting my system brings me to a faulty desktop environment.

  • No user login screen
  • Empty screen with cursor and top navigation bar
    • Date is displayed
    • Basic functions are available from the nav bar (ethernet, bluetooth, etc.)
    • No Settings available
  • TTY not available. Screen freezes when trying ctrl+alt+f2

I have chrooted into my system from a USB boot and found:

  • paccheck --list-broken --files returns nothing
  • pacman -Qk 2>/dev/null | grep -v ' 0 missing files' returns nothing

Assuming these are both ok, I did a full reinstall and found some kernel problems:

(13/42) Updating module dependencies...
(14/42) Install DKMS modules
==> ERROR: Missing boot kernel headers for module v4l2loopback/0.14.0.
==> ERROR: Missing sbin kernel headers for module v4l2loopback/0.14.0.
==> ERROR: Missing root kernel headers for module v4l2loopback/0.14.0.
==> ERROR: Missing mnt kernel headers for module v4l2loopback/0.14.0.
==> ERROR: Missing var kernel headers for module v4l2loopback/0.14.0.
==> ERROR: Missing home kernel headers for module v4l2loopback/0.14.0.
==> ERROR: Missing lib kernel headers for module v4l2loopback/0.14.0.
==> ERROR: Missing tmp kernel headers for module v4l2loopback/0.14.0.
==> ERROR: Missing usr kernel headers for module v4l2loopback/0.14.0.
==> ERROR: Missing 6.12.20-2-MANJARO kernel headers for module v4l2loopback/0.14.0.
==> ERROR: Missing srv kernel headers for module v4l2loopback/0.14.0.
==> ERROR: Missing desktopfs-pkgs.txt kernel headers for module v4l2loopback/0.14.0.
==> ERROR: Missing proc kernel headers for module v4l2loopback/0.14.0.
==> ERROR: Missing opt kernel headers for module v4l2loopback/0.14.0.
==> ERROR: Missing dev kernel headers for module v4l2loopback/0.14.0.
==> ERROR: Missing rootfs-pkgs.txt kernel headers for module v4l2loopback/0.14.0.
==> ERROR: Missing run kernel headers for module v4l2loopback/0.14.0.
==> ERROR: Missing etc kernel headers for module v4l2loopback/0.14.0.
==> ERROR: Missing bin kernel headers for module v4l2loopback/0.14.0.
==> ERROR: Missing lib64 kernel headers for module v4l2loopback/0.14.0.
==> ERROR: Missing sys kernel headers for module v4l2loopback/0.14.0.
==> ERROR: Missing lost+found kernel headers for module v4l2loopback/0.14.0.
(15/42) Restarting cronie for libc upgrade...
Running in chroot, ignoring command 'try-restart'

I am unsure if this causes the issue, or how to fix it.
It’s my only lead so far!

Appreciate any support.

2

That kernel is no longer supported. Please use a more recent mainline kernel or an LTS kernel such as 6.6 or 6.12.

3

Following the instructions on Manjaro Kernels but I get

:: Synchronizing package databases...
 core is up to date
 extra is up to date
 multilib is up to date
error: no targets specified (use -h for help)

I found 6.12 on my system, so will try to boot from that one.

Currently running: 6.10.13-3-MANJARO (linux610)
The following kernels are installed in your system:
   * linux612

Also found this thread which could be of use.

Thanks for the support. I’ll report back!

1 Like
4

Halas,

Upon reboot, the GRUB bootloader does not show any of the usual options, instead just boots straight into my faulty system…

This changed only after trying to install a new kernel.

Seems like I will have to troubleshoot the bootloader first.

5

You can press Esc to bring up the boot menu just once, or you can edit /etc/default/grub and change the following line… :point_down:

GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=hidden

… into… :point_down:

GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=menu

After this, you must run… :point_down:

sudo update-grub

Note: You must first boot into the new kernel before you can delete the old one.

6

Seems like I was running 6.12 all along and 6.10 is simply my USB boot…
Apologies for that.

However, issue still persists.
On top of that, dual boot has been disabled (which is why the usual bootloader screen didn’t show).

I suppose first thing is trying to get kernel 6.6 running.
Any idea what could be the issue here?

[manjaro-gnome /]# sudo mhwd-kernel -i linux66
:: Synchronizing package databases...
 core is up to date
 extra is up to date
 multilib is up to date
error: no targets specified (use -h for help)

I also encountered an error when updating GRUB, but I assume it only has relevance to btrfs systems (I run ext4).

[manjaro-gnome /]# sudo 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/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
done
7

This is usually the result of there being a leftover .kver file in /boot. You should delete that file.

Also, mhwd-kernel does not work from within a chroot environment. You must use pacman to install the new kernel, and then manually build the initramfs and update the boot loader. :point_down:

pacman -Syu linux66 && mkinitcpio -P && update-grub

In addition to that — I don’t know whether you need these — you may also want to install linux66-headers. If so, I would advise adding them to the pacman command above, so that you get everything in the same go.

8

For me it’s the same, the problem is GDM.

9

Jup – same, in particular the greeter.

I installed lightdm + gtk greeter and am back into my familiar desktop again.

The GTK greeter was recommended upon install of Lightdm.
I also changed the conf file as suggested to use gtk greeter.

10

See above

No solution for the GDM issue, but using lightdm + gtk seems to be a workaround. =)

11

Ahh nice, my solution is:

sudo systemctl disable gdm
sudo systemctl enable sddm
sudo systemctl restart sddm

So we need to wate for an update of gdm :slight_smile:

12

The current ISO is generally recommended.

It’s time to download the latest available Manjaro ISO from the official download page:

If you are not yet using Ventoy as your bootable ISO solution, now is as good a time as any. The following link points to a guide I recently authored on creating a Ventoy USB.

I hope you find it useful;

Regards.

1 Like
13

How do you know? The usual suspects are incompatible third-party extensions and themes.

The problem has not yet been identified and most people on various distros apparently cannot reproduce it. I cannot reproduce on three machines with both Manjaro and Arch.

You’ll be waiting for a very long time if the issue is not reported upstream. They can’t fix something they don’t know about. :wink:

14

Hey,
yeah maybe it’s an extension, I know that id’s gdm because when I’m using sddm and disabling gdm it’s working.
I’m gonna disable all of my extensions.

I’ve deactivated now all extensions, stopped sddm and started gdm, still not working :confused:
Do you know why?