Re: [gdm-list] problem with $HOME/.dmrc permissions

[Brian Cameron <Brian Cameron Sun COM>]

Peter:

I changed the cc:list from gnome-hackers to gdm-list since the
$HOME/.dmrc file is a GDM interface, and this is a more appropriate
list to ask GDM related questions.

>        I was playing about with the permissions of my $home folder the 
> other day, and accidently I created a problem which occurs each time I 
> log in.
>
> --- Warning Window ---
>
> "User's $HOME/.dmrc file is being ignored. The prevents the default 
> session and language from being saved. File should be owned by user and 
> have 644 permissions. User's $HOME directory must be owned by user and 
> not writable by other users."
>
> [OK]
>
>        What steps do I need to correct this problem?!? I've checked and 
> yes, there is indeed a file named ".dmrc" in my $HOME folder. See 
> attached 1KB file.

GDM 2.20 and earlier will complain if the file permissions on your
$HOME directory or the $HOME/.dmrc file allow users other than yourself
to write to them.

Run "ls -ld $HOME" and the first column should say "drwxr-xr-x".  If
not then run "chmod 755 $HOME" and this should fix it.  Also run
"ls -ld $HOME/.dmrc" and the first column should be either
"-rw-------" or ""-rw-r--r--".  If not, then run "chmod 600 $HOME/.dmrc"
to fix it.  This ensures that only you have write permissions.

GDM will also complain if your $HOME directory or the $HOME/.dmrc file
is not owned by you.  If you run "ls -ld $HOME" and "ls -l $HOME/.dmrc",
then the 3rd column should be your username.  If not, then you should
reassign it to be owned by you by running
"chown (your username) $HOME" or "chown (your username) $HOME/.dmrc"
to reassign it to be owned by you.  You may need to run this command
as root.

GDM will also complain if the file is too large, but that doesn't
seem to be the case based on the attached file you provided.

If that isn't the problem, then are you using an automounted $HOME
directory?  If so, you may need to set the SupportAutomount GDM
configuration value to true to avoid this problem.

Note that the GDM configuration file has a RelaxPermissions 
configuration option, so if you really want loose permissions on
your $HOME directory or $HOME/.dmrc file, you can consider changing
this configuration option to 1 or 2, and this will also make the
message go away without you needing to change the permissions/ownership.

If you need help configuring GDM, refer to the manual:

  http://library.gnome.org/admin/gdm/2.20/configuration.html.en

Hope this helps,

Brian

>        My OS is Linux Mint 5 with a menu named "Elyssa". I'm still only 
> a newbie at this -- so I'd appreciate step-by-step instructions.