Re: Blank Screen, Gnome Config Problem?

[Ryan McDougall <NQG24419 nifty com>]

This isn't great advice, but you could try blasting any .dotfile
or .directory, especially .xinitrc. Make sure you back up any data
first, but there really shouldn't be any. Actually you probably
shouldn't even be using root in X, there's no need.

Cheers,
Ryan

On Thu, 2005-07-04 at 14:10 -0700, Jeff Boyce wrote:
> I am a relatively new, novice Linux user looking for assistance with a
> problem that I am sure I created as a result of my inexperience.  I am
> pretty good at diagnosing problems, but am not familiar with Linux enough to
> know where to look.
> 
> System:  Dell PE2600, RHEL3, configured as file server with Samba
> 
> Problem:  A blank (i.e., black) desktop without any icons when starting X
> manually as root user.  Can not open a file manager window.  Also a long
> delay occurs (1-2 minutes) when logging out of X.
> 
> Events Leading Up to Problem:  The only unique actions that occurred on the
> system the previous day included the
> installation of the NUT (network ups tools) software from source, and the
> subsequent uninstallation of NUT.  I had never installed from source before
> and the installation went fine without errors.  There was not a *make
> uninstall* for the program so I followed some instructions to review the
> *makefile* to see where all the files where installed and delete the
> files/directories manually.  The following directories were removed
> (actually moved to Trash).  The install and uninstall both occurred as the
> root user.
> 
> /opt/NUT/nut-2.0.1    (contained the unzipped source files)
> /usr/local/ups/man
> /usr/local/ups/share
> /usr/local/ups/bin
> /usr/local/ups/sbin
> 
> Diagnostic tests/actions tried:  These problems do not occur when starting X
> from a non-root user.  As suggested by someone I have checked the
> permissions on the /root/.gconf directory (700) and they are the same as the
> permissions on a normal users directory /home/jeffb/.gconf directory (700)
> that has a normal desktop.  I am unable to see if there are any error
> messages sent to screen when X starts (a recommendation on how to capture
> this information would be appreciated), but when X finally shuts down the
> list below includes some of the information on the screen.  The AUDIT
> statement is also listed in the /var/log/Xfree86.0.log file.
> 
> Session_Manager=local/bison:/tmp/.ICE-unix/2422
> AUDIT: Thu Apr  7 09:00:58 2005: 2418 X: client 4 rejected from local host
> Option given which is no longer supported in this version of Gnome-terminal;
> you might want to create a profile with the desired setting, and use the
> new --window-with-profile option
> Unable to open desktop file applications:
> ///Office/redhat-word-processor.desktop for panel launcher: Error reading
> file 'applications:///office/redhat-word-processor.desktop' : file not found
>    <snip>
> Saving Session:
> gnome-terminal --use-factory --window-with-profile-internal-ID=Default --show-member
>  --role=gnome-terminal-14721 --1476088167-1090439518  --title
> root bison:~ --working-directory /root --zoom 1
> Waiting for X server to shut down
> 
> I would appreciate any suggestions on what to look for, where to look, other
> diagnostic steps, etc. that will assist me in returning my root user desktop
> back to normal.  Could a solution be a simple as copying a set of
> configuration files from a user that is working normally?  If so what files?
> Thanks for any assistance.
> 
> Jeff Boyce
> www.meridianenv.com
> 
> 
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