Only root can log in

[dmg2206]

I'm having trouble logging in graphically with any user other than root. When I try to use another account, say "guest", the screen cuts out for a second, then I get the log-in screen back. These are valid user accounts, and in a terminal window I can su to these accounts with no problem. Neither Gnome nor KDE will work. I suspect this is an XWindows issue, but I still know too little about XWindows to know how to troubleshoot it.

 

[jstreich]

First, have you tried creating a new user to see if the problem is with only exsisting users? If it is, just move their files, delete the account and create new ones.

Sounds like a permission problem concerning Xwin. If the files themselves were damaged/deleted Xwin wouldn't run for root. Make sure that you can see through all the dorectories that are needed to run XWin (chmod a+x a+r).

Good luck.

 

[dmg2206]

The problem seems to exist for every existing user and every new user I create.

I changed all the directories that contain the files needed to run XWin so that every user had permissions for them (chmod 777). No luck.

I also tried rerunning Xconfigurator. Again, no luck.

 

[salder]

Have you tried logging into the console (non-gui) with one of these users, then launching the graphical desktop as that user (startx)?

It sounds like the default .xsessions .Xauthority files might not be set correctly. These are the files the X calls after a successful login... (X's autoexec.bat, config.sys, .profile, etc). The defaults for these files are usually located in the /etc/X11, though each user can have their own in their home directory. Also look at the .xsession-errors file that SHOULD be in their home directory as well. Very good for debug.

 

[dmg2206]

I just tried logging in with the command line interface and then starting X. I could log in just fine, but when I stated X (startx), the screen flashed what looked like the Gnome (GUI) interface, then finally returned to the commmand line with some messages. The most interesting part I could see was the following:

Gnome-ERROR **: Could not create per-user Gnome directory </home/dgable/.gnome>
-aborting

Gnome-ERROR **: Could not create per-user Gnome directory </home/dgable/.gnome>
-aborting

aborting...

waiting for X server to shut down

[user@theserver user]$

I did not see any files (using the command "ls -a&quot called ".xsessions" or ".Xauthority" in either /etc/X11 or /usr/X11R6. I did find .xsession-errors and .Xauthority files in the user home directories, but they were blank.

 

[salder]

Do your users have write access to their home directories? The error you are seeing suggests otherwise.

 

[dmg2206]

OK, I think I found the problem. How I fix it, or how this problem came about in the first place still mystifies me.

Apparently, the /home partition is full. Why it's full is a mystery to me. Looking through the drive, I can only find 150 MB worth of files. I seriously doubt that Linux's file management is so horrid that 150 MB would fill a 2.7 GB drive!

 

[dmg2206]

Just a few more interesting findings:

[root@theserver root]# du -h --max-depth=1 /home
16k     /home/lost+found
45M     /home/guest
4.0k    /home/.Trash-root
12M     /home/public
138M    /home/admin
.
.
.
1.1T    /home/oneuser
604k    /home/myself
160k    /home/testuser
1.1T    /home
[root@theserver root]# cd /home
[root@theserver home]# rm -r oneuser
rm: descend into directory `oneuser'? y
rm: descend into directory `oneuser/.gnome'? y
rm: remove directory `oneuser/.gnome'? y
rm: remove directory `oneuser/.xsession-errors'? y
Segmentation fault
[root@theserver home]#

 

[danielhozac]

Does that [tt]T[/tt] mean what I think it does? //Daniel

 

[jstreich]

Indeed, it looks that way 1.1T... I am suddenly suffering from hard-drive envy!!!!! This is a (relitivly) new install (based on the hardware it appears you have)? Did you makesure Linux formatted all that disk space (my god that musta took a while)? Perhaps, you should back up the data, and re-install... but there has to be a way arroung that seg fault... contact Red Hat support?

 

[dmg2206]

That "T" probably means terabytes, but that's a physical impossibility, given that it's only a 2.7GB drive. I also know for certain that the "oneuser" directory should be empty except for hidden files created by Linux and the desktop environments. If I could just delete that one directory that would be great.

 

[danielhozac]

It seems like there is some sort of problem with that drive... I would definately try reformatting it. //Daniel