Re: Cannot connect to network now...

From: Brian Coiley (bcap_at_clara.co.uk)
Date: 11/23/04

  • Next message: Jon Dowland: "Re: segmentation fault in shib target: has anyone experienced this?"
    Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 15:06:39 -0000
    To: debian-user@lists.debian.org
    
    

    "Kent West" <westk@acu.edu> wrote in message
    news:33J3S-7wp-19@gated-at.bofh.it...
    > Brian Coiley wrote:
    >
    > >>I ran the distribution update again, having taken Maurits' advice to
    make
    > >>sure that I first did an apt-get update. It updated over 200 packages!
    > >>Running it a further time updates nothing, so I assume it is all done
    now.
    > >>
    > >>
    >
    > So you did:
    >
    > # apt-get update (and it updated your list of available packages
    > without errors?)
    > # apt-get dist-upgrade (and it upgrades your system without errors?)
    >

    Hello Kent, thanks for coming back. Yes, that's exactly what I did and what
    happened.

    >
    > >>WHAT IT FIXED:
    > >>=============
    > >>Not a lot really. It still fails to automatically get a DHCP lease.
    > >>However, the script "dhclient" now works, so I no longer have to find
    and
    > >>run one of the kernel-specific underlying dhclient commands. So, by
    running
    > >>
    > >>
    > >>"dhclient", I can easily get a DHCP lease and hence a network
    connection,
    > >>but for some reason it will not do so automatically (something that it
    did
    > >>quite happily with Woody).
    > >>
    > >>
    >
    > Below you state that you got this fixed by putting the relevant info in
    > /etc/network/interfaces. It's beyond me why this info wasn't already
    > there. Something went wrong with your ugprade.

    Indeed. Obviously the info was there before the upgrade, because it was
    working then.

    >
    > >>WHAT IT BROKE:
    > >>==============
    > >>Last night, at about 1:00 a.m., I finally got X and Gnome working,
    except
    > >>for a minor glitch with keyboard layout (see earlier post). The re-run
    of
    > >>the distribution update has now broken it. Issuing "startx" now results
    in
    > >>
    > >>
    > >>a totally blank screen (I mean COMPLETELY blank, like I turned the
    monitor
    > >>off). Ctrl-Alt-bkspace takes me back to the command prompt, where I
    observe
    > >>
    > >>
    > >>the following error: "client 5 rejected from local host". A trawl of
    the
    > >>archives suggests editing the /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xdm/xdm-config and
    changing
    > >>
    > >>
    > >>"DisplayManager*authorize: true" to "false". I tried that, but it made
    no
    > >>
    > >>
    > >>difference. So, as seems to be entirely typical of this environment, I
    try
    > >>
    > >>
    > >>to fix one problem, and something else breaks!
    > >>
    > >>
    > >>
    > Did I understand you to say above that a repeated run of "apt-get
    > dist-upgrade" resulted in no errors? If you got any errors, that might
    > be relevant.
    >

    No, no errors. It just comes back with, basically, nothing to do.

    > I would suggest trying a simple window manager, like icewm, until things
    > get working right.
    >
    > # apt-get install icewm
    >
    > Then edit/create ~/.xinitrc and put in the single line "icewm". Now try
    > "startx". What happens?
    >

    Exactly the same. I don't think it has anything to do with the wm. From
    what I've learned persusing archives, the "client rejected from local host"
    message means that the X-server is refusing to allow me to log on, so it's
    not getting as far as launching the wm

    > Also, look in /var/log/XFree86.0.log for any errors (mostly lines
    > starting with (EE)).
    >

    Omigosh, it's a big file to plough through! Anyway, I see the following
    that could conceivably be errors (but which, I would guess, mostly aren't):

    (WW) The directory "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/cyrillic" does not exist
    (WW) Open APM failed (/dev/apm_bios) (No such device)
    *(II) VESA(0): Not using built-in mode "1600x1200" (hsync out of range)
    (WW) VESA(0): config file vrefresh range 50-160Hz not within DDC vrefresh
    range
    (WW) VESA(0): Option "UseFBDev" is not used
    Warning: font renderer for ".pcf" already registered at priority 0 (9 of
    these for different fonts)
    AUDIT: Tue Nov 23 14:38:22 2004: 1325 X: client 5 rejected from local host

    > >>My sources.list file currently reads:
    > >>
    > >>deb http://ftp.uk.debian.org/debian/ sarge main contrib non-free
    > >>deb http://security.debian.org/ sarge/updates main
    > >>
    > >>
    > >>
    >
    > That looks okay to me, except I think you might want to add "contrib
    > non-free" to the end of your security line. But that's not what's
    > causing your problems.
    >
    > >>Yours in total frustration, about to hurl computer through window...
    > >>
    > >>Brian
    > >>
    > >>
    > >>
    > >
    > >OK, I've fixed the DHCP thing with the help of much Googling. The
    following
    > >lines were missing from the file /etc/network/interfaces:
    > >
    > >auto eth0
    > >iface eth0 inet dhcp
    > >
    > >So, back to the once-working-but-now-broken X: all suggestions gratefully
    > >received!
    > >
    > >Thanks
    > >
    > >Brian
    > >
    > >
    > >
    > >
    > I would like to say that installs/upgrades are normally not this hard.
    > Something went horribly wrong somewhere, and you're stuck picking up the
    > pieces. Ideally you would have started with Sarge instead of Woody, but
    > apparently you followed the documentation on the Debian web site that
    > pointed you to Woody, which of course seems to be the sensible thing to
    > do. It'll be a good thing when Sarge is released as Stable.
    >
    > Still, an upgrade should not have broken this badly. I don't know that
    > we'll ever know what went wrong, but something did, in a big way.
    > However, you're getting close now.
    >

    :-) Keep encouraging me, we might get through it yet! Given the experience
    with the interfaces file, I would lay money that X isn't working because
    some other config file also got replaced during the upgrade. But what, is
    the big question! I've been trying to understand the xdm manual, which has
    led me to have a look at the Xaccess file. There is nothing in the file
    (i.e. it's entire contents are commented out)! Shome mishtake shurely?
    However, my attempts to add some meaningful entries to the file have not
    helped (possibly because I don't know what I'm doing!)

    I guess you could call this a crash course in Linux system administration!

    > Until you get X working, did you know you can still browse the web and
    > do email from the console?
    >
    > # apt-get install links lynx
    >
    > will give you two text-mode web browsers.
    >
    > # apt-get install mutt
    >
    > will give you a text-based email client. If you have a POP service, you
    > can also install fetchmail to pop that mail to your local machine, and
    > then mutt can read it. If you have an IMAP service, you can use mutt in
    > IMAP mode like so:
    >
    > # mutt -f {mail.clara.co.uk}Inbox
    >
    > (assuming mail.clara.co.uk is your mail server), and Inbox is the name
    > of your inbox on that server).
    >
    > Granted, you'll probably like having a GUI better, but this might make
    > you feel a little better about your box until you can get to that point.
    >

    Well how about that! No I didn't know! Although, to be honest, I think for
    the time being I'll keep using my Windoze laptop, or boot the linux box to
    Windows (it don't take long to switch, it's a very fast machine!)

    > About X; try
    >
    > # apt-get install x-window-system gnome kde icewm
    >
    > and see what that does for you.

    Oh boy, a 161Mb download! I don't have time for that right now - I need
    Windoze at the moment - I'll try it later.

    Cheers Kent, I don't know where I would be without you!

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  • Next message: Jon Dowland: "Re: segmentation fault in shib target: has anyone experienced this?"

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