Re: [Debian sarge] strange login behavior

From: Peter T. Breuer (ptb_at_lab.it.uc3m.es)
Date: 03/10/05 

Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 05:53:58 +0100

Mike Oliver <mike_lists@verizon.net> wrote:
> Peter T. Breuer wrote:
> > Mike Oliver <mike_lists@verizon.net> wrote:
>
> >>Not really sure how to
> >>avoid starting X automatically,
> >
> > Become sure. Change the default setting in your inittab.
> >
> >>but would prefer to avoid that
> >>step in any case.
> >
> > Why? It's trivial!
>
> Because I want X to start automatically.

But then you put up with your keyboard not working until you kill X and
restart it, which is difficult with your keyboard not working.

> Look, I don't know what's going on. That's why I
> asked. I've tried to describe what happens. There
> are fewer virtual ttys (accessible with ctrl+alt+fn).

There are as many as you want there to be, whenever you want them to be.

> > But delaying your xdm startup point in the boot sequence should
> > be fine, no?
>
> Yeah, I suppose that would be alright, though I'd really
> rather find out why this has happened and fix it.
>
> > Are you SURE your keybard is
> >
> > a) ps/2
> > b) internal
> >
> > ?? If it is a second external ps/2 keyboard, use the first (fixed)
> > keyboard to send ctl-alt-bkspc, and thus restart your xdm.
>
> The system responds neither to the external keyboard, nor to
> the one on the laptop.

Does your bios allow the choice of an int/ext keyboard? What do people
with your laptop say about how to configure it on linux-laptops pages?

BTW - it is not clear if your keyboard works. Does the LED light when
you press caps-lock?

> > Reinstall the packages to see the same messages - I daresay they were
> > sent only to the console the admin ran their installation on...
>
> Don't know which packages they were. This was during
> an apt-get upgrade.

You said :- tpctl.

> >>Why should that make a difference, given that turning off the
> >>executable bit didn't?
> >
> > It made a difference - you just didn't see it. But what's your beef with
> > tpctl? I installed it, given your recommendation, and it's a harmless
> > set of kernel modules and tools for changing the display brightness on
> > a thinkpad.
>
> I don't recall recommending it, but I don't have any particular
> beef with it. I mentioned it because the messages shown during
> upgrade mentioned this ThinkPad stuff, and I thought it *could*
> have been the issue. But tpctl per se doesn't seem to be.

Well, either fix your xdm startup script to kill itself once after
starting, read about your laptop on the linux-laptop pages, read the
release notes for your X server, delay the xdm startup, start X with
startx instead of xdm, try a different login manager, change your X
configuration, check out google, or think of something else.

Any interesting messages from the server when X starts?

Peter

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