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I have an Ubuntu server running 20.10 and I was able to install Gnome Desktop Environment and that worked for me just fine but I recently uninstalled that to get Lubuntu instead and now I can't get the GUI to start up no matter what I have tried. I'm relatively new to Linux so I'm definitely frustrated so far but I don't want to have to reinstall a fresh ubuntu os just to get a GUI working again. I'm remotely connected to my ubuntu server through mobaxterm and I received no error messages when I installed any of these packages.

I have tried the following so far:

  • Installed lightdm package to try to get the login screen to show up
  • Installed lxdm and sddm as alternatives
  • Updated packages to the latest version
  • Tried the startx command and that did nothing
  • Tried installing gnome again to go back to what worked

Here is a link to my startx log: https://0bin.net/paste/30naRWZw#1gTEBOb+f6ezPwDeUv0MN0Muk4MTJW9Rm57mRIPPnR5

Output from suggested commands: https://0bin.net/paste/4EqYceyV#KX08E30DrXS6IADJXGGgwRCEfYBhhHxv4SV7m6z+AVl

DarthVegan
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  • Your pastebin is giving a 404 error. Please paste it into your question. – Heng Ye Jun 03 '21 at 14:53
  • I believe uninstalling Gnome Desktop was the cause. Better to keep both desktops installed & switch to Lubuntu – Keith5001 Jun 04 '21 at 16:49
  • @Keith5001 I did try to install gnome desktop again along with lubuntu. That was the last item in my list. I have both installed but can't get either one to work – DarthVegan Jun 05 '21 at 15:11
  • @HengYe I updated the link to one that won't expire like the previous one – DarthVegan Jun 05 '21 at 15:14
  • What packages, specifically, did you install to get the Lubuntu desktop? – Organic Marble Jun 05 '21 at 16:05
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    @OrganicMarble I used the command apt get install lubuntu-desktop and I also tried removing it and readding it using tasksel and then selecting the lubuntu desktop option – DarthVegan Jun 05 '21 at 16:43
  • @DarthVegan thanks for the info. – Organic Marble Jun 05 '21 at 16:50
  • @OrganicMarble yw – DarthVegan Jun 05 '21 at 17:09
  • I found this. It may help. https://askubuntu.com/questions/641642/gui-does-not-start – Keith5001 Jun 06 '21 at 23:39
  • @DarthVegan Could you add output of cat /etc/X11/default-display-manager; service *dm* status; ls -l /lib/systemd/system/*dm*; aptitude search '~i~Px-display-manager'; – user.dz Jun 08 '21 at 12:50
  • @Keith5001 I tried the suggested steps and that didn't work for me – DarthVegan Jun 08 '21 at 13:38
  • @user.dz I included a new link to the output from the commands you had me run – DarthVegan Jun 08 '21 at 13:47
  • @DarthVegan I could see two active, you may test stopping both/all then start only one. from console tty1-6. using sudo systemctl stop/start/status/restart gdm/lxdm/sddm share output if you see error in output. Another way to switch permanently is using sudo dpkg-reconfigure lxdm/gdm/sddm but you need reboot. I suspect that having 2 DM's active is the issue here. So you may use systemd to disable service of DM that should be off. – user.dz Jun 08 '21 at 14:29
  • @user.dz I did a purge on every dm I had installed except for gdm so I can try to go back to what was working before and did a reboot. I'm still not seeing the gui load – DarthVegan Jun 08 '21 at 16:05

1 Answers1

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According to your logs, you're still using gnome desktop manager. Try this sudo systemctl enable gdm3 And the query to your "startx", you must initialize ".xinitrc" in (~/.xinitrc) to start your desktop environment. If the above command doesn't help you try making a xinitrc file. Login to your server and then type, vim .xinitrc then add this line in your file "exec gnome-session" save and exit. Restart your server and try again. You can see more about xinitrc in the archwiki page.

cloud.009
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  • I actually posted above how I disabled everything but gdm3 to try to go back to what was working. Also I took another look at my startx log and the error actually seems to be this line: [ 907.243] (EE) open /dev/dri/card0: No such file or directory

    I'm guessing this means that I'm missing my graphics card drivers but I'm using a hosted server and not sure how to get the graphics drivers using Ubuntu

     – DarthVegan Jun 08 '21 at 16:12
  • Did you use the command "sudo systemctl enable gdm3" ? – cloud.009 Jun 08 '21 at 18:23
  • Yes I did that command – DarthVegan Jun 08 '21 at 20:48
  • Do you still have lightdm installed on your system?? If you do you should replace gdm3 from above command and use lightdm – cloud.009 Jun 09 '21 at 07:54
  • Did you read what I was saying? The error means I don't have a graphics driver installed – DarthVegan Jun 09 '21 at 15:37
  • You do have a graphics driver installed. Make xinitrc file in your home directory and use vim editor. In your home directory type "vim .xinitrc" this will create a file. Inside that press "i" to type and then type "exec gnome-session" and then press "esc" and then type ":wq" this will save your file and exit you out from vim. Reboot your system and login then type startx. Hope this helps you. – cloud.009 Jun 10 '21 at 09:31