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EDIT: As of now, I identified that the culprit is some setting in .config/dconf/, since I already restored all the rest of my original home dir to the newly created home dir, and it works fine. I still have to identify which dconf setting is causing problems.

I am under Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS, Gnome 42.4. When I try to login under Gnome, the screen remains grey, and nothing else happens. This was working fine, and I am not aware of anything particular that may have happened. I created a new user, and it works fine.

What are possible solution attempts? (from less to more invasive)

This question is similar to Gnome-session broken for specific account, works for other accounts but that other is quite old, so the methods might not apply.

To begin with, I have no files/directories ~/.gnome* or ~/.gconf*.

Related:

  1. Desktop Environment (GNOME) seems to be broken on Ubuntu 22.04
  2. https://linuxconfig.org/gnome-not-loading-solution
  3. https://linuxconfig.org/reset-gnome-desktop-settings-to-factory-default-on-ubuntu-22-04-jammy-jellyfish
  4. https://ostechnix.com/reset-gnome-desktop-settings-to-default-in-linux/
  5. https://www.google.com/search?q=gnome+40+reset+settings
sancho.s ReinstateMonicaCellio
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1 Answers1

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Lacking a clue on what specific setting may cause your account to malfunction, you could reset your entire account, preserving your old home directory including the user files and user configuration.

To do so, log in to another account that has administrator privileges. If you do not have that, log in on a recovery prompt from the Grub menu or from a remote shell.

Following commands must be performed as root user. If you are in a different user account, open a terminal prompt with root permissions using:

sudo -i

Following commands 1) rename your old home directory 2) create a new home directory, 3) set appropriate ownership and permission and 4) initialize bash configuration.

mv /home/sancho /home/sancho_old
mkdir /home/sancho
chown sancho:sancho /home/sancho
chmod 755 /home/sancho
cp -r /etc/skel /home/sancho

On a recovery prompt, reboot the system typing reboot. In another account, type exit to quit the root prompt, then close the terminal, and log out from that account.

After this, you should be able to log back into your account, which will be factory reset. All your user files and configuration data are available in /home/sancho_old. You now can move user files over. If desired, you also can move selected configuration data over, e.g. a .thunderbird directory, but be careful not to copy over the problematic configuration of the old account.

vanadium
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  • I have seldom access to the console. So I tried your item 1 via SSH, and then starting an xRDP session from Windows 10. It did not work. But I note that after the successful xRDP connection I was left with a fully cyan screen (no Gnome). After rm -rf ~/.cache, trying the same left me with a fully black screen... Only rebooting took me back to the cyan screen (none of them is of any use, anyway). – sancho.s ReinstateMonicaCellio Oct 11 '22 at 12:06
  • If I try your option 2, I would copy back the whole dir from the backup home to the newly created home, including hidden files. May the culprit be in my home dir, so I would again have a non-functional new home dir? – sancho.s ReinstateMonicaCellio Oct 11 '22 at 12:09
  • Indeed I realize that the dconf command requires that the desktop is running. So Option 2, and then (eventually) copying back selected configuration (not the one causing the problem!) from the old account will be the only option. I will update the answer. – vanadium Oct 11 '22 at 12:49
  • But how will I know which is the problematic part of my homedir? I guess there might be diagnostic tools, logs, etc., for this specific problem. – sancho.s ReinstateMonicaCellio Oct 11 '22 at 13:01
  • You can indeed search where Gnome Shell logs events, and that may indeed help diagnosing and resolving the problem. That will require more technical skills, which not all users will have. – vanadium Oct 11 '22 at 13:07
  • I have asked a related question, with some detail on what I found... I would say that other OP was not "a success". – sancho.s ReinstateMonicaCellio Mar 21 '23 at 18:21