[SOLVED] SDDM won't start correctly unless I switch TTY and restart

Tom B · 2019-09-23 19:02:02

I'm having a problem on a 2015 macbook where sddm won't start correctly.

The service starts OK and shows as running but it hangs on the

I do not believe it's an entropy issue which is what comes up for this problem normally.

1. Without rngd I do get the entropy issue and pressing keys makes SDDM start correctly

2. With rngd it still hangs on /dev/sda7 clean..... but pressing keys does nothing.

If I switch TTY and restart the sddm service it works fine. It seems to be a timeout issue, it's as if sddm is starting too early and restarting it later works. Which is also why without rngd it runs after pressing keys as it takes longer for the service to start.

Here's the output of systemctl status sddm:

● sddm.service - Simple Desktop Display Manager
   Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/sddm.service; enabled; vendor preset: disabled)
   Active: active (running) since Mon 2019-09-23 19:57:01 BST; 1min 49s ago
     Docs: man:sddm(1)
           man:sddm.conf(5)
 Main PID: 564 (sddm)
    Tasks: 2
   Memory: 12.8M
   CGroup: /system.slice/sddm.service
           └─564 /usr/bin/sddm

Sep 23 19:57:01 laptop systemd[1]: Started Simple Desktop Display Manager.
Sep 23 19:57:01 laptop sddm[564]: Initializing...
Sep 23 19:57:01 laptop sddm[564]: Starting...
Sep 23 19:57:01 laptop sddm[564]: Logind interface found

and here's the output of journalctl -b 0 | grep sddm

Sep 23 19:57:01 laptop audit[1]: SERVICE_START pid=1 uid=0 auid=4294967295 ses=4294967295 msg='unit=sddm comm="systemd" exe="/usr/lib/systemd/systemd" hostname=? addr=? terminal=? res=success'
Sep 23 19:57:01 laptop sddm[564]: Initializing...
Sep 23 19:57:01 laptop sddm[564]: Starting...
Sep 23 19:57:01 laptop sddm[564]: Logind interface found

I've left it for 10 minutes and pressed hundreds of keys, nothing happens. The only way to get SDDM to start is to switch TTY and restart the service, at which point it works perfectly.

Last edited by Tom B (2019-09-25 16:03:51)

V1del · 2019-09-23 19:38:22

Post a xorg log, potentially the issue with reaching graphical before the session/hardware has given you permission to access the video card. Enabling early KMS might help in this situation.

ua4000 · 2019-09-23 19:49:45

Tom B wrote:

I do not believe it's an entropy issue

Don't believe, check the facts :-)
Does your hardware supports rngd or not ? Check the rngd logs. If your hardware doesn't support rngd try haveged.

Tom B · 2019-09-23 20:14:39

I've found the cause of the issue, SDDM was being loaded before the gpu driver. As V1del suggested, adding radeon to MODULES in mkinitcpio.conf fixed it, it forces the GPU driver to load before X and everything works as intended.

Last edited by Tom B (2019-09-23 20:15:12)

matmoul · 2019-09-23 21:06:25

Tom B wrote:

I've found the cause of the issue, SDDM was being loaded before the gpu driver. As V1del suggested, adding radeon to MODULES in mkinitcpio.conf fixed it, it forces the GPU driver to load before X and everything works as intended.

For me, I've downgraded systemd and it works again.
Your solution is a good workaround too.

Do you use xf86-video-amdgpu or an ather package driver?

Now it would be nice to report the issue to the relevant project but which :
systemd, sddm, xf86-video-amdgpu, arch package maintainers or another?

once · 2019-09-24 02:58:44

update systemd, fixed.

WorMzy · 2019-09-24 07:55:21

Tom B wrote:

I've found the cause of the issue, SDDM was being loaded before the gpu driver. As V1del suggested, adding radeon to MODULES in mkinitcpio.conf fixed it, it forces the GPU driver to load before X and everything works as intended.

Please remember to mark your thread as solved by editing the first post and amending the topic title.

Tom B · 2019-09-25 16:10:02

matmoul wrote:

Tom B wrote:
I've found the cause of the issue, SDDM was being loaded before the gpu driver. As V1del suggested, adding radeon to MODULES in mkinitcpio.conf fixed it, it forces the GPU driver to load before X and everything works as intended.
For me, I've downgraded systemd and it works again.
Your solution is a good workaround too.
Do you use xf86-video-amdgpu or an ather package driver?
Now it would be nice to report the issue to the relevant project but which :
systemd, sddm, xf86-video-amdgpu, arch package maintainers or another?

I was using the older radeon driver rather than amdgpu as last time I tried amdgpu (Admittedly, over a year ago) it didn't work for the GPU in the Macbook. I just tested it and it now works, but also requires adding to mkinitcpio, as it happens with both radeon and amdgpu, It's likely not a video driver issue.

Arch Linux

#1 2019-09-23 19:02:02

[SOLVED] SDDM won't start correctly unless I switch TTY and restart

#2 2019-09-23 19:38:22

Re: [SOLVED] SDDM won't start correctly unless I switch TTY and restart

#3 2019-09-23 19:49:45

Re: [SOLVED] SDDM won't start correctly unless I switch TTY and restart

#4 2019-09-23 20:14:39

Re: [SOLVED] SDDM won't start correctly unless I switch TTY and restart

#5 2019-09-23 21:06:25

Re: [SOLVED] SDDM won't start correctly unless I switch TTY and restart

#6 2019-09-24 02:58:44

Re: [SOLVED] SDDM won't start correctly unless I switch TTY and restart

#7 2019-09-24 07:55:21

Re: [SOLVED] SDDM won't start correctly unless I switch TTY and restart

#8 2019-09-25 16:10:02

Re: [SOLVED] SDDM won't start correctly unless I switch TTY and restart

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