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#1 2012-10-04 13:57:41

firbolg
Member
Registered: 2012-10-04
Posts: 17

[SOLVED]10-second delay before login screen

Hi
I've set up Arch-64 / Gnome(gdm). I have everything working (thanks to archwiki).
I have one minor problem: immediately before the log-in screen appears, the screen stays black for 10 seconds. When the login screen then appears everything works perfectly.
I've searched the wiki /google etc but I can't find anything which relates to this.(I found some similar but not the same)
As a newcomer my own knowledge limits me - I don't know where I should be looking.
I would appreciate any help in resolving.
Its' not a major issue but I have Arch fully set up as I want it and I would like to get rid of this delay.

firbolg

Last edited by firbolg (2012-10-05 08:46:26)

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#2 2012-10-04 15:05:03

Pres
Member
Registered: 2011-09-12
Posts: 423

Re: [SOLVED]10-second delay before login screen

What model is your computer?

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#3 2012-10-04 16:09:28

firbolg
Member
Registered: 2012-10-04
Posts: 17

Re: [SOLVED]10-second delay before login screen

Pres
Running dual E8400 cpus overclocked to 4.2GHz, 4GB ram. Nvidia 8600 GTs.
I've just timed the load-up
- takes 13 seconds from the beginning to start of black screen
- takes 23 seconds in total (from the beginning)  to appearance of log-in screen.
There is disk activity during the 10 seconds of black screen.

Maybe there is no problem? The system just doing whatever it does to get everything loaded?
Does 23 seconds seem reasonable for an arch loadup?

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#4 2012-10-04 17:27:03

Pres
Member
Registered: 2011-09-12
Posts: 423

Re: [SOLVED]10-second delay before login screen

I have a similiar issue with my Acer D255E netbook described here:
https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=146406

You can check and see if it's the same by disabling ACPI to see if the issue still occurs.

I've reported my issue upstream, and recently got a request from a developer for additional debugging output, which I sent along. If it's the same issue, I'll let you know what happens.

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#5 2012-10-05 08:45:48

firbolg
Member
Registered: 2012-10-04
Posts: 17

Re: [SOLVED]10-second delay before login screen

Hi
I'm going to mark this solved. I feel a bit foolish.
I assumed the black screen was some kind of hang - however there is a lot of disk activity going on so it is not hanging.
A total boot time of 23 secs is respectable. My windows system (which I am moving away from) boots in 15 secs but that runs on an ssd.
I was using debian wheezy / xfce system and that took 29 seconds.
So I am assuming there is no wait / hang going on in arch.
Apologies for raising a false issue and thanks for the responses.

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#6 2012-10-05 12:30:40

Pres
Member
Registered: 2011-09-12
Posts: 423

Re: [SOLVED]10-second delay before login screen

I would not mark it as solved if the problem still exists. Could you try booting with ACPI disabled to see if it still occurs? This sounds like the same issue as mine, but you have a very different setup: a desktop with a different video card and drivers. Are you using nouveau or the proprietary drivers?

You can boot with ACPI off by appending it to the kernel line like so:

root=/dev/sda2 apci=off ro

You probably won't be able to startx with ACPI off, but you can at least verify whether the issue still occurs.

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#7 2012-10-05 17:16:53

firbolg
Member
Registered: 2012-10-04
Posts: 17

Re: [SOLVED]10-second delay before login screen

Pres
my reason for marking it closed is that it seems to me now that there is no problem - 23sec boot time is respectable and there is constant disc activity during the black screen. However......
I'm using nouveau driver.
Forgive my lack of knowledge but where do I set acpi=off?

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#8 2012-10-05 17:31:29

Pres
Member
Registered: 2011-09-12
Posts: 423

Re: [SOLVED]10-second delay before login screen

You can set it in your bootloader.

If you are using Syslinux, press tab on the Arch Linux entry and add "acpi=off". Then press enter to boot.

If you are using GRUB, press e to edit the entry, then add "acpi=off" to the linux line (the line with "root=xxx" and "ro" in it). The press F10 to boot I believe (it should tell you the key shortcuts at the botttom).


This will probably throw some errors if you try to start X, but that's not important. Just check to see if the screen still goes blank. Once it's booted, just restart without adding the kernel parameter and everything should be back to normal.

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#9 2012-10-05 17:34:08

firbolg
Member
Registered: 2012-10-04
Posts: 17

Re: [SOLVED]10-second delay before login screen

Pres
me again.
Ran with acpi=off (edited the grub menu ). Got X errors immediately after the login prompt Did'nt make me any the wiser

To restate the issue:
everything goes fine until I get the login prompt (terminal not gui) in top left hand corner with nothing else on the screen.
The screen then goes blank for 10 seconds before the gui login window opens.
There is constant disk activity during this blank screen.
All works perfectly when the login screen appears.

I also removed the "quiet" param when booting in case it showed further info but it did'nt and the screen was still blank.

Seems to me the blank screen happens when the login manager or gnome is called.

Not a big issue for me. I still dont know if there is a problem (since there is constant disk activity during the blank screen) but a total boot time of 23 secs it is very acceptable.

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#10 2012-10-05 17:36:11

firbolg
Member
Registered: 2012-10-04
Posts: 17

Re: [SOLVED]10-second delay before login screen

Hi Member
Only just saw your posting now - thanks

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#11 2012-10-05 20:22:17

DeadWolfSA
Member
Registered: 2012-07-11
Posts: 6

Re: [SOLVED]10-second delay before login screen

I'm having the same issue too, but it seems to happen randomly. Sometimes it works fine and sometimes I get the black screen. I've tried acpi off and I seem to get the same results. No errors.
AMD A4-3400 APU @ 2.7GHz, Radeon HD 6410D  I believe, and 4GB RAM. Systemd setup also.

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#12 2012-10-05 21:48:07

Pres
Member
Registered: 2011-09-12
Posts: 423

Re: [SOLVED]10-second delay before login screen

The X errors are expected with ACPI off. Would probably be more telling to disable your login manager before trying just to rule that out. Would be interesting (and useful) to see the debug output if your issue is in fact the same as mine, considering your setup is quite different. If the blank screen does not bother you though, then just leave it be.

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#13 2012-10-06 07:53:39

cngn
Member
Registered: 2010-03-20
Posts: 65

Re: [SOLVED]10-second delay before login screen

I have the same issues. It takes about ~8 seconds since being able to move my cursor till first signs of gdm. On the contrary for lxdm it's about ~1.25 seconds.

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#14 2012-10-06 11:06:50

firbolg
Member
Registered: 2012-10-04
Posts: 17

Re: [SOLVED]10-second delay before login screen

HI Member
I'm happy to post debug info.
Which info / log is likely to be the relevant one?

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