[SOLVED] black screen when connecting rdesktop to localhost

willtech3 · 2015-01-18 19:39:22

I am trying to set up my machine so I can remote into it via RDP.

When I run the command

rdesktop localhost

from my terminal rdesktop pops up. I choose sesman-Xvnc and type in my password and a plain black screen is all I get. Sometimes I'll get a message that says "Oh no Something has gone wrong. A problem has occurred and the system can't recover. All extensions have been disabled as a precaution." It also gives me a log out button.

I have installed xrdp from the AUR via yaourt. I am using xrdp version 0.6.1-1, tigervnc 1.4.0-1, and rdesktop 1.8.3-1.

In trying to isloate the problem I tested tigervnc by running

vncserver

with the following xstartup configuration file in my /home/.vnc directory.

#!/bin/sh

unset SESSION_MANAGER
unset DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS
OS=`uname -s`
if [ $OS = 'Linux' ]; then
  case "$WINDOWMANAGER" in
    *gnome*)
      if [ -e /etc/SuSE-release ]; then
        PATH=$PATH:/opt/gnome/bin
        export PATH
      fi
      ;;
  esac
fi
if [ -x /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc ]; then
  exec /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc
fi
if [ -f /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc ]; then
  exec sh /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc
fi
[ -r $HOME/.Xresources ] && xrdb $HOME/.Xresources
gnome-session --session=cinnamon

My arch:1.log file from testing vncserver

Xvnc TigerVNC 1.4.0 - built Dec 15 2014 20:38:17
Copyright (C) 1999-2013 TigerVNC Team and many others (see README.txt)
See [url]http://www.tigervnc.org[/url] for information on TigerVNC.
Underlying X server release 11602901, The X.Org Foundation


Sun Jan 18 14:13:18 2015
 vncext:      VNC extension running!
 vncext:      Listening for VNC connections on all interface(s), port 5901
 vncext:      created VNC server for screen 0
/etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc: line 51: twm: command not found
/etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc: line 52: xclock: command not found

When I check the status of vncserver.service by running

 systemctl status -l vncserver.service

I get this output

vncserver.service - Remote desktop service (VNC)
   Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/vncserver.service; enabled; vendor preset: disabled)
   Active: failed (Result: exit-code) since Sun 2015-01-18 13:43:55 EST; 38min ago

Jan 18 13:43:55 arch vncserver[1699]: vncserver: The HOME environment variable is not set.
Jan 18 13:43:55 arch vncserver[1701]: vncserver: The HOME environment variable is not set.
Jan 18 13:43:55 arch systemd[1]: vncserver.service: control process exited, code=exited status=2
Jan 18 13:43:55 arch systemd[1]: Failed to start Remote desktop service (VNC).
Jan 18 13:43:55 arch systemd[1]: Unit vncserver.service entered failed state.
Jan 18 13:43:55 arch systemd[1]: vncserver.service failed.

When I run printenv it shows that my HOME variable is indeed set: HOME=/home/will

I've tried restarting vncserver.service with systemctl and I get the same error.
Per the vncserver wiki I created a vncserver@:1.service file in /etc/systemd/system and enabled it. It starts and runs without a problem.

I have tried using the nouveau video drivers instead of the nvidia driver that I'm currently using and that produced a similar result but with a white square at the upper left hand corner of the rdesktop window.

I'm new to arch-linux and linux in general. I've been using it for about a month now and I've been able to solve all of my problems through using this forum, reading wikis and the man pages of command line programs. This one has me completely stumped.
I have no reason to believe the problem is related to xrdp or to rdesktop because the only errors or decent information I have been able to find about what could be going wrong has been the vncserver.service error shown above.

Last edited by willtech3 (2015-01-25 17:51:13)

Knute · 2015-01-18 20:24:47

What happens if you try to log in to your running desktop from another computer?

willtech3 · 2015-01-18 20:39:54

I just tried it again but I get the same error. "Oh no Something has gone wrong. A problem has occurred and the system can't recover. All extensions have been disabled as a precaution." It also gives me a log out button." Then I get a windows dialog popup that says an internal error has occurred.

Knute · 2015-01-18 20:49:39

You tried it again from where? The local computer or another computer?

willtech3 · 2015-01-18 20:51:02

Another computer

Knute · 2015-01-18 20:56:20

Ok. So did you create your xstartup file?

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Vncserver

willtech3 · 2015-01-18 20:57:17

Yeah its in the OP.

willtech3 · 2015-01-25 03:50:15

I've gotten nowhere with this. I installed arch on a virtualbox VM and installed xrdp, tigervnc and rdesktop and everything works perfectly. On my local machine I switched from the nvidia proprietary drivers to the nouveau drivers and once I rdp into localhost (everything connects fine) and a white square shows up in the upper left hand corner of the screen where a terminal would show up but then it errors out before I ever get the terminal.

Knute · 2015-01-25 04:08:59

Have you considered that you are trying to use the same X-display as the one that you are currently logged into?

Virtualbox, from my understanding, sets up it's own X settings. I haven't used rdp, so I don't know if it does or not.

willtech3 · 2015-01-25 04:21:44

No I hadn't considered that. How can I tell?

Knute · 2015-01-25 04:48:35

if you look at the man page of xinit, it gives an example of starting Xvnc on an alternate display.

I haven't tried this command, but I think it should work.

startx -- :1

The colon one tells it to set up a different X display.
If you have a graphical login, then you may want rdp or whatever to use an alternate display, which may be able to be set in the config file with the colon one after the xinit is issued.

Does that make sense?

Last edited by Knute (2015-01-25 04:49:42)

willtech3 · 2015-01-25 17:51:47

Ok. I finally got this working. What I did was I created a file at /etc/systemd/system called vncserver@:4.service and set the user in the file to my username. Then I went into xrdp.ini which is located at /etc/xrdp and under [xrdp1], (which is for sesman-Xvnc ) I set the port value to 5904 which is the port that my vncserver@:4 service uses when its running.

Since xrdp uses tigervnc as its back end it was just a matter of pointing it to a running vncserver.

Don't I feel silly

Thanks Knute for your help. Your idea led me to the right answer.

Arch Linux

#1 2015-01-18 19:39:22

[SOLVED] black screen when connecting rdesktop to localhost

#2 2015-01-18 20:24:47

Re: [SOLVED] black screen when connecting rdesktop to localhost

#3 2015-01-18 20:39:54

Re: [SOLVED] black screen when connecting rdesktop to localhost

#4 2015-01-18 20:49:39

Re: [SOLVED] black screen when connecting rdesktop to localhost

#5 2015-01-18 20:51:02

Re: [SOLVED] black screen when connecting rdesktop to localhost

#6 2015-01-18 20:56:20

Re: [SOLVED] black screen when connecting rdesktop to localhost

#7 2015-01-18 20:57:17

Re: [SOLVED] black screen when connecting rdesktop to localhost

#8 2015-01-25 03:50:15

Re: [SOLVED] black screen when connecting rdesktop to localhost

#9 2015-01-25 04:08:59

Re: [SOLVED] black screen when connecting rdesktop to localhost

#10 2015-01-25 04:21:44

Re: [SOLVED] black screen when connecting rdesktop to localhost

#11 2015-01-25 04:48:35

Re: [SOLVED] black screen when connecting rdesktop to localhost

#12 2015-01-25 17:51:47

Re: [SOLVED] black screen when connecting rdesktop to localhost

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