Arch Linux

timde9

Member

Registered: 2013-08-05

Posts: 15

[Solved] Cannot get any display manager to start at boot with systemd

I have been trying to figure this out for a little while now.  At first I thought it was perhaps an issue with GDM so I switched and am now trying LightDM.  Both DM's work just fine by invoking "systemctl start ..." but when enabled they do not start at boot and I am taken to a kernel command login as if there was no dm enabled at all.  I know LightDM is properly enabled because "systemctl status ..." tells me it is loaded but it also says that it is dead and inactive.

Here is the output of "journal ctl -e -u lightdm.service" right after a boot:

-- Logs begin at Wed 2016-06-08 23:49:23 MDT, end at Thu 2016-06-09 15:16:46 MDT. --
Jun 09 14:40:37 WhiteJarl systemd[1]: Starting Light Display Manager...
Jun 09 14:40:37 WhiteJarl systemd[1]: Started Light Display Manager.
Jun 09 14:40:38 WhiteJarl lightdm[1894]: pam_unix(lightdm-greeter:session): session opened for user lightdm by (uid=0)
Jun 09 14:44:45 WhiteJarl lightdm[2717]: pam_unix(lightdm:session): session opened for user eco by (uid=0)
Jun 09 14:44:46 WhiteJarl lightdm[1825]: ** (lightdm:1825): WARNING **: Error using VT_WAITACTIVE 8 on /dev/tty0: Interrupted system call
Jun 09 14:44:46 WhiteJarl lightdm[1825]: ** (lightdm:1825): CRITICAL **: session_get_login1_session_id: assertion 'session != NULL' failed
Jun 09 14:44:47 WhiteJarl lightdm[1825]: ** (lightdm:1825): CRITICAL **: session_get_login1_session_id: assertion 'session != NULL' failed
Jun 09 14:44:47 WhiteJarl lightdm[2898]: pam_unix(lightdm-greeter:session): session opened for user lightdm by (uid=0)
Jun 09 14:45:05 WhiteJarl lightdm[2988]: pam_unix(lightdm:session): session opened for user eco by (uid=0)
Jun 09 15:01:08 WhiteJarl systemd[1]: Stopping Light Display Manager...
Jun 09 15:01:08 WhiteJarl lightdm[1825]: ** (lightdm:1825): CRITICAL **: session_get_login1_session_id: assertion 'session != NULL' failed
Jun 09 15:01:08 WhiteJarl systemd[1]: Stopped Light Display Manager.

edit:
sorry but I was able to find the answer shortly after my posting this.  Somehow or another my default.target got corrupted. I fixed it with this command:

$ systemctl set-default graphical.target

Last edited by timde9 (2016-06-09 22:10:09)

ewaller

Administrator

From: Pasadena, CA

Registered: 2009-07-13

Posts: 19,774

Re: [Solved] Cannot get any display manager to start at boot with systemd

I don't know about corrupted, but it was probably set to muli-user target.  That is specifically intended to put your machine in that state without starting the DE -- just in case you ever should need that in the future.
Be sure to edit your first post and change the the thread title by prepending [SOLVED]

Thanks

Last edited by ewaller (2017-02-15 15:14:10)

---

Nothing is too wonderful to be true, if it be consistent with the laws of nature -- Michael Faraday
Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine. -- Alan Turing
---
How to Ask Questions the Smart Way