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#1 2020-03-19 07:46:00

Skaper
Member
Registered: 2020-03-02
Posts: 20

[SOLVED] SDDM won't start after kernel update.

Hi,

This morning I ran pacman -Syu and got multiple package updates mostly related to KDE. After I finished updating I decided to restart the system and I ran into the "Starting version 245-3-arch" screen. Multiple restarts didn't help me past that screen.

I can use the other virtual consoles using ctrl+alt+F2-6 keys. I logged in into tty2 and saw that the SDDM service is enabled and running.

Here's what I did trying to resolve the issue;

I disabled the SDDM service and installed gdm and lightdm. Both worked fine and I got into the Plasma desktop but the resolution was too low. The graphical performance was bad and I couldn't change the resolution in the settings menu. Stuck at a very low resolution.

I reinstalled SDDM hoping that might fix any issues but to no avail. I get stuck at the same black screen on tty1.

I read the Downgrade packages wiki page and it's fairly straightforward but the issue is I do not know specifically what packages were installed during the system update.

Can someone tell me how I can figure out the packages I updated this morning so I can revert back to the cached version in /var/cache/pacman/pkg/ folder?

I'm a newbie so if there's something I missed that might help you determine the problem, do ask me to post it here.

Thanks!

Last edited by Skaper (2020-03-19 14:47:20)


I like to do things a certain way, even if there's a simpler solution available. (No one will hire me, I know.)

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#2 2020-03-19 08:23:35

NSW
Member
Registered: 2020-03-18
Posts: 5

Re: [SOLVED] SDDM won't start after kernel update.

You may want to have a look at the Arch Linux Archive. You can rollback the whole system to a specified date. Probably safer and easier to do then having mixed packages.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Arch_Linux_Archive
Scroll down to "3.2    How to restore all packages to a specific date"

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#3 2020-03-19 08:39:35

V1del
Forum Moderator
Registered: 2012-10-16
Posts: 21,420

Re: [SOLVED] SDDM won't start after kernel update.

You should identify the reason for your graphics issue instead of downgrading, what's your graphics adapter, which driver is installed? If nvidia-390xx those have moved to AUR and you need to rebuild it for kernel updates, see: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=253628

If that is insufficient you should post a journal log and a dmesg from the "failing" system.

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#4 2020-03-19 09:03:23

Skaper
Member
Registered: 2020-03-02
Posts: 20

Re: [SOLVED] SDDM won't start after kernel update.

NSW wrote:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Arch_Linux_Archive
Scroll down to "3.2    How to restore all packages to a specific date"

I rolled back 2-3 days and none of those helped. I still have the same issue.

Is it possible that the SDDM settings is causing this. I read somewhere that when you uninstall a program it's configuration files still remain. If so which files should I delete/alter?


I like to do things a certain way, even if there's a simpler solution available. (No one will hire me, I know.)

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#5 2020-03-19 09:09:03

Skaper
Member
Registered: 2020-03-02
Posts: 20

Re: [SOLVED] SDDM won't start after kernel update.

V1del wrote:

You should identify the reason for your graphics issue instead of downgrading, what's your graphics adapter, which driver is installed? If nvidia-390xx those have moved to AUR and you need to rebuild it for kernel updates, see: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=253628

If that is insufficient you should post a journal log and a dmesg from the "failing" system.

I do have the old drivers. I installed arch just around 5 days ago (no other OS). Used YAY to install the legacy drivers. Prior to this morning's update everything worked fine. No frame drops or resolution issues. I'll try rebuilding the drivers and if that doesn't work I'll post the logs.


I like to do things a certain way, even if there's a simpler solution available. (No one will hire me, I know.)

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#6 2020-03-19 10:37:46

Skaper
Member
Registered: 2020-03-02
Posts: 20

Re: [SOLVED] SDDM won't start after kernel update.

V1del wrote:

You should identify the reason for your graphics issue instead of downgrading, what's your graphics adapter, which driver is installed? If nvidia-390xx those have moved to AUR and you need to rebuild it for kernel updates, see: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=253628

Turns out I did receive a kernel update this morning. I rebuilt the nvidia-390xx, nvidia-390xx-utils and lib32-nvidia-390xx-utils packages and it fixed it. Not sure if the last 2 were necessary. Thank you for your help!


I like to do things a certain way, even if there's a simpler solution available. (No one will hire me, I know.)

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#7 2020-03-19 10:55:13

Skaper
Member
Registered: 2020-03-02
Posts: 20

Re: [SOLVED] SDDM won't start after kernel update.

For those having a similar issue on systems running old Nvidia cards and are new to all of this just like me, here's how to fix it;

According to this (courtesy of V1del) post, you have to rebuild your drivers each time the kernel is updated.
I checked the packages I had updated today like so, and found that linux was updated. So I tried to boot by removing the nvidia-390xx and accompanying packages and it worked.
Now to rebuild you have to select the packages to rebuild when you get the prompt while using YAY to rebuild the drivers. I made the mistake of just hitting enter and it build using the old build file and I couldn't boot again. So make sure to rebuild and you'll be fine.


I like to do things a certain way, even if there's a simpler solution available. (No one will hire me, I know.)

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#8 2020-03-19 11:05:19

V1del
Forum Moderator
Registered: 2012-10-16
Posts: 21,420

Re: [SOLVED] SDDM won't start after kernel update.

Glad to hear, in general please edit your posts to append information if no one has posted in between rather than bumping.

As mentioned in my other post, if you don't want to manually remember to do this you could also opt for nvidia-390xx-dkms as that will set up hooks to automatically build the kernel module whenever there's a kernel update. No the -utils packages are user space integration, those only need a rebuild/reinstallation when there's an actual nvidia driver update that changes it's version. to keep kernel compatibility rebuilding nvidia-390xx (or using the -dkms variant) is sufficient.

If this is [SOLVED] for you, please mark it as such by editing the title in your first post: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Co … ow_to_post

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