Arch Linux

unfirth

Member

Registered: 2024-06-02

Posts: 2

[SOLVED] i3 appears to be installed, but does not start

Hello! Thank you for taking the time to read this message.

I am successfully able to install and run Arch using `archinstall` I then am able to install gnome, reboot, and enable `gdm.service` via systemctl.

After rebooting and logging into a gnome session, I use the terminal to install i3 via pacman. I use default options when installing.

However, after logging out, there is no option to log in again with an i3 session. I click on my profile and put in my password, click on the little gear icon on the lower right-hand side, but no option for i3 is available. Only an option for GNOME and GNOME Classic.

I then added `exec i3` to the xinitrc file. That did not work. Running `exec i3` manually in the terminal causes the terminal to crash, but I am able to catch the final output in a text file:

```ERROR: Another window manager is already running (WM_Sn is owned)```

Using `startx` returns: command not found

I can confirm that i3.desktop and i3-with-shmlog.desktop are both in the usr/share/xsessions

Using `pacman -Q` reveals that i3-wm is a current package on my install.

What did I do wrong here? Did I configure settings improperly using systemctl?

Thank you for the help.

Last edited by unfirth (2024-06-02 22:29:06)

Trilby

Inspector Parrot

Registered: 2011-11-29

Posts: 30,456

Website

Re: [SOLVED] i3 appears to be installed, but does not start

I'm not sure why GDM is not detecting the available sessions - I've never used a DM (I expect them to do nothing but break things).  But startx fails because xorg-xinit isn't installed, and running xinitrc from your DM requires xinit-xsession to be installed from the AUR.

Last edited by Trilby (2024-06-02 21:40:54)

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"UNIX is simple and coherent" - Dennis Ritchie; "GNU's Not Unix" - Richard Stallman

unfirth

Member

Registered: 2024-06-02

Posts: 2

Re: [SOLVED] i3 appears to be installed, but does not start

Thank you!

By manually installing xorg-utils, xorg-server and xterm, I am able to initiate an i3 session when logging in as a user.

This has certainly been an exciting first lesson in Arch! Looking forward to learning more.

Thank you again!