I was trying to remove exim4, following a procedure I found,

(something like this)

sudo updatedb
sudo aptitude install postfix
sudo aptitude remove exim4
sudo aptitude purge exim4
sudo updatedb
locate exim4 | grep conf
(use output to locate and remove all exim config and related files)
sudo updatedb
locate exim4
(remove remaining exim files and directories)
sudo updatedb
(and then from here install the mta I want to use (qmail) )

along the way I managed to break something, I have no idea what or where,
but now when I boot linux It goes normally untill the point where it would
start services and crank up the gui.

Here instead of normal, it drops to a (text)login prompt. If I hit enter i
get a message about the boot not being complete though it never does. I
can login as user or root here, but I'm entirely too new to this to know
how to fix it. If this were windows I'd have to junk the thing, format and
re-install. I presume that linux is sufficiently more robust and can be
fixed short of the re-install.

The question is, How?

Ed wrote:


> Here instead of normal, it drops to a (text)login prompt. If I hit enter
> i
> get a message about the boot not being complete though it never does. I
> can login as user or root here, but I'm entirely too new to this to know
> how to fix it. If this were windows I'd have to junk the thing, format
> and
> re-install. I presume that linux is sufficiently more robust and can be
> fixed short of the re-install.
>
> The question is, How?

Login as root at the command prompt. Issue "startx". Let it crash (I am
assuming it will, from what you describe). Then open /var/log/XFree86.log
(or Xorg.log), whichever has a later modification date, and scroll to the
end. Look for something that looks like an error message. Post it here.

Madhusudan Singh <spammers-go-here@spam.invalid> wrote in
news:435af413$0$41146$14726298@news.sunsite.dk:

> Login as root at the command prompt. Issue "startx". Let it crash (I
> am assuming it will, from what you describe). Then open
> /var/log/XFree86.log (or Xorg.log), whichever has a later modification
> date, and scroll to the end. Look for something that looks like an
> error message. Post it here.

ok.. did what you suggested. Startx command gets "command not found"
message.

looked in /var/log and found both XFree86.0.log and XFree86.0.log.old

The only errors had something to do with the mouse. Here's the last part of
XFree86.0.log...

*** Begin log quote ***
(II) Keyboard "Generic Keyboard" handled by legacy driver
(**) Option "Protocol" "PS/2"
(**) Configured Mouse: Protocol: "PS/2"
(**) Option "CorePointer"
(**) Configured Mouse: Core Pointer
(**) Option "Device" "/dev/psaux"
(**) Option "Emulate3Buttons" "true"
(**) Configured Mouse: Emulate3Buttons, Emulate3Timeout: 50
(**) Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
(**) Configured Mouse: ZAxisMapping: buttons 4 and 5
(**) Configured Mouse: Buttons: 5
(**) Option "Protocol" "ImPS/2"
(**) Generic Mouse: Protocol: "ImPS/2"
(**) Option "SendCoreEvents" "true"
(**) Generic Mouse: always reports core events
(**) Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
(EE) xf86OpenSerial: Cannot open device /dev/input/mice
No such device.
(EE) Generic Mouse: cannot open input device
(EE) PreInit failed for input device "Generic Mouse"
(II) UnloadModule: "mouse"
(II) XINPUT: Adding extended input device "Configured Mouse" (type: MOUSE)
(II) Configured Mouse: ps2EnableDataReporting: succeeded
Warning: font renderer for ".pcf" already registered at priority 0
Warning: font renderer for ".pcf.Z" already registered at priority 0
Warning: font renderer for ".pcf.gz" already registered at priority 0
Warning: font renderer for ".snf" already registered at priority 0
Warning: font renderer for ".snf.Z" already registered at priority 0
Warning: font renderer for ".snf.gz" already registered at priority 0
Warning: font renderer for ".bdf" already registered at priority 0
Warning: font renderer for ".bdf.Z" already registered at priority 0
Warning: font renderer for ".bdf.gz" already registered at priority 0
Warning: font renderer for ".pmf" already registered at priority 0
Could not init font path element unix/:7100, removing from list!
SetClientVersion: 0 9
(II) Open APM successful
(II) Loading sub module "int10"
(II) LoadModule: "int10"
(II) Reloading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/linux/libint10.a
(II) VESA(0): initializing int10
(II) VESA(0): Primary V_BIOS segment is: 0xc000
(II) VESA(0): VESA BIOS detected
(II) VESA(0): VESA VBE Version 1.2
(II) VESA(0): VESA VBE Total Mem: 4096 kB
(II) VESA(0): VESA VBE OEM: S3 Incorporated. 86C325
(II) VESA(0): virtual address = 0x40329000,
physical address = 0xa0000, size = 65536
(==) VESA(0): Default visual is TrueColor
(**) VESA(0): DPMS enabled
(==) RandR enabled
(II) Configured Mouse: ps2EnableDataReporting: succeeded
Could not init font path element unix/:7100, removing from list!

***End log quote***

looking around more, I found that /etc/init.d/gdm successfully started the
gui, but just below the password box the same text was there warning about
the boot being incomplete.

Forgot to mention...

When I shutdown from that session, there wasn't near the usual amount of
text scrolling...

INIT reported sending all processes the TERM signal, and then the KILL
signal. The last message is:

INIT: No more processes left in this runlevel.

At this point the system hangs untill I power it off.