[SOLVED] Could not update ICEauthority

[Scope]

I had a problem that is apparently not rare for Mint users, and can arise due to installing software, or, as in my case, an administrator error. Symptoms are warnings including Could not update ICEauthority on starting the system and logging in, and lots of things in the desktop don't work. Or, as in my case, nothing works. Most of the posts I read did not include any solutions that worked, so I am posting what worked for me.

Solution: Restart the computer. At the login prompt, select user <other>. Type in 'root' as username. Enter the password for any administrator account. If you only have one account use your password. Once the desktop appears goto the menu and start Terminal. In the terminal enter:

computername ~ # chown -R yourusername /home/yourusername
computername ~ # exit

logout and try logging in as yourself.

NOTE: The chown command gives your user the proper permissions to access all of the files in your home directory, including all of the settings files that govern how your desktop looks. If a program installer writes to those files and fails to reset the permissions, then they can't be accessed the next time you log in.

(There is apparently no easy way to boot into console mode in newer linux distros. You may be able to use <ctrl><alt><F1> to switch out of the Gnome desktop and into a terminal session, or you may not. If you can, you can switch user to root and fix the problem there.)

hope this helps.

[egregious]

I'm posting this comment for users that land here as I did: after creating a new user with an encrypted home directory--
ICEAuthority can not be updated because your home directory is NOT writable! To fix:

Code: Select all

sudo chmod 700 /home/username

...where username is your new username. Fixed for me!

[catalin33]

Hello.I also had this problem with the "Could not update ICEauthority file.....".I had the home folder encrypted when i installed the OS.By the way, i have Mint 13 Cinnamon.It began after i enabled the checkbox for "Enable Automatic Login" from Security tab in the "Login Window Preferences", because it's annoying to enter the password everytime i start the PC.To go there you have to enter in the Menu>Administration>Login Window, select Security tab and uncheck the Enable Automatic Login.Also before you unchecked the box make sure that the User field below is blank.Restart PC and that's it.It worked for me and i hope for anyone else with this problem.