Linux Mint 13 "Maya" RC released!

[kmb42vt]

Has anyone seen a problem with the login screen appearing for a second and then going to a blank screen during a normal boot/reboot? I'm getting this on a random but frequent basis. I end up having to Ctrl+Alt+F1 to a prompt, login and then running...

Code: Select all

sudo service mdm restart

...in order to get back to the login screen. In short, MDM keeps crashing on me during a boot or reboot and I have to restart it. I haven't found anything in the logs yet but I'm still looking. Here's my system specs:

Intel Core2 Quad, 8.0 GB DDR2, 1.0 TB HDD, Nvidia GT 430 w/1.0 GB DDR3 (running Nvida 295 driver)

Never had a problem with LightDM or GDM in the past. Not sure if this is a kernel problem or just a matter of timing.

After further research it appears to be a problem with the current Nvidia driver (295.40) which apparently has more bugs than usual which have been causing power and performance regressions for many users and this is the driver version that the "Additional Drivers" app installs by default (the "Recommended" driver).

Without getting into too much detail, the solution that worked for me is to install the "(post-release updates) (version current-updates)" driver instead (295.49). So far, this has solved the problem with MDM disappearing on boot/reboot and dropped my overall memory usage by approximately 50 MB.

Update: After a couple of reboots, the problem with MDM and the available Nvidia drivers has returned and it appears I'm not the only one with MDM having a conflict with these drivers. I still don't know whether this is a problem with MDM, the kernel or the Nvidia drivers.

[drjster]

@kmb42vt

Yes. I've experienced the exact issue you have - "the login screen appearing for a second and then going to a blank screen during a normal boot/reboot".

My system is very similar to yours by the way:
Intel Core 2 Quad, 8.0 GB DDR2, 500 GB HDD, 320 GB HDD, Nvidia GT 210 w/1.0 GB DDR3 (running Nvida 295 driver)

I found out a few things. Updating to the post release Nvidia drivers did not resolve the issue for me. Changing the login manager from MDM to LightDM did fix the issue but it displays an Ubuntu branded login screen. The issue did not happen for me if I installed all updates and kernel upgrades before installing the Nvidia drivers. However, after doing a second recommended kernel upgrade yesterday with the Nvidia drivers already installed, the 1 second MDM login issue reared its ugly head. I tried the GDM login manager and that works but the default "theme" is an ugly bright blue and I didn't research how to change it.

Also, the recommended Nvidia proprietary drivers work fine in Xbuntu 12.04 (which is a beautiful and very fast running release) and Lubuntu 12.04 even after 2 kernel upgrades. Both use the LightDM login manager to the best of my knowledge. My guess is that there is an issue with the MDM login manager and the Nvidia drivers that crops up after the kernel is updated. I have no idea if it's related to any specific kernels or not.

You can use the Nouveau drivers or change login managers to work around this issue, or try the post release driver which as I said didn't work for me. Or you can use a previous Mint version or another distro. I would stay away from any distro that uses MDM if you plan on installing the current Nvidia drivers and upgrading your kernel. I'm curious to find out what will happen in my LMDE 201204 xfce (uses MDM 1.0) when a kernel upgrade hits and I update Nvidia to the latest which I'm not inclined to do. If you find out any more pertinent info regarding this issue, please share As always, YMMV.

[kmb42vt]

@kmb42vt

Yes. I've experienced the exact issue you have - "the login screen appearing for a second and then going to a blank screen during a normal boot/reboot".

My system is very similar to yours by the way:
Intel Core 2 Quad, 8.0 GB DDR2, 500 GB HDD, 320 GB HDD, Nvidia GT 210 w/1.0 GB DDR3 (running Nvida 295 driver)

I found out a few things. Updating to the post release Nvidia drivers did not resolve the issue for me. Changing the login manager from MDM to LightDM did fix the issue but it displays an Ubuntu branded login screen. The issue did not happen for me if I installed all updates and kernel upgrades before installing the Nvidia drivers. However, after doing a second recommended kernel upgrade yesterday with the Nvidia drivers already installed, the 1 second MDM login issue reared its ugly head. I tried the GDM login manager and that works but the default "theme" is an ugly bright blue and I didn't research how to change it.

Also, the recommended Nvidia proprietary drivers work fine in Xbuntu 12.04 (which is a beautiful and very fast running release) and Lubuntu 12.04 even after 2 kernel upgrades. Both use the LightDM login manager to the best of my knowledge. My guess is that there is an issue with the MDM login manager and the Nvidia drivers that crops up after the kernel is updated. I have no idea if it's related to any specific kernels or not.

You can use the Nouveau drivers or change login managers to work around this issue, or try the post release driver which as I said didn't work for me. Or you can use a previous Mint version or another distro. I would stay away from any distro that uses MDM if you plan on installing the current Nvidia drivers and upgrading your kernel. I'm curious to find out what will happen in my LMDE 201204 xfce (uses MDM 1.0) when a kernel upgrade hits and I update Nvidia to the latest which I'm not inclined to do. If you find out any more pertinent info regarding this issue, please share As always, YMMV.

The problem came back for me as well after a couple of reboots. I'll try un-installing the Nvidia driver and doing a kernel upgrade and see what happens. Thanks for the reply

[kmb42vt]

In reference to the MDM conflict with the proprietary Nvida driver(s), I found that removing the driver, upgrading to the latest kernel listed in Synaptic (3.2.0-24) and then reinstalling the "post-release" Nvida driver (not the recommended one) appears to have solved the problem. Two days of boots/reboots and MDM stays put--no crash and having to restart. Good deal.

Now, if I can only get LM 13/Cinnamon to remember my sound device upon reboot, I'll be a happy camper. I have both HDMI audio and internal audio hardware and unlike LM12, LM 13 (both MATE and Cinnamon) always defaults to the HDMI audio instead of the internal audio hardware upon boot/reboot even though I set sound hardware to internal audio. Anyone else seeing this type of problem?

[drjster]

In reference to the MDM conflict with the proprietary Nvida driver(s), I found that removing the driver, upgrading to the latest kernel listed in Synaptic (3.2.0-24) and then reinstalling the "post-release" Nvida driver (not the recommended one) appears to have solved the problem. Two days of boots/reboots and MDM stays put--no crash and having to restart. Good deal.

Now, if I can only get LM 13/Cinnamon to remember my sound device upon reboot, I'll be a happy camper. I have both HDMI audio and internal audio hardware and unlike LM12, LM 13 (both MATE and Cinnamon) always defaults to the HDMI audio instead of the internal audio hardware upon boot/reboot even though I set sound hardware to internal audio. Anyone else seeing this type of problem?

Thanks for verifying the conflict between MDM, the Nvidia driver(s) and upgrading the kernel. Just remember to uninstall your Nvidia driver before you do another kernel upgrade (if you do one). I may even reinstall Maya now

Regarding your audio issue, I believe that sound defaulted to HDMI when I first installed LM 13. If I recall correctly, I went into the sound manager to choose which volume levels to display, checked Master, then selected "internal" audio and verified that sound was working. Upon reboot, the "internal" setting stuck.

[kmb42vt]

In reference to the MDM conflict with the proprietary Nvida driver(s), I found that removing the driver, upgrading to the latest kernel listed in Synaptic (3.2.0-24) and then reinstalling the "post-release" Nvida driver (not the recommended one) appears to have solved the problem. Two days of boots/reboots and MDM stays put--no crash and having to restart. Good deal.

Now, if I can only get LM 13/Cinnamon to remember my sound device upon reboot, I'll be a happy camper. I have both HDMI audio and internal audio hardware and unlike LM12, LM 13 (both MATE and Cinnamon) always defaults to the HDMI audio instead of the internal audio hardware upon boot/reboot even though I set sound hardware to internal audio. Anyone else seeing this type of problem?

Thanks for verifying the conflict between MDM, the Nvidia driver(s) and upgrading the kernel. Just remember to uninstall your Nvidia driver before you do another kernel upgrade (if you do one). I may even reinstall Maya now

Regarding your audio issue, I believe that sound defaulted to HDMI when I first installed LM 13. If I recall correctly, I went into the sound manager to choose which volume levels to display, checked Master, then selected "internal" audio and verified that sound was working. Upon reboot, the "internal" setting stuck.

On the audio: I recognize the sound manager you're referring to but i believe that's the old Alsa sound manager that lets you check the master channel and which volume controls to show. However, you triggered something in my wee little pea sized brain and I went into LM 13/Cinnamon "Sound Settings" app and under the "Hardware" tab I selected the HDMI audio entry and under the "Settings for device" drop down menu I was able to chose "Off". That took care of the problem. Not exactly the most intuitive way of doing this kind of thing but that's more a Gnome 3 problem than a Mint problem. But it's fixed!

[momist]

Well, I've finally got a fully functional sytem with Maya Cinnamon. I took a few wrong turnings
Having tried out a few *buntu variations after a disagreeable experience with Ubuntu12.04 and that funny Unity stuff, I had always (ALWAYS) to install hplip in order to get my wireless printer to connect, so I tried to do that with Mint. Daft me, I'd never thought to look and see if it would "just work". The result was a mess, and I ended up doing a complete format and re-install just to clear it all up. That's when I noticed that hplip version 3.12.2 comes with the package! I had been trying to load 3.12.4, but the hplip site gives manual install directions that tried to put me back to Mint 11 or something.

Just one "paper cut" I've noticed so far. The Software Manager correctly asks for the password before it will change anything, but if you are installing ten things at once (from a list) it gets a bit wearing to continually have to type in the password, especially if it is a good secure one! It would be nice if, like sudo in the terminal, the password stuck for a few minutes and let you do several things after one entry.

No matter. Everything "just works" as the *buntu distros try to live up to, without such success being normal. I'm loving it. Everything is so easy!

Now I've said that, I'll no doubt find something to complain about in the future, but this has been the best experience of a new system I've ever had.

Ian

[drjster]

In reference to the MDM conflict with the proprietary Nvida driver(s), I found that removing the driver, upgrading to the latest kernel listed in Synaptic (3.2.0-24) and then reinstalling the "post-release" Nvida driver (not the recommended one) appears to have solved the problem. Two days of boots/reboots and MDM stays put--no crash and having to restart. Good deal.

Now, if I can only get LM 13/Cinnamon to remember my sound device upon reboot, I'll be a happy camper. I have both HDMI audio and internal audio hardware and unlike LM12, LM 13 (both MATE and Cinnamon) always defaults to the HDMI audio instead of the internal audio hardware upon boot/reboot even though I set sound hardware to internal audio. Anyone else seeing this type of problem?

My disappearing MDM disappearing login issue resurfaced even though I didn't upgrade the kernel or do any updates. I replaced the MDM login manager with LightDM and the default Mint background now shows at login without any Ubuntu remnants. Specifically, I installed lightDM, lightDM-gtk-greeter and liblightdm-gobject-1-0 and when prompted chose lightDM as my default login manager. It appears to work just fine.

[kmb42vt]

My disappearing MDM disappearing login issue resurfaced even though I didn't upgrade the kernel or do any updates. I replaced the MDM login manager with LightDM and the default Mint background now shows at login without any Ubuntu remnants. Specifically, I installed lightDM, lightDM-gtk-greeter and liblightdm-gobject-1-0 and when prompted chose lightDM as my default login manager. It appears to work just fine.

I may just do the same thing. One question; did you remove MDM afterwards of did you keep it installed?

[drjster]

My disappearing MDM disappearing login issue resurfaced even though I didn't upgrade the kernel or do any updates. I replaced the MDM login manager with LightDM and the default Mint background now shows at login without any Ubuntu remnants. Specifically, I installed lightDM, lightDM-gtk-greeter and liblightdm-gobject-1-0 and when prompted chose lightDM as my default login manager. It appears to work just fine.

I may just do the same thing. One question; did you remove MDM afterwards of did you keep it installed?

I first attempted to install GDM and it couldn't complete because of a mutually shared file with MDM. So I uninstalled MDM and GDM successfully installed. I tried out GDM but could not get a Mint theme to work. So I installed LightDM and chose that as my default login manager leaving GDM installed but not being used unless I had trouble with LightDM,
which I initially did. I logged in with GDM for the one time via command line and realized that the lightDM-gtk-greeter had to be installed which I did. Upon restart, the LightDM login screen was displayed with the Mint Maya default background and login worked fine and each time after that. So the short answer to your question is that I was sure to leave a proven login manager installed until I knew that LightDM worked....IMO, leaving MDM installed would be a good idea until you get LightDM working. I don't think it can cause any issues if it's not the default and you can always uninstall it later as I might do with GDM....though it really isn't necessary afaik. Good luck and don't hesitate to post if you have any issues.

Note: I am running Maya Mate and haven't tried the above with Cinnamon. There is what appears to be a good, brief tutorial for a Cinnamon install of LightDM here:
http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=208&t=102716

[psyckers]

I had similer experiences with the MDM disappearing. Strangely I suppose it seems it resolves itself if you push the tab button on the keyboard.
Not sure why that is as I was quite prepared to tweek the lightDM-gtk-greeter as you decided to do, to resolve it.

So there you go, sometimes the humble 'Tab' button has uses to resolve such issues.

[kmb42vt]

I had similer experiences with the MDM disappearing. Strangely I suppose it seems it resolves itself if you push the tab button on the keyboard.
Not sure why that is as I was quite prepared to tweek the lightDM-gtk-greeter as you decided to do, to resolve it.

So there you go, sometimes the humble 'Tab' button has uses to resolve such issues.

Stupid question here. When exactly do you hit the tab key? After MDM disappears of during boot up?

[Jay514]

I am in the process of Downloading Cinn x64 Now too test on my old Lappy, Thanks All

[kmb42vt]

On the disappearing MDM issue, I finally installed GDM and called it done. Installing LightDM worked once and then I got this jumbled mess of a login screen. The login box was there and worked correctly but was un-themed and the background was a mess of what looked like every single icon installed, bits of what looked like open windows (Open windows? At a login screen?). GDM works fine. The login box is themed properly and the background screen is blank. Works for me. I just wish someone would fix MDM, I can't seem to.

I filed bug reports at Launchpad and Github (in the MDM section). If someone could add they're two cents about this MDM problem, here's the link to the Github bug report I filed:

https://github.com/linuxmint/mdm/issues/3

[psyckers]

I had similer experiences with the MDM disappearing. Strangely I suppose it seems it resolves itself if you push the tab button on the keyboard.
Not sure why that is as I was quite prepared to tweek the lightDM-gtk-greeter as you decided to do, to resolve it.

So there you go, sometimes the humble 'Tab' button has uses to resolve such issues.

Stupid question here. When exactly do you hit the tab key? After MDM disappears of during boot up?

Nothing stupid about that question kmb42vt, I pushed the 'Tab' button when the MDM disappeared and about 2 seconds later it reappeared.
It must be a crack in the universe or something because I am sure my machine doesn't actively debug these things on the fly.

[BVanheede]

Is it possible to upgrade an existing Mint 12 desktop to 13? Or only clean install possible?

[bimsebasse]

You can always upgrade and it is always not recommended

[AlbertP]

Is it possible to upgrade an existing Mint 12 desktop to 13? Or only clean install possible?

Please take a look here: http://community.linuxmint.com/tutorial/view/2