So I have a new installation of fedora, which I reinstalled because gdm would freeze and prevent me from logging in and using my computer. I then noticed the same problem on the new installation. I noticed that using an older kernel worked, but system upgrades will break gdm again. I don’t want to have to never update my system. New distro? Suggestions to fix this? I ideally want an relatively bleeding edge distro.
Find what the issue is, really. Hopping distros will not solve it. Maybe update the system package by package to filter out which one fucks it up.
It’s probably the kernel. like I said, it works with kernel 6.5.6 but not anything newer
If it was the kernel, everyone would have this complaint. It’s a combination of the kernel and packages.
Hopping distros will not solve it
It most certainly can, especially when it’s Fedora. It can crap out a lot if you’re unlucky.
On Linux, everything is fixable .-.
Sure, but why would you? I most certainly won’t spend days/weeks trying to fix an issue when I can install different package and be rid of it in a minute. If replacing gdm doesn’t work, buhbye Fedora.
Depends on the issue, but many issues come from misconfiguration - fixing the issue can help you understand your system, what went wrong and why, and not only fix that issue ans help you fix further issues, but also reveal things you didn’t know about the software. I find it valuable to know how things work, so I can understand what I’m using, what I need, and what I can do with it.
As an example, messing around with pulseaudio and pipewire I understood a bit more about how it works. I found out I could enable the built-in echo cancel module and get rid of virtually all of my echo when using speakers and microphone. I then later also knew how to configure multiple virtual streams, so I can separate games and voice chat from my browser, so when I record clips when playing with friends, I can have those separate. And then also configured RNNoise for systemwide noise suppression for that bit more audio clarity.
I could find instructions on how to do each of those without understanding them, but when I wanted to ensure noise suppression happens after echo cancellation, I knew what to mess with to set that up.
I understand it’s not for everybody, it’s not feasible for most people - but I see the system as a complex machine you need to operate, and while having simple controls is a good idea, understanding how the machine is built can help not just with complete breakages, but also with avoiding smaller inconveniences that come from using it in unintended ways
While I agree it can be useful, your example is in a completely different category than what we’re talking about. You wanted to have additional features most users don’t even know about, OP wants his DM to let him log in.
A far closer example is what I experienced literally yesterday when I reinstalled MX with xfce instead of KDE, and lightdm instead of sddm. After that, nix packages stopped showing up in the launcher, and lightdm couldn’t find the i3 bin. I found a few solutions, but they’re all pretty janky, so I just installed sddm instead and called it a day.
It’s simply not worth it to find workarounds for a program that doesn’t follow the conventions others do, especially when they provide the same basic functionality.
Also, knowing how to replace tools is a pretty useful skill for any Linux user.
Applications disappearing from the launcher because you changed the greeter sounds very weird… And that’s kinda what I mean. You had to give up on using this software, and instead go for an alternative, because of an issue that shouldn’t even be related.
Granted, a lot of people are probably fine with it, and it sounds like an annoying issue to debug… But it still rubs me the wrong way.
You do raise a good point about replacing software - even just in my example I neglected to mention myself switching to pipewire a couple times and figuring out how they work. Interoperability between software is valuable and knowing you can always switch out one part of your system for an alternative is indeed a useful skill - I sometimes see people complaining about things like Linux’s clipboard, or archive manager, being bad, something like that, without realizing that’s just one option you can use.
Applications disappearing from the launcher because you changed the greeter sounds very weird…
It overwrites PATH and XDG_DATA_DIRS when starting the DE, and doesn’t source them from the standard places like .profile
You had to give up on using this software, and instead go for an alternative, because of an issue that shouldn’t even be related.
I didn’t have to replace it, I could’ve for example modified its config or made a launch script that sets the envars correctly. I replaced it because I think it’s the best solution, no need to deal with software that doesn’t follow conventions when the only benefit is a prettier theme.
it sounds like an annoying issue to debug
It’s not that bad if you know what could be causing it, and when I opened .xsession-errors everything was crystal clear.
I sometimes see people complaining about things like Linux’s clipboard, or archive manager, being bad, something like that, without realizing that’s just one option you can use.
I tried to explain that to win/mac users many times. It’s weird to initially understand that everything is replaceable, and then you get overwhelmed with options.
Ouch. I’ve been running the same distro for 3 years… Had some issues after kernel updates, but with the help of my friend I got it all fixed up again.
I ran Arch for 3+ years, and finally got tired of fixing it. Fedora gave me nothing but troubles, but is working perfectly fine as a friend’s first distro. Now I’m on MX + nix, and I doubt I’ll move any time soon.
Well that’s good right? Finding the thing you like most and stick with it. Kinda like finding your lover haha
It’s more like I found a young mistress and it fixed my marriage (not a good metaphor but I’m going with). Running a stable distro is a completely different experience today than it was 5 years ago, and it’s all thanks to tools like nix and flatpak.
Have you tried replacing gdm? That’s what I’d start with.
Some ideas:
Are you using proprietary nvidia drivers? Display issues after switching kernels could be driver related. If so, switch to nouveau and see what happens.
See if the issues persists with another display manager, such as sddm.
Nope, just amd mesa drivers
we would need more info. There are so many possible factors
Most package managers allow you to fix a package so it doesn’t get updated. You could do that while you research what is causing the issue.
It’s unlikely (though not impossible) that it’s fedora specific. If you’re looking to try something new anyway, Rhino Linux has an interesting live USB image.
Exit to TTY (ctrl+alt+F2) and do the typical things, dmesg etc.
Also without any hardware info we cant help
I switched from Ubuntu and Mint to Fedora and must say while neither of the debian distros ever crashed. Fedora crashed, had to reinstall because i couldn’t get in anymore etc. If you want stability then my advice is Ubuntu or Mint. But could be just me. I use all of them ☺️
I’ve been using Ubuntu for a while, I just can’t go back after using a dnf based distro for a week
Opensuse Tumbleweed is what you should try and see if you have the same issue.
If not, stick with that. It’s a rolling release but typically very reliable.
And it’s not a corporation like Fedora/IBM Red Hat
Does another display manager get the same issue? Can you login through the tty?
I have to agree with the commenter suggesting a different display manager. SDDM or LightDM.
Otherwise, I’d try a few LiveUSBs and see which distro doesn’t bork on you. If you want to stick to Fedora, I’d suggest Nobara
This may just as well be a kernel or mesa or whatever bug, switching random components without any info doesnt make sense.
