Solved After apt upgrade black screen and blinking mouse pointer

[cyberduck]

After an apt upgrade, I'm struggling with a black display on my MacBook Pro. After a lot of back and forth, I was able to open a console and found the following error message repeatedly in the log files:

pam_systemd(lightdm-greeter:session): Failed to release session: Transport endpoint is not connected

When I restart lightdm, the display crashes again and I'm back to a periodically blinking mouse pointer on a black display. The installed version of lightdm is:

lightdm 1.32.0-6+b1

How can I downgrade to an older version? In the repro only the above version is displayed. Do you have similar problems with the update, do you have other suggestions how to solve the problem? The console is stable, I can work with it, but only with it.

 

[osprey]

After an apt upgrade, I'm struggling with a black display on my MacBook Pro. After a lot of back and forth, I was able to open a console and found the following error message repeatedly in the log files:

pam_systemd(lightdm-greeter:session): Failed to release session: Transport endpoint is not connected

When I restart lightdm, the display crashes again and I'm back to a periodically blinking mouse pointer on a black display. The installed version of lightdm is:

lightdm 1.32.0-6+b1

How can I downgrade to an older version? In the repro only the above version is displayed. Do you have similar problems with the update, do you have other suggestions how to solve the problem? The console is stable, I can work with it, but only with it.

Here are some things you could try.

1. Boot to a text prompt, then start the X session with the command: startx. That would bypass the lightdm display manager. If this approach works, it suggests the display manager is the problem in which case you can re-install it, change it, or not use a display manager at all. If you are not sure how to boot to a text prompt, see here:

How To Boot To Console (Text) Mode Using Debian / Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch Linux / Manjaro And More

This article explains how to boot a Linux distribution like Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch Linux / Manjaro, etc., in console mode, either temporarily or permanently.

www.linuxuprising.com

2. One possible problem is the graphics driver. You could try appending the kernel option: nomodeset, to the kernel command line and see if that brings up a GUI. That's really a sub-optimal way of running graphics, but sometimes it's useful to get by until better drivers can be installed. It would useful for readers to see what graphics driver is being used on what card, so perhaps run the following and return the results:

lspci -nnk |grep -A3 -i vga

3. It's possible to select a previous kernel from the grub menu so it would be interesting to know if the earlier kernel was able to bring up the GUI. If it can, then it's probably useful to use that kernel until the next upgrades become available, since the current upgrade evidently has this problem.

4. There is usually a rescue mode that can be selected from the grub menu such as described here:

8.6. Recovering a Broken System

One needs to know what to do with the rescue mode shell prompt, which is often used to install the graphics drivers that disturbed the normal boot. Since it's not clear what drivers are need here, I can't say more.

On the matter of downgrading the system, that is not easily accomplished, and is not advised. In some, or even nearly all cases, it's hardly possible because of dependencies. Using an earlier kernel however, is possible. Users who definitely need to downgrade are better placed by re-installing the system they want.

As to running Kali, or any linux on a Macbook, there may be some comments of interest in the post and throughout the thread here:

https://linux.org/threads/which-linux-distributions-is-the-best-for-mac-m1.43909/#post-183779

 

[cyberduck]

1. Boot to a text prompt, then start the X session with the command: startx. That would bypass the lightdm display manager. If this approach works, it suggests the display manager is the problem in which case you can re-install it, change it, or not use a display manager at all.

If I stop and disable lightdm, I can then start a GUI with startx. However, this is not the actual desktop, but only the wallpaper and a few icons on the desktop. After a restart, the system boots into a console, but without any problems. I don't have to perform any voodoo magic to finally get a console login. Another startx command starts this half-finished desktop again.

Code:
lspci -nnk |grep -A3 -i vga

Output:

00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation Core Processor Integrated Graphics Controller [8086:0046] (rev 12)
        Kernel driver in use: i915
        Kernel modules: i915
00:1a.0 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset USB Universal Host Controller [8086:3b3b] (rev 06)
--
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: NVIDIA Corporation GT216M (GeForce GT 330M) [10de:0a29] (rev a2)
        Subsystem: Apple Inc. Device [106b:00c8]
        Kernel driver in use: nouveau
        Kernel modules: nouveau

https://linux.org/threads/which-linux-distributions-is-the-best-for-mac-m1.43909/#post-183779

My MacBook is not an Mx model. It's an older 2010 or 2012. I'll find it if it makes a difference.
Thank you for your attention. I hope you can use this.

 

[osprey]

If I stop and disable lightdm, I can then start a GUI with startx. However, this is not the actual desktop, but only the wallpaper and a few icons on the desktop. After a restart, the system boots into a console, but without any problems. I don't have to perform any voodoo magic to finally get a console login. Another startx command starts this half-finished desktop again.



Output:

00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation Core Processor Integrated Graphics Controller [8086:0046] (rev 12)
        Kernel driver in use: i915
        Kernel modules: i915
00:1a.0 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset USB Universal Host Controller [8086:3b3b] (rev 06)
--
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: NVIDIA Corporation GT216M (GeForce GT 330M) [10de:0a29] (rev a2)
        Subsystem: Apple Inc. Device [106b:00c8]
        Kernel driver in use: nouveau
        Kernel modules: nouveau

My MacBook is not an Mx model. It's an older 2010 or 2012. I'll find it if it makes a difference.
Thank you for your attention. I hope you can use this.

Thanks for the information.

There are two graphics cards in the machine, intel and nvidia and both have the standard drivers which are appropriate to them.

Unfortunately I have no experience with the intricacies of two graphics cards in a macbook.

What comes to mind is considering installing the legacy driver for the nvidia card.
The GT 330M card is supported according to here:

Debian -- Details of package nvidia-legacy-340xx-driver in buster

The kali docs on installing nvidia drivers are here:

Install NVIDIA GPU Drivers | Kali Linux Documentation

Live boot currently is not supported. The following documentation assumes an installed version of Kali Linux, whether that is a VM or bare-metal. This document explains how to install NVIDIA GPU drivers and CUDA support, allowing integration with popular penetration testing tools. We will...

www.kali.org

Instructions on how to install the nvidia drivers on debian are here which may of interest to compare with the other docs: https://wiki.debian.org/NvidiaGraphicsDrivers

Some more info on "hybrid graphics" with links to "Related Articles":

Hybrid graphics - ArchWiki

wiki.archlinux.org

Sorry I can't be of more help on this one.

 

[cyberduck]

There are two graphics cards in the machine, intel and nvidia and both have the standard drivers which are appropriate to them.

Yes, I didn't know that either. At first I thought it had something to do with the external Mini Displayport, but the MBP actually uses both graphics cards and switches between the higher-performance NVIDIA card and the more economical Intel card as needed.

However, I could fix the problem last night. First, I did a reconfiguration of all packages [dpkg --configure -a], then I did a dist-upgrade and finally I reinstalled the display manager lightdm. After that, the system was running again. I don't know if all three steps were necessary, but since it was so difficult to even get into a console, I didn't want to miss anything.

Especially after a dist-upgrade I have to repair a lot of things afterwards. Greenbone OpenVAS, for example, likes to cause problems afterwards. This is actually the tool I use the most. I regularly use it to check my webservers, which are hosted by a hosting provider. That's why I'm most likely to come across potential problems there. I haven't looked for the problems yet.

I don't know what the specific problem was. It's always a bit uncomfortable when something breaks, I then do something and it works again, but I don't know why. I was just lucky. But I'm still glad, because in many forum posts, some of which were a few years old and also had problems with a display manager in connection with Kali Linux after an upgrade, the problem still existed after a system reinstall, which initially led me to believe that a new version of lightdm was incompatible after the update. Therefore, my original question was about downgrading the display manager. If the workaround mentioned above hadn't worked, I would have probably tried a different DM.

Thank you for your attention and effort.

 

[cyberduck]

Especially after a dist-upgrade I have to repair a lot of things afterwards. Greenbone OpenVAS, for example, likes to cause problems afterwards. This is actually the tool I use the most.

GVM OpenVAS works as expected after the dist-upgrade. Neither GVM nor any dependency seems to have been affected by the dist-upgrade. Since I do such updates regularly, especially on Kali Linux, the delta in the versions is usually quite moderate.

 

[Brickwizard]

I don't know if all three steps were necessary

I am a belt and braces man, my [long-winded routine not that I find I need it much] for Debian distributions is

dpkg --force-all --configure -a
sudo apt update && apt --fix-broken install
apt-get -f install
sudo apt update && apt -- fix-missing
sudo apt update && apt upgrade -y
auto remove
re-boot

if i need to add backports to the mix i insert that between apt get f install and sudo apt update

 

[cyberduck]

apt-get -f install
sudo apt update && apt -- fix-missing
sudo apt update && apt upgrade -y

Why do you mix apt-get and apt? And is this your regular update procedure or do you use it for a specific issue?

 

[Brickwizard]

They do the same thing except some actions still use the older get, as I said this works for me [on parrot] [it may not for you on Kali]

 

[GatorsFan]

Have you tried re-configuring lightdm ?

sudo dpkg-reconfigure lightdm

 

[cyberduck]

Have you tried re-configuring lightdm ?

Yep, in one of the first steps to solve the issue. But I got an error message that lightdm was not fully installed (or something like that). After that, I did the above procedure and after that it works again.

 

[wizardfromoz]

@cyberduck

After that, I did the above procedure and after that it works again.

Does it continue to work OK? If so, then when you are sure this is solved, you can mark it as such by going to your first post, and do as follows

Near bottom left of the post click Edit - (No Prefix) - Solved

Only when you are sure.

If not, I have a procedure which may work for you.

It involves totally removing Lightdm, and reinstalling it, all in the same desktop session.

You must do it all together, or else you will likely brick your install.

I will return with a blow by blow which I will place in a Spoiler.

If you have questions on it, bear in mind that I am in Queensland, Australia, and allow for the timezone differences.

Cheers

Wizard

 

[wizardfromoz]

That method I referred to is below. Click the Spoiler to open, click to close.

Spoiler: Wizard's Cauldron - Removing & Reinstalling Lightdm

──(chris㉿kali-xfce-hdd)-[~]
└─$ sudo apt-get purge lightdm
[sudo] password for chris:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
The following packages will be REMOVED:
kali-desktop-xfce* light-locker* lightdm*
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 3 to remove and 1674 not upgraded.
After this operation, 1567 kB disk space will be freed.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n]

Removing kali-desktop-xfce (2024.3.3) ...
Removing light-locker (1.8.0-3+b1) ...
Removing lightdm (1.32.0-6) ...
Processing triggers for man-db (2.12.1-2) ...
Processing triggers for libglib2.0-0t64:amd64 (2.80.4-1) ...
Processing triggers for dbus (1.14.10-4+b1) ...
Processing triggers for kali-menu (2024.3.1) ...
(Reading database ... 395473 files and directories currently installed.)
Purging configuration files for light-locker (1.8.0-3+b1) ...
Purging configuration files for lightdm (1.32.0-6) ...
info: Removing crontab ...
info: Removing user `lightdm' ..

Then

sudo apt-get install kali-desktop-xfce light-locker lightdm
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
The following packages were automatically installed and are no longer required:
<list follows>

Use 'sudo apt autoremove' to remove them.

The following additional packages will be installed:
<list follows>

Suggested packages:
python3.12-doc binfmt-support
Recommended packages:
network-manager-fortisslvpn-gnome
The following packages will be REMOVED:
python3-distutils
The following NEW packages will be installed:
<list follows>

The following packages will be upgraded:
<list follows>

62 upgraded, 25 newly installed, 1 to remove and 1612 not upgraded.
Need to get 230 MB of archives.
After this operation, 217 MB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n] Y

The install operation takes a considerable amount of time. I was able to walk down my hallway, take the trash to my wheelie bin, wheel the bin down to the kerb, come back, make a cup of coffee and return to the study and it was still running.

Cheers

Wizard

 

[cyberduck]

Does it continue to work OK? If so, then when you are sure this is solved, you can mark it as such by going to your first post, and do as follows

Yes, it continues to work as expected, even after another system update and several reboots and restarts. I've marked the thread as solved. Thanks for your support...