Broken Boot

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?

====

Madhusudan Singh <spammers-go-h...@spam.invalid> wrote in
news:435af413$0$41146$14726298@news.sunsite.dk:
[color=blue]
> 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.[/color]

Startx command gets "command not found" message.

I 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.
====

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.

If somebody can help get me back to a normal boot I'd really appreciate
it, I think I'm in just a bit over my head here.

Bill Marcum <bmarcum@iglou.com> wrote in news:0c3s33-pgj.ln1@don.localnet:
[color=blue]
> On Thu, 03 Nov 2005 23:46:05 -0600, Ed
> <apostle@REMOVETHISpeculiar.homeip.net> wrote:[color=green]
>>
>>
>> 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.
>>[/color]
> Why do you do "sudo updatedb" so many times? What other files did you
> remove? Why did you think it was necessary to remove files other than
> those removed by "aptitude purge exim4"?[/color]

Because that was the procedure defined on a web page (no, I don't still
have the link) for removing exim4 completely.
[color=blue][color=green]
>> 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.
>>[/color]
> Try "dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86" (or xserver-xorg)[/color]

I'll try that.

since all the above, I've done a bunch of reading (online and examining
scripts in init.d)... several of them refer to "rc<runlevel>.d", yet I can
find NO files or directories with that name structure. assuming they're
missing, How do I get them recreated? or will the above reconfigure take
care of it?

Bill Marcum <bmarcum@iglou.com> wrote in
news:v8ds33-uvr.ln1@don.localnet:
[color=blue]
> On Fri, 04 Nov 2005 08:48:44 -0600, Ed
> <apostle@REMOVETHISpeculiar.homeip.net> wrote:[color=green]
>> Bill Marcum <bmarcum@iglou.com> wrote in
>> news:0c3s33-pgj.ln1@don.localnet:
>>[color=darkred]
>>> On Thu, 03 Nov 2005 23:46:05 -0600, Ed
>>> <apostle@REMOVETHISpeculiar.homeip.net> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>[/color][/color][/color]

snip
[color=blue][color=green]
>>[/color]
> You should have directories named /etc/rc0.d, /etc/rc1.d and so on.
> If they don't exist, I'd be surprised if the system would boot.[/color]

They don't. boot goes far enough to get a text login. How do I go about
re-creating these directories? Can I do so short of re-installing?

>>>>> Ed writes:
[color=blue]
> Bill Marcum <bmarcum@iglou.com> wrote in
> news:v8ds33-uvr.ln1@don.localnet:[/color]
[color=blue][color=green]
>> You should have directories named /etc/rc0.d, /etc/rc1.d and so on.
>> If they don't exist, I'd be surprised if the system would boot.[/color][/color]
[color=blue]
> They don't. boot goes far enough to get a text login. How do I go about
> re-creating these directories? Can I do so short of re-installing?[/color]

The runlevel script directories (/etc/rc*.d/) are essential. It appears
you have inadvertently deleted them.

Your best option is to reinstall.

--
Neil.
Air Conditioned Environment - Do not open Windows.