I installed openSUSE 13.1 (32-bit) on an HP Pavillion dv1040us. The desktop environment is KDE. I messed around with the display settings and now KDE crashes every time that I boot up! What I remember having done was using the GUI to change the display resolution (I don’t remember neither the original display resolution nor the one that I selected) and the refresh rate (went from Auto to 60 Hz). Is there a way to fix this mess without having to reinstall everything?
To be a bit more precise what crashes when?
At the end of the boot sequence the login screen is shown, which in the KDE case is kdm. Does that crash? Do you see the login screen?
KDE only runs after someone loged in (and thus not at boot). Does it crash when you login? And when that is the case, did you try to create another user (from the console with YaST in ncurses) and tried if it also crashed for that new user?
Also what video card and did you install any drivers for it…
Yes, I can get past the login screen. After I successfully log in, KDE wants to show a window with four icons in it, the first one being a hard drive icon. KDE crashes after this first icon loads ad before the other three have a chance to load.
I have not been able to create other user accounts because KDE crashes right then and there.
Did not install any custom drivers myself. Pretty much went with a default install and whatever drivers the OS has. I don’t know what video card is inside the HP Pavillion dv1040us. Since the OS crashes right after I successfully go past the login screen, I cannot investigate.
In any case, whatever drivers were installed by default they were ok because things were running smoothly till I decided to change the screen resolution and refresh rate…
OK still need more info. It would be good to know the graphics card but for the momnet need to know where you tried to make the change?
Assuming you made the change in KDE
Since you get to the login screen you can easily get to a command line. Selection should be available at the bottom of the screen
start the command line log in as root on the command line. type
mv /home/yourusernamehere/.kde4 /home/yourusernamehere/.kde4.bak
not the period in front of kde4
type
exit
to get back to the graphic login screen
Log in you should then have the default kde4 desktop
note if exit does not bring back graphic login then try ctrl-alt-F7 or just reboot
Thanks, gogalthorp, that worked!
A follow-up question: When I login, KDE Wallet Service pops up with the following text:
The application “KDE Daemon” has requested to open the wallet “kdewallet”. Please enter the password for this wallet below.
Upon entering the password, my Wi-Fi connects. How can I get my Wi-Fi to connect automatically without going through the above step?
LOL well should not have entered a password to begin with. If you don’t it won’t bother you anymore.
I think you have to start kdewallet and reset it to make it stop now.Been a while I hate wallet and just ignore it when it first appears
BTW if there was nothing in the old .kde4 directory you needed you can remove the .kde4.bak directory.
You can change a wallet’s password in kwalletmanager.
Either run it manually or click on “Launch Wallet Manager” in “Configure Desktop”->“User Account Details”->“KDE wallet”.
And as mentioned, if you set an empty password, KWallet won’t ask you for a password at all.