Login repeats on and on

English Install/Boot/Login
1

Hello,
I have installed Leap 42 on a workstation. Install was OK. All default settings during install except swap. Opted for increased swap partition.
Boot and grub are fine.
When login bar appears I am blocked. If a correct password is entered login screen repeats on and on?
If I type a wrong pass it reports failed login.
Hope that someone can help me.
Thank you.

2

What desktop did you install?

Plasma 5 (aka KDE)? Or Gnome? Or XFCE?

What kind of graphics card to you have?

3

I have encountered a similar problem. There is a bug in installer or in login screen or in Yast or in KDE.

I found the solution in oblique ways. Here is an approximate description.

When installing, create a user (besides root). His user ID will likely be 1000.

The bug is, that the login screen limits users with certain ID numbers.

So, after installation, boot into runlevel 3, which is the text mode. There, start Yast by saying

yast

from command line (terminal). Don’t say yast2.

There, in System -> /etc/sysconfig -> Desktop, try to change Display manager or Desktop manager. Remember the current defaults to bring them back. Reboot.

After booting, you will be able to boot normally.

Now, I cannot remember the next step, but the idea was to enter the login manager and change the range of user IDs shown to [0 … 10000]. I think that because of the bug it is set to [1000 …] or to some other wrong range.

Again reboot and login into runlevel 3. Restore the Display and Desktop managers.

This is an approximate description of solution. There may be other solutions, for example, to allow passwordless login during installation.

I can help with certain steps if you don’t know and cannot find how to do accomplish them.

4

Hi nrickert,
Thank you.
I installed KDE. Login bar has Plasma 5 default option. I tried Failsafe and other options too.
Graphics card is Nvidia Quadro K620 (PCIE 2.0 x16).
Workstation is Fujitsu Celsius M740.

After GRUB and before Login screen there is short message:
i8042: No controller found

After password entered and Login button pressed a blank screen is back for a blink with the same message, and added second line with info about Leap 42.1 and kernel. Then login bar is back.

Sometimes, after several attempts screen stays completely blank. Mouse has X shape and can be moved. No response to keyboard reset, and power button turns it off.

5

Hi ZStefan,
Thank you for your help and detailed instructions!
Will try it.
But first I will wait for nrickert and his answer.

6

I agree with the suggestion to change the display manager. But that depends on what is installed. For KDE, the default is “sddm”. I am using “lightdm”. But that’s not installed by default. So let’s put of changing displaymanager, and try a different solution.

My suggestion: See if you are able to login to Icewm. On the “sddm” login screen, look to where it says “Plasma 5” (or KDE or whatever), and see if you can select “Icewm” there instead.

If you are able to login to Icewm, you will find that easier than a bare console login. I would suggest that you then add the nvidia repo, and install the nvidia driver. That will probably work much better for you.

To add the nvidia repo from Icewm:

Yast → Software Repositories
Click Add
Select “Community Repositories”
Click Next
Select the Nvidia graphics driver repo.
Click Next (or maybe it is Finish).

You will be asked to approve a gpg key.
After that:

Yast → Software Management
Type “nvidia” in the search bar.
Select the driver for your card.

Based on a quick google search, it looks as if you need the G03 driver. So select (to add) everything from that nvidia search that includes G03 as part of the name.

Click “Accept”.

After those drivers are installed, reboot. Then see what works.

7

Hi nrickert, thank you.
I have 4 options to chose from: Plasma 5 (default), Icewm, KDE Plasma Workspace, and Failsafe. IceWM and 2 plasma options behave the same way: login repeats, screen blink and restores back to login bar. Failsafe is different. After Login button is pressed it gets inactive (grayed-out), mouse changes to X and screen stays on sddm login bar and a nice green lamp behind. On the left workspace selector is active, and on the right reboot and shutdown buttons are active too.

8

Hi ZStefan,
Originally, I created user, besides root, and set pass for that user. When workspace appear, login bar prompts to enter password for the user defined during install. No option to switch to root login.
How to boot into runlevel 3 ?

9

At the login screen that you are seeing, use CTRL-ALT-F1. That should give you a command line login.

Then login as root. If desired, you can then use the command:

telinit 3

to go to runlevel 3. But maybe you only need a root login at the command line.

10

If you haven’t resolved the login issue yet, see this thread about correct and incorrect ways to log in if KDE causes troubles:

https://forums.opensuse.org/showthread.php/511226-Circular-logic-error-in-KDE-login

11

Thank you guys for your great help! My install sddm login issue is solved now!
ZStefan, thanks for the thread link, another good lesson. Note that originally I had one default user besides root.
Here is how I solved my problem:

  1. entered runlevel 3 (Ctrl-ALT-F1)
  2. changed only DisplayManager_Passwordless to “yes”, and reboot.
    This did not solved sddm login blocked problem. It again shows default user and prompts for the password
  3. then again in runlevel 3 changed Display_Manager to “lightdm”, and changed Default_WM to “icewm”, and reboot
    This change worked and icewm login screen let me in (default user and password defined at install).
  4. now I started yast and followed nrickert suggestions above and added NVidia drivers.
  5. Reboot and tested again icewm, worked fine.
  6. Then back to runlevel 3 and set values back to defaults. sddm and kde4. Reboot.
  7. Now, in sddm works fine
    It seems the problem was with my new graphics card and missing NVidia drivers.
12

I upgraded from 13.2, that worked fine, to LEAP. I have an I7 dual boot from SSD “win10 /openSuse linux”. I use openSuse since many years (7.2 I would say) but never had such issues.
All worked fine for the update except that during it I got an pop-up error message that says “undefined method ]for nil:NilClass”. I click “ok” to continue and the installation continues and once I get the logon screen, not the usual KDE one, but a simple white one, no “user / psw” combination works, neither in graphic nor in console mode. Login response is constantly “incorrect login” and I am stucked: login comes back, no way to enter the system.
Please anyone has a clue? thanks a lot, friendly yours SH.

13

How did you do the “upgrade” ?? From a DVD or online via zypper?

14

Thanks for asking and support.
I upgraded from DVD: I copied and ISO image in windows in my local disk, using Nero I created a boot DVD & I booted from that DVD. I try to keep my root and /home partitions on the same locations on disk: root on ssd disk and /home on local external disk. I try to avoid formatting my /home partition where I have my stuff. The installation asks to format (yes/no) of the root partition. I refused the reformatting fearing to destroy my dual boot and loosing access to windows10 (via dual boot) which I use to write this. I try to several times to install again from dvd or update. Install find error and restarts installation. Updates loops at logon screen as I described.
If I can express feelings, I am not a LINUX/SUSE expert, far from it, but I am an old SUSE user (since aprox. ver 6.2) and NEVER ever installation and upgrade gave anything similar or close to these kind of troubles. I tried even to go back to 13.2 but installation has errors and restarts. I am desperate to tell you the truth…
Maybe I can try to accept to format the root partition if you can reassure me that dual boot is not jeopardized. I do not know what to do…help, help friendly yours SH.

15

Re Installing at 13.2 did not work and now reinstalling back Leap does not work either. I am fully stuck. In both cases installation does not work, it loops.
It starts ok, takes the partitioning as I want it, ask for installation of KDE, asks for a user creation and a password, starts deploying KDE base and then suddenly, after some deployments of KDE components the scree gets black, then enters character mode and asks me (graphics using ncourses) to choose instalation media I choose DVD and then all installation restarts…So it is worse now, I do not even reach the login screen: maybe it was not wise to return to 13.2, who knows?
When from dual boot screen I choose Leap and there is no DVD, then the system stops at some image with 3 lights that blink…and it does not seem to move.

        help help....friendly yours SH.
16

Forget my adventure with going back by reinstalling 13.2. I am back with leap 42.1.
Update works as expected:

  • keyboard setup, file partitioning, all seems to work, 2 packages are updated, but after that, at some point in time appear a pop up message that says:
    Error: “undefined method ] for nil: NilClass” caller /mounts/mp_0001/usr/share/Yast2/Keyboard.rb:851:in
    while at the bottom of screen it says "calling step save_config_finish2 save".
    I continue the update and one gets at the white login screen and loops at incorrect login as I said above.

I hope I have not mistaken some information above, I copied it by hand from the screen. I hope the above information gives you some hints…
For the rest, without the DVD, the dual boot activates Leap 42.1 Linux and I get the white-screen login where one loops trying to log on because of incorrect logon.
Please help !!
friendly yours HS.

17

**Error: “undefined method ] for nil: NilClass” caller /mounts/mp_0001/usr/share/Yast2/module/Keyboard.rb:851: in Save **seems to be the more complete error message. Maybe I mixed /missed some small and big letters and I am not sure about “module” or “modules”. The underlined part was missing in the last post.

18

The problem is in the “/etc/sddm.conf” file. The default minimum user id is 1000 and the default maximum is 60000. I have had *NIX systems for many years - with all users lower than 1000! The login manager gets “confused” and because it follows the above conf file and doesn’t “see” any of my users. It will either loop, show a blank screen or show a login screen with no users!

The fix is easy. Add (if it’s not present) or modify the following in the sddm.conf file:

MinimumUid=450 (or whatever fits your circumstance).

If you want to change the maximum permissible user id change or add this:

MaximumUid=61000 (or whatever fits you circumstance).

Cheers, Lyle

19

Thanks Doctor, worked for me!

After a Leap 42.1 update, I could only boot to a blank screen. With Tumbleweed KDE Live, I could use the Nouveau driver and configure my 4 displays using my Nvidia Geforce GTX 750 card. I did a fresh Leap 42.1 install; however, like the original poster, I could only get repeated login screens. Although ICEWM allowed a login, I could not get Yast to start. Now up and running thanks to you. There must be a major difference in the Tweed/Leap Nouveau drivers.