Removing and installing various versions of KDE libraries for 3.x and 4.x development (under Debian/lenny/amd64), I must have selected wrong library to delete. Long long list of deleted packages was interrupted by some (pre-remove script?) questions about kdm removal. I cancelled deletion immediatelly.

However evil was already done: No login screen appeared. Reinstalling of x11-common and such from terminal I repaired a bit - X11 started, but only to abort immediatelly complaining onscreen aboat having no window manager.
I reinstalled kdm and got "normal" KDE-like login screen. However login complained about .xsession missing in user home directory.
Reinstalation of kde helped a bit. Now I get no complains on login - however screen just goes black for a while, then returning to the KDE graphic login again.

There are no remarkable errors in /var/logs/ and presence of graphic KDE login screen makes me think X11 is working properly.

I noted lines in general system log from the login time regardnig PAM complaining about /etc/environment file missing (what in fact really does not exist). Googled this point, however not sure after several bugreports found reading if this is the reason or just warning. Anyways did not find how to reconstruct /etc/environment.

Any clues where to continue or even experience with simmillar situation?
Thanks in advance.

Here is a copy of mine:

PATH="/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games"

pmendl wrote:Now I get no complains on login - however screen just goes black for a while, then returning to the KDE graphic login again.

SOLVED by myself: googling around found thread, where no disk space in /home was the reason. Checking my disk I found surprise - making my user folder copy I filled all the disk space, while Midnight Commander did not comply at the end of long long copy process.

Cleaning some files I got login normally and after some cleanup (e.g. mail recovery) I am up and running. Happy as a child!

pmendl wrote:I noted lines in general system log from the login time regardnig PAM complaining about /etc/environment file missing (what in fact really does not exist).

Toad thanks for reply, creating file with your text really extinguished the warnings.

i had this problem twice since i use linux.. and read about a hundred times about it in linux forums... why is this problem still existant.. isn't this an urgent thing to fix?

this is not a linuux problem, your home folder is full.
try to login on windows with a full hd and see what happens. o.o

i don't know what happens in windows as i never experienced it there (as i remember) because of the permanent warnings when disk space is running out.. and it IS a linux problem because it exists on linux systems.. i give a **** on what happens on windows because i use linux whenever i can.. on windows when you copy thousands of files and you encounter one file that is not readable then the whole process kills itself.. would you find it ok if dolphin behaves in a similar way or would you rather prefer the option to skip this file? sorry... i am now going to brainstorm.ubuntu.com and suggest a windowslike warning (or vote for it)

(what about preserving that needed space?)

sorry, I didn`t made myself clear,
what I tried to say was `if there`s no space for the system to save it`s files, it`s unlikely that it will run on any system, not just on linux`. of course there are some actions to be made, like compressing every file on the home folder by default and unpacking on use ( without the use of ark or any other tool, like completely invisible to the user. ) or, as you said, *lots* of warnings like windows when the system is getting low on space.

hehe... oke... theres already the call for *a* warning when space is getting low out there...

wouldn't it be a save and easy implemented idea to just write the nessesary files to /tmp and inform the user that further configs wont be stored because of the lack of MiBs ?? (seperate /home partition assumed) hmm.. i guess its a more complicated issue..

Well, if /tmp is full as well, you still have a problem
Perhaps it is possible to create a mechanism that creates a ramdisk in your RAM to use as temporary disc space when the disc is too full