Subject: gdm3 doesn't work any more after the upgrade from Wheezy to Jessie 8.5

From: Jean-Paul Bouchet <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2016 20:38:17 +0200

Hello,

We used during 2 years Gnome and gdm3 on a server with Debian Wheezy to 
let users work from their Windows PC via Cygwin and xlaunch (xdmcp). It 
worked well till the upgrade to Jessie, for these Windows PC, as for the 
system console, a very simple terminal.

The migration has been done a few days ago after a last upgrade of 
Wheezy and a verification that our server was OK, including connection 
features. The dist-upgrade has not been perfect: here are the last lines 
of the process:
...
update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-3.16.0-4-amd64
W: Possible missing firmware /lib/firmware/tigon/tg3_tso5.bin for module tg3
W: Possible missing firmware /lib/firmware/tigon/tg3_tso.bin for module tg3
W: Possible missing firmware /lib/firmware/tigon/tg3.bin for module tg3
Traitement des actions différées (« triggers ») pour sgml-base 
(1.26+nmu4) ...
Traitement des actions différées (« triggers ») pour menu (2.1.47) ...
Des erreurs ont été rencontrées pendant l'exécution :
  tex-common
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)

dpkg --audit gives me a list of 149 packages with the half-configurated 
status. Among them: libpam-ldap:amd64, libpam-mount, xorg, xserver-xorg.
I have launched manually 'dpk -configure' for all of them and 
reinstalled tex-common.

Now dpkg --audit returns nothing. I have not yet done apt-get autoremove 
to eliminate the packages the have become useless.

During the upgrade I have installed the new version of 
/etc/gdm3/daemon.conf, /etc/init.d/gdm3 and got [ ok ] Scheduling reload 
of GNOME Display Manager configuration: gdm3.

After the migration it has been possible during the 3 first days to open 
sometimes a gnome session but with many problems, several minutes to get 
the users' list, and again a long time, up to 10 minutes, to get the 
gnome window. Once displayed, the desk was fully functional, but the 
whole process, from the launch of cygwin was much too long and uncertain 
(we could also never get the connexion window with the list of users). 
It has never been possible to lock or close properly a session and to 
get again the connection window.

I have reinstalled some packages, including gdm3, searched similar 
situations on the web, verified the configuration in /etc/gdm3 or 
/etc/pam.d, compared with the files we had with Wheezy, rebooted the 
server, as carefully and cautiously as I could, but without the least 
improvement. On the contrary, we are now unable to get the connexion 
window.

Now, what we get, for the system console, as for the windows PCs with 
Cygwin, is what I supposed to be the splash window, a blue background 
screen with the time, the date and at the left bottom 'Debian 8' and no 
button.

systemctl -l status gdm.service
● gdm.service - GNOME Display Manager
    Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/gdm.service; enabled)
    Active: active (running) since ven. 2016-09-09 13:47:15 CEST; 6h ago
   Process: 1729 ExecStartPre=/usr/share/gdm/generate-config 
(code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
   Process: 1721 ExecStartPre=/bin/sh -c [ "$(cat 
/etc/X11/default-display-manager 2>/dev/null)" = "/usr/sbin/gdm3" ] 
(code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
  Main PID: 1801 (gdm3)
    CGroup: /system.slice/gdm.service
            ├─1801 /usr/sbin/gdm3
            ├─1814 /usr/bin/Xorg :0 -novtswitch -background none 
-noreset -verbose 3 -auth 
/var/run/gdm3/auth-for-Debian-gdm-wEWSh7/database -seat seat0 vt7
            ├─2065 gdm-session-worker [pam/gdm-launch-environment]
            ├─2194 /usr/bin/gnome-session --autostart 
/usr/share/gdm/greeter/autostart
            ├─2204 /usr/bin/dbus-launch --exit-with-session 
/usr/bin/gnome-session --autostart /usr/share/gdm/greeter/autostart
            ├─2243 /usr/bin/dbus-daemon --fork --print-pid 5 
--print-address 7 --session
            ├─2252 /usr/lib/at-spi2-core/at-spi-bus-launcher
            ├─2256 /usr/bin/dbus-daemon 
--config-file=/etc/at-spi2/accessibility.conf --nofork --print-address 3
            ├─2259 /usr/lib/at-spi2-core/at-spi2-registryd 
--use-gnome-session
            ├─2289 /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon/gnome-settings-daemon
            ├─2376 gnome-shell --mode=gdm
            ├─2455 /usr/bin/pulseaudio --start --log-target=syslog
            ├─2629 /usr/lib/dconf/dconf-service
            ├─3096 gdm-session-worker [pam/gdm-launch-environment]
            ├─3101 /usr/bin/gnome-session --autostart 
/usr/share/gdm/greeter/autostart
            ├─3104 /usr/bin/dbus-launch --exit-with-session 
/usr/bin/gnome-session --autostart /usr/share/gdm/greeter/autostart
            ├─3105 /usr/bin/dbus-daemon --fork --print-pid 5 
--print-address 7 --session
            ├─3108 /usr/lib/at-spi2-core/at-spi-bus-launcher
            ├─3112 /usr/bin/dbus-daemon 
--config-file=/etc/at-spi2/accessibility.conf --nofork --print-address 3
            ├─3115 /usr/lib/at-spi2-core/at-spi2-registryd 
--use-gnome-session
            ├─3138 /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon/gnome-settings-daemon
            ├─3148 gnome-shell --mode=gdm
            └─3168 /usr/lib/dconf/dconf-service

sept. 09 15:43:47 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
wrapper@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:169
sept. 09 17:09:00 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[3101]: (gnome-shell:3148): 
Gjs-WARNING **: JS ERROR: Gio.DBusError: 
GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.AccessDenied: Aucune session 
disponible
sept. 09 17:09:00 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[3101]: 
LoginDialog<._init@resource:///org/gnome/shell/gdm/loginDialog.js:384
sept. 09 17:09:00 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[3101]: 
wrapper@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:169
sept. 09 17:09:00 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[3101]: 
_Base.prototype._construct@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:110
sept. 09 17:09:00 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[3101]: 
Class.prototype._construct/newClass@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:204
sept. 09 17:09:00 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[3101]: 
ScreenShield<._ensureUnlockDialog@resource:///org/gnome/shell/ui/screenShield.js:972
sept. 09 17:09:00 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[3101]: 
wrapper@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:169
sept. 09 17:09:00 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[3101]: 
ScreenShield<._onDragBegin@resource:///org/gnome/shell/ui/screenShield.js:762
sept. 09 17:09:00 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[3101]: 
wrapper@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:169

Processes created at the reinitialization of the server:

4 S root       1644      1  0  80   0 -  4964 -      13:47 ?        
00:00:00 /lib/systemd/systemd-logind
4 S message+   1645      1  0  80   0 - 10986 - 13:47 ?        00:00:01 
/usr/bin/dbus-daemon --system --address=systemd: --nofork --nopidfile 
--systemd-activation
4 S root       1707      1  0  80   0 - 69268 - 13:47 ?        00:00:01 
/usr/lib/accountsservice/accounts-daemon
4 S root       1724      1  0  80   0 -  3727 - 13:47 tty1     00:00:00 
/sbin/agetty --noclear tty1 linux
4 S root       1801      1  0  80   0 - 93811 - 13:47 ?        00:00:00 
/usr/sbin/gdm3
4 S root       1814   1801  0  80   0 - 81617 - 13:47 tty7     00:00:02 
/usr/bin/Xorg :0 -novtswitch -background none -noreset -verbose 3 -auth 
/var/run/gdm3/auth-for-Debian-gdm-wEWSh7/database -seat seat0 vt7
4 S root       2065   1801  0  80   0 - 76479 - 13:47 ?        00:00:00 
gdm-session-worker [pam/gdm-launch-environment]
4 S Debian-+   2194   2065  0  80   0 - 131667 - 13:47 ?        00:00:00 
/usr/bin/gnome-session --autostart /usr/share/gdm/greeter/autostart
1 S Debian-+   2204      1  0  80   0 -  6093 - 13:47 ?        00:00:00 
/usr/bin/dbus-launch --exit-with-session /usr/bin/gnome-session 
--autostart /usr/share/gdm/greeter/autostart
1 S Debian-+   2243      1  0  80   0 - 10588 - 13:47 ?        00:00:00 
/usr/bin/dbus-daemon --fork --print-pid 5 --print-address 7 --session
0 S Debian-+   2252      1  0  80   0 - 84426 - 13:47 ?        00:00:00 
/usr/lib/at-spi2-core/at-spi-bus-launcher
0 S Debian-+   2256   2252  0  80   0 - 10531 - 13:47 ?        00:00:00 
/usr/bin/dbus-daemon --config-file=/etc/at-spi2/accessibility.conf 
--nofork --print-address 3
0 S Debian-+   2259      1  0  80   0 - 31301 - 13:47 ?        00:00:00 
/usr/lib/at-spi2-core/at-spi2-registryd --use-gnome-session
0 S Debian-+   2289   2194  0  80   0 - 219803 - 13:47 ?        00:00:00 
/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon/gnome-settings-daemon
0 S Debian-+   2376   2194  0  80   0 - 404945 - 13:47 ?        00:00:15 
gnome-shell --mode=gdm
1 S Debian-+   2455      1  0  80   0 - 70492 - 13:47 ?        00:00:00 
/usr/bin/pulseaudio --start --log-target=syslog
4 S rtkit      2508      1  0  81   1 - 42195 - 13:47 ?        00:00:00 
/usr/lib/rtkit/rtkit-daemon
5 S Debian-+   2601      1  0  80   0 - 13306 - 13:47 ?        00:00:00 
/usr/sbin/exim4 -bd -q30m
0 S Debian-+   2629      1  0  80   0 - 44582 - 13:47 ?        00:00:00 
/usr/lib/dconf/dconf-service
4 S root       2645      1  0  80   0 -  7691 - 13:47 ?        00:00:00 
/sbin/wpa_supplicant -u -s -O /run/wpa_supplicant
4 S root       2646      1  0  80   0 - 77071 - 13:47 ?        00:00:00 
/usr/lib/packagekit/packagekitd
4 S root       2650      1  0  80   0 - 1066598 - 13:47 ?        
00:00:00 /usr/sbin/console-kit-daemon --no-daemon
1 S root       2840      1  0  80   0 -  6093 - 13:50 pts/3    00:00:00 
/usr/bin/dbus-launch --autolaunch f42237dc52448b725fa6312154901bd3 
--binary-syntax --close-stderr
5 S root       2841      1  0  80   0 - 10531 - 13:50 ?        00:00:00 
/usr/bin/dbus-daemon --fork --print-pid 5 --print-address 7 --session
0 S root       2843      1  0  80   0 - 13276 - 13:50 ?        00:00:00 
/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gconf/gconfd-2

And 15 minutes later:
4 S root       3096   1801  0  80   0 - 76486 -      14:05 ?        
00:00:00 gdm-session-worker [pam/gdm-launch-environment]
4 S Debian-+   3101   3096  0  80   0 - 131667 - 14:05 ?        00:00:00 
/usr/bin/gnome-session --autostart /usr/share/gdm/greeter/autostart
1 S Debian-+   3104      1  0  80   0 -  6126 - 14:05 ?        00:00:00 
/usr/bin/dbus-launch --exit-with-session /usr/bin/gnome-session 
--autostart /usr/share/gdm/greeter/autostart
1 S Debian-+   3105      1  0  80   0 - 10585 - 14:05 ?        00:00:00 
/usr/bin/dbus-daemon --fork --print-pid 5 --print-address 7 --session
0 S Debian-+   3108      1  0  80   0 - 84433 - 14:05 ?        00:00:00 
/usr/lib/at-spi2-core/at-spi-bus-launcher
0 S Debian-+   3112   3108  0  80   0 - 10531 - 14:05 ?        00:00:00 
/usr/bin/dbus-daemon --config-file=/etc/at-spi2/accessibility.conf 
--nofork --print-address 3
0 S Debian-+   3115      1  0  80   0 - 31328 - 14:05 ?        00:00:00 
/usr/lib/at-spi2-core/at-spi2-registryd --use-gnome-session
0 S Debian-+   3138   3101  0  80   0 - 254624 - 14:05 ?        00:00:00 
/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon/gnome-settings-daemon
0 S Debian-+   3148   3101  0  80   0 - 392737 - 14:05 ?        00:00:15 
gnome-shell --mode=gdm
0 S Debian-+   3168      1  0  80   0 - 44575 - 14:05 ?        00:00:00 
/usr/lib/dconf/dconf-service

In the log messages, I notice that the process gdm3 has returned an error:
4 S root       1801      1  0  80   0 - 93811 -      13:47 ?        
00:00:00 /usr/sbin/gdm3
Sep  9 13:47:20 pac-sm-gafl01 gdm3[1801]: Failed to give slave programs 
access to the display. Trying to proceed.

But has continued to run:
4 S root       2065   1801  0  80   0 - 76479 -      13:47 ?        
00:00:00 gdm-session-worker [pam/gdm-launch-environment]
4 S Debian-+   2194   2065  0  80   0 - 131667 - 13:47 ?        00:00:00 
/usr/bin/gnome-session --autostart /usr/share/gdm/greeter/autostart
Sep  9 13:47:23 pac-sm-gafl01 /usr/bin/dbus-launch[2194]: 
gnome-session-is-accelerated: llvmpipe detected.
Sep  9 13:47:23 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: gnome-session[2194]: 
WARNING: Could not get session id for session. Check that logind is 
properly installed and pam_systemd is getting used at login.
Sep  9 13:47:23 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: WARNING: Could not 
get session id for session. Check that logind is properly installed and 
pam_systemd is getting used at login.
Sep  9 13:47:23 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: gnome-session[2194]: 
WARNING: Could not parse desktop file caribou-autostart.desktop or it 
references a not found TryExec binary
Sep  9 13:47:23 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: WARNING: Could not 
parse desktop file caribou-autostart.desktop or it references a not 
found TryExec binary
Sep  9 13:47:24 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: error: 
XDG_RUNTIME_DIR not set in the environment.
Sep  9 13:47:24 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: Entering running state
Sep  9 13:47:25 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: openConnection: 
connect: Aucun fichier ou dossier de ce type
Sep  9 13:47:25 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: cannot connect to 
brltty at :0
Sep  9 13:47:25 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
(gnome-settings-daemon:2289): media-keys-plugin-WARNING **: Unable to 
inhibit keypresses: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.AccessDenied: 
Permission denied
Sep  9 13:47:28 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: Gjs-Message: JS LOG: 
Failed to register AuthenticationAgent
Sep  9 13:47:29 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: (gnome-shell:2376): 
Gjs-WARNING **: JS ERROR: Exception in callback for signal: 
startup-prepared: Gio.DBusError: 
GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.AccessDenied: Aucune session 
disponible
Sep  9 13:47:29 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
LoginDialog<._init@resource:///org/gnome/shell/gdm/loginDialog.js:384
Sep  9 13:47:29 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
wrapper@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:169
Sep  9 13:47:29 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
_Base.prototype._construct@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:110
Sep  9 13:47:29 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
Class.prototype._construct/newClass@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:204
Sep  9 13:47:29 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
ScreenShield<._ensureUnlockDialog@resource:///org/gnome/shell/ui/screenShield.js:972
Sep  9 13:47:29 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
wrapper@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:169
Sep  9 13:47:29 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
ScreenShield<.showDialog@resource:///org/gnome/shell/ui/screenShield.js:913
Sep  9 13:47:29 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
wrapper@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:169
Sep  9 13:47:29 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
_initializeUI/<@resource:///org/gnome/shell/ui/main.js:200
Sep  9 13:47:29 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
_emit@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/signals.js:124
Sep  9 13:47:29 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
LayoutManager<._prepareStartupAnimation@resource:///org/gnome/shell/ui/layout.js:641
Sep  9 13:47:29 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
wrapper@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:169
Sep  9 13:47:29 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
LayoutManager<._loadBackground/signalId<@resource:///org/gnome/shell/ui/layout.js:588
Sep  9 13:47:29 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
_emit@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/signals.js:124
Sep  9 13:47:29 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
SystemBackground<._init/id<@resource:///org/gnome/shell/ui/background.js:480
Sep  9 13:47:29 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
(gnome-settings-daemon:2289): color-plugin-WARNING **: failed to create 
device: failed to obtain org.freedesktop.color-manager.create-device auth
Sep  9 13:47:30 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: (gnome-shell:2376): 
Gjs-WARNING **: JS ERROR: TypeError: this._activeConnection._connection 
is null
Sep  9 13:47:30 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
NMConnectionDevice<._activeConnectionChanged@resource:///org/gnome/shell/ui/status/network.js:401
Sep  9 13:47:30 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
wrapper@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:169
Sep  9 13:47:30 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: Gjs-Message: JS LOG: 
GNOME Shell started at Fri Sep 09 2016 13:47:28 GMT+0200 (CEST)

Sep  9 13:56:00 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: GLib-GIO-CRITICAL: 
g_dbus_connection_call_internal: assertion 'object_path != NULL && 
g_variant_is_object_path (object_path)' failed
Sep  9 13:56:00 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: gnome-session[2194]: 
GLib-GIO-CRITICAL: g_dbus_connection_call_internal: assertion 
'object_path != NULL && g_variant_is_object_path (object_path)' failed

Sep  9 14:13:48 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: (gnome-shell:2376): 
Gjs-WARNING **: JS ERROR: Gio.DBusError: 
GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.AccessDenied: Aucune session 
disponible
Sep  9 14:13:48 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
LoginDialog<._init@resource:///org/gnome/shell/gdm/loginDialog.js:384
Sep  9 14:13:48 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
wrapper@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:169
Sep  9 14:13:48 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
_Base.prototype._construct@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:110
Sep  9 14:13:48 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
Class.prototype._construct/newClass@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:204
Sep  9 14:13:48 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
ScreenShield<._ensureUnlockDialog@resource:///org/gnome/shell/ui/screenShield.js:972
Sep  9 14:13:48 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
wrapper@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:169
Sep  9 14:13:48 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
ScreenShield<._onLockScreenKeyPress@resource:///org/gnome/shell/ui/screenShield.js:678
Sep  9 14:13:48 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
wrapper@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:169
Sep  9 14:13:48 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: (gnome-shell:2376): 
Gjs-WARNING **: JS ERROR: Gio.DBusError: 
GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.AccessDenied: Aucune session 
disponible
Sep  9 14:13:48 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
LoginDialog<._init@resource:///org/gnome/shell/gdm/loginDialog.js:384
Sep  9 14:13:48 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
wrapper@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:169
Sep  9 14:13:48 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
_Base.prototype._construct@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:110
Sep  9 14:13:48 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
Class.prototype._construct/newClass@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:204
Sep  9 14:13:48 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
ScreenShield<._ensureUnlockDialog@resource:///org/gnome/shell/ui/screenShield.js:972
Sep  9 14:13:48 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
wrapper@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:169
Sep  9 14:13:48 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
ScreenShield<._onLockScreenKeyPress@resource:///org/gnome/shell/ui/screenShield.js:678
Sep  9 14:13:48 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
wrapper@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:169

Sep  9 14:13:56 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: (gnome-shell:2376): 
Gjs-WARNING **: JS ERROR: Gio.DBusError: 
GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.AccessDenied: Aucune session 
disponible
Sep  9 14:13:56 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
LoginDialog<._init@resource:///org/gnome/shell/gdm/loginDialog.js:384
Sep  9 14:13:56 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
wrapper@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:169
Sep  9 14:13:56 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
_Base.prototype._construct@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:110
Sep  9 14:13:56 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
Class.prototype._construct/newClass@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:204
Sep  9 14:13:56 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
ScreenShield<._ensureUnlockDialog@resource:///org/gnome/shell/ui/screenShield.js:972
Sep  9 14:13:56 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
wrapper@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:169
Sep  9 14:13:56 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
ScreenShield<._onDragBegin@resource:///org/gnome/shell/ui/screenShield.js:762
Sep  9 14:13:56 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
wrapper@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:169
Sep  9 14:13:56 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: (gnome-shell:2376): 
Gjs-WARNING **: JS ERROR: Gio.DBusError: 
GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.AccessDenied: Aucune session 
disponible
Sep  9 14:13:56 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
LoginDialog<._init@resource:///org/gnome/shell/gdm/loginDialog.js:384
Sep  9 14:13:56 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
wrapper@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:169
Sep  9 14:13:56 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
_Base.prototype._construct@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:110
Sep  9 14:13:56 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
Class.prototype._construct/newClass@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:204
Sep  9 14:13:56 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
ScreenShield<._ensureUnlockDialog@resource:///org/gnome/shell/ui/screenShield.js:972
Sep  9 14:13:56 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
wrapper@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:169
Sep  9 14:13:56 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
ScreenShield<._onDragBegin@resource:///org/gnome/shell/ui/screenShield.js:762
Sep  9 14:13:56 pac-sm-gafl01 gnome-session[2194]: 
wrapper@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/lang.js:169

The server may always be accessed with ssh -X and applications run 
correctly (icedove, iceweasel, libreoffice, ...).
The call of emacs triggers a warning
** (emacs:2851): WARNING **: Couldn't connect to accessibility bus: 
Failed to connect to socket /tmp/dbus-81F8V6koGO: Connexion refusée
... that disappears when the user has NO_AT_BRIDGE=1 in its environment.

I hope that these elements will have some meaning for some people 
knowing better than me gnome, gdm3 and jessie. My feeling is that the 
origin of the problem is due to bad configuration somewhere rather than 
in inconsistent libraries, but I may be wrong.

All advices and questions are welcome !

Already many thanks to have read all that...

Jean-Paul

---

From: Laurent Bigonville <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2016 10:09:34 +0200

Jean-Paul Bouchet wrote:
 > [...]
 > Check that logind is properly installed and pam_systemd is getting 
used at login.
 > [...]

Could you check if you have libpam-systemd package installed? And also 
please check if "loginctl" shows sessions.

Cheers,

Laurent Bigonville

---

From: Jean-Paul Bouchet <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 12 Sep 2016 11:13:13 +0200

Hello,

It seems that libpam-systemd is correctly installed

dpkg --status libpam-systemd
Package: libpam-systemd
Status: install ok installed
Priority: optional
Section: admin
Installed-Size: 304
Maintainer: Debian systemd Maintainers 
<[email-masked]>
Architecture: amd64
Multi-Arch: same
Source: systemd
Version: 215-17+deb8u4
...

system.logind is running but may be blocked:

4 S root       1644      1  0  80   0 -  4964 -      sept.09 ?      
00:00:00 /lib/systemd/systemd-logind

systemctl -l status systemd-logind.service
● systemd-logind.service - Login Service
    Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/systemd-logind.service; static)
    Active: active (running) since ven. 2016-09-09 13:47:14 CEST; 2 days ago
      Docs: man:systemd-logind.service(8)
            man:logind.conf(5)
            http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd/logind
http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd/multiseat
  Main PID: 1644 (systemd-logind)
    Status: "Processing requests..."
    CGroup: /system.slice/systemd-logind.service
            └─1644 /lib/systemd/systemd-logind

sept. 09 13:47:14 pac-sm-gafl01 systemd-logind[1644]: New seat seat0.
sept. 09 13:47:14 pac-sm-gafl01 systemd-logind[1644]: Watching system 
buttons on /dev/input/event0 (Power Button)

loginctl shows no session:
loginctl
    SESSION        UID USER             SEAT

0 sessions listed.
May be there has been an attempt of creating a session for Debian-gdm to 
launch on the console the greetings screen?

The last update of most files in ~Debian-gdm correspond with the last 
reboot of the server.
ll -a ~Debian-gdm/
total 36
drwxr-xr-x  6 Debian-gdm Debian-gdm 4096 sept. 12 09:42 .
drwxr-xr-x 70 root       root       4096 sept.  9 13:30 ..
drwx------  4 Debian-gdm Debian-gdm 4096 sept.  9 13:47 .cache
drwx------  6 Debian-gdm Debian-gdm 4096 sept.  9 13:47 .config
drwx------  3 Debian-gdm Debian-gdm 4096 sept.  9 13:47 .dbus
-rw-r--r--  1 Debian-gdm Debian-gdm 5251 sept.  9 13:47 
greeter-dconf-defaults
-rw-------  1 Debian-gdm Debian-gdm 2084 sept. 12 09:42 .ICEauthority
drwx------  3 Debian-gdm Debian-gdm 4096 sept.  9 13:47 .local

Best regards,

Jean-Paul Bouchet