As it happens I ended up deleting my /tmp file. after a reboot the machine failed to get to the graphical display (x11). After some research here is what fixed it:
(move to a shell by ctr+alt+F1 or F2 or ... F6)
sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg
if that doesn't work you can try something a bit more drastic
sudo apt-get install -- reinstall xserver-xorg
once you get that done try starting the graphic mode:
startx
this made the cursor visible and the wallpaper. But nothing else. The solution was
sudo service gdm restart
This will get you to the password page. You might be surprised that the machine didn't recognize my passport, until you know that /tmp is the place these things are communicated to the system and it has to be writable by everyone:
chmod 777 /tmp
once that is fixed you should try startx the previous sudo serve command it will work.
(move to a shell by ctr+alt+F1 or F2 or ... F6)
sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg
if that doesn't work you can try something a bit more drastic
sudo apt-get install -- reinstall xserver-xorg
once you get that done try starting the graphic mode:
startx
this made the cursor visible and the wallpaper. But nothing else. The solution was
sudo service gdm restart
This will get you to the password page. You might be surprised that the machine didn't recognize my passport, until you know that /tmp is the place these things are communicated to the system and it has to be writable by everyone:
chmod 777 /tmp
once that is fixed you should try startx the previous sudo serve command it will work.
