> > I got as far as choosing this PAM option from a list but could not find the > list at the terminal and eventually had to shutdown and reboot.
Woops. Many thanks for taking the time to respond to my query on this.... > When I did this I got a login prompt that doesn't ask for a password. In other words, we can guess there's no program to call to query and text a password. > I am a bit stuck here. Have you tried having the boot loader pass the single-user parameter? I managed to reboot into the recovery mode with grub. I then managed to apt-get update again and the DVD reloaded. I also installed gnome. Gnome fired up OK in recovery mode and I then opened a root terminal and did aptitude dist-upgrade as well and didn't get the PAM problem this time as well and carried on with apt-get update and apt-get clean etc and then downloaded extra files from the repositories and got both dpkg --audit and apt-get check (or is it aptitude check) to run without complaint. All in recovery mode. But try as I might gnome wouldn't fire up in normal boot mode. I checked dmesg and var/log/messages etc to look for a crash explanation but could not see much there. The only thing was a firmware rtl type error message. So I reinstalled instead. I have backups of the work files I use. > I have a weekly build of Debian Testing DVD #1 I burned at the weekend. > > I am trying to get the OS reading from the DVD again. Booting the DVD, dropping to rescue mode, and mounting the hard disk would allow you a look at the logs to see what it was trying to do and how far it got when you couldn't move ahead. I did look at the logs as you suggested but maybe not all of the ones that would be helpful here. By the way, the firestarter package is not in Jessie (Testing). I installed something called firewalld and an applet program nearby in the synaptic alphabetical list of packages. This package seems to work differently from other firewalls. A dumb level, how do I know if it is working? Will it automatically work after being installed or does it need to be manually set? > Suggestions welcome here. On Mon, Sep 15, 2014 at 1:54 PM, Joel Rees <[email protected]> wrote: > On Mon, Sep 15, 2014 at 6:54 PM, Michael Fothergill > <[email protected]> wrote: > > Dear Debian folks, > > > > I am running Debian Testing on an AMD64 box. > > > > I was trying to update it with new packages and got dependency problems. > > > > I got as far as choosing this PAM option from a list but could not find > the > > list at the terminal and eventually had to shutdown and reboot. > > Woops. > > > When I did this I got a login prompt that doesn't ask for a password. > > In other words, we can guess there's no program to call to query and > text a password. > > > I am a bit stuck here. > > Have you tried having the boot loader pass the single-user parameter? > > In a grub boot menu, you would hit e for edit and add "single" to the > "linux" line. > > I'm not sure whether you'll be able to run dpkg at that point, but, if > so, you might be able to have a re-go at the PAM module. I'm not sure > that will be enough, either. > > You may need to bring up the network interface first, of course, or > point dpkg to your install DVD. > > > I have a weekly build of Debian Testing DVD #1 I burned at the weekend. > > > > I am trying to get the OS reading from the DVD again. > > Booting the DVD, dropping to rescue mode, and mounting the hard disk > would allow you a look at the logs to see what it was trying to do and > how far it got when you couldn't move ahead. > > > Suggestions welcome here. > > May be some hints here: > > > https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/debian-reference/ch02.en.html#_recovery_from_a_broken_system > > https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/debian-reference/ch03.en.html#_stage_2_the_boot_loader > https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/debian-reference/ch04.en.html > https://wiki.debian.org/PAM > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_GRUB > > -- > Joel Rees > > Be careful where you see conspiracy. > Look first in your own heart, > and ask yourself if you are not your own worst enemy. > > > -- > To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [email protected] > with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact > [email protected] > Archive: > https://lists.debian.org/CAAr43iPmAq8ipqUURDE9dA=92jb0q56oka8qrkpqdzgoui0...@mail.gmail.com > >
