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#1 2026-07-20 09:12:39
- pertera
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- Registered: 2026-07-20
- Posts: 12
[SOLVED] gdm/GNOME fails to start
After spending severals hours reading the forum and searching the web I still can not start a GNOME session and seek for help with this post. To my excuse I haven't used the laptop for almost two years before I ran an update last week. Surprisingly I could fix all the conflicts and .pacnew files so that the upgrade ran through. But after a reboot GNOME wouldn't come back to life. From my opinion the problem lies in running Wayland even though I would say that I had GNOME running with Wayland before.
For example I followed this and this ticket without success. Following this conversation I tried removing gdm and run GNOME manually without success. The forbidden gnome-shell only works sometimes supposingly when I start dbus-run-session -- bash beforehand. gnome-shell --wayland doesn't work and always results in a core dump.
After following a few other posts and checking my graphic driver i915 is correct for the Intel HD Graphics 520. I also checked that KMS is active, removed all my extensions and even created a fresh user which all didn't help.
I installed lightdm with no luck and the same behaviour: after systemctl start lightdm the system feezes. No interaction is possible even console switches which makes it even harder to debug.
Back to gdm I had a fresh /etc/gdm/custom.conf without any wayland=false config but activated debugging. One time I could reach a shell after gdm crashing and could save the following log:
journalctl -u gdm only says
Gdm: GdmDisplay: Session never registered, fail>
Gdm: Child process -1861 was already dead.
I appreciate any help on this to get my gnome-session back working.
Last edited by pertera (2026-07-23 20:22:06)
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#2 2026-07-20 12:34:50
- seth
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Re: [SOLVED] gdm/GNOME fails to start
Please disable the GDM debug noise, reboot, switch to VT3 (ctrl+alt+F3) and post the complete journal for the boot
sudo journalctl -b | curl -s -H "Accept: application/json, */*" --upload-file - 'https://paste.c-net.org/'Offline
#3 2026-07-20 18:47:41
- pertera
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Re: [SOLVED] gdm/GNOME fails to start
Not so easy when everything freezes but here it is:
https://paste.c-net.org/RollinLanguage
I removed the debug and enabled gdm with systemd as well.
Thanks for your help!
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#4 2026-07-20 19:52:37
- seth
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Re: [SOLVED] gdm/GNOME fails to start
Jul 20 19:49:38 arch systemd[1]: Started Session 1 of User gdm-greeter.
Jul 20 19:49:38 arch /usr/lib/gdm-wayland-session[709]: dbus-daemon[709]: [session uid=60578 pid=709 pidfd=5] Activating service name='org.freedesktop.systemd1' requested by ':1.0' (uid=60578 pid=706 comm="/usr/lib/gdm-wayland-session gnome-session")
Jul 20 19:49:38 arch /usr/lib/gdm-wayland-session[709]: dbus-daemon[709]: [session uid=60578 pid=709 pidfd=5] Activated service 'org.freedesktop.systemd1' failed: Process org.freedesktop.systemd1 exited with status 1
Jul 20 19:49:38 arch dockerd[669]: time="2026-07-20T19:49:38.563224723+02:00" level=info msg="Deleting nftables IPv4 rules" error="running nft: /dev/stdin:1:17-30: Error: Could not process rule: No such file or directory\ndelete table ip docker-bridges\n ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^\n exit status 1"
Jul 20 19:49:38 arch dockerd[669]: time="2026-07-20T19:49:38.570024999+02:00" level=info msg="Deleting nftables IPv6 rules" error="running nft: /dev/stdin:1:18-31: Error: Could not process rule: No such file or directory\ndelete table ip6 docker-bridges\n ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^\n exit status 1"
Jul 20 19:49:38 arch gnome-session-i[715]: Failed to upload environment to systemd: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.NameHasNoOwner: Name "org.freedesktop.systemd1" does not exist
Jul 20 19:49:38 arch gnome-session-i[715]: Failed to check if a graphical session is running: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.NameHasNoOwner: Name "org.freedesktop.systemd1" does not exist
Jul 20 19:49:38 arch gnome-session-i[715]: Failed to reset failed state of units: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.NameHasNoOwner: Name "org.freedesktop.systemd1" does not exist
Jul 20 19:49:38 arch gnome-session-i[715]: Starting GNOME session target: gnome-session@gnome.target
Jul 20 19:49:38 arch gnome-session-i[715]: Failed to start unit gnome-session@gnome.target: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.NameHasNoOwner: Name "org.freedesktop.systemd1" does not exist
Jul 20 19:49:38 arch systemd-coredump[726]: Process 715 (gnome-session-i) of user 60578 terminated abnormally with signal 6/ABRT, processing...Jul 20 19:49:36 arch dbus-broker-launch[556]: Looking up NSS user entry for 'pulse'...
Jul 20 19:49:36 arch dbus-broker-launch[556]: NSS returned no entry for 'pulse'
Jul 20 19:49:36 arch dbus-broker-launch[556]: Invalid user-name in /usr/share/dbus-1/system.d/pulseaudio-system.conf +27: user="pulse"
Jul 20 19:49:36 arch dbus-broker-launch[556]: Ready
Jul 20 19:49:38 arch dbus-broker-launch[556]: Activation request for 'org.freedesktop.home1' failed: The systemd unit 'dbus-org.freedesktop.home1.service' could not be found.
Jul 20 19:49:38 arch accounts-daemon[620]: couldn't list homed users: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.NameHasNoOwner: Could not activate remote peer 'org.freedesktop.home1': activation request failed: unknown unitTry to run the script in dbus-unbreaker
Not sure whether the pulseaudio config is culpable but the system bus is broken and there's unusually little dbus noise.
Also disable systemd-networkd (you're running NM) and try to disable docker and containerd (because all of this is network sensitive)
Also post the outputs of
sudo LC_ALL=C pacman -Qkk | grep -v ', 0 altered files' | grep -v backup
find /etc/systemd -type l -exec test -f {} \; -print | awk -F'/' '{ printf ("%-40s | %s\n", $(NF-0), $(NF-1)) }' | sort -f(you can disable GDM for this again, resp. just boot the multi-user.target, see the 2nd link below)
Unrelated
Jul 20 19:49:35 arch kernel: Command line: BOOT_IMAGE=/vmlinuz-linux root=/dev/mapper/NVM-root rw cryptdevice=UUID=XXXX:NVM:allow-discards root=/dev/NVM/root resume=UUID=XXXXThe UUIDs there exist for deterministic addressing of the partition/filesystem and are not sensitive data.
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#5 2026-07-21 08:25:36
- pertera
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- Posts: 12
Re: [SOLVED] gdm/GNOME fails to start
I remember that I had troubles with dbus before related with gnome-keyring. Not sure if I fixed that or just messed it up even more -.- But the dbus-unbreaker looks good:
WARNING: xmlstarlet not found, limited validity check only
-------
45 of 45 look ok to meAlso disable systemd-networkd (you're running NM) and try to disable docker and containerd (because all of this is network sensitive)
Done.
Also post the outputs of
sudo LC_ALL=C pacman -Qkk | grep -v ', 0 altered files' | grep -v backup find /etc/systemd -type l -exec test -f {} \; -print | awk -F'/' '{ printf ("%-40s | %s\n", $(NF-0), $(NF-1)) }' | sort -f
warning: cups: /etc/cups/printers.conf (Permissions mismatch)
warning: cups: /etc/cups/subscriptions.conf (Permissions mismatch)
warning: dropbox: /opt/dropbox/dropboxd (Modification time mismatch)
warning: filesystem: /etc/gshadow (Permissions mismatch)
warning: filesystem: /etc/shadow (Permissions mismatch)
warning: filesystem: /usr/local (UID mismatch)
warning: filesystem: /usr/local (GID mismatch)
warning: filesystem: /usr/local/bin (UID mismatch)
warning: filesystem: /usr/local/bin (GID mismatch)
warning: filesystem: /usr/local/lib (UID mismatch)
warning: filesystem: /usr/local/lib (GID mismatch)
warning: gdm: /etc/gdm/Xsession (No such file or directory)
warning: java-runtime-common: /usr/lib/jvm/default (Symlink path mismatch)
warning: java-runtime-common: /usr/lib/jvm/default (Modification time mismatch)
warning: java-runtime-common: /usr/lib/jvm/default-runtime (Symlink path mismatch)
warning: java-runtime-common: /usr/lib/jvm/default-runtime (Modification time mismatch)
warning: libutempter: /usr/lib/utempter/utempter (GID mismatch)
warning: libutempter: /usr/lib/utempter/utempter (Permissions mismatch)
warning: libvlc: /usr/lib/vlc/plugins/plugins.dat (Modification time mismatch)
warning: libvlc: /usr/lib/vlc/plugins/plugins.dat (Size mismatch)
warning: libvlc: /usr/lib/vlc/plugins/plugins.dat (SHA256 checksum mismatch)
warning: lua54: /usr/lib/liblua.so.5.4 (No such file or directory)
warning: systemd: /var/log/journal (GID mismatch)
warning: texlive-basic: /etc/texmf/tex/generic/config/language.dat (Modification time mismatch)
warning: texlive-basic: /etc/texmf/tex/generic/config/language.dat (Size mismatch)
warning: texlive-basic: /etc/texmf/tex/generic/config/language.dat (SHA256 checksum mismatch)
warning: texlive-basic: /etc/texmf/tex/generic/config/language.dat.lua (Modification time mismatch)
warning: texlive-basic: /etc/texmf/tex/generic/config/language.dat.lua (Size mismatch)
warning: texlive-basic: /etc/texmf/tex/generic/config/language.dat.lua (SHA256 checksum mismatch)
warning: texlive-basic: /etc/texmf/tex/generic/config/language.def (Modification time mismatch)
warning: texlive-basic: /etc/texmf/tex/generic/config/language.def (Size mismatch)
warning: texlive-basic: /etc/texmf/tex/generic/config/language.def (SHA256 checksum mismatch)
cups: 947 total files, 2 altered files
dropbox: 219 total files, 1 altered file
filesystem: 127 total files, 5 altered files
gdm: 526 total files, 1 altered file
java-runtime-common: 21 total files, 2 altered files
libutempter: 20 total files, 1 altered file
libvlc: 120 total files, 1 altered file
lua54: 45 total files, 1 altered file
systemd: 1918 total files, 1 altered file
texlive-basic: 2676 total files, 3 altered filesAnd the second one:
autovt@.service | system
blk-availability.service | sysinit.target.wants
dbus-org.freedesktop.NetworkManager.service | system
dbus-org.freedesktop.nm-dispatcher.service | system
dbus-org.freedesktop.resolve1.service | system
dbus-org.freedesktop.timesync1.service | system
dbus.socket | default.target.wants
dm-event.service | sysinit.target.wants
fstrim.timer | multi-user.target.wants
fstrim.timer | timers.target.wants
gcr-ssh-agent.socket | sockets.target.wants
getty@tty1.service | getty.target.wants
gnome-keyring-daemon.socket | sockets.target.wants
krb5-kpropd.service | multi-user.target.wants
krb5-kpropd.socket | sockets.target.wants
lvm2-monitor.service | sysinit.target.wants
NetworkManager.service | multi-user.target.wants
p11-kit-server.socket | sockets.target.wants
pipewire-media-session.service | pipewire.service.wants
pipewire-session-manager.service | user
pipewire.socket | sockets.target.wants
pulseaudio.socket | sockets.target.wants
remote-fs.target | multi-user.target.wants
rlogin.socket | sockets.target.wants
rsh.socket | sockets.target.wants
speech-dispatcher.socket | sockets.target.wants
systemd-journal-remote.socket | sockets.target.wants
systemd-resolved.service | multi-user.target.wants
systemd-timesyncd.service | sysinit.target.wants
talk.socket | sockets.target.wants
uuidd.socket | sockets.target.wants
xdg-user-dirs.service | graphical-session-pre.target.wantsThe UUIDs there exist for deterministic addressing of the partition/filesystem and are not sensitive data.
Thanks for pointing that out. I rather post less data than too much 
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#6 2026-07-21 14:33:50
- seth
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Re: [SOLVED] gdm/GNOME fails to start
warning: gdm: /etc/gdm/Xsession (No such file or directory)
Though not really relevant if you're not trying to start an X11 session
Replace pulseaudio w/ pipewire-pulse, that will likely also take care of the warning.
You probably also want to look into /usr/local* ownership and the missing liblua.so.5.4 but none of that really explains the broken system bus.
WARNING: xmlstarlet not found, limited validity check only
https://archlinux.org/packages/extra/x86_64/xmlstarlet/
Sicne dbus-broker will die on bogus configs, you should rather double-check this.
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#7 2026-07-21 17:20:06
- pertera
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- Registered: 2026-07-20
- Posts: 12
Re: [SOLVED] gdm/GNOME fails to start
warning: gdm: /etc/gdm/Xsession (No such file or directory)
Though not really relevant if you're not trying to start an X11 session
I just deleted /etc/gdm/Xsessino recently hoping to fix gdm and not using x11.
I replaced pulseaudio and installed xmlstarlet but dbus-unbreaker still doesn't find anything:
-------
44 of 44 look ok to meOffline
#8 2026-07-21 19:10:58
- seth
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- Posts: 76,983
Re: [SOLVED] gdm/GNOME fails to start
'key… can anything else talk to the system bus?
loginctl list-sessions
dbus-send --system --print-reply --dest=org.freedesktop.DBus /org/freedesktop/DBus org.freedesktop.DBus.ListNames | sed '/string/!d; s/^\s*string //g'If you've qdbus6 installed "qdbus6 --system" will do instead of the longish dbus-send call.
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#9 2026-07-21 20:14:00
- pertera
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- Registered: 2026-07-20
- Posts: 12
Re: [SOLVED] gdm/GNOME fails to start
Here are the sessions:
SESSION UID USER SEAT LEADER CLASS TTY IDLE SINCE
1 1000 pertera seat0 603 user tty1 no -
2 1000 pertera - 631 manager - no -
2 sessions listed.And since I don't have qdbus6 here is the output of dbus-send:
"org.freedesktop.DBus"
":1.0"
":1.1"
":1.2"
":1.3"
":1.4"
":1.5"
":1.8"
":1.13"
":1.15"
":1.16"
":1.17"
":1.18"
":1.20"
":1.21"
":1.22"
":1.24"
":1.25"
":1.26"
":1.27"
":1.28"
":1.29"
":1.30"
":1.31"
":1.35"
":1.36"
":1.37"
":1.40"
":1.42"
":1.48"
":1.49"
":1.50"
":1.74"
":1.89"
":1.96"
":1.100"
"fi.w1.wpa_supplicant1"
"net.hadess.PowerProfiles"
"org.freedesktop.Accounts"
"org.freedesktop.ColorManager"
"org.freedesktop.NetworkManager"
"org.freedesktop.PolicyKit1"
"org.freedesktop.RealtimeKit1"
"org.freedesktop.UDisks2"
"org.freedesktop.UPower"
"org.freedesktop.UPower.PowerProfiles"
"org.freedesktop.login1"
"org.freedesktop.resolve1"
"org.freedesktop.systemd1"
"org.freedesktop.timesync1"As supposed in my first post I can start a gnome-shell after running dbus-run-session -- bash. Indeed something is wrong with dbus but even after starting it manually I can not run gnome-session.
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#10 2026-07-21 20:17:19
- seth
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Re: [SOLVED] gdm/GNOME fails to start
w/o and before "dbus-run-session -- bash"
printenvgnome-shell --wayland doesn't work and always results in a core dump.
Do you have such core dump, https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Core_d … _core_dump ?
(Just to ensure there's no second layer issue)
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#11 2026-07-22 06:43:46
- pertera
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- Posts: 12
Re: [SOLVED] gdm/GNOME fails to start
printenv right after boot:
SHELL=/bin/bash
VSSCRIPT_PATH=/usr/lib/python3.14/site-packages/vapoursynth/libvsscript.so
XDG_SEAT=seat0
PWD=/home/pertera
LOGNAME=pertera
XDG_SESSION_TYPE=wayland
MOTD_SHOWN=pam
HOME=/home/pertera
LANG=de_DE.UTF-8
LS_COLORS=rs=0:di=01;34:ln=01;36:mh=00:pi=40;33:so=01;35:do=01;35:bd=40;33;01:cd=40;33;01:or=40;31;01:mi=00:su=37;41:sg=30;43:ca=00:tw=30;42:ow=34;42:st=37;44:ex=01;32:*.7z=01;31:*.ace=01;31:*.alz=01;31:*.apk=01;31:*.arc=01;31:*.arj=01;31:*.bz=01;31:*.bz2=01;31:*.cab=01;31:*.cpio=01;31:*.crate=01;31:*.deb=01;31:*.drpm=01;31:*.dwm=01;31:*.dz=01;31:*.ear=01;31:*.egg=01;31:*.esd=01;31:*.gz=01;31:*.jar=01;31:*.lha=01;31:*.lrz=01;31:*.lz=01;31:*.lz4=01;31:*.lzh=01;31:*.lzma=01;31:*.lzo=01;31:*.pyz=01;31:*.rar=01;31:*.rpm=01;31:*.rz=01;31:*.sar=01;31:*.swm=01;31:*.t7z=01;31:*.tar=01;31:*.taz=01;31:*.tbz=01;31:*.tbz2=01;31:*.tgz=01;31:*.tlz=01;31:*.txz=01;31:*.tz=01;31:*.tzo=01;31:*.tzst=01;31:*.udeb=01;31:*.war=01;31:*.whl=01;31:*.wim=01;31:*.xz=01;31:*.z=01;31:*.zip=01;31:*.zoo=01;31:*.zst=01;31:*.avif=01;35:*.jpg=01;35:*.jpeg=01;35:*.jxl=01;35:*.mjpg=01;35:*.mjpeg=01;35:*.gif=01;35:*.bmp=01;35:*.pbm=01;35:*.pgm=01;35:*.ppm=01;35:*.tga=01;35:*.xbm=01;35:*.xpm=01;35:*.tif=01;35:*.tiff=01;35:*.png=01;35:*.svg=01;35:*.svgz=01;35:*.mng=01;35:*.pcx=01;35:*.mov=01;35:*.mpg=01;35:*.mpeg=01;35:*.m2v=01;35:*.mkv=01;35:*.webm=01;35:*.webp=01;35:*.ogm=01;35:*.mp4=01;35:*.m4v=01;35:*.mp4v=01;35:*.vob=01;35:*.qt=01;35:*.nuv=01;35:*.wmv=01;35:*.asf=01;35:*.rm=01;35:*.rmvb=01;35:*.flc=01;35:*.avi=01;35:*.fli=01;35:*.flv=01;35:*.gl=01;35:*.dl=01;35:*.xcf=01;35:*.xwd=01;35:*.yuv=01;35:*.cgm=01;35:*.emf=01;35:*.ogv=01;35:*.ogx=01;35:*.aac=00;36:*.au=00;36:*.flac=00;36:*.m4a=00;36:*.mid=00;36:*.midi=00;36:*.mka=00;36:*.mp3=00;36:*.mpc=00;36:*.ogg=00;36:*.ra=00;36:*.wav=00;36:*.oga=00;36:*.opus=00;36:*.spx=00;36:*.xspf=00;36:*~=00;90:*#=00;90:*.bak=00;90:*.crdownload=00;90:*.dpkg-dist=00;90:*.dpkg-new=00;90:*.dpkg-old=00;90:*.dpkg-tmp=00;90:*.old=00;90:*.orig=00;90:*.part=00;90:*.rej=00;90:*.rpmnew=00;90:*.rpmorig=00;90:*.rpmsave=00;90:*.swp=00;90:*.tmp=00;90:*.ucf-dist=00;90:*.ucf-new=00;90:*.ucf-old=00;90:
XDG_SESSION_CLASS=user
TERM=linux
USER=pertera
SHLVL=1
XDG_VTNR=1
XDG_SESSION_ID=1
MOZ_PLUGIN_PATH=/usr/lib/mozilla/plugins
XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/1000
DEBUGINFOD_URLS=https://debuginfod.archlinux.org
PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/usr/lib/jvm/default/bin:/usr/bin/site_perl:/usr/bin/vendor_perl:/usr/bin/core_perl
MAIL=/var/spool/mail/pertera
_=/usr/bin/printenvHere is journalctl after running gnome-session. Interestingly there is a message bus started right before.
Jul 22 08:27:48 arch systemd[1]: Started User Manager for UID 1000.
Jul 22 08:27:48 arch systemd[1]: Started Session 1 of User pertera.
Jul 22 08:27:48 arch systemd[647]: Started GNOME Keyring daemon.
Jul 22 08:27:48 arch gnome-keyring-daemon[657]: GNOME_KEYRING_CONTROL=/run/user/1000/keyring
Jul 22 08:27:48 arch systemd[647]: Started D-Bus Message Bus.
Jul 22 08:27:48 arch login[606]: gkr-pam: unlocked login keyring
Jul 22 08:27:48 arch login[606]: LOGIN ON tty1 BY pertera
Jul 22 08:27:49 arch systemd[1]: NetworkManager-dispatcher.service: Deactivated successfully.
Jul 22 08:27:58 arch systemd-timesyncd[390]: Contacted time server 85.202.163.55:123 (2.arch.pool.ntp.org).
Jul 22 08:27:58 arch systemd-timesyncd[390]: Initial clock synchronization to Wed 2026-07-22 08:27:58.515179 CEST.
Jul 22 08:27:58 arch systemd[1]: systemd-hostnamed.service: Deactivated successfully.
Jul 22 08:28:38 arch systemd-coredump[736]: Process 724 (gnome-session) of user 1000 terminated abnormally with signal 6/ABRT, processing...
Jul 22 08:28:38 arch systemd[1]: Created slice Slice /system/systemd-coredump.
Jul 22 08:28:38 arch systemd[1]: Started Process Core Dump (PID 736/UID 0).
Jul 22 08:28:38 arch systemd-coredump[737]: Process 724 (gnome-session) of user 1000 dumped core.
Stack trace of thread 724:
#0 0x00007fc6eca9981c n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x9981c)
#1 0x00007fc6eca3e150 raise (libc.so.6 + 0x3e150)
#2 0x00007fc6eca2567d abort (libc.so.6 + 0x2567d)
#3 0x00007fc6ecd640fc n/a (libglib-2.0.so.0 + 0x1e0fc)
#4 0x00007fc6ecdae2a2 g_log_default_handler (libglib-2.0.so.0 + 0x682a2)
#5 0x00007fc6ecdae5c6 g_logv (libglib-2.0.so.0 + 0x685c6)
#6 0x00007fc6ecdae924 g_log (libglib-2.0.so.0 + 0x68924)
#7 0x0000564be88d5b0d n/a (gnome-session + 0x2b0d)
#8 0x00007fc6eca27741 n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x27741)
#9 0x00007fc6eca27879 __libc_start_main (libc.so.6 + 0x27879)
#10 0x0000564be88d5fd5 n/a (gnome-session + 0x2fd5)
Stack trace of thread 735:
#0 0x00007fc6eca9fff2 n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x9fff2)
#1 0x00007fc6eca9403c n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x9403c)
#2 0x00007fc6eca94084 n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x94084)
#3 0x00007fc6ecb0ecb6 ppoll (libc.so.6 + 0x10ecb6)
#4 0x00007fc6ecda9edf n/a (libglib-2.0.so.0 + 0x63edf)
#5 0x00007fc6ecda9fe5 g_main_context_iteration (libglib-2.0.so.0 + 0x63fe5)
#6 0x00007fc6ecdaa032 n/a (libglib-2.0.so.0 + 0x64032)
#7 0x00007fc6ecde0ad4 n/a (libglib-2.0.so.0 + 0x9aad4)
#8 0x00007fc6eca97739 n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x97739)
#9 0x00007fc6ecb1bedc n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x11bedc)
Stack trace of thread 734:
#0 0x00007fc6ecb19c5d syscall (libc.so.6 + 0x119c5d)
#1 0x00007fc6ecdd70de g_cond_wait (libglib-2.0.so.0 + 0x910de)
#2 0x00007fc6ecd6c54d n/a (libglib-2.0.so.0 + 0x2654d)
#3 0x00007fc6ecde0fd7 n/a (libglib-2.0.so.0 + 0x9afd7)
#4 0x00007fc6ecde0ad4 n/a (libglib-2.0.so.0 + 0x9aad4)
#5 0x00007fc6eca97739 n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x97739)
#6 0x00007fc6ecb1bedc n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x11bedc)
ELF object binary architecture: AMD x86-64
Jul 22 08:28:38 arch systemd[1]: systemd-coredump@0-1-736_4237-0.service: Deactivated successfully.
Jul 22 08:28:58 arch systemd[1]: Rotate log files skipped, unmet condition check ConditionACPower=trueAnd the very similar coredumpctl output:
PID: 724 (gnome-session)
TID: 724 (gnome-session)
UID: 1000 (pertera)
GID: 1000 (pertera)
Signal: 6 (ABRT) si_code: SI_TKILL
Timestamp: Wed 2026-07-22 08:28:38 CEST (9min ago)
Command Line: gnome-session --no-reexec
Executable: /usr/bin/gnome-session
Control Group: /user.slice/user-1000.slice/session-1.scope
Unit: session-1.scope
Slice: user-1000.slice
Session: 1
Owner UID: 1000 (pertera)
Boot ID: a99b23fc7c274a7bb1ba76979647cf7f
Machine ID: XXX
Hostname: arch
Storage: /var/lib/systemd/coredump/core.gnome-session.1000.a99b23fc7c274a7bb1ba76979647cf7f.724.1784701718000000.zst (present)
Size on Disk: 232.7K
Message: Process 724 (gnome-session) of user 1000 dumped core.
Stack trace of thread 724:
#0 0x00007fc6eca9981c n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x9981c)
#1 0x00007fc6eca3e150 raise (libc.so.6 + 0x3e150)
#2 0x00007fc6eca2567d abort (libc.so.6 + 0x2567d)
#3 0x00007fc6ecd640fc n/a (libglib-2.0.so.0 + 0x1e0fc)
#4 0x00007fc6ecdae2a2 g_log_default_handler (libglib-2.0.so.0 + 0x682a2)
#5 0x00007fc6ecdae5c6 g_logv (libglib-2.0.so.0 + 0x685c6)
#6 0x00007fc6ecdae924 g_log (libglib-2.0.so.0 + 0x68924)
#7 0x0000564be88d5b0d n/a (gnome-session + 0x2b0d)
#8 0x00007fc6eca27741 n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x27741)
#9 0x00007fc6eca27879 __libc_start_main (libc.so.6 + 0x27879)
#10 0x0000564be88d5fd5 n/a (gnome-session + 0x2fd5)
Stack trace of thread 735:
#0 0x00007fc6eca9fff2 n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x9fff2)
#1 0x00007fc6eca9403c n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x9403c)
#2 0x00007fc6eca94084 n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x94084)
#3 0x00007fc6ecb0ecb6 ppoll (libc.so.6 + 0x10ecb6)
#4 0x00007fc6ecda9edf n/a (libglib-2.0.so.0 + 0x63edf)
#5 0x00007fc6ecda9fe5 g_main_context_iteration (libglib-2.0.so.0 + 0x63fe5)
#6 0x00007fc6ecdaa032 n/a (libglib-2.0.so.0 + 0x64032)
#7 0x00007fc6ecde0ad4 n/a (libglib-2.0.so.0 + 0x9aad4)
#8 0x00007fc6eca97739 n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x97739)
#9 0x00007fc6ecb1bedc n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x11bedc)
Stack trace of thread 734:
#0 0x00007fc6ecb19c5d syscall (libc.so.6 + 0x119c5d)
#1 0x00007fc6ecdd70de g_cond_wait (libglib-2.0.so.0 + 0x910de)
#2 0x00007fc6ecd6c54d n/a (libglib-2.0.so.0 + 0x2654d)
#3 0x00007fc6ecde0fd7 n/a (libglib-2.0.so.0 + 0x9afd7)
#4 0x00007fc6ecde0ad4 n/a (libglib-2.0.so.0 + 0x9aad4)
#5 0x00007fc6eca97739 n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x97739)
#6 0x00007fc6ecb1bedc n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x11bedc)
ELF object binary architecture: AMD x86-64Offline
#12 2026-07-22 06:52:20
- seth
- Member
- From: Won't reply 2 private help req
- Registered: 2012-09-03
- Posts: 76,983
Re: [SOLVED] gdm/GNOME fails to start
That's the abort because dbus fails… $DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS isn't set for some reason … but "XDG_SESSION_TYPE=wayland" is
What environment is that from? It says "TERM=linux" so that would be a console.
How do you log in?
agetty or some TUI DM?
What sets the session type?
Any custom stuff in /etc/profile* or your bash_profile/bashrc (attempting some GUI autostart)?
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#13 2026-07-22 07:20:52
- pertera
- Member
- Registered: 2026-07-20
- Posts: 12
Re: [SOLVED] gdm/GNOME fails to start
Great that you found something!
I suppose I use agetty cause I never changed anything. After I disabled gdm/GNOME I log in with the default shell.
The session type is set because I tried to start GNOME manually and some tickets and the wiki suggest to do so: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/GNOME#Manually
In the .bashrc I tried multiple commands to fix this before but right now everything is commented.
For example this was when gnome-keyring broke:
# Try to fix broken dbus socket
#export DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS=unix:path=/run/user/1000/busAnd with this I could start GNOME before the last update:
# start wayland sessions
#if [[ -z $DISPLAY && $(tty) == /dev/tty1 && $XDG_SESSION_TYPE == tty ]]; then
# MOZ_ENABLE_WAYLAND=1 QT_QPA_PLATFORM=wayland XDG_SESSION_TYPE=wayland exec dbus-run-session gnome-session
#fiShould I even remove the comments? Thanks for helping me clean up my old system!
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#14 2026-07-22 07:55:07
- seth
- Member
- From: Won't reply 2 private help req
- Registered: 2012-09-03
- Posts: 76,983
Re: [SOLVED] gdm/GNOME fails to start
The commented lines are inert, but something is completely throwing off your access to the system and session bus, dbus-run-session isn't really a fix for that.
Have you already tried to disable dockerd and containerd?
Please post a journal from (that and) a multi-user.target login (network manager communicates w/ the system bus fine, from #9 pretty much everything else seems to…)
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#15 2026-07-22 09:01:32
- pertera
- Member
- Registered: 2026-07-20
- Posts: 12
Re: [SOLVED] gdm/GNOME fails to start
Sure, I tried to fix all your advice. dockerd and containerd are disabled, the package permissions are fixed. Just the lua library I haven't tackled yet.
I did a reboot and logged in with a new user and uploaded the log:
https://paste.c-net.org/VengefulConceal
Is that what you mean with multi-user.target login?
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#16 2026-07-22 11:56:40
- seth
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- From: Won't reply 2 private help req
- Registered: 2012-09-03
- Posts: 76,983
Re: [SOLVED] gdm/GNOME fails to start
"rien" - this looks completely innnocent.
Does that user also not have DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS set (you're NOT supposed to explicitly set that anywhere)
grep -ri dbus /etc 2>/dev/nullOffline
#17 2026-07-23 13:00:08
- pertera
- Member
- Registered: 2026-07-20
- Posts: 12
Re: [SOLVED] gdm/GNOME fails to start
The new user should not have any configuration other than the default in arch. But below there is actually a dbus address set. I don't know where it comes from but when you say it's not supposed to be set I'll try to remove it.
/etc/avahi/avahi-daemon.conf:#enable-dbus=yes
/etc/lvm/lvm.conf: # debug_classes = [ "memory", "devices", "io", "activation", "allocation", "metadata", "cache", "locking", "lvmpolld", "dbus" ]
/etc/lvm/lvm.conf: # Configuration option global/notify_dbus.
/etc/lvm/lvm.conf: # notify_dbus = 1
/etc/lvm/profile/lvmdbusd.profile:# LVM configuration profile used by lvmdbusd daemon.
/etc/lvm/profile/lvmdbusd.profile:# by lvmdbusd daemon which utilizes LVM shell to execute LVM commands.
/etc/lvm/profile/lvmdbusd.profile:# lvmdbusd and it contains configuration that is important for lvmdbusd to
/etc/lvm/profile/lvmdbusd.profile: # lvmdbusd expects JSON output
/etc/lvm/profile/lvmdbusd.profile: # *_cols_full for lvm fullreport's fields which lvmdbusd relies on to update its state
/etc/lvm/profile/lvmdbusd.profile: # lvmdbusd relies on command log report to inspect LVM command's execution status
/etc/lvm/profile/lvmdbusd.profile: # display only outermost LVM shell-related log that lvmdbusd inspects first after LVM command execution (it calls 'lastlog' for more detailed log afterwards if needed)
/etc/pulse/client.conf:; default-dbus-server =
/etc/libblockdev/3/conf.d/00-default.cfg:# sonames=libbd_lvm-dbus.so.0;libbd_lvm.so.0
/etc/libblockdev/3/conf.d/00-default.cfg:# would result in the libbd_lvm-dbus.so.0 shared object attempted to
/etc/pcmcia/config.opts:# CardBus bridge device itself; this file only affects resources
/etc/pcmcia/config.opts:# at all on resources used for 32-bit CardBus cards. Those are set by
/etc/rc_maps.cfg:* rc-avermedia-cardbus avermedia_cardbus.toml
/etc/group:dbus:x:81:
/etc/group:adbusers:x:984:
/etc/systemd/system/user@.service.d/dbus.conf:Environment=DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS=unix:path=/run/user/%I/dbus/user_bus_socket
/etc/systemd/user/dbus.socket:ListenStream=%t/dbus/user_bus_socket
/etc/systemd/user/dbus.service:Requires=dbus.socket
/etc/systemd/user/dbus.service:ExecStart=/usr/bin/dbus-daemon --session --address=systemd: --nofork --nopidfile --systemd-activation
/etc/systemd/user/dbus.service:ExecReload=/usr/bin/dbus-send --print-reply --session --type=method_call --dest=org.freedesktop.DBus / org.freedesktop.Dbus.ReloadConfig
/etc/dbus-1/system.d/org.gnome.GConf.Defaults.conf: "http://www.freedesktop.org/standards/dbus/1.0/busconfig.dtd">
/etc/group-:dbus:x:81:
/etc/group-:adbusers:x:984:
/etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc.d/50-systemd-user.sh:if command -v dbus-update-activation-environment >/dev/null 2>&1; then
/etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc.d/50-systemd-user.sh: dbus-update-activation-environment DISPLAY XAUTHORITY
/etc/hp/hplip.conf:dbus-build=yes
/etc/passwd:dbus:x:81:81:dbus:/:/usr/bin/nologin
/etc/xdg/Xwayland-session.d/00-at-spi:# Copy a11y bus address from the DBus session bus to the X11 root property.
/etc/passwd-:dbus:x:81:81:dbus:/:/usr/bin/nologinOffline
#18 2026-07-23 17:02:57
- seth
- Member
- From: Won't reply 2 private help req
- Registered: 2012-09-03
- Posts: 76,983
Re: [SOLVED] gdm/GNOME fails to start
Yes "should" …
Does that user have DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS set according to RealityCheck Tech?
pacman -Qo /etc/systemd/user/dbus.service
stat /etc/systemd/user/dbus.serviceEdit: iow where is that coming from and why are you overriding the dbus-broker service?
Last edited by seth (2026-07-23 17:03:33)
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#19 2026-07-23 18:25:36
- pertera
- Member
- Registered: 2026-07-20
- Posts: 12
Re: [SOLVED] gdm/GNOME fails to start
Does that user have DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS set according to RealityCheck Tech?
What do you mean by that?
I don't know where it comes from -.- It's not owned by any package and hasn't been touched for a while:
$ stat /etc/systemd/user/dbus.service
Datei: /etc/systemd/user/dbus.service
Größe: 308 Blöcke: 8 EA Block: 4096 reguläre Datei
Gerät: 253/1 Inode: 1313075 Verknüpfungen: 1
Zugriff: (0644/-rw-r--r--) Uid: ( 0/ root) Gid: ( 0/ root)
Zugriff: 2022-01-18 16:57:32.352629069 +0100
Modifiziert: 2022-01-18 16:57:32.352629069 +0100
Geändert: 2022-01-18 16:57:32.359295837 +0100
Geburt: 2022-01-18 16:57:32.352629069 +0100Can I remove /etc/systemd/user/dbus* and /etc/systemd/system/user@.service.d/dbus.conf?
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#20 2026-07-23 18:37:02
- seth
- Member
- From: Won't reply 2 private help req
- Registered: 2012-09-03
- Posts: 76,983
Re: [SOLVED] gdm/GNOME fails to start
What do you mean by that?
Log in as the test user and run
printenvCan I remove /etc/systemd/user/dbus* and /etc/systemd/system/user@.service.d/dbus.conf?
I don't know where it comes from
"move away"
diff'ing it against the vanilla version in /usr/lib might also shed some light about the intention.
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#21 2026-07-23 20:14:09
- pertera
- Member
- Registered: 2026-07-20
- Posts: 12
Re: [SOLVED] gdm/GNOME fails to start
printenv of the test user looks similar to mine posted above BUT it does show a DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS. That's probably what you were looking for?
SHELL=/usr/bin/bash
VSSCRIPT_PATH=/usr/lib/python3.14/site-packages/vapoursynth/libvsscript.so
XDG_SEAT=seat0
PWD=/home/test
LOGNAME=test
XDG_SESSION_TYPE=wayland
MOTD_SHOWN=pam
HOME=/home/test
LANG=de_DE.UTF-8
MUTTER_ALLOW_HYBRID=1
XDG_SESSION_CLASS=user
TERM=linux
USER=test
SHLVL=1
XDG_VTNR=1
XDG_SESSION_ID=1
MOZ_PLUGIN_PATH=/usr/lib/mozilla/plugins
XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/1001
DEBUGINFOD_URLS=https://debuginfod.archlinux.org
PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/usr/lib/jvm/default/bin:/usr/bin/site_perl:/usr/bin/vendor_perl:/usr/bin/core_perl
DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS=unix:path=/run/user/1001/bus
MAIL=/var/spool/mail/test
_=/usr/bin/printenvI moved the custom dbus configuration away and can start gnome-session again 
This works also for my user and even gdm seems to start normal. Yeey!
I compared the mystic configuration with /usr/lib but can not remember that I did any of that. It's probably just an old version of systemd? For my understanding: The configuration at /usr/lib is the vanilla version but I don't need to copy the files to /etc. My custom configuration overwrote and caused the error e.g. a missing dbus address. But if I don't have configuration at /etc the system will use /usr/lib and (ideally) adapt with future updates.
Thank you so much for helping me and solving the issue! It relieved me a little that the hours I invested myself where not wasted on an obvious mistake but even the expert had to dig a little deeper I learned a lot more about arch, thanks!
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#22 2026-07-24 05:40:06
- seth
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- From: Won't reply 2 private help req
- Registered: 2012-09-03
- Posts: 76,983
Re: [SOLVED] gdm/GNOME fails to start
I compared the mystic configuration with /usr/lib
If you're curious: what does the comparism resp. files look like?
My custom configuration overwrote and caused the error … if I don't have configuration at /etc the system will use /usr/lib
Correct.
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#23 2026-07-24 08:41:38
- pertera
- Member
- Registered: 2026-07-20
- Posts: 12
Re: [SOLVED] gdm/GNOME fails to start
If you're curious: what does the comparism resp. files look like?
$ diff /usr/lib/systemd/user/dbus.service /etc/systemd/user/dbus.service
2,6c2
< Description=D-Bus User Message Bus
< Documentation=man:dbus-broker-launch(1)
< DefaultDependencies=false
< After=dbus.socket
< Before=basic.target shutdown.target
---
> Description=D-Bus Message Bus
8d3
< Conflicts=shutdown.target
11,17c6,7
< Type=notify-reload
< Sockets=dbus.socket
< ExecStart=/usr/bin/dbus-broker-launch --scope user
< Slice=session.slice
<
< [Install]
< Alias=dbus.service
---
> ExecStart=/usr/bin/dbus-daemon --session --address=systemd: --nofork --nopidfile --systemd-activation
> ExecReload=/usr/bin/dbus-send --print-reply --session --type=method_call --dest=org.freedesktop.DBus / org.freedesktop.Dbus.ReloadConfig$ diff /usr/lib/systemd/user/dbus.socket /etc/systemd/user/dbus.socket
2c2,3
< Description=D-Bus User Message Bus Socket
---
> Description=D-Bus Message Bus Socket
> Before=sockets.target
5,6c6,9
< ListenStream=%t/bus
< ExecStartPost=-/usr/bin/systemctl --user set-environment DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS=unix:path=%t/bus
---
> ListenStream=%t/dbus/user_bus_socket
>
> [Install]
> WantedBy=default.target$ cat /etc/systemd/system/user@.service.d/dbus.conf
[Service]
Environment=DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS=unix:path=/run/user/%I/dbus/user_bus_socketOffline
#24 2026-07-24 15:27:26
- seth
- Member
- From: Won't reply 2 private help req
- Registered: 2012-09-03
- Posts: 76,983
Re: [SOLVED] gdm/GNOME fails to start
That would have been some version of https://archlinux.org/packages/core/x86 … mon-units/ which is of course incompatible w/ dbus-broker (the latter still running the system bus)
If missing "--syslog-only" so you probably tried to debug it at some point in 2022
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