[wplug] gdm: "Failsafe dialog failed"

[Nathan Marcus]

Welcome to Linux!  Where your problem is always rare!  Although I must
say, "failsafe dialog failed" is the biggest oxymoron failure I have
heard of.  Re-installing X to an updated version might do something,
but by far a measure that seems unnecessary.

On 7/7/05, Brandon Kuczenski <brandon at 301south.net> wrote:
> Today is the day for stupid, inexplicable failures for which google has no
> assistance.  This time: I install the stupid closed-source nvidia drivers
> for my stupid built-in video card and suddenly 3D acceleration works, but
> my screen resolution is vastly reduced.  So I go back to the old 'nv'
> drivers but now I can't login to gdm.  When I try to login, I get the
> error in syslog:
> 
> Jul  7 22:56:50 localhost gdm[6383]: failsafe dialog failed (inhibitions: 0 0)
> Jul  7 22:56:53 localhost gdm[6383]: failsafe dialog failed (inhibitions: 0 1)
> Jul  7 22:56:55 localhost gdm[6383]: failsafe dialog failed (inhibitions: 1 1)
> 
> Nothing useful in XFree86.x.log, nothing useful in messages, nothing
> useful anywhere.  The web has about a dozen message posts of other people
> having this problem, but no solutions.
> 
> An important fact: other users -- that is, users who did not login with
> the evil closed-source drivers installed -- can still login.  Only I
> cannot.
> 
> Here is a comparison between an unsuccessful and a successful login:
> 
> # diff XFree86.0.log XFree86.1.log
> 25c25
> < (==) Log file: "/var/log/XFree86.0.log", Time: Thu Jul  7 23:12:16 2005
> ---
> > (==) Log file: "/var/log/XFree86.1.log", Time: Thu Jul  7 23:12:26 2005
> 47c47
> < (++) using VT number 7
> ---
> > (++) using VT number 8
> 721,726c721,723
> < (WW) Open APM failed (/dev/apm_bios) (No such file or directory)
> < (==) NV(0): Write-combining range (0xe8000000,0x2000000)
> < (**) NV(0): DPMS enabled
> < (==) RandR enabled
> < (II) Configured Mouse: ps2EnableDataReporting: succeeded
> < Could not init font path element unix/:7100, removing from list!
> ---
> > GetModeLine - scrn: 0 clock: 175500
> > GetModeLine - hdsp: 1600 hbeg: 1664 hend: 1856 httl: 2160
> >               vdsp: 1200 vbeg: 1201 vend: 1204 vttl: 1250 flags: 5
> 
> The > represents a successful login; the < represents a failed login.
> 
> I have no idea what to do next.  Literally.  I mean... reinstall X?  Seems
> rather extreme. But I'll try that next, I suppose.
> 
> desperately,
> Brandon
> 
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