Found out about "lightdm" and "gdm3".
sudo dpkg-reconfigure lightdm > doesn't do anything, so
sudo apt-get install --reinstall lightdm > works
During install I choose "lightdm" as default
sudo reboot
YES I HAVE A LOGIN SCREEN
BUT I CAN'T LOGIN because "Failed to start session"
Son of a....
So, that's it. A linux noob trying to install Zorin on his old laptop. NOT a happy journey. And I'm at a point I want to say screw it, back to Linux Mint. Boot, install and done. No hassle.
Hopefully someone can point me into the right direction, because I can't figure it out. My guess is still that I need to install the correct Nvidia Driver, but I don't know which one and how. The one Zorin offers me won't install.
If you are having login troubles from lightdm, you may wish to revert back to the default Display manager:
sudo apt install gdm
Follow the prompts to make gdm default again.
Edit grub:
sudo nano /etc/default/grub
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="nomodeset quiet splash" IF you are editing grub from the grub menu instead of through nano in the terminal, by either hitting e or esc at boot, then it will just be as in the thread you linked to.
I did this and rebooted. Still can't get passed the login screen "failed to start session"
If you are having login troubles from lightdm, you may wish to revert back to the default Display manager:
sudo apt install gdm
I get "package gdm is not available, but is referred to by another package. This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsoleted, or is only available from another source. E: Package 'gdm" has no installation candidate"
Yes, sudo apt install gdm3 works but says it's already installed.
Edited the grub file like you said and rebooted. I come to the login screen (which I can still see ) but I still can't login. After entering my password I get "failed to start session".
Yeah I know the feeling. Down the rabbit hole called "solution cause more problems" haha.
Tried that, command works, but still can't login. At this point, should I just start with a fresh install and try to tackle the "black screen at login" again?
We need to do the GRUB EDIT again, where you hit either e or esc at the Grub menu.
Again, read through until you find, "quiet splash"
This time, change it to: "quiet splash pci=nomsi"
My bad. Checked the grub file again, the change was still there. Did a sudo update-grub. After that rebooted. Unfortunately still a black login screen.
I am not sure on this one.
I understand you need the Nvidia 340 driver. That Graphics card has a bit of age to it... Perhaps enough so that Nvidia has dropped all support.
But I would think That Nouveau Drivers should be able to...
Yet you also said sudo ubuntu-driver autoinstall did nothing (A small note, it should be sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall, so it may be that there is a typo, there if you could please check.
This ends after 10 minutes with an error trying to install nvidia 3.40
Forgot to write the error down, naturally, because I wanted to reboot, login and try it again.
Reboot
Zorin Logo
Oh no! Something has gone wrong. A problem has occurred and the system can't recover. Please contact a system admin.
So yeah, forgot to mention that little fact. After running this command the entire system gets corrupted it seems. I ran into that exact same problem too today after running that same command. Only option was another re-install. And I don't see any other way around that now aswell...
Could this be a Zorin OS thing? Because my laptop was running Linux Mint just fine and had no issue at all with graphics and brightness. I don't care about switching graphics etc. I just want graphics (login screen) and working brightness control.
Maybe see if I get the same issue with a fresh Linux Mint install or not? If not than we can be sure it's a Zorin OS related issue, right?
) but I still can't login. After entering my password I get "failed to start session".