Black Screen: VNC on Debian 8

[baker7]

Hello again everyone:

I am running Debian 8, and I want to use VNC to view my desktop in gnome-session or in x-window-manager, but each time I start up my vnc server on Cardinal, I get a Login window for VNC, and I put my password into the box, and then I get a Black Screen, and I cannot see my desktop - Regardless of what I Try to do, I cannot get VNC to work with a window Manager - Just yesterday, it was complaining about cinnamon crashing, and I am unable to find either an appropriate fix that works for my debian server, or a YouTube Video that will show me how to set it up so it will work correctly.....

Can someone give me a hand here? At one time, several (5-6) years ago, I was able to get it to work, and I do NOT know what I did, and I cant get it to work.....

Brian

[GuiltySpark]

Not sure what's being asked here, you have VNC on your Linux server but which VNC?

What is referred to when you say Cardinal?

Do you have more than one VNC on your system?

Do you have userid sessions set up for one only?

Its very difficult to understand exactly what your set up is as we can't see it.

[baker7]

(03-16-2016, 11:42 PM)GuiltySpark Wrote:  Not sure what's being asked here, you have VNC on your Linux server but which VNC?

What is referred to when you say Cardinal?

Do you have more than one VNC on your system?

Do you have userid sessions set up for one only?

Its very difficult to understand exactly what your set up is as we can't see it.

OK: This is the situation:

I am running Cardinal.buddy-baker.us - He is a Debian 8 "Jessie" Machine:


====================================================
Kernel and CPU: Linux 3.16.0-4-686-pae on i686
Processor information: Intel® Core™2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz, 4 cores
Real memory: 249.57 MB used, 2.97 GB total
Virtual memory: 0 bytes used, 6 GB total
Local disk space: 180.47 GB used, 3.25 TB total
=====================================================

OK, it seems as if a LONG time ago (5-7 years or so by now) I was able to install vnc4 server, run it, and it will tell me that I would have display :1

from my shell prompt:
brian@cardinal:~$ vnc4server

New 'cardinal:1 (brian)' desktop is cardinal:1

Starting applications specified in /home/brian/.vnc/xstartup
Log file is /home/brian/.vnc/cardinal:1.log

brian@cardinal:~$

(brian being my username for my primary account, display one) (:1)

However, EVERY TIME I connect to display one, I get a BLACK SCREEN, and I am NOT sure why, and I know that /.vnc/xstartup is the file that is followed when you envoke an xsession. I have the following from a "w" output:

---

08:39:58 up 1 day, 14:43, 2 users, load average: 0.13, 0.16, 0.13
USER TTY FROM LOGIN@ IDLE JCPU PCPU WHAT
brian pts/0 cardinal.buddy-b 08:34 1.00s 3.58s 0.00s w
brian :0 :0 08:39 ?xdm? 25:02 0.09s gnome-session -
brian@cardinal:~/.vnc$

---

Notice that Display 0 (:0) shows gnome-session. This is because I am running gnome. However, when attempting to use tightvnc, (:1) I get:

---

and then:

---

There are lots of different display managers, window managers, and the like, and I want to be able to set my xstartup file, so that I can vnc into cardinal and be able to perform tasks from the desktop (Gnome, or cinimon, or what have you, but I cannot IF commanding a xsession gives me either a Black screen or the image above, about Cinnamon crashing. I even switched out to gnome and got this error.

---

Code:

This is my xstartup file:

#!/bin/sh

# Uncomment the following two lines for normal desktop:
unset SESSION_MANAGER
exec /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc
gnome-session –session=gnome-classic &
gnome-panel&

[ -x /etc/vnc/xstartup ] && exec /etc/vnc/xstartup
[ -r $HOME/.Xresources ] && xrdb $HOME/.Xresources
xsetroot -solid grey
vncconfig -iconic &
x-terminal-emulator -geometry 80x24+10+10 -ls -title "$VNCDESKTOP Desktop" &
x-window-manager &

---

Right now, I have enough ports open for possibly 2 sessions: but right now only display 1 is operating, but is throwing me a Cinnamon crashed message. Display :0 is cardinals gui interface that I can login to at the console, but I want to use it at any computer.




I even got THIS from the internet and it tells me what to do, but I am confused, as black screens seem to styme a lot of other users.

Quote:Starting your window manager

The instructions above are sufficient for the Raspberry Pi running Raspbian (Debian). On other systems you may need to make a further configuration
change to start your normal window manager / application launcher. If you get a blank screen when connecting edit the file ~/.vnc/xstartup and
replace the line /etc/X11/Xsession with one of the following as appropriate.
Starting your window manager

exec ck-launch-session startlxde #for an lxde session

exec ck-launch-session gnome-session #for a gnome-session

exec ck-launch-session openbox-session #for an openbox desktop

exec ck-launch-session startxfce4 #for an xfce desktop

exec ck-launch-session icewm #for an icewm desktop

exec ck-launch-session startkde #for a kde desktop

Can someone possibly help here??


Thank You, you all have been very patient with an intermediate user that is stumped on a couple of things.

Brian

[GuiltySpark]

Try this and see if it works, it seems a similar setup to yours https://askubuntu.com/questions/127466/blank-screen-with-vnc-server

[baker7]

(03-25-2016, 02:18 PM)GuiltySpark Wrote:  Try this and see if it works, it seems a similar setup to yours https://askubuntu.com/questions/127466/blank-screen-with-vnc-server

GuiltySpark:

You bet - I will try this and see if this will work: Ideally, I want to be able to connect to display :0 :1 and :2 when starting vnc4server on the user accounts that need it: If I c an get this to work, then administering Cardinal will not be so bad, because I will have command line control and also access to the xwindows gnome desktop

Will let you know (I always print stuff out so I can follow it, so we shall see what happens

Thank You

Brian

[baker7]

(03-25-2016, 06:39 PM)baker7 Wrote:  

(03-25-2016, 02:18 PM)GuiltySpark Wrote:  Try this and see if it works, it seems a similar setup to yours https://askubuntu.com/questions/127466/blank-screen-with-vnc-server

GuiltySpark:

You bet - I will try this and see if this will work:  Ideally, I want to be able to connect to display :0 :1 and :2 when starting vnc4server on the user accounts that need it:  If I c an get this to work, then administering Cardinal will not be so bad, because I will have command line control and also access to the xwindows gnome desktop

Will let you know (I always print stuff out so I can follow it, so we shall see what happens

Thank You

Brian

OK:  I get THIS:


and I want to be able to change the background on the connection window, but do not know how:

Is there a way to do this?  

Brian

[GuiltySpark]

This is strange, you could try changing the:

Code:

x-window-manager &

To

Code:

gnome-session &

[baker7]

Guiltyspark:

I am beginning to think that with ALL of the versions of Window Managers, Desktop environments and config files all over the place, that there HAS to be somewhere, where someone has done a video on how to make changes to vncserver configs, user files, etc. Rather, all I get is a "Install vncserver to <something_other_then Debian_8> and it starts" - I have tried using cinnamon, gnome, kde, and each time I ether get a "Cinamon crashed...." or I get a yucky brown screen with NOTHING in the background: This CANT be That difficult - what the heck am I doing wrong??

Brian

[GuiltySpark]

Were there any changes to the desktop after you made the adjustments I posted above?

[baker7]

(03-26-2016, 05:03 PM)GuiltySpark Wrote:  Were there any changes to the desktop after you made the adjustments I posted above?

No sir - still a black screen - Is there a way to FORCE the machine to display what the heck is on my server's screen?? I am beginning to think vnc4server, and any Linux based vncserver client and server is TRASH because you cant see ANYTHING without messing around with the files, and there should be a SIMPLE way to fix this, but there isn't - I KNOW that some time ago I was able to get this to work on a debian Lenny machine, but cant get it to work now

Do you want to have me send you the xstartup and vncserver files? I think I am missing something, and it bugs me

Brian