Fwd: How to troubleshoot: No login GUI after logout or reboot (new install)

[Kynn Jones <kynnjo@gmail.com>]

> Op Tue, 03 Mar 2015 15:52:22 +0100 schreef Kynn Jones <kynnjo@gmail.com>:
>> My newly-installed Debian system (wheezy) is working fine for the
>> most part, except that the login GUI shows up only after I fully shut
>> down and re-start the system.  Neither running reboot nor running
>> logout will result in a login GUI; instead, the display just goes dark,
>> and the system appears to hang indefinitely.

Thanks to a helpful hint I got via an email reply, I tried a different
monitor (kindly provided by my workplace's IT department).  With this
other monitor, restart and logout work normally.

On Tue, Mar 3, 2015 at 1:28 PM, Floris <jkfloris@dds.nl> wrote:
> I think you can find some clues in the log messages:
> when you logout and the screen stays black switch to
> an other terminal with <Ctrl> <Alt> <F1>
> login as root and go to /var/log
> # cd /var/log
> the files "Xorg.0.log" and "messages" are probably
> the most interesting to read:
> # less Xorg.0.log
> (use the arrow keys to scroll up and down. type 'q'
> to exit")
> # less messages

Thanks for these suggestions.  I'll keep them for future reference.

>>   3. this machine (a new Dell workstation) came with Windows 7
>>   pre-installed in its originally sole hard drive (a 500GB 2.5" SATA
>>   "non-SSD" drive); to this set-up I added a *second* 2.5" internal
>>   drive (this time a 1TB SSD), and then, I installed Debian (from CD)
>>   on this newly-added second disk; although my intent was to leave the
>>   original ("Windows 7") disk untouched, somehow, after I installed
>>   Debian on the second disk I lost the ability to boot from the
>>   original Windows 7 disk, even if I set it (via the BIOS config)
>>   ahead of the "Debian disk" in the boot order; nonetheless, I can
>>   mount and read the original Windows 7 drive, and AFAICT, its
>>   contents are still intact.
>
> If you run:
>
> # os-prober
> (as root)
> does it find your Windows installation?
>
> I get:
> /dev/sda1:Windows 7 (loader):Windows:chain

This was very helpful advice.  It led me (via Google) to

    update-grub

...after which the boot-up menu started showing Windows 7 as one of the options.

Thank you!

kj