I updated from F42 to F43, completed OK and said to reboot now. The boot fails after quite a bit of activity with no message. Screen flashes twice and goes blank. Looking at similar questions I added ‘3’ to the “linux” boot line and it will start but I have no GUI available. Used to be ‘startx’ to get it but that was in a previous era. What should I do next to:
Thanks in advance.
Sounds like maybe the video driver is not working properly. I would say to boot into verbose mode where you see all the information coming up. Not sure the best way to do that. I believe you have to edit the line in grub.
Does the Fedora logo come up with the spinning thing? I used to just hit the esc key and that would do it. I believe there is another way as well.
Just copied this from a forum post…
When grub appears, hit “e” to edit the kernel line and erase “rhgb quiet”. You will then see all the glorious scrolling that Linux offers.
You can look for details with journalctl. If you are not familiar with it, look at Fedora’s introduction. You could start with journalctl —no-hostage -b -p3. Also post the output from running inxi -Fzxx as pre-formatted web searchable text so others with similar hardware can find this topic. Often one of them knows a solution.
here is the output of inxi -Fzxx
System:
Kernel: 6.17.9-300.fc43.x86_64 arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 15.2.1
Console: tty 1 Distro: Fedora Linux 43 (Workstation Edition)
Machine:
Type: Desktop Mobo: ASUSTeK model: M5A88-M v: Rev X.0x serial: <filter>
BIOS: American Megatrends v: 1202 date: 07/26/2012
CPU:
Info: quad core model: AMD FX-4100 bits: 64 type: MCP arch: Bulldozer rev: 2 cache: L1: 192 KiB
L2: 4 MiB L3: 8 MiB
Speed (MHz): avg: 1400 min/max: 1400/3600 boost: enabled cores: 1: 1400 2: 1400 3: 1400
4: 1400 bogomips: 28797
Flags-basic: avx ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3
Graphics:
Device-1: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] RS880 [Radeon HD 4250] vendor: ASUSTeK M5A88-V EVO
driver: radeon v: kernel arch: TeraScale ports: active: HDMI-A-1 empty: VGA-1 bus-ID: 01:05.0
chip-ID: 1002:9715
Display: unspecified server: X.org v: 1.21.1.20 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.9 driver: X:
loaded: radeon unloaded: modesetting alternate: fbdev,vesa dri: r600 gpu: radeon tty: 240x67
Monitor-1: HDMI-A-1 model: Acer G276HL res: 1920x1080 dpi: 82 diag: 686mm (27")
API: OpenGL Message: GL data unavailable in console for root.
API: EGL Message: EGL data unavailable in console, eglinfo missing.
Info: Tools: api: glxinfo x11: xdriinfo, xdpyinfo, xprop, xrandr
Audio:
Device-1: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] SBx00 Azalia vendor: ASUSTeK M5A88-V EVO
driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 00:14.2 chip-ID: 1002:4383
Device-2: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] RS880 HDMI Audio [Radeon HD 4200 Series]
vendor: ASUSTeK M5A88-V EVO driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 01:05.1 chip-ID: 1002:970f
API: ALSA v: k6.17.9-300.fc43.x86_64 status: kernel-api
Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.4.9 status: off with: 1: pipewire-pulse status: off 2: wireplumber
status: off 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin 4: pw-jack type: plugin
Network:
Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8211/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet vendor: ASUSTeK P8 series
driver: r8169 v: kernel pcie: speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: e800 bus-ID: 03:00.0
chip-ID: 10ec:8168
IF: enp3s0 state: up speed: 100 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
IF-ID-1: virbr0 state: down mac: <filter>
Drives:
Local Storage: total: 1.83 TiB used: 29.04 GiB (1.5%)
ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Western Digital model: WD Blue SA510 2.5 1000GB size: 931.51 GiB
speed: 6.0 Gb/s serial: <filter> temp: 20 C
ID-2: /dev/sdb vendor: Western Digital model: WD Blue SA510 2.5 1000GB size: 931.51 GiB
speed: 6.0 Gb/s serial: <filter> temp: 21 C
ID-3: /dev/sdc model: USB DISK 2.0 size: 14.44 GiB type: USB rev: 2.0 spd: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1
serial: <filter>
Partition:
ID-1: / size: 491.08 GiB used: 52.5 MiB (0.0%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda3
ID-2: /boot size: 919.7 MiB used: 396.9 MiB (43.2%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda2
ID-3: /home size: 182.28 GiB used: 8.45 GiB (4.6%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdb2
ID-4: /opt size: 239.42 GiB used: 500 KiB (0.0%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda6
ID-5: /usr size: 686.46 GiB used: 12.22 GiB (1.8%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdb1
ID-6: /var size: 182.28 GiB used: 7.93 GiB (4.4%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda5
Swap:
ID-1: swap-1 type: zram size: 7.48 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: 100 dev: /dev/zram0
ID-2: swap-2 type: partition size: 8.38 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2 dev: /dev/sdb3
Sensors:
System Temperatures: cpu: 26.0 C mobo: 28.0 C
Fan Speeds (rpm): cpu: 1691 case-1: 902
Power: 12v: 12.18 5v: N/A 3.3v: 3.38 vbat: N/A
Info:
Memory: total: 8 GiB note: est. available: 7.48 GiB used: 813.3 MiB (10.6%)
Processes: 169 Power: uptime: 52m wakeups: 0 Init: systemd v: 258 default: graphical
Packages: pm: rpm pkgs: N/A note: see --rpm pm: flatpak pkgs: 4 Compilers: gcc: 15.2.1
Shell: Bash v: 5.3.0 running-in: tty 1 inxi: 3.3.39
and here is the output from journalctl
Dec 03 20:44:17 systemd-udevd[318]: /etc/udev/rules.d/65-brother-libsane-type1-inst.rules:14 Invalid key 'SYSFS'.
Dec 03 20:44:29 systemd-udevd[582]: /etc/udev/rules.d/65-brother-libsane-type1-inst.rules:14 Invalid key 'SYSFS'.
Dec 03 20:44:33 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-14:09:24.827477-11865' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:33 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-20:40:14.914105-1083' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:33 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-20:40:17.451503-1786' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:34 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-14:09:00.787224-11523' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:34 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-20:40:18.872886-1871' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:35 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-20:40:18.898599-1913' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:35 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-14:09:10.478507-11674' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:36 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-20:40:20.425167-2048' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:36 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-14:09:13.673982-11733' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:36 libvirtd[1053]: Unable to open /dev/kvm: No such file or directory
Dec 03 20:44:37 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-20:40:21.727166-2172' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:37 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-20:40:20.448968-2093' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:38 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-20:40:16.365921-1648' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:38 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-14:09:04.26552-11571' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:38 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-20:40:14.232036-1479' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:39 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-14:09:07.279354-11624' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:39 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-20:40:16.104227-1603' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:40 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-20:40:20.18400-2003' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:40 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-20:40:22.396379-2215' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:41 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-14:09:21.603383-11824' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:41 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-14:09:16.851436-11458' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:42 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-20:40:16.626022-1694' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:42 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-14:09:28.41426-11913' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:43 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-20:40:21.222147-1848' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:43 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-20:40:22.804019-2260' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:44 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-20:40:15.419122-1560' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:44 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-20:40:17.195189-1741' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:44 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-20:40:13.648317-1430' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:45 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-20:40:18.92071-1536' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:45 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-20:40:19.641687-1958' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:46 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-20:40:12.687956-1333' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:46 abrtd[840]: '/var/spool/abrt/ccpp-2025-12-03-20:40:13.389040-1382' is not a problem directory
Dec 03 20:44:55 login[1105]: PAM unable to dlopen(/usr/lib64/security/pam_lastlog.so): /usr/lib64/security/pam_lastlog.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
Dec 03 20:44:55 login[1105]: PAM adding faulty module: /usr/lib64/security/pam_lastlog.so
Dec 03 20:53:25 su[1407]: PAM unable to dlopen(/usr/lib64/security/pam_lastlog.so): /usr/lib64/security/pam_lastlog.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
Dec 03 20:53:25 su[1407]: PAM adding faulty module: /usr/lib64/security/pam_lastlog.so
Not sure why the Security references since it runs as “Selinux permissive”
I also tried to start the rescue O/S but it fails with “unsupported legacy cgroup hierarchy, Refuse execution”
I tried to start the old F42 version but the same problem occurs that the boot runs for a while then the screen flashes twice and goes blank. At this point it appears to be in a loop because the disk light is flashing and it continues the same pattern for more than an hour with no result. The disks appear to still be correct so the old data is there as before (by doing a ‘ls’ on ones I know what should be there and by running ‘lsblk’.
Are you somehow getting to an actual login screen?
These don’t sound like SELinux issues.
Searching around a bit gives this similar issue on RedHat which seemed to be caused by McAfee deleting needed files as “malware”. Is there any chance you have some anti-virus software that might be doing that?
Yes, but only when I edit the boot menu to add delete ‘rgbh’ and add ‘3’ to the end. Then I get a command line only and I can’t start gnome. There is graphic capability since the screen goes all grey during boot unless I hit ‘’
@pg-tips
No antivirus software installed. I thought PAM was the internal name of Selinux since it pops up in that context so often. It is an internal workstation used mostly for development with not much that is confidential on it and two firewalls to the Inet so it is much easier to just leave Selinux in permissive mode.
This is still unresolved and the previous version (F42) on the grub menu will no longer boot, failing with same symptoms at boot time. Is it possible to back out the upgraded without doing a full reinstall? If so how? DNF notes have a back out process but that appears to be only related to single item installs. Never seen a general release of Fedora that was this buggy and apparently untested!
It is definitely buggy. At least my issues are not as bad as what you are dealing with. Best of luck.
Don’t know if any of this is useful but it does show how to edit grub on bootup to go into different modes.
Thanks very much Vladislav. Surprisingly I had found this when I was searching and didn’t realize that it applied to my problem. Took a while to get it right, traced to the example having a fingerprint reader which I don’t have.
Also, thank you to everyone who commented; very much appreciated.
Glad you got it sorted. Now that PAM error makes sense…