Bug#517890: [gdm] /etc/gdm/gdm.conf suddenly empty (persistent) ---> no changes possible

[Christian Obst]

Package: gdm
Version: 2.20.9-1
Severity: normal

--- Please enter the report below this line. ---
Since a few weeks, I cannot change my gdm configuration anymore, i.e.
gdmsetup simply does not save any changes. From searching existing bug
reports, I found this one
(http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=504428), discovered
that my gdm.conf is indeed present, but empty (0B) and tried
copying /usr/share/gdm/defaults.conf to /etc/gdm/gdm.conf, as mentioned
there. It worked fine, I could save my changes, but the next day (maybe
after an upgrade, I dist-upgrade daily), it was the same again
(gdm.conf empty, no changes saved). Also, this solution is discouraged
by the last poster in the afore mentioned bug report (without proposing
a better solution). I definitively did not empty or delete my gdm.conf
myself, so it must be debconf (?). (I also don't understand how I can
convince debconf to take control over gdm.conf again when it has been
touched manually, replaced by default.conf or simply been deleted, when
the default conf is not restored during reinstallation of gdm. But
then again, I don't know much about debconf.)

Furthermore, I think the following bugs might be related:

http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=426494 (maybe the
reporter wants to say the original config is not _restored_ when
_reinstalling_, a feature that could be helpful here).

http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=360377
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=445612

I also experience this one, but don't know whether it is related:
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=484310

All those reports seem stalled.

Would be glad to produce more information upon request (just dont know
what).

Regards,
Christian

--- System information. ---
Architecture: amd64
Kernel:       Linux 2.6.28.7tuxonice20090214-v1

Debian Release: 5.0
  990 testing         ftp.de.debian.org 
  500 unstable        www.debian-multimedia.org 
  500 unstable        ftp.de.debian.org 
  500 stable          wine.budgetdedicated.com 
  500 stable          security.debian.org 
    1 experimental    ftp.de.debian.org 

--- Package information. ---
Depends                      (Version) | Installed
======================================-+-===============
libart-2.0-2               (>= 2.3.18) | 2.3.20-2
libatk1.0-0                (>= 1.20.0) | 1.22.0-1
libattr1                 (>= 2.4.41-1) | 1:2.4.43-2
libc6                         (>= 2.3) | 2.7-18
libcairo2                   (>= 1.2.4) | 1.8.6-2
libdbus-1-3                 (>= 1.0.2) | 1.2.12-1
libdbus-glib-1-2             (>= 0.78) | 0.80-3
libdmx1                                | 1:1.0.2-3
libfontconfig1              (>= 2.4.0) | 2.6.0-3
libfreetype6                (>= 2.3.5) | 2.3.7-2
libglade2-0               (>= 1:2.6.1) | 1:2.6.3-1
libglib2.0-0               (>= 2.16.0) | 2.19.8-2
libgnomecanvas2-0          (>= 2.11.1) | 2.20.1.1-1
libgtk2.0-0                (>= 2.12.0) | 2.14.7-3
libpam0g                 (>= 0.99.7.1) | 1.0.1-5
libpango1.0-0              (>= 1.22.0) | 1.22.4-2
librsvg2-2                 (>= 2.18.1) | 2.22.3-1
libselinux1                (>= 2.0.59) | 2.0.65-5
libwrap0                   (>= 7.6-4~) | 7.6.q-16
libx11-6                               | 2:1.1.5-2
libxau6                                | 1:1.0.4-2
libxdmcp6                              | 1:1.0.2-3
libxext6                               | 2:1.0.4-1
libxi6                                 | 2:1.1.4-1
libxinerama1                           | 2:1.0.3-2
libxml2                    (>= 2.6.27) | 2.6.32.dfsg-5
zlib1g                    (>= 1:1.1.4) | 1:1.2.3.3.dfsg-12
debconf                      (>= 0.5)  | 1.5.25
 OR debconf-2.0                        | 
adduser                                | 3.110
libpam-modules             (>= 0.72-1) | 1.0.1-5
libpam-runtime          (>= 0.76-13.1) | 1.0.1-5
gnome-session                          | 2.22.3-2
 OR x-session-manager                  | 
 OR x-window-manager                   | 
 OR x-terminal-emulator                | 
gksu                        (>= 1.0.7) | 2.0.0-8
lsb-base                   (>= 3.2-14) | 3.2-20
librsvg2-common                        | 2.22.3-1