Bug#922647: systemd --user no longer running

[Eduard Bloch]

Control: reassign -1 systemd

Hallo,
* Felipe Sateler [Thu, Feb 21 2019, 10:32:29AM]:
>    On Wed, Feb 20, 2019 at 3:59 PM Eduard Bloch <[1]edi at gmx.de> wrote:
>      Feb 08 20:38:51 zombie at-spi-bus-launcher[2625]: XIO:  fatal IO error
>      11 (Resource temporarily unavailable) on X server ":0"
>      Feb 08 20:38:51 zombie at-spi-bus-launcher[2625]:       after 3713
>      requests (3713 known processed) with 0 events remaining.
>      Feb 08 20:38:51 zombie systemd[2391]: run-rpc_pipefs.mount: Succeeded.
>      Feb 08 20:38:51 zombie systemd[1]: Stopping User Manager for UID 500...
> 
>    This is suspiciously close to the previous messages, which suggest the
>    ones left out are still relevant (ie, why did systemd decide to stop your
>    user manager).

That were all recent log messages it did create in the last days before
the problem has started. The system is rebooted regularly... so I guess
there is a natural reason for stopping it?

Anyhow, in the meantime I made some more experiments, forcing "systemd
--user" with XDG_RUNTIME_DIR set and observing what has happened or is
happening. Really weird things. I upgraded systemd to the latest sid
version and it's still adding up. Immediately after login in lightdm, I
can check the pstree and I see an active "systemd --user" process there and
a few services started from there, like gpg agent but that's only about
a half of what I would expect, especially "pulseaudio" is not started.
When I run journalctl --unit user at 500.service -b0 at that moment, it
displays "No entries".

When I check the same a couple of minutes later, the "systemd --user"
process and the whole process subtree are gone. Vanished without any
trace (when checking with journalctl --unit, as above) and still getting
"no entries".

Now I check the main log at the time where the weird process mass
extinction happened, and see something like the following.

Feb 25 18:48:06 zombie NetworkManager[958]: <info>  [1551116886.6200] agent-manager: req[0x563871361240, :1.76/org.freedesktop.nm-applet/500]: agent registered
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1]: NetworkManager-dispatcher.service: Succeeded.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1]: Stopping User Manager for UID 160...
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: Stopping Virtual filesystem service...
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: Stopped target Default.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: Stopping Accessibility services bus...
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: Stopping D-Bus User Message Bus...
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: gvfs-daemon.service: Main process exited, code=killed, status=15/TERM
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: dbus.service: Succeeded.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: Stopped D-Bus User Message Bus.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: at-spi-dbus-bus.service: Succeeded.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: Stopped Accessibility services bus.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1]: run-user-160-gvfs.mount: Succeeded.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: run-user-160-gvfs.mount: Succeeded.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: gvfs-daemon.service: Succeeded.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: Stopped Virtual filesystem service.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: Stopped target Basic System.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: Stopped target Sockets.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: pulseaudio.socket: Succeeded.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: Closed Sound System.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: gpg-agent-ssh.socket: Succeeded.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: Closed GnuPG cryptographic agent (ssh-agent emulation).
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: gpg-agent-browser.socket: Succeeded.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: Closed GnuPG cryptographic agent and passphrase cache (access for web browsers).
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: gpg-agent.socket: Succeeded.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: Closed GnuPG cryptographic agent and passphrase cache.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: dirmngr.socket: Succeeded.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: Closed GnuPG network certificate management daemon.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: gpg-agent-extra.socket: Succeeded.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: Closed GnuPG cryptographic agent and passphrase cache (restricted).
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: dbus.socket: Succeeded.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: Closed D-Bus User Message Bus Socket.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: Stopped target Paths.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: Reached target Shutdown.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: systemd-exit.service: Succeeded.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: Started Exit the Session.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: Reached target Exit the Session.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1567]: Stopped target Timers.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1568]: pam_unix(systemd-user:session): session closed for user lightdm
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1]: user at 160.service: Succeeded.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1]: Stopped User Manager for UID 160.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1]: Stopping User Runtime Directory /run/user/160...
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1]: run-user-160.mount: Succeeded.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1]: user-runtime-dir at 160.service: Succeeded.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1]: Stopped User Runtime Directory /run/user/160.
Feb 25 18:48:15 zombie systemd[1]: Removed slice User Slice of UID 160.


It smells like systemd user session has exited and reported its stuff
to the main log... but why there is explanation of the cause of the
exiting?  The lightdm user session obviously continues to run.

And journalctl --unit ... without the -b parameter shows some output
from my previous attempts to run "systemd -unit" manually but there is
also a weird pattern: there are no entries reporting that services were
started, only the stopping sequence is logged (after I pressed Ctrl-C).

Anyhow, I have enough of this. Reassigning to systemd because this is
apparently not a libpam-systemd problem.

Best regards,
Eduard.

-- 
Every great idea is worthless without someone to do the work. --Neil Williams