What happened to my lubuntu computer?

Just as an aside if you perform a non-destructive re-install… & WM session.

I got a surprise somewhat recently when I did a QA-test install of Lubuntu 24.04 LTS on a box I rarely use for QA test installs… As its a box I know, I didn’t check what was on it, or how it was last used, as that I knew packages & files anyway which is all I considered important.

I did the re-install as per install using existing partition on our old checklist, all went well & rebooted… logged in & only got a black screen, where I expected a re-install Lubuntu session :face_with_monocle:

Took me some time to realize what had happened, from terminal I could see everything was exactly as it should have been, all packages re-installed, my data all present; only black screen, mouse-pointer & obmenu when commanded.

When I logged out I instantly saw the problem, and remembered the last time I’d used the install was for a support question related to an openbox session, so I’d used that box to do some testing & answer. The non-destructive install had left all my settings, thus the last installed session was Openbox and as I’d not specifically selected one (just assumed it was Lubuntu) I got what was last logged selection. On switching session to Lubuntu (and again login) I finally got what I was expecting.

The install was perfect; the unwanted last session I’d used was still there; only I’d forgotten about that openbox testing.

If in fact you did remove all files as per your last comment; a non-destructive re-install won’t help, as ~everything was erased by the operator; you’ll have to rely on backups & be more careful next time.

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