Returned to gdm screen after logging in

thank you for your bug report, what session do you select? do you get the issue with another user? could you add your .xsession-errors to the bug after a failed log in before trying to start the session again in a graphical way?

I'm still having this problem on Natty. Attached is my xsessionerrors and some other files that may help.

This happens with any user on my system.

I can confirm this issue using Xubuntu Natty Narwhal. It is not a unity or compiz bug, but something in GDM. This started for Xubuntu 2010-12-08 after running updates. GDM will not log any user in, but instead immediately restarts.

ubuntu users that are using kubuntu-desktop (KDE) can try this way:

sudo dpkg-reconfigure kdm

and choose kdm instead of gdm.

the issue which started yesterday is likely different from the one you had before

It's definitively not gdm. Downgrading to 2.30 doesn't help, and I had my system running just fine with the new gdm until this morning's upgrades. I checked dpkg.log and sized down the possible regression candidates to about 10 packages. Bisecting now..

Martin, can the bug #688013 be a duplicate of this bug #654578?
I can see that the symptoms are alike (repeated login screen loop), but the cause may be different.
In the more recent bug #688013 the issues began within the last 24 hours after people upgraded packages python and python-minimal (v.2.7.1) followed by upgrades of GTK+3 and libcanberra packages.
The bug #654578 is not about python2.7 I think.

When I purge libcanberra-gtk-module and libcanberra-gtk3-module, it works again. So I suppose the recent libcanberra upload broke it.

Martin, same here, this issue started this morning in my Natty 64-bit system with Nvidia 285 GTX (nvidia-current used).
Here are all updates I installed this morning (one or more of those caused this):
computer-janitor (2.0.4-0ubuntu1) to 2.0.4-0ubuntu2
computer-janitor-gtk (2.0.4-0ubuntu1) to 2.0.4-0ubuntu2
dbus (1.4.0-0ubuntu1) to 1.4.0-0ubuntu2
dbus-x11 (1.4.0-0ubuntu1) to 1.4.0-0ubuntu2
gimp (2.6.11-1ubuntu2) to 2.6.11-1ubuntu3
gimp-data (2.6.11-1ubuntu2) to 2.6.11-1ubuntu3
gir1.0-atk-1.0 (1.32.0-0ubuntu3) to 1.32.0-1
gir1.0-freedesktop (0.9.12+git20101124-0ubuntu2) to 0.9.12+git20101124-0ubuntu3
gir1.0-glib-2.0 (0.9.12+git20101124-0ubuntu2) to 0.9.12+git20101124-0ubuntu3
gnome-session-canberra (0.26-0ubuntu2) to 0.26-1ubuntu1
libappindicator1 (0.2.90-0ubuntu1) to 0.2.90-0ubuntu2
libatk1.0-0 (1.32.0-0ubuntu3) to 1.32.0-1
libatk1.0-data (1.32.0-1)
libcanberra-gtk0 (0.26-0ubuntu2) to 0.26-1ubuntu1
libcanberra-pulse (0.26-0ubuntu2) to 0.26-1ubuntu1
libcanberra0 (0.26-0ubuntu2) to 0.26-1ubuntu1
libcanberra-gtk-module (0.26-0ubuntu2) to 0.26-1ubuntu1
libcanberra-gtk3-0 (0.26-0ubuntu2) to 0.26-1ubuntu1
libcanberra-gtk3-module (0.26-0ubuntu2) to 0.26-1ubuntu1
libdbus-1-3 (1.4.0-0ubuntu1) to 1.4.0-0ubuntu2
libdrm-intel1 (2.4.22+git20101203.af3d282a-0ubuntu0sarvatt) to 2.4.22+git20101208.537703fd-0ubuntu0sarvatt
libdrm-nouveau1 (2.4.22+git20101203.af3d282a-0ubuntu0sarvatt) to 2.4.22+git20101208.537703fd-0ubuntu0sarvatt
libdrm-radeon1 (2.4.22+git20101203.af3d282a-0ubuntu0sarvatt) to 2.4.22+git20101208.537703fd-0ubuntu0sarvatt
libdrm2 (2.4.22+git20101203.af3d282a-0ubuntu0sarvatt) to 2.4.22+git20101208.537703fd-0ubuntu0sarvatt
libgimp2.0 (2.6.11-1ubuntu2) to 2.6.11-1ubuntu3
libgirepository-1.0-1 (0.9.12+git20101124-0ubuntu3)
libgtk3.0-0 (2.91.4-0ubuntu2) to 2.91.6-0ubuntu1
libgtk3.0-bin (2.91.4-0ubuntu2) to 2.91.6-0ubuntu1
libgtk3.0-common (2.91.4-0ubuntu2) to 2.91.6-0ubuntu1
libimobiledevice1 (1.0.4-1build1) to 1.0.4-1build2
liblcms1 (1.18.dfsg-1ubuntu4) to 1.18.dfsg-1ubuntu5
libnautilus-extension1 (1:2.32.1-0ubuntu1) to 1:2.32.2-0ubuntu1
libnih-dbus1 (1.0.2-1ubuntu2) to 1.0.2-2
libnih1 (1.0.2-1ubuntu2) to 1.0.2-2
libtdb1 (1.2.7+git20101021-1) to 1.2.7+git20101021-1build1
nautilus (1:2.32.1-0ubuntu1) to 1:2.32.2-0ubuntu1
nautilus-data (1:2.32.1-0ubuntu1) to 1:2.32.2-0ubuntu1
python (2.6.6-5ubuntu1) to 2.7.1-0ubuntu1
python-gobject (2.27.0-0ubuntu2) to 2.27.0-0ubuntu4
python-minimal (2.6.6-5ubuntu1) to 2.7.1-0ubuntu1
rhythmbox (0.13.2-0ubuntu1) to 0.13.2-0ubuntu2
rhythmbox-plugin-cdrecorder (0.13.2-0ubuntu1) to 0.13.2-0ubuntu2
rhythmbox-plugins (0.13.2-0ubuntu1) to 0.13.2-0ubuntu2
screen-resolution-extra (0.14) to 0.14build1

Confirmed, it's due to libcanberra-gtk3-module now shipping a subdir in Xsession.d:

/etc/X11/Xsession.d/52libcanberra-gtk3-module_add-to-gtk-modules/52libcanberra-gtk-module_add-to-gtk-modules

If I move that file to Xsession.d/52libcanberra-gtk3-module_add-to-gtk-modules and delete the dir, everything is happy again.

Mike says he's going to fix this.

gdm should be more forgetting about this error, though.

This bug was fixed in the package libcanberra - 0.26-1ubuntu2

---------------
libcanberra (0.26-1ubuntu2) natty; urgency=low

  * debian/libcanberra-gtk3-module.install,
    debian/libcanberra-gtk3-module.preinst:
    - Correct installation of Xsession.d file to not be in a directory.
      LP: #654578
 -- Michael Terry <email address hidden> Thu, 09 Dec 2010 10:06:27 -0500

Fixed in bzr.

For what its worth I had an fglrx directory in /etc/X11/Xsession.d that was causing my issue.

This bug was fixed in the package gdm - 2.32.0-0ubuntu2

---------------
gdm (2.32.0-0ubuntu2) natty; urgency=low

  [ Martin Pitt ]
  * 06_run_xsession.d.patch: Don't trip over directories and other non-files
    in Xsession.d/. (LP: #654578)

  [ Gunnar Hjalmarsson ]
  * debian/patches/35_langlist_and_lsmess_dmrc_fields.patch:
    - Addition of the fields "Langlist" and "LCMess", which make ~/.dmrc
      and /var/cache/gdm/$USER/dmrc able to store the user language
      environment (LP: #553162).
  * debian/patches/36_language_environment_settings.patch:
    - Changes to Xsession's way to use GDM_LANG. It now sets LANGUAGE
      and LC_MESSAGES, which makes it possible to keep the user language
      for message translation apart from other locale settings
      (LP: #553162).
 -- Martin Pitt <email address hidden> Tue, 14 Dec 2010 22:24:40 +0100

 I think I got this bug. I don't know what exactly causes this problem though...
Using iMac Mid2010, rEFIt 0.14, & ubuntu-11.04-alternative-amd64.

Here's my ~/.xsession-errors:

~/.xsession-errors
/etc/gdm/Xsession: Beginning session setup...
/etc/gdm/Xsession: 301: ls: not found
/etc/gdm/Xsession: ssh-agent not found!
/etc/gdm/Xsession: Setup done, will execute: gnome-session --session=ubuntu
exec: 1: gnome-session: not found

Aaw, this was because of my mistake, not this bug.
I just unexpectedly overrode my ~/.profile with wrong PATH and that caused login failure.
Sorry for bothering!