Hello Altoid et all...
I remember this issue from dev ASCII days. Here is a very helpful post:
https://dev1galaxy.org/viewtopic.php?pid=17834#p17834
I use the Cinnamon Desktop which implies the lightdm Display Manager. But, the consolekit and logind question is the same.
Once you resolve the thing in ASCII properly, there is nothing in the way to an
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
sudo apt dist-upgrade
sudo apt auto-remove
anymore. I could repeat it on ASCII systems using XFCE4 and Cinnamon systems.
I have followed fred43's instructions to the letter and I was successful.
Good luck.

fsmithred,
thank you for your answer.
Again, I only had the problem with the live-iso (refracta installer) the first time.
The machine is a Dell Optiplex GX780, a BIOS/MBR machine.
A Windows 7 is installed on it, and a lot of free space for Linux is availble.

Layout /dev/sda: (Disklabel DOS )
/dev/sda1    100M    ntfs        System reserved
/dev/sda2    100G    ntfs        Windows7

I booted the mentioned live-iso and performed the installation.

Layout /dev/sda: (Disklabel DOS)
/dev/sda1    100M    ntfs        System reserved
/dev/sda2    100G    ntfs        Windows7
/dev/sda3    1G            ext3        /boot
/dev/sda4    extended   
/dev/sda5    40G            ext4        /
/dev/sda6    80G            ext4        /home
/dev/sda7    8G            swap    swap

After the installation
I installed the grub-package as instructed and tried to do the "sudo grub-install /dev/sda".
This resulted in an error message the device /dev/sda not being available.

I then rebooted the system and found myself in Windows again.
So I rebooted from a standard Devuan3.0 Beowulf installer-iso to the maintenance mode.

From there I could perform the
grub-install /dev/sda
and
update-grub
and everything was fine.

Now, that the disk had a GRUB bootblock, I repeated the live-iso refracta installer again, including the dpkg -i grub-pc...., grub-install and update-grub and it was a success.
Unfortunately, the log of the first, failed attempt was lost due to the second installation.

I guess had I installed the first time on a wiped disk with no Windows using the live-iso I would have been successful right away.

I suggest not to invest a lot of time into that issue, since the true installer always works well and the installer on the live-isos were repeatedly slightly troublesome.

Hopefully that information is not too messy.... thank you for your thoughts. Andre

sync, my friend, is the answer.
do a "man sync" first and rtfm.
Obviously, you should run it as root or using sudo.
Should you have a hardware RAID controller, the data will not be flushed from the controller-cache to the disks!
Sync flushes disk-data from the main memory (system RAM) only.
Hope that helps.

Have you tried this?
sudo dpkg-reconfigure keyboard-configuration

This worked every-time for me, setting up the console keyboard and the X11 configuration.

The there is
sudo setupcon
But I never had to use that.
Good luck.

wingcommander1999,
I have tested the RC just after my post, and yes, now it's the "devuan_beowulf_3.0.0_RC_netinstall-amd64.iso", and it shows the exactly same results, so my comment is valid for the RC as well.
Devuan is really great. Just don't forget to read the release notes. Thanks to all.

Thank you, fsmithred!
I'm very happy with the Devuan linux and I recommend it to everyone.

To the "su -" question:
it makes perfect sense to use "su -" to get the root's path.
To use just "su" helps to replace the user that executes a program.
That's the way it was invented and had to be used in the olden days of Unix already.
su = substitute user (uses root when no user given, - executes new users login-shell, the man pages help!)
Cheers to all.

Dear Admins, dear Members,
as requested, here my experience with Beowulf.
I always use the Cinnamon desktop and OpenRC. Starting with a fresh install of ASCII 2.1.
Of course, that installs NetworkManager, Lightdm and all, which I'm happy with.
I have Beowulf running on PCs, laptops and servers and couldn't be happier. Updates never broke my systems.

Here the steps I used to update from ASCII 2.1 to Beowulf:
1. Install Devuan Ascii (2.1)
   (install all updates and upgrades: sudo apt update; sudo apt upgrade; reboot)

2. sudo vi /etc/pam.d/lightdm-greeter
   --> ...
   --> # Setup session
   --> session   required pam_unix.so
   --> #session   optional pam_systemd.so
   --> session   optional pam_elogind.so

3. sudo vi /etc/apt/sources.list
   --> # comment the "deb cdrom:...= - line
   --> # Replace every word ascii with the word beowulf

4. sudo apt udate
5. sudo apt upgrade
6. sudo apt dist-upgrade
7. sudo apt autoremove

8. reboot
9. vi sudo vi /etc/pulse/client.conf.d/00-disable-autospawn.conf
   --> # On linux systems, disable autospawn by default
   --> # If you are not using systemd, comment out this line
   --> #autospawn=no

10. logout - login --> ok

The only wish I have is to get the cinnamon tool to install and configure languages. I'm quite happy with English, but some users prefer French or German when they log in.

A big thank to the Devuan Team - a real high-light in this increasingly "complex" world.

Poor you.... you really seem completely desperate... I'm so sorry for you.

One advise: Halt - Stop - Reset - Start Again

1. Does your hardware actually work ? Is the disk ok, have you re-set the CMOS Settings to their defaults?
2. Have you created an USB Stick with the correct ISO? (DEVUAN ASCII 2.1!!)
3. the DEVUAN ASCII 2.1 release works very well
4. Now start a fresh install (Graphical) and LET THE INSTALLER create the partitions
5. Select the software you want (XFCE Desktop in your case?)
6. Let the installer do the work for you
7. At the question, select the harddisk for the GRUB installation
8. Let it finish the job.

Now, if that system doesn't work, your hardware may be just bad. Or you have altered the installation process.

As for Debian Jessie: it started as a Init-SysV distro but was migrated to systemd during it's lifetime.
Devuan uses Init SysV or OpenRC (both are better than systemd).
Don't bother to install old versions and migrate them. It's not worth it and it may be troublesome.
Do you have friends in your neighbourhood who could help you? Is there a "Linux User Group" in your area? I'm possibly too far away to help you personally.
Anyway, I wish you luck.
André

Hello again,
Why do you trouble yourself with that hardest possible way to install Devuan?
If you want a trouble-free installation:

1. Download the latest iso: devuan_ascii_2.1_amd64_dvd-1.iso
2. dd it to your USB stick
3. Boot that stick
4. Choose "Graphical install"
5. Partioning the disk: choose "the whole disk" and choose /home to reside in its own partition
6. Choose only one graphical environment (I prefer Cinnamon) plus possibly ssh-server and console-tools
7. Choose your preferred init system (OpenRC for me)
8. Choose the right harddisk to install GRUB2 on (the disk, not the USB stick)
9. Let the installer finish the job
10. Reboot..... and bang.... it runs like a charm
11. One file to modify: /etc/pamd-d/lightdm-greeter
----> replace the line "session   optional pam_systemd.so" to "session   optional pam_elogind.so"

I run the default Network-Manager with this setup, wicd is not my friend.
I've just done this setup on an old laptop to prove it works that way. It does.
Just for fun, I've upgraded this new system to Beowulf. Guess what: it works perfectly well too. THANK YOU, DEVUAN, you are the greatest!
Enjoy!

Hello sbug,
ToxicExMachina is right, that is the method to get to the cause of the problems. This can help in case you have an exotic graphics hardware in your laptop.
But if you don't have the experience doing troubleshooting, one thing that should always work on an old computer is this:
1. Use the BIOS setup program to reset all params to their defaults
2. Insert the ASCII install CD into your drive
3. Do a standard install and let the installer completely format the disk and "Use the whole disk" to set up your partitions. You can choose this option having your /home on its own partition. The install-program does all that correctly.
4. Allow the installer to use free and non-free software (video drivers, codecs, etc)
5. Let the program finish its work and reboot

For you reference, here is the link to the official DEVUAN Install Guide:
https://devuan.org/os/documentation/ins … start-here

I hope that helps - please let us know.
Good luck - Andre

A general advise:
1. All-ways keep /home on its own partition, NOT in the root filesystem.
2. Do a backup of /home anyway, regularly and to multiple media.
3. Keep a record of the UID & GID of your users (grep [username] /etc/passwd)
4. This conditions met, it's safe to upgrade, re-install or change to a new system
-- While in the installer:
-- Do NOT format the /home partition, but re-use and connect it to the /home mountpoint
-- Choose a generic username like linuxadmin or so for admin tasks (becomes UID 1000 usually)
-- If your regular user has already UID 1000, then create yourusername in the install program with your username
-- If your UID is other than 1000: after the installation as root:
     # useradd -u XXXX - g YYYY -s /bin/bash -c "some description" [yourusername]
        (don't add the -m option!!)
     # usermod -a -G sudo [yourusername]
     # passwd [yourusername]

5. If everything is followed, the newly re-used user will have all file permission and user-properties as before.
6. Check if you need to add the user to the sudo or wheel group

This way I have easily changed even a distro. Some headaches may occur if the GRUB2 handles MBR or GPT disks not the same way as before. It occurred to me when re-installing Devuan Beowulf over an Ascii installation, I had to re-install Ascii on one computer, but not on the other (BIOS-differences)
I hope this advise helps.
Sincerely, André