Ubuntu 14.04 Returns to Login Screen After Login

Press Ctrl + Alt + F1 and log in there and run:

sudo chown -R $USER:$USER $HOME

Then press Ctrl + Alt + F7 and try to log in.

I had same issue i was setting up oracle and messed up with .bashrc PATH variable, with this i could not get past the login screen. Thing that solved my issue was that, in .bashrc, I accidentally did not append $PATH: in PATH variable.

I wrote:

PATH=<other paths>

Correct format:

PATH=$PATH:<other paths>

This worked for me, if this is the case it should work for you too.

Look at here: Can't login to Ubuntu 14.04 after upgrade maybe can help you.

1. Check the $HOME permission and owner, chown $USER:$USER -R $HOME; chmod +x -R $HOME, or try to use a Guest Session, or try adduser to create a user then login.

2. Try reinstall Ubuntu Desktop, sudo apt-get install --reinstall ubuntu-desktop ubuntu-session.

3. If all above can't work, maybe the lightdm is break, try to fix sudo apt-get install lightdm --reinstall.

4. Or, just try to use kdm & Kde desktop: sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop kde-standard. (。・_・。)