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Re: Lost window manager and gnome-panel



On Mon, Nov 23, 2009 at 08:13:14PM -0800, John Jason Jordan wrote:
> On Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:10:06 -0500
> Rob Owens <rowens@ptd.net> dijo:
> 
> > In most window managers that I've used, Alt-F2 will open a "run" dialog
> > box.  Type into that "gnome-terminal".
> > 
> > Also, you can delete your .gnome* and .gconf* directories and they will
> > be re-created when you log in.  Although I would recommend moving them
> > rather than deleting them:
> 
> Tony suggested polluting my new user alter ego with the gnome
> configuration files from my regular self. I started by just
> renaming .gconf, .gnome2 and .gnome2_private, then logging out and back
> in again as myself. There was no change - metacity and gnome-panel
> still did not start. 
> 
> Yet they do start for my new user alter ego. So I used Tony's
> suggestion and copied my original .gconf, .gnome2 and .gnome2_private
> files to the new user, then logged in as the new user. The new user
> still had metacity and gnome-panel.
> 
> Conclusion: The problem is somewhere in my configuration files, but not
> in .gconf, .gnome2 or .gnome2_private.
> 
> Logged in as myself and having started metacity and gnome-panel
> manually from the terminal, I reinstalled gnome-panel and metacity and
> all their libraries and dependencies with Synaptic. No joy.
> 
That's because the problem is probably in a config file in your home
directory.  And if you keep your /home partition when you re-install,
the problem will still be there in the new installation.

Somebody else mentioned it already, but I'll second it:  it is important
to remove/rename the .gnome, .gconf, etc. files while not logged into
Gnome.  In my experience they are written at logout from your Gnome
session, so your problems will not go away if you are in Gnome when you
remove/rename those files.

> I have spend hours googling trying to figure out where exactly metacity
> and gnome-panel start after the login window. They must be started by a
> script, a config file, or something. But exactly how must be a state
> secret.
> 
> Still trying to figure out how to fix the problem.
> 
> I could wipe out testing and reinstall, but this is the second time I
> have installed it and exactly the same thing happened last time. If I
> reinstall probably the same thing will happen again. Either I have to
> get to the bottom of it or I have to give up on Squeeze. I don't mind
> working around the occasional bug, but you can't do much without a
> window manager and a panel.
> 
> 
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