If you’ve upgraded to Ubuntu 11.10, you may have noticed your movie files not looking as they should in the default Movie Player (Totem), and probably others like SMPlayer and MPlayer. For me, the clips actually looked fine first off, but only in Totem, as SMPlayer kept crashing. Then, after getting some updates, Totem started displaying the colours all mixed up (as did SMPlayer, which wasn’t crashing any more). I tested GNOME MPlayer, and that was fine, but all my other players were affected.
From the looks of comments I’ve seen around, updating/installing Medibuntu is a likely suspect, but whatever the cause, it should actually be quite easy to fix. Simply go to Edit > Preferences > Display in Totem, and adjust the Hue from the default 50% mark all the way up to 100%. If yours is all the way down at 0%, as some have reported, then you definitely need to do the same. You may need to do this with each player, but in my case changing the setting in Totem immediately rectified the problem in SMPlayer. If it doesn’t for you, however, then you know how to fix this easily.
Lastly, don’t be surprised if later on you go to play a vid and your colours are all mucked up again. This time, you’ll probably find the Hue is still at 100%, so you’ll need to drop it back to the default of 50%. It might be a bit of a hassle, but this should be fixed up at the development end soon enough, and at least it only takes a few seconds to get your movies looking as they should.
☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻
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ahaha, thanks. I didn’t even notice that folder and was looking in system tools.
now to figure out how to get back ‘add launcher to panel’, and the panel for that matter
OK, well I am using the “Classic” desktop, which isn’t so classic, as it differs wildly from the legacy Gnome 2.x desktop, and you can simply drag and drop launchers onto the top panel (which is there in Gnome 3 Classic, and as far as I can tell in Gnome Shell [I haven’t successfully booted into that yet!]). Also, to create a location launcher, simply drag the folder onto it, and it will create a shortcut.
you can add a launcher by clicking ALT + right click on the panel.
Yeah, and holding Alt while you right-click panel launchers is how you move or remove panel launchers (which can be dragged and dropped onto the panel). More on customising Gnome 3 soon.
Oh, and as for the panel, gnome-panel is the command to run in a terminal. I’ve seen people mention installing it via sudo apt-get install gnome-panel, though that seems to be for fresh installs that don’t have Gnome Shell and Classic (and in that case sudo apt-get install gnome-shell is probably better).
I can’t find
“system” and I’m really pissed off
Go to Applications > System Tools (if using Gnome 3 Classic, which I gather you are, since the guide is for that) and it should have 2 new sub-menus, being the good old Administration and Preferences of the old System menu.
My neighbor upgraded to version 11.10 and up to the log-in screen everything looks ok, but after signing in all her shortcuts, applications do not appear on screen, the only thing visible is the menu bar at the top with File, Edit, View, Go, Bookmarks, and Help, there are no names or options in the top right hand area to access. I believe she is in classic mode but I’m very sure, I do not normally use Ubuntu myself. Stranger still, I navigated through her files and was finally able to find the software center, click on an app link to a website (the browser works!) and google searched until I found this, which is the closest problem I have currently. I did try switching to “Guest Account” by rebooting and the account there is perfectly normal, with dock, shortcuts, you name it. Some help would be appreciated
I have this problem too. I’m on an upgrade from 11.04, with just a bit of tweaking of firefox, and I’ve got something like the old right click menu glued to the top of my screen..
Even creating a launcher in the desktop is now a pain in Ubuntu. I wonder what will be in next release. Probably time to fly to Debian and let ubuntu go crazy how they desire.
Unfortunately, you’ll still encounter Gnome 3 whatever distro you jump to. Maybe not right now, but eventually they’ll be forced to drop Gnome 2.x (basically ever Gnome based distro is making the move, if they haven’t already). So we should start yelling at the Gnome developers to hurry up and implement more useful features, with the ones they excluded would being a good start!
To create a desktop launcher, enter this in a terminal or Alt+F2:
gnome-desktop-item-edit ~/Desktop/ –create-new
Note that is 2 hyphens before create, not one long dash.
To add a launcher to the panel (at least in Classic), just drag it there, and to create a new one there hold Alt while right-clicking an empty area of the panel, then choose Add to Panel as before.
Oriol, thank you for the tip “you can add a launcher by clicking ALT + right click on the panel.” I was so frustrated not able to create simple short cuts on the launch panel. Ubuntu 11 was a big disappointment !!
You have to keep in mind this is not Ubuntu 11.10 at fault as much as Gnome 3 being a total rewrite. I’m afraid all Gnome-based distros will be like this, unless they’ve intentionally stayed behind the rest of the pack and still use Gnome 2.x. But yeah, this transitional period is annoying, but Gnome developers will fill in the holes eventually.
Printing is not in the Other sub-menu. Is there a simple way to add it? I had to log off, log on under the dreaded “new look”, find the Printing app, enable the printer, log off, and then log back on under Classic. What a pain!
OK, your printing preferences should still be there, in System Settings. Remember, this article was about where all those that aren’t in System Settings (which you access by clicking your name in the top right) are now located. As far as I can see, everybody still has “Printing” in the “Hardware” section of System Settings.
OK, your printing preferences should still be there, in System Settings. Remember, this article was about where all those that aren’t in System Settings (which you access by clicking your name in the top right) are now located. As far as I can see, everybody still has “Printing” in the “Hardware” section of System Settings.
Alternatively, just run the command system-config-printer in a terminal or via Alt+F2.
Yes, *some* printing controls can be accessed from the “Printing” in “Hardware” in “System Settings”. But, unfortunately, not all. I needed to enable my printer, which is shared with other computers. This function needs the “Printing” app that used to be accessed by “System>Administration>Printing”. Thanks for the tip about running “system-config-printer” from Terminal. I’m a reformed Windows user, and Terminal solutions don’t come naturally.
Hi Ubuntu Genius. Thank you in advance for any help you can give me. I just installed Ubuntu 11.10 64-bit from scratch. I find it difficult to use, it can’t see anything on my Windows network, I can’t turn off the distracting transparency of windows, and many configuration items are missing. You mentioned at the top of this post that “If you can’t see that sub-menu, right-click Applications, choose Edit Menus, and unhide Other.” Can you tell me where exactly is this “Applications” item that can be right clicked? The only thing I have on my desktop is a vertical launcher bar on the left of a few applications, and a couple of items along the top left, none of which says “Applications.” Thanks, Jeff
OK, that is for the “Classic” desktop, which was the default for 10.10 and previous, was still there in 11.04 when Unity became the desktop, and is now not included. One of my latest posts shows how to get the latest Gnome 3 “Gnome Shell”, as well as the “fallback” mode, which is the old Classic desktop (though a new version of it). You might be better off installing those, and log into Classic (Gnome Shell is as distracting as Unity with animations and effects). Ubuntu and any of the desktop environments it uses is HIGHLY CONFIGURABLE so bear with it, as you can make your system pretty much as you want it with a little research and work, which you can only dream of in Windows.
As for problems seeing a Windows network, look up “Samba”. Heaps of info out there.
Hi Ubuntu Genius!
Perhaps someone here can help… I have deliberately not “upgraded” from 11.04 to 11.10 just so I can keep the Gnome 2 “Ubuntu Classic” desktop which I very much prefer. Sadly, I was trying to alter the Startup Applications to allow Knemo to start on login, when my system froze for some reason, requiring a hard reboot. Upon restart, I find have lost my Applications menu entirely, and the System -> Preferences menu, and the System -> Administrator menu have disappeared too.
!!!!!!!!
I must have tried the various resets that abound on the forums, to no avail.
The last thing I want to have to do is a full reinstall, which would fix it, of course, but it would kill all the customisations which one inevitably makes.
Any ideas on how I can remedy this situation? There must be some default listing that I can reinstall, or go back to. It exists somewhere on the install disk, so it must surely be resetable.
A full-reset switch is certainly something which is missing from the desktop environment, but that is a topic for another discussion.
Anyway, please help!
Thanks in advance
If you’re still using Gnome 2’s gnome-panel (which you are), then it should be easy enough to fix, as basically your top panel was actually born bare, and everything added to it. Meaning you can add and remove anything you like, as what you see (or used to) on your panel was just what the developers thought would be good default things to have.
Right-click your panel, choose Add to Panel… (Gnome 3 users hold Alt while right-clicking the panel), locate and select “Menu Bar“, and drag it to the panel. You might want to right-click the old, mangled menu first and choose Remove From Panel (once again, Gnome 3 users hold Alt while right-clicking to see that option).
In case you’re wondering why it isn’t “Main Menu” you drag to your panel, that is because all the menus are accessed via one small Ubuntu icon, which is a great option if you’re wanting to save space (you can take a look by dragging it to your panel, then just remove it).
Let me know if this solution worked.
PS: The only way to actually “restore” your panel is if you had its settings backed up. Read:
Don’t use this in Gnome 3, or should I say don’t try to restore your Gnome 2 panel settings when you’ve upgraded to Gnome 3. So if you back up your panel, should you ever want it back to that state, just restore it from the settings file you’ve created. Cheers.
Thanks for your thoughts. Neither of your suggestions have worked.
“Places” is still there, all complete and accessible, but “Applications” is missing, also, as above, the “Preferences” and “Administrator” options.
I had previously used Ubuntu Tweak to backup my desktop. so I will give it a chance to restore.
Will let you know what results.
Thanks
Just to let you know, nothing has worked. I am about to reinstall the whole OS as I can think of no other way to repopulate the Applications menu and to restore the Preferences and Administrator menus.
Thanks for your help anyway.
OK… I managed to fix my problem by way of:
“mv ~/.config/menus/applications.menu ~/.config/menus/applications.menu.bak”
and
“mv ~/.config/menus/settings.menu ~/.config/menus/settings.menu.bak”
Log out, login… all fixed!
I have only to add my top panel customisations again, and things are (hopefully) back to normal.
Awesome! So it was just a matter of the old “delete the config file and reset to defaults”. Forcing Gnome to rewrite the *.menu files is obviously the trick, rather than messing with gnome-panel. You may as well delete those .bak files, since I doubt you need the corrupt settings in those:
rm ~/.config/menus/*.bak
I’m currently using ubuntu 11.10 gnome classic desktop with indicator, I notice on the top left hand corner by the application menu where ubuntu logo use to be now gone, is there a way to add the logo back maybe within Ambiance code or maybe compile menu bar from souce? Thanks!
OK, that logo was supplied by an icon in the used theme, which is why that would change from an Ubuntu logo to a Gnome one or whatever, depending on the icon theme. However, this is Gnome 3, a complete rewrite, so not sure if there is any way to get a logo (icon) there. I’m guessing there isn’t, but only based on all the Gnome 3 Classic screenshots I’ve seen. Cheers
Thanks for posting this. I’m new to Ubuntu, Gnome, etc.
Where do I find the Applications menu mentioned in the post? Hidden somewhere in System Settings? Elsewhere?
I have 11.10 with GNOME 3.2.0 installed under wubi.
Thanks for your patience.
OK, you’d be in the default desktop called Unity, whereas the Applications menu etc is part of the old Gnome 2 setup (in 11.04, Ubuntu went with Unity, but kept Gnome 2 “Classic” as another login option; in 11.10, that was ditched, since Gnome 3 has arrived, and the old “Classic”desktop is available if you install Gnome 3’s “fallback-mode”).
So you probably won’t have those menus, but should be able to find any of those apps via Unity’s Dash, simply by typing the first few letters. However, seems you have a fresh install unless I am mistaken, so you wouldn’t have had the old System menu, and be wondering where the launchers went. In other words, I doubt you need this particular guide, as in a fresh install all the old “retired” (or hidden) apps wouldn’t be on your system anyway.
If you’re wondering how to access ANY system settings fullstop, then just click your name in the top right and you should see you can access what’s basically Ubuntu’s version of the Control Panel. This is basically as it always has been, but in the old System menu we had a bunch more apps that weren’t part of that Control Centre, so this guide is for those who upgraded to 11.10 and suddenly found all those apps were missing.
BTW, this is a vanilla install. I just went through the wubi install process and selected Ubuntu as the desktop environment.
I don’t have a ~/.config/menu directory at all. I’m experienced with Unix/Linux, but this is my first Ubuntu install. Seems to get me somewhere a lot faster than Gentoo did, but am stuck attempting to locate some systems preference options that are described in the documentation. Eg. currently trying to find out how to turn on the supposedly included vnc server.
Sorry to followup to myself. I followed directions as to how to make Gnome Classic available. Now, I can see an Applications menu and managed to edit the visibility of the Remote Desktop Viewer.
But, this looses the launcher on the left. Oh well, so much to absorb. ;-)
Ugh. That’s just the Remote Desktop Viewer. Where the heck is the server?
OK, so it is vanilla, and you’ve found that you can’t force Ubuntu to display multiple desktop environments simultaneously. In other words, you log into Unity, you’re bound by its rules, and in Classic you can’t have Unity’s sidebar (actually, you can, but it can become problematic, or just unstable… or might work fine but end up annoying you, as was my case, hehe).
Just remember, you can customise ANY desktop environment or window manager as you please (with limitations). You can force a Gnome bottom panel acting as taskbar to appear in Unity, you can add launchers to your Gnome Classic panel, you can have a bit of both by trying out Gnome Shell (also has a sidebar and cool effects). You can add animated docks for a taskbar, fiddle with a multitude of settings in Unity via Compiz-Config Settings Manager, change the theme or individual aspects of any desktop environment (plenty of info online for each one), and even tailor the animated bootsplash (I just installed a cool Stargate one with chevrons being encoded), and even the login screen (LightDM).
Just look around, as there is heaps of info. And of course I’ll be featuring some cool tricks soon, since Ubuntu just made the switch to LightDM, and Gnome 2 tricks need to be updated to Gnome 3. As long as you know the names of things, you can find out how to customise them (eg: the boot menu is “GRUB 2”, your bootsplash is “Plymouth”, the login is “LightDM”, your shell environment is “Unity” etc). Subscribe to this blog if you want to be informed of new articles I’ll be posting soon.
help me..
current i’m using notebook HP 431
here information for my mechine
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/MqFuN.png[/IMG]
I’m using dual OS, as you see from the picture, I’m using windows 7 ultimate 64 bit, and ubuntu 11.10 64 bit,
my problem in ubuntu is :
1. overheat (
I’ve tried use your solution, but nothing happen for me, still over heat, up to 70C(:-(:-(:-(:-(:-()
I’ve tried use jupiter to, but it still same..
)
2. my system menu like user, launch bar, everything is gone.. except standard menu like file.. but without administrator menu
it’s happen, after i install driver for ati radeon in ubuntu 11.10
any suggestions? or maybe found same problem and you solved it?
Note : sorry for my english is not good
1) All I can suggest is to Google “ubuntu notebook HP 431 overheat” or similar and look through the answers. Chances are someone has already encountered this with the same notebook, and there could be an easy fix.
2) This is in Unity desktop? If not sure, you can log out, and near your name choose another session. If you have Gnome 3, you might see “GNOME” and “GNOME Classic”, and Unity will be “Ubuntu”. If it is Unity, you can see if “Unity Plugin” is enabled under “Desktop” in Compiz-Config Settings Manager (ccsm in the terminal). That’s all I can suggest without more info.
Your Genius-ness..
I’m certain I’m doing something stupid and I’ll hit my forehead in sheepishness.
You say “If you can’t see that sub-menu, right-click Applications, choose Edit Menus, and unhide Other.”
I’ve right-clicked Applications everywhere I can see it — on the Activities screen, in Alacarte menu-editor, on my Android (kidding) — and nothing happens.
There’s no “Other” to unhide.
What am I missing? (Other than “Other.”)
Hi. If you have “Activities” at the beginning of the top panel, then you’re using Gnome Shell, not Classic, which is what this article is for. Alacarte is the menu-editor, but not sure what use it is in Gnome Shell and Unity (but definitely does the trick in Classic).
Yup, that would explain it.
My search for a way to put a “Documents” folder on the Gnome Shell dashboard continues.
Sigh.
Thanks.
— n
I’m still looking for “applications” so I can click on it. I don’t see either ‘otherjw OR ‘applications’
I’d say you’re either using the default Unity shell environment, or Gnome Shell. This guide is for Gnome Classic.
[…] I’m not (yet) a serious Linux user but I must say that I’m a bit disappointed by the latest Ubuntu 11.10 (because of Unity). I like Ubuntu but I don’t like Unity. And in the latest Ubuntu, even when the classic desktop is back, some menus like the administration one are no longer available (see Ubuntu 11.10 Upgrade: Missing Your System Menu (Preferences and Administration) Launchers?). […]
in my install of Ubuntu 11.10 I can access the edit menu’s by right clicking up near the applications places menu on the upper task bar.
Yeah, the people who can’t do that don’t have the Applications menu… meaning they’re not using Classic (so shouldn’t even bother reading this, since it doesn’t apply).
ok – i’m using gnome shell ubuntu 11.10 and i’m seeing all sorts of conflicting opinions about .desktop files
i want to be able to launch a .sh (java) app from the side panel or from the applications menu – i’ve got the icon all the files – i can launch from a terminal – how do i do it from the gui?
some people are saying create a .desktop file for it others are saying that it creates issues and they’re all arguing about where to put it
am i stupid or is there no “right” answer to what seems like a fairly trivial task?
Can you make your own launcher for it and do it that way?
yeh – can i make a launcher? but i’d like for it to be part of the applications “browser” in gnome shell so i can then drag it to the “favourites bar” on the left side of the screen – even though it’s just a script that launches a java app
gnome shell – try getting a consensus on how to create a launcher – that’s why i’m asking – i don’t have enough unbuntu/gnome experience to know who is providing the best advice – caught between a rock and a loathing of ms windows and the hard place that is ignorance
OK, I haven’t fidgeted much with Shell, as I prefer Classic, but will look into this when I have time. As for creating launchers, enter this in a terminal or Alt+F2:
gnome-desktop-item-edit ~/Desktop/ –create-new
Note that is 2 hyphens before create, not one long dash.
I was happy with ubuntu 11.04. A few days ago, I ran the updates/upgrades and now have version 11.10. but ‘system settings’ has disappeared. It is not in the drop-down menu upper-right of screen where my name is – there’s a space in the list where it used to be. I cannot find it in Applications either. So I am without printing, a lot of other stuff, and access to system settings in general. I have a lot of information stored, including photos on shotwell [all of which survived the upgrade thankfully] so I do not want to reload or change OS. Can you advise – I am very new to Linux and unfamiliar with tech speak and jargon – David
To access your System Settings, run the command gnome-control-center in the terminal, or via Alt+F2.
Did as you suggested – ran gnome-control-centre in terminal [control+F2 did nothing] and the missing bits returned as foretold. Thanks, David
That would be Alt+F2, but that may not have worked either, as that key combo may be disabled (I have an article on how to get it back: https://ubuntugenius.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/ubuntu-11-04-fix-re-enable-altf2-key-combo-for-run-application-dialog-for-executing-commands-without-a-terminal/)
I love Ubuntu, but with every upgrade I am liking Ubuntu less and less. I upgraded to 11.10 and I am so sorry I did. I am not a computer techi so I have to write everything in the language I understand. Please bear with me.
Nothing works right and you can’t find anything. The drivers for my laser printer won’t install and my cursor disappears constantly. Pages freeze and trying to listen to downloaded mp3 files is choppy. I have to restart my computer at least 6 times a day and I am always behind in my work because I spend so many hours trying to figure out how to do things and finding ways to get around problems. For someone like me who is not a computer whiz, this is extremely frustrating. I loved 9.10 and 10.10, but these new versions are for the birds. For me they have been nothing but problems. Who do I complain to?
In the mean time, is there anyone who can help me get the binary drivers installed so that I can print? I tried 4 times to run the hplip-3.11.10.run from http://www.hplipopensource.com to no avail. I continuously get a message that the automatic download failed and to install manually. I also saw a message that said the previous install may have failed using a tarball. What on earth is a tarball? Can you tell I am at my wits end? Would you believe someone from another site suggested I use Windows! Definitely not an option. Please help.
Thanks for letting me vent.
OK, a “tarball” is an archive (like .ZIP or .RAR) with either a .TAR or (more commonly these days) a .TAR.GZ extension. In other words, the “source” is compressed into an archive (it’s not an “installer” as such, like a .DEB file) and you generally need to “compile” that – usually instructions are contained for the appropriate MAKE commands, etc. So generally, you decompress a source archive (or “tarball”), navigate into the folder, look for install instructions (sometimes they are on the web sites if not in the archive), and generally run a command or three in the terminal (which should be pointing to the new folder containing the source. Hope the at least clears a little up for you.
Why they gotta change all this stuff :(
Yeah, I hear ya! The Gnome we’ve been using up till now is a thing of the past, but at least you can choose from Shell or Classic (which is still almost the same as the 2.x Classic), and things can only get better. I use Classic still, but the growing number of extensions for Gnome Shell means it will soon be highly customisable, with all sorts of cool things to add.
im using ubuntu 11.10.. im a newbie. i have been trying to locate the MENU EDITOR buh i cant find it. have also tried the gnome center and its not helping because i cant find anything just a bunch of system settings.. does it mean i need to reinstall my OS? if NO. then How can i install EXTRACTED softwares?
Ok, looks like a couple of questions there, and we need to check what interface you are using. If using the default Unity, then this tip probably doesn’t apply. As stated at the beginning of the article, this is for the old-style “Classic Desktop” – Unity has no Applications menu, therefore you can’t click it an choose “Edit Menus”.
Now, you certainly DON’T need to reinstall the whole system, but I am not sure what it is you actually want to achieve. What are you trying to edit the menus for? What exactly does “install EXTRACTED software” mean? Because you’re asking about editing menus, I have to assume you have already installed some programs, and wish to locate them or something? Otherwise, the question seems to be how to install from “source”, where you don’t get a .DEB installer, but have to download a .TAR.GZ compressed archive, EXTRACT it, then use the terminal to INSTALL it. So as you can see, I am not sure if you are asking how to install something, or simply find the launcher of something already installed. Clarify, and I should be able to help.
But if it is simply that you have installed something, and Unity’s Dash menu isn’t letting you easily find it, just start typing the name of the program when the menu is open and it should be displayed in the search results, and you can then click it.
A. first……i have installed programs but i cant find them. im confused why i cant find them.
B. secondly….there are other programs which i have the setup files so tried to install but the cant install. i tried this
1) ./configure: it went smooth….. then
2) make : it ran smooth but it had these errors before installation finished. <error1? [all recursive].
3) make install: it had these errors <error2 instal-man5.
plz help.. im totally a newbie
Hi. I wish I could help more, but not certain what to say, especially as I am not sure how you’ve gone about things. First off though, if compiling, the programs will often just end up in a folder within your home folder, not be installed into system folders like other programs. This is definitely not always the case though, especially with things like Adobe Flash support and other “important” things, but for many apps I’ve “installed” via compiling, they’ve ended up in their own folder within my home folder, with no way to access them via a launcher (for those you either double-click the command while in the folder, or create a desktop launcher to it for easy execution).
Also, while some source simply appears non-installable (which can be a factor if the program was created in another distro like Suse or Arch – not everything will work on all Linux distros), some errors could be due to doing something wrong (I always look for installation info that comes with any source package – as there could be very specific ways to install the app – but I’m assuming this isn’t the case with you).
Now, about the “setup files”, I assume you mean the source code, as .deb installers simply need to be double-clicked, and once again all I can say here is that while the compiling of programs is usually very similar (with configure and make commands), they can have specific requirements, so always look for text files that come with them for such info.
Lastly, all I can say is Google specific error messages, and go through the results. For example, there are many hits for “error2 instal-man5” (with some marked as solved), and one or more might apply to you. The other thing is search for the actual program names with the actual error messages, or even “cannot compile NAMEOFAPP from source”. Many Linux apps have websites and forums, so that is another avenue (don’t be scared to email the developer, or join the forum to ask fellow users).
In conclusion, one last bit of advice is to simply avoid source code from now on, and look for proper Ubuntu installers in the form of .deb files. These will do everything for you, and present you with a launcher to run it from (though obviously in Unity, it may be “hidden” but accessible if you start typing the name in the Dash menu; in Gnome Classic, it will end up in the appropriate section in the Applications menu). All the best.
Oh, one last thing: are you compiling that source as root, ie: are you putting “sudo” before each command in the process? That is a common reason for failure while compiling.
Just a bit more on this: “i have installed programs but i cant find them. im confused why i cant find them”
As I’ve stated, with Unity going the “smartphone” way (like Mac and Windows 8), it’s not like with Gnome Classic of old, in that before you could open the Applications menu and ALL you apps were there, found in one category or another (like “Office” or “System Tools”). You now have to have the menu open and start typing the name of the program if it isn’t already visible, then you will be presented with it. if you would like to try the Classic desktop instead, one of my recent posts tells how to install both Gnome 3 “Shell” and “Classic”, which you can choose at login, and should be the default from then onwards. I’d say go for that, as you seem perplexed about not finding the launchers for installed apps, and in Classic, as long as an installer creates a launcher for the app, it will be there in the Applications menu.
After uprgrade to 11.10, and the odd recommended tweek all worked well until 5 days ago when firefox 8 started to go really slow on page loading, and access to all sites – tried recommended changes to about:config, no change, then upgraded to firefox 10 no change or improvement. my samsung netbook 145 came with windows starter 7, 160 gig drive is partitioned and ubuntu installed via wubi. Firefox works fine in windows 7. I’ve read adverse comments about wubi, but until 5 days ago, I had no problems. Connection by wifi [vodaphone contract] and signal and strength unchanged.
I accidentally deleted my menu at the top of my desktop screen. I have looked over the other comments and (I really don’t know much about computers) I’m not sure how to get this menu back. Can anyone help?
OK, first off what version of Ubuntu are you using? There are major differences between the desktop environments of late, so you could either be using the new Unity or the old Gnome “Classic”.
Hi Bob
I had some similar problems, by the sounds of it.
I managed to solve them by deleting the configuration files for the menus. On reboot, they are forced to reconstitute themselves, bypassing the old corrupted files.
If you look back in the comments by me around about 1st November, you will find the series of problems I had, and how I resolved them.
Hope this helps.
Actually, Bob’s problem is he deleted the panel, so not sure the reset would fix that (?), though I’m guessing it will. Once upon a time you would just right-click the bottom panel (Alt+Right-click in Gnome 3), choose “New Panel”, and recreate the missing top panel that way. But a hard reset might do the trick. I just have always looked at such measures as last resort stuff, but I guess this is just the panel we’re talking about, not like tips of old which had you deleting the ~/.gnome2 folder, which indeed would generally fix things up if Gnome was acting up, but you’d lose so many settings (the lesser of 2 evils if you couldn’t log into Gnome no matter how much you tinkered). Thanks again, Reggie.
I dont like the new dash. My desktop is not a touch droid. I never liked pop out stuff. I want the bar at the top like it was before the update – STATIONARY and the geeks think I like poppy fingery things. I dont!
I hear ya! While I point out to people that unfortunately all OSes are going this route, with Mac OS X “Lion” following Ubuntu, and Windows 8 out soon, I also know not everyone is going to put up with it. Which is why I’ll continue to offer alternatives as these changes unroll (if you haven’t already read my article on installing Gnome Classic, here it is: https://ubuntugenius.wordpress.com/2011/10/23/ubuntu-11-10-fix-how-to-add-the-classic-desktop-and-gnome-3-shell-as-login-options/). Wait till HUD (“Heads Up Display”) comes in 12.04, hehe!
I have seen here (http://www.futurehardware.com/linux/605.htm#post2824) that some users does not able to see the DE after installing the Gnome 3. Is that True?
To tell you the truth, I don’t even understand what that guy is saying (unfortunately, even when looking for answers, people can be really vague in the questions they ask). He could be saying Unity has “disappeared”, or Gnome Shell, though to me (possibly due to his limited English) it appeared he was saying an app called “Desktop Environments” is missing. Either way, nothing has “disappeared” – obviously he had some conflicts or whatever, perhaps Gnome Shell wasn’t installed properly. As for the rest of us, installing another DE presents no problems. I’ve got Unity, Gnome Shell, Gnome 3 Classic, KDE and the new Cinnamon all living in harmony on my system. The only thing I’ve ever had to fix up was disabling the Unity menu via its Compiz plugin when I first logged into Gnome 3 Classic. Other than that, it’s all fun and games.
I am a new user of ubuntu,hardly having expirience of 3 months.I was using 11.04 till last month and then upgraded to 11.10.I am facing problem while connecting my gsm phone to internet, which worked good in 11.04, now whenever i try to connect, a message pops up saying ‘modem-disconnected you are now offline’.
moreover now my desktop menu bar don’t show me options like ‘go’, ‘bookmarks’ etc. Also when i press ‘alt+tab’ to view my open applications it is nomore graphical(reminds me the windows of ‘windows 98’)…
I hope i’ve explained my problems clearly..please help me.
Hi. OK, there are various issues and “bugs” for some people on a range of different modems, so your best bet is to start a new thread in the appropriate section at http://www.ubuntuforums.org, and even go to Launchpad and file a bug report. It’s worth joining these up, as in the forums you can get answers quickly, as the community is huge, and sometimes the problems can be so specific to hardware, filing a bug report can actually result in a fix that would otherwise not occur. Just remember to put as much relevant info as possible not just in your explanation fo the problem, but also the title to be displayed (“Modem doesn’t work” is an example of what NOT to do, hehe). This includes actual modem make and model, and everything else you can think of that will help get you answers.
As for the other issues, you should first look into Compiz-Config Settings Manager (ccsm in the terminal) and see if something is interfering with the Alt+Tab combo, and also Keyboard Settings – it might be as simple as enabling it again, or changing what Compiz does with that combo (I assume you’re using Unity, which uses Compiz for compositing).
As for “desktop menu bar”, do you mean the top panel? Since that could be due to any number of things, once again starting another thread with as much info in the title (and explanation of problem) could get you answers fast, so join the forum if you haven’t already. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help, but the forums are a great help, as those who’ve had your problem could well be there waiting to give you the answer. Best of luck!
hi,thanks a lot for guiding me.I’ll remember all the things you mentioned.thanks a lot once again.
Hi there, this seems to be the only place on the whole entire internet even closly relating to what I want/need (classic gnome is a NEED when one is forced to use Unity).
Basically I was editing my main menu but I don’t want to add just a sub menu I want to create a whole new menu. Is there a way to add the “System” menu back after “Places” which like in Ubuntu 10.10 was edited under the main menu settings and then move the “Other” into that menu? I have been looking high and low and I can’t find a way to create a new menu up there.
Ah, no you can only add new menus to Applications, which has always been the case. What I suggest is creating a new menu called Administration, then just drag anything you want from Other into that. Actually, that isn’t a bad idea – I’m going to do that now myself, hehe.
Hi.
I am using an Ubuntu 11.10 32-bit. I need to install
xfonts-75dpi
xfonts-100dpi
packages from the repositories. However, I am not seeing the (System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager)
I wonder if you could help me install these.
Open a terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and paste this: sudo apt-get install xfonts-75dpi xfonts-100dpi (I’m assuming those are the correct package names, otherwise they won’t be found). As for Synaptic, most of my articles to do with package management feature mention of it, since it was the default in Ubuntu until a couple of versions ago. Now Ubuntu Software Centre is Ubuntu’s unique package installer, but I would still recommend installing Synaptic (sudo apt-get install synaptic) and using that, as it loads much faster, and while it doesn’t look as flash, it’s all you need. But if you quickly want to install a package or two, and you know their names, the quickest method is to open a terminal, type sudo apt-get install, followed by the package names separated by a space.
Ubuntu Genius; firstly Thank you for the Alt+ function, secondly and most important of all, I thought Linux was supposed to be better than Windows. How did the Gnome programmers not figure that the basic from where Ubuntu came from is what made it so profoundly strong. when most of us looked to a system we can rely on to get the job done and have been left destitute(being a bit dramatic but it is quite serious) for basic functionality. At least we have you, for now :) Thank you!
Hi Falcon, if you don’t like Unity, different desktop environments have been mentioned in a few replies above.
Personally, I switched from Unity to Cinnamon because I don’t like the lack of functionality, etc that is the current iteration of Unity.
If you like the layout, functionality, familiarity of the ‘old’ gnome desktop, the you’ll really like Cinnamon. http://cinnamon.linuxmint.com/
It’s very customisable, and very slick.
Worth a try, anyway.
hey there,
i just updated my ubuntu to a new version… but when i have restarted my computer everything dissapeared, i mean i can see only my wallpaper and mouse (there is no application bar or other stuff, the onlything i can do – turn off my computer with power button). What should i do to make my computer usefull again??
OK, the causes and workarounds are so many, not sure what to offer without knowing more info. One thing I would definitely try is logging into a different desktop environment by clicking the icon near your username at login. Even if you don’t have other DEs installed like Gnome or KDE, you should be able to pick the 2D version of Ubuntu/Unity – do that, and see if it makes a difference. Also, when booting up, you can also choose an earlier kernel – while I usually wouldn’t recommend doing that after an upgrade, I’ve done exactly that before, and while the desktop I ended up at wasn’t totally stable (or should I say some things didn’t work, or work right), it allowed me to get updates which fixed the problem. Another thing I’ve successfully used to repair a system I couldn’t log into at all was choosing recovery mode from the boot menu, and when at its text-based menu, choosing to repair broken packages, which is does by downloading what it needs (no issue if you have an ethernet broadband connection, as that is open whether you’re logged in or not). But since you can get to the desktop, I’d try to see if you can get a terminal up by Ctrl+Alt+T, and trying some commands like compiz
--
replace (to see if it’s a Compiz issue), unity--
reset (if you were/are using Unity – if you still were using Gnome Classic [sorry, no way to tell as you never mentioned version numbers], try killall gnome-panel), or sudo apt-get update (to see if updates can fix it). Other than that, all I can suggest is going to the forums (http://www.ubuntuforums.org), starting a thread (in the Upgrades section) with as much info as possible about before and after, including version you upgraded from and to, etc. All the best!If some one wants expert view regarding blogging and site-building afterward i advise him/her to visit this web site, Keep up the nice work.
Hi there just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in your post seem to
be running off the screen in Opera. I’m not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with web browser compatibility but I figured I’d post to let you know.
The style and design look great though! Hope you get the issue solved soon.
Kudos
Hmmm, could be some issue with Opera (which I used to use, but I think before I started this blog). But then it would happen with every blog on WordPress, and since it isn’t an issue with Firefox and Chrome, looks like the fault lies with Opera. You should perhaps Google this; “wordpress formatting opera” shows there can be some issues, so see if there are any hits relating to your specific version of Opera. The formatting (as in width of posts etc) is the same for all (free) WordPress blogs – and I think the maximum width is tablet-friendly, and only takes up half the screen on my PC’s widescreen monitor. It really shouldn’t be running off your screen!
Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you penning this post plus the rest of the website is really good.
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