Ubuntu

No desktop after login

Asked by Ivan Ratoyevsky

I was attempting to install a new theme on ubuntu 14.04 LTS and unzipped the files I had downloaded to the location /usr/share/theme after trying to install this theme. I stupidly ran the suggested commands as follows:

tips for UNITY

► Disable the Global Menu in Ubuntu 12.04 (Precise Pangolin)

To get started, press Ctrl – Alt – T on your keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run the commands below to disable it.

► sudo apt-get autoremove appmenu-gtk appmenu-gtk3 appmenu-qt

Restart your computer to apply the changes.
==================================================================================================
This lead to no desktop cannot get into my previously working desktop,cannot even run a terminal session. No keyboard keys working. just mouse pointer on a blank coloured screen.

*****THE PROBLEM!! PLEASE HELP!!?*****
I stupily ran the above terminal command whilst attempting to install this
ubuntu theme in trusty 14.04 LTS.

How can I fix this or undo this command/s when I cannot get into my desktop.

Thanks Ivan

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Ivan Ratoyevsky
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Ivan Ratoyevsky (ivan-cyteck) said : 		#1

The machine is a DELL Studio 540 PC
CPU Core 2 duo intel 2.66GHrtz
Hard disk 500GB
8 gb swap space
Ubuntu 14.04 LTS fully upto date
AMD onbaord graphics using ubuntu linux driver
onboard NIC

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#2

If you log in and pres CTRL + ALT + T and run:

compiz --replace

Do you see the session ok?

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Ivan Ratoyevsky (ivan-cyteck) said : 		#3

Thank you for your reply:

a) No!! Cannot get or see a session!!.

b) Cannot get a terminal session. Non of the function keys or any keys on the keybaord are responding after login. Just goes to a blank wallpaper & mouse pointer. No unity and no top menu bar, no icons, no features or functions. Completely blank screen apart from the plain wallpaper saying ubuntu 14.04 LTS.

c) I have been able to login to the machine under "a different admin user account" but that leaves the original user account still broken or non fuctional.

**Would a repair from a live CD be able to fix a broken user account?

or

**Would an alternative solution be to install a fresh user account run a restore all my files from backup and just delete the old broken user account.

I know this is not the best solution but it might be a good compromise work around. The last resport might be a repair re-install from a live CD when I get the time to do that? Any help or advise would be most welcome. Sorry! I only have myself to blame for such stupidity I should have known better really. But we all make mistakes sometimes along the road.

Regards Ivan

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#4

press CTRL+ALT+F1 and login there and run:

killall -u $USER

You will then get the login screen, can you log in to a different session there?

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Manfred Hampl (m-hampl) said : 		#5

If logging in with your original user does not work, but logging in with another user works well, then the cause of the problem most probably is some broken user-specific configuration settings of your original user. A possibility to repair that would be deleting (or renaming) the configuration setting files of your original user.

I do not know exactly which personal setting is the culprit. I would expect that the directories and their contents of ~/.config/dconf and ~/.config/compiz as well as ~/.gconf/apps/compiz* could be good candidates.

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Ivan Ratoyevsky (ivan-cyteck) said : 		#6

Hello and thanks to both of you for your trying to help me fix my problem. In essense I think Manfred is correct there is a damaged or badly corrupted configuration file and I have tried everything you have both suggested and nothing has worked. I have reached the limits of my linux knowledge.

I have done the following a) logged in under an alternative administrators account>>>b) successfully deleted the original damaged user account. Re-started logged back in as an administrator and c) re-set up a user account of the same name (lable) as the original account. d) run a restore from the previous days good backup so doesnt look like I have lost any data. I'm now backup and working again it would appear.

Conclusion: What ever the original commands I ran, it did major corruption to important config files. I was unable to undo/fix the damaged and so only positive solution was a restore which is now completed.

**Moral of the story is be very very careful NOT to run command line commands unless you fully know what the results will be. Its way way to easy to run a bunch of terminal commands without realizing what your doing.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP MUCH APPRECIATED. Regards Ivan