[SOLVED] Changing splash screen doesn't work

[DoYouKubuntu]

I've downloaded some splash screens, and in System Settings I've chosen one I want to use:



I've previewed it:



and it looks great...but after 'apply'ing it, leaving, and coming back to make sure it's really selected...it doesn't work! When I restart/reboot/shutdown/boot I get the [in my opinion, horribly ugly] black screen with three dots and a big > symbol. WTF?!

Can someone give me the secret handshake that makes this work?

[kubicle]

Which splash you are trying to change?

Those settings are for the kde splash screen (displayed after login while kde loads up), the settings for the boot splash (plymouth, displayed while the system boots, these are usually more simple as the graphics stack is not loaded at this point) are in SystemSettings>StartupAndShutdown>BootSplash

[DoYouKubuntu]

Which splash you are trying to change?

Well, I thought I was setting the only splash screen I see while booting up, and since 'Breeze' (also known as 'the ugly black screen') was set as the default when I first entered this settings page, I thought I was changing that.

Those settings are for the kde splash screen (displayed after login while kde loads up)

Okay, but then...why isn't -it- working? All I see while booting up is UBS [ugly black screen] followed by my desktop.

the settings for the boot splash (plymouth, displayed while the system boots, these are usually more simple as the graphics stack is not loaded at this point) are in SystemSettings>StartupAndShutdown>BootSplash

I don't recall seeing any such setting, and can't check it right now, but will later.

[claydoh]

Plymouth won't have any gui config tool, and take some manual work. For example, the instructions for this one:
https://store.kde.org/p/1167904/

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I lie, again, maybe

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Not sure how similar your Plasma 5.16.x is vs the current 5.17.x, you can type 'splash' in the search box in system settings (don't forget to hit <enter>), and get a section for the boot splash (ie Plymouth), and the , um, regular(?) , or KDE's splash screen

It does get confusing, as you are coming from the ancient (KDE4), to the (nearly) recent (5.16), and most of us are on the latest 5.17, which does have just enough changes from 5.16 to add to the confusion.
I am downloading Kubuntu 19.10 for a VM to check..........................

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And alas, 5.16 does not seem to have the Plymouth splash screen section

[claydoh]

As to the post-login splash screen, it could well be booting logging in too fast. My crusty but trusty 2012 era PC, it only shows for literally about a second. I don't see on at all on my 2017 laptop with an ultra zippy nvme ssd drive.

Plasma was was known for having a needlessly long login time, and this was addressed in the latest Plasma 5.17, specifically, though I don't think you have gone and added the PPA to get that

Plasma
First of all, Plasma now starts even faster! Among many other optimizations, start-up scripts have been converted from Bash (a slow, interpreted language) to C++ (a fast, compiled language) and now run asynchronously. This means they can run several tasks simultaneously, instead of having to run them one after another. As a result, the time it takes to get from the login screen to the fully loaded desktop has been reduced significantly.

[DoYouKubuntu]

the settings for the boot splash (plymouth, displayed while the system boots, these are usually more simple as the graphics stack is not loaded at this point) are in SystemSettings>StartupAndShutdown>BootSplash

There's no such creature for me:



I've checked ALL the settings looking for some other place to change a splash screen, besides what I posted in the OP, but haven't found any.

[jlittle]

Firstly, on that system settings, login screen, click the 'background' icon and set something not so ugly and black.

Secondly, system settings, "Workspace theme", is where the splash screen option is, at least on my Eoan. Mine is animated, which maybe slows it down a bit so that I see it all.

[DoYouKubuntu]

Secondly, system settings, "Workspace theme", is where the splash screen option is, at least on my Eoan.

Are you playing with me? Take another look at that screenshot, and note the trail of how I got to the splash screen settings.

[jlittle]

Are you playing with me? Take another look at that screenshot, and note the trail of how I got to the splash screen settings.

The screen shot shows
system settings -> in the Workspace section, startup and shutdown -> login screen (SDDM)
I've suggested,
system settings -> in the Appearance section, workspace theme -> splash screen

The "workspace theme" settings are not in the "workspace" section. Confusing, IMO.

[DoYouKubuntu]

The screen shot shows
system settings -> in the Workspace section, startup and shutdown -> login screen (SDDM)

That's not the trail I followed. Where are you seeing "login screen (SDDM)"--because I'm definitely not in it.

I've suggested,
system settings -> in the Appearance section, workspace theme -> splash screen

I could've sworn that's what my screenshot showed...and it does!



The path I followed is in cyan; maroon shows the 'Workspace' section, which I was not in.

Am I still missing something? It's okay to tell me. I can have memory/clarity issues [from first a brain tumor, then a few years later sepsis that caused multiple organ failure and six months in the hospital]. I'm really puzzled right now, so I'd appreciate your clearing this up for me.

[jlittle]

Ah, I think I only looked at post #6, sorry.

[kubicle]

I've checked ALL the settings looking for some other place to change a splash screen, besides what I posted in the OP, but haven't found any.

I have it on my neon installation, but could be that it was not installed by default...the package is "kde-config-plymouth"

[claydoh]

I have it on my neon installation, but could be that it was not installed by default...the package is "kde-config-plymouth"

I can verify that it is not installed in Kubuntu

[DoYouKubuntu]

Ah, I think I only looked at post #6, sorry.

Oh, thank goodness, okay!

Thank you, John.

[DoYouKubuntu]

After some experimenting, here's what I've found:

Logged in as root, I can select a boot splash screen--although I don't know what it will look like, because this is [a sample of] all I see, and there's no way to force a preview on any of them:



So I picked a few blindly and, sure enough, BEFORE the System76 splash screen appears, the randomly chosen boot splash screen does appear.

Also, choosing the previously discussed [not boot] splash screen, the one with the butterfly:



I see it! the pretty splash screen with the butterfly:



but *ONLY* if I log in as root. Logging in as a regular user shows UBS (ugly black screen, as I like to call it). So...what's the trick? Log in as root all the time, just so I can see my choice of splash screens?