Help, I can see only the desktop background

[firyaquen]

Hi all! I'm a new user of Kubuntu. I've installed Kubuntu 7.04 a few weeks ago, and yesterday I've tried to install compiz. I've downloaded and installed all the available packages, and at the next reboot I had the problem.
I've two user account, one is the root, the other is that of my mom. When I log in with my root account, it seems that the KDE is loading, but then I can't see anything! The Desktop default background is the only thing I can see. Moving the mouse, I realized that everything is loaded, but it's all invisible.
In the other account, that of my mom, everything is fine, except that for some strange reason, in the terminal or in adept my root pwd is not accepted. Kubuntu says that it isn't the correct pwd, and after three times, it gives me a communication error with SU.
I tried by rebooting in recovery mode, where I am the root admin, and I've uninstalled compiz by typing:

sudo apt-get -y remove compiz-core desktop-effects
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

These are the only commands I know of Linux....
Well, after uninstalling compiz, the problem is still there, and I can use the system only through my mother account, which does not have admin privileges.

Can anybody help me please?
I'm sorry if this issue has already been solved, but I couldn't find it on the internet, that's why I'm asking here.

Thanks!!!!
Firyaquen

[jankushka]

Re: Help, I can see only the desktop background

i've never installed compiz...
i don't have a clue as to where your problem is...
i will fire up a kvm virtual machine and try to reproduce your issue...
in the meanwhile, some preliminary info and investigation...

i assume that when you speak of "my root account",
you actually mean the user account that was created at installation time
and that, being a member of the admin group, may gain administration privileges.

this is just to make sure that you're not speaking of the actual root account.
simply because you shouldn't normally be using the actual root account.

now then...
your mum's account works alright and i would therefore say, that:
a) you haven't screwed all that much
b) your problems lie somewhere in your own account's kde settings

actually, i think not all of the compiz related stuff has been removed and,
when you log in, compiz is still being (attempted to be) started.
i think it's something like this...

so, if i am right, it's a question of making sure the whole of compiz be removed.

one simple thing you could try, in the meanwhile, is to force a "kde" session.
when you get to kdm's login screen:
a) click on the "session" menu
b) click on "kde" (you'll see that normally "default (previous)" is the default choice).

see if this changes anything.
i don't expect much, but let's see...

you could also set up your mum's account so as to have the same privileges as your own.
thus, making that account also able to gain administration privileges and other stuff.
it would allow you to continue your investigation work in a more comfortable environment.
otherwise you'll be force to continue working from the command line based recovery mode.

you can do this by:
a) booting in recovery mode

b) issuing the following command:

nano /etc/group

thus editing the system's group file, that specifies who belongs to what groups

c) add your mum's username wherever you see your own username
you have to put it at then end of the line, separated by a comma

e) then save, exit (it should be ctrl-x, then y, then enter) and reboot


there's other stuff we can try, but let's start from here...

[Fintan]

Re: Help, I can see only the desktop background

There is of course the radical solution:

Boot into recovery mode type startx then in konqueror navigate to your user (/home/youruser)

Show hidden files with view-> show hidden files go to .kde and backup your eventual kontact, konqueror, etc settings to a folder like kdesettingsbackup. Then delete the .kde file and eventual .compiz files. Reboot into your user, this will force kubuntu to set up a new .kde file in /home/youruser.

You will have to reconfigure your desktop settings like backround, panel settings, keypoard layout, printers, etc.

Do this only if Jan's always good suggestions don't work to the full for some reason.

Cheers
Fintan

[jankushka]

Re: Help, I can see only the desktop background

There is of course the radical solution:

yep.
very good, Fintan.
just wanted to keep drastic measures for later...

meanwhile...
i don't see desktop-effects having anything to do with compiz or anything.
i haven't got it installed neither on my production system nor on the virtual system.
neither before, nor after having installed compiz.
but i seem to have been able to reproduce your issue.
everything seems to be loaded ok, but the screen is totally blank....

[firyaquen]

Re: Help, I can see only the desktop background

@Jankushka

Hi Jankushka, and thanks for your support.
Yes, you guessed right, the account I'm talking about is the main that I've created during the installation. Coming from macosX, I thought it was the admin account, and that of my mom a simple normal user one. Am I wrong?

Well, I tried to force a KDE login, but nothing has changed (but now I'm quite good at targeting Kmenu>End Session> Reboot without actually seeing the graphics )

Now I edited the /etc/group as you suggested me, logged in (mom account), and tried to access adept, but the same error as yesterday occurs (plus: now it doesn't allow me to try more than 2 attempts, then it gives me conversation with SU failed).

I'm new to (k)ubuntu and Linux in general, so please forgive my maybe stupid errors and ignorance, eh eh.

Thanks again!

F.

PS: I hope the error messages are understandable, because I'm Italian, and I'm translating what I can see on my monitor, of course written in italian.

@Fintan

OK, if jankushka's solutions will not function, I'll do what you suggested me.
There is no need to backup anything. My mom uses the computer very rarely (she had win2K and she's not good at using any OS, so I tried to install kubuntu because A- I was curious and wanted to try and learn to use it, and B- If she can, in some way, have more than 80 viruses and several crashes also on Kubuntu, I'll give up with her computer skills ) and I have my account, but only for learning purposes. I use my mac for everything else.
Ergo, there are no important files.

Thank you very much for your help!

F.

[Fintan]

Re: Help, I can see only the desktop background

Now I edited the /etc/group as you suggested me, logged in (mom account), and tried to access adept, but the same error as yesterday occurs (plus: now it doesn't allow me to try more than 2 attempts, then it gives me conversation with SU failed).

Could this be a sudoers issue?

For more reading:
http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3085086.0

[firyaquen]

Re: Help, I can see only the desktop background

Could this be a sudoers issue?

For more reading:
http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3085086.0

I don't know if this is the same problem. As I said before, I'm really new to this system and a lot of things I can read on this and other forums are like magic spells for me
But I previously checked my /etc/sudoers and it looks like that jan posted on that topic, so it seems to be the "standard" /etc/suoders (by the way....what's that? a kind of sys configuration instructions?)

[jankushka]

Re: Help, I can see only the desktop background

alright, i speak italian.
just not to be rude to anyone reading this thread, i'll stick to english...
but if it makes things easier for you, we could switch to italian no problems...
actually i think it would be about time we had an italian board here.
just like there's french and spanish...

Yes, you guessed right, the account I'm talking about is the main that I've created during the installation. Coming from macosX, I thought it was the admin account, and that of my mom a simple normal user one. Am I wrong?

in practical terms you're correct.
formally, things are slightly different.
the linux administration user is always the root user.
in kubuntu, by default, any user that is member of the admin group,
is allowed to gain administration privileges through the sudo mechanism.
the policy for these transformations are set forth in the /etc/sudoers file.

now, after removing the compiz stuff using the remove command you used,
my kde session is unfortunately back up alright.

so, you must still have some dirt lying around...

a couple of new tasks for you:

a) boot in recovery mode and issue:

apt-get autoremove --purge

this will remove all "superfluous" packages and will try to purge all the related config files.

b) issue the following:

cat /home/your_own_user/.kde/share/config/ksmserverrc

look for the lines that start with "restartCommand"
see if you have one that starts something that is obviously compiz related.
for example, i have:

restartCommand4=/usr/bin/compiz.real,--no-fbo,--ignore-desktop-hints,--replace,gconf

if you find it, edit the file with nano, remove that line, save, exit, then try loggin in again.
it shouldn't of course be necessary, because compiz not being there anymore,
this restart command will not find the thing it wants to restart and will just go on...
but there must be something funny there...
just in case, post the content of that file here as well...

c) pls post for me your /etc/group file

cat /etc/group

from a konsole, then copy&paste here...
i'll see if i manage to see what's wrong with it ...
since your /etc/sudoers file is still the default, we must have introduced some error there.

cheers


EDIT:
just as a side note...
when you want to do adminstration tasks from your mum's account,
you'll have to enter your mum's password, you know that, yeah?

[javierrivera]

Re: Help, I can see only the desktop background

in practical terms you're correct.
formally, things are slightly different.

Yes, I know, I know, it's just that I can't resist .

It's practically and formally the same. Mac OS/X is an Unix, it has a root user disable and uses sudo the same way than *ubuntu. Just a different graphical front-end .

Yes, I know... I'll let you help the OP.

Javier.

[firyaquen]

Re: Help, I can see only the desktop background

alright, i speak italian.
just not to be rude to anyone reading this thread, i'll stick to english...

Oh, glad to hear that another Italian is here! Well, I totally agrre with you, let's continue in english.

a) boot in recovery mode and issue: (...)

Done, nothing changed.

b) issue the following...)

I didn't see anything related to compiz, but I post what I can see (well, I can't copy from the terminal, because it seems I don't have the permission to access this from there, so I'll write only the few lines of restartCommand, viewed in recovery mode)

restartCommand1=kwin,-session,10bdb0ce61000117589969800000045150000_1186 066137_55617
restartCommand2=kmix,-session,10dBcecf960000..............
restartCommand3=katapult,-session,10d9d396.......
restartCommand4=kbluetoothhd,session,10bdb0ce..... ..

For the /etc/group , I saw in the konsole that the file is longer than the one shown in recovery mode, so I'm correcting it as you teached me before.
EDIT: yes, you can call me PIRLA

For your EDIT: yes, I guessed at some point during this conversation, but even with my mom pwd, the permission is not granted. sigh

[firyaquen]

Re: Help, I can see only the desktop background

in practical terms you're correct.
formally, things are slightly different.

Yes, I know, I know, it's just that I can't resist .

It's practically and formally the same. Mac OS/X is an Unix, it has a root user disable and uses sudo the same way than *ubuntu. Just a different graphical front-end .

Yes, I know... I'll let you help the OP.

Javier.

Mmmm....ok, I know that MacOSX is a unix-like OS, but, for example, when I create a new account, when the user of that account want to do something potentially dangerous, the system requires the admin pwd, not the user one, to do that thing. Is it the same in (K)Ubuntu? (read Jan's EDIT in his previous post)

[jankushka]

Re: Help, I can see only the desktop background

Yes, I know, I know, it's just that I can't resist .

It's practically and formally the same. Mac OS/X is an Unix, it has a root user disable and uses sudo the same way than *ubuntu. Just a different graphical front-end .

Yes, I know... I'll let you help the OP.

Javier.

no problems, mate...
what i meant was that a user account is always a user account.
and the root account is always the root account.
in practical terms, in kubuntu, you can say a user that's member of the admin group is an admin account.
formally, though, the admin account is always the root account, anyway.
glad to hear that mac os/x works the same way.
i know it's unix...i didn't know it uses sudo as well.
never used mac os/x in me life.
probably never will

[javierrivera]

Re: Help, I can see only the desktop background

...ok, I know that MacOSX is a unix-like OS, but, for example, when I create a new account, when the user of that account want to do something potentially dangerous, the system requires the admin pwd, not the user one, to do that thing. Is it the same in (K)Ubuntu? (read Jan's EDIT in his previous post)

No. In kubuntu (by default) you need to supply the user password.

"sudo" can be configured to ask for the root password instead of the user one and this is how it's configured on Mac OS/X (again by default).

Javier.

[firyaquen]

Re: Help, I can see only the desktop background

Ok. Now I gained the permission on my mom's account.
Here are the two files you've requested:

marilena@PCmamma:~$ cat /etc/group
root:0:
daemon:1:
bin:2:
sys:3:
adm:4:vasario,marilena
tty:5:
disk:6:
lp:7:cupsys
mail:8:
news:9:
uucp:10:
man:12:
proxy:13:
kmem:15:
dialout:20:cupsys,vasario,marilena
fax:21:
voice:22:
cdrom:24:haldaemon,vasario,marilena
floppy:25:haldaemon,vasario,marilena
tape:26:
sudo:27:
audio:29:vasario,marilena
dip:30:vasario
www-data:33:
backup:34:
operator:37:
list:38:
irc:39:
src:40:
gnats:41:
shadow:42:
utmp:43:
video:44:vasario,marilena
sasl:45:
plugdev:46:haldaemon,vasario,marilena
staff:50:
games:60:
users:100:
nogroup:65534:
dhcp:101:
syslog:102:
klog:103:
ssl-cert:104:cupsys
crontab:105:
ssh:106:
messagebus:107:
avahi:108:
lpadmin:109:vasario,marilena
haldaemon:110:
scanner:111:cupsys,hplip,vasario,marilena
slocate:112:
vasario:1000:
admin:113:vasario
marilena::1001:
avahi-autoipd:114:
netdev:115:
nvram:116:
powerdev:117:haldaemon
marilena@PCmamma:~$

and...

[$Version]
update_info=ksmserver.upd:kde3

[Session: saved at previous logout]
clientId1=10bdb0ce61000117589969800000045150000
clientId2=10d8cecf96000111065458100000063760027
clientId3=10d9d39668000112680660600000081280032
clientId4=10bdb0ce61000118606612500000052610012
count=4
discardCommand1=rm,$HOME/.kde/share/config/session/kwin_10bdb0ce61000117589969800000045150000_1186066 137_55617
discardCommand2=rm,$HOME/.kde/share/config/session/kmix_10d8cecf96000111065458100000063760027_1186066 130_898474
discardCommand3=
discardCommand4=
program1=kwin
program2=kmix
program3=katapult
program4=kbluetoothd
restartCommand1=kwin,-session,10bdb0ce61000117589969800000045150000_1186 066137_55617
restartCommand2=kmix,-session,10d8cecf96000111065458100000063760027_1186 066130_898474
restartCommand3=katapult,-session,10d9d39668000112680660600000081280032_1186 066130_898977
restartCommand4=kbluetoothd,-session,10bdb0ce61000118606612500000052610012_1186 066132_944235
restartStyleHint3=0
restartStyleHint4=0
userId1=vasario
userId2=vasario
userId3=vasario
userId4=vasario

@javier: ok, thanks. I didn't know that. Always learning

[jankushka]

Re: Help, I can see only the desktop background

alright Firyaquen...

your files look ok to me.
and i've run out of ideas.
i think it's time for the drastic measures envisaged by Fintan earlier on...

which are not so drastic, especially if you've only started using kubuntu a few weeks ago.
removing the .kde directory, will remove all kde settings and kde applications' related info.
you'll lose all your personal kde settings.
also, if you manage emails with kmail, you'll lose all your emails.
if you manage your music with amarok, you'll lose album covers, cache, ...
stuff like that.
you won't lose applications, but data and settings.

in essence, when you log back in after having removed .kde, it will be as if you were logging in kde for the first time in your life...
you will see that, because kde's set up wizard will start automatically.

here's the procedure:
a) log in with your mum's
b) open up a konsole
c) issue the following:

sudo rm -rf /home/your_own_user/.kde

d) close the konsole and log out
e) log in with your account

now it has to be back alright... >
cheers

ps:
i'll be away for a bit now.
will be back online later on tonight.