Skype starts multiple instances????

[Guest]

A couple of days ago I tried installing Skype 2 from the medibuntu repository. This is on a 64-bit Intel Core2 running Jaunty. Still trying to get the audio/video working properly, but I believe that's a common problem. Crufty software. Different question: Every time I start up the computer, Skype decides to open several instances of itself -- about six, IIRC. This is regardless of whether Skype was running when I logged off and shut the system down. Anyone happen to know why this should be?

[josefko]

Re: Skype starts multiple instances?

Maybe you have some serious problem, but isn't it only because you only think you exit Skype and in fact you only minimalize it? You must chose exit on Skype menu to really exit. All Skype icons must disappear from system tray.
When program is running (even minimalized) while closing session it will start again next session.

For Input Sound you must set HDA Intel (hw:Intel,0) or something similar instead of default.
Video depends on which webcam you have and if Kubuntu has driver for it.

[GreyGeek]

Re: Skype starts multiple instances?

I am running the 64 bit Karmic and I have Skype installed.

When you run the first instance of Skype it puts a green elliptical icon in the system tray. If you try to run another it will give an error message on the Skype dialog of the second instance stating that skype is already running, AND, it will add ANOTHER skype icon to the system tray, but this one will be greyed out. Depending on the number of icons and other settings of your system tray the second skype icon may not be visible unless you click the little tiny triangle on the left edge of the system tray border, which indicates there are more icons that are not visible.

If your original Skype icon wasn't visible and you started another instance two things will happen, the new instance will be greyed out (and perhaps not visible in the system tray) AND it will break your locked in password for automatic sign in.

The Skype icons will stay in the tray unless you specifically right mouse on them and select the "Quit" option to close them out and remove them from the icon. If you have six Skype icons in your system tray, but 5 or more of them are not visible, you will get six instances of Skype starting up each time you log into your account.

That probably explains what I suspect you have been having to do, sign in each time Skype starts up, even though you may have checked the "automatically log me in" check box originally.

[GreyGeek]

Re: Skype starts multiple instances?

I forgot to add that audio and video in Skype is sensitive to Skype's recognition of your specific hardware.

I found that the "default" settings didn't work for me. I had to specifically select the hardware option for my speaker and my microphone. With the video the dropdown combination box gave me only one option, by uvc camera Id, which I selected and which the "Test" bottom showed as working.

I am running Karmic alpha5+ on a Sony VAIO VGN-FW140E/H notebook.

[Guest]

Re: Skype starts multiple instances?

Herrrm. I think then the problem may be that the system tray is somehow upgebroke, because there's no indication of copies of Skype running in background. I'm silly enough to think that if I click the little 'X' button it will end the program, so I could be making that mistake, but I'm not silly enough to see little Skype icons in the tray and ignore them. They're not there.

Ah, me.

[GreyGeek]

Re: Skype starts multiple instances?

Open the system monitor, click on the name of thr processes to sort them by name, and check to see how many skype are running.

[josefko]

Re: Skype starts multiple instances?

If you see some icons in system tray and only Skype icons are missing, maybe Skype version is on blame. So check if you have this: jaunty with kde 4.2.2 and Skype from skype-debian_2.0.0.72-1_i386.deb.

[Snowhog]

Re: Skype starts multiple instances?

jaunty with kde 4.2.2

Don't you mean KDE 4.3.x?

[count_vlad]

Re: Skype starts multiple instances?

When you run the first instance of Skype it puts a green elliptical icon in the system tray. If you try to run another it will give an error message on the Skype dialog of the second instance stating that skype is already running, AND, it will add ANOTHER skype icon to the system tray, but this one will be greyed out. Depending on the number of icons and other settings of your system tray the second skype icon may not be visible unless you click the little tiny triangle on the left edge of the system tray border, which indicates there are more icons that are not visible.

Ive been looking around online and that is the problem Ive been looking to fix. And bonus points for finding a thread with the legendary GreeGeek from LinuxToday. Dude, you, Brandioch and Jose should start your own tech blogs, its some of the best writing found on LT.
Anyways, now that I got that leg humping out of the way, I tech support a few seniors (which isnt anywhere as time consuming as when they used to be on Windows) including my folks and all have weak vision so they often have problems telling the round Skype green icon from the round Kopete blue icon and some similar ones since they cant be made bigger..

So when they click on the HUGE Skype desktop icons (because one thing they love about KDE is they can make everything HUGE and easy to see, icons, fonts, 3-4 inch taskbars), it does exactly as GreeGeek describes in the quoted text.

When they do the same thing with Kopete however, it will not open another instance of the program but rather just put back onscreen the already opened one.

- My question is there a way to make Skype (2.0.0.72 on Kubuntu 9.04) not do the above but rather handle this like Kopete?


And I havent checked out 4.3 yet, could someone tell me if the system tray icons are finally resizable (in panel and in widget), since it is the one thing that is not. And with people with weak vision, it is a common complaint.

Thanks.

[GreyGeek]

Re: Skype starts multiple instances?

Thanks for the kind words, Count, but compared to the technical ability of the top 20 or so posters on this forum I am a rank amateur.

Skype is closed source so there is no way to modify the code to check for a running instance. However, it may be possible to write a bash scrip which grep's the ps looking for skype and makes it active if found or runs it if not. The skype desktop and/or panel icon could point to that script.