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CF Web>Linux>UbuntuInCS>MEFUbuntuFrontendFAQ (2014-05-12, OmNafees) (raw view)
---+FAQ 

How to restore a known working Ubuntu KDE/Gnome GUI setup.

%TOC%

---++Access

   * Who can use them?
Any student with a cs-region account can use the teaching Linux systems.

   * Where can they be accessed from?

Any CS public lab with thin clients can access the teaching Linux systems.  These
labs are in MC 2061, and 3022.

   * What if I can't log in?
Each April (between the winter and spring terms), 
a new release of Ubuntu was installed on the Linux hosts
and consequently the initial desktop startup configuration from the previous
release in your home account may be interfering with successful login. 
*NOTE*.
We are assuming you can login successfully via ssh, that is, your password
works.  
You should be able to login to your account 
via a Solaris host or Imac workstation to
accomplish the any re-initialization tasks as described below. 

You will want to check that you have account quota prior to doing the re-initialization
step below as that may be explain login difficulties. You can do this by typing
=diskquota= while logged into the Solaris environment.

---+++ Gnome reinitialization
Gnome startup files reside in the directories:
=.gnome2=, =.gnome2_private=, =.gconf= and =.gconfd=. You can either move
them aside by creating a temporary directory in your home directory and then
move them into that temporary directory (use the =mv= command) or simply delete
them by doing 
<verbatim>
rm -rf .gnome2 .gnome2_private .gconf .gconfd
</verbatim>

---+++ KDE reinitialization
KDE startup configuration resides in the file =.kderc= and the directories
=.kde= and =.qt=. To remove these execute the following command while located
in your home directory
<verbatim>
rm -rf .kde .qt .kderc
</verbatim>

Next test to see if you can login succesfully by choosing the Gnome or KDE Session
from the login window. 

From another account, or the 'failsafe' window manager (see below), check your
quota and ensure you're below it.  A prime candidate for quota bloat is Firefox
disk cache. Firefox cache is set to 0 on mef-fe systems, but firefox doesn't
delete cache already on the disk.  To wipe the disk cache, delete the contents
of: =~/.mozilla/firefox/*.default/Cache=

---+++ xsession errors
If you appear to log out immediately after entering your userid and password, there may be an
incompatibility between the Linux environment and your =.xsession= file.
From another account, check for a =.xsession-errors=
file in your home directory.  If it contains lines like
<verbatim>
/u/userid/.xsession: 12: /software/x11-mfcfenv/data/xdm/xsession: not found
</verbatim>
try moving your .xsession file aside (=mv .xsession .xsession.old=) and then logging in.
---+++ Firefox reinitialization
As of September 2008, firefox3 is now the default version of firefox whereas previously it was
firefox2. It is possible that the user may have to re-initialize there
.mozilla home directory, i.e., move it aside. You can preserve your bookmarks.html file
by copying back into place from the old location. *NOTE*. Your can find your bookmakrks file
by typing
<verbatim>
echo .mozilla/firefox/*.default/bookmarks.*
</verbatim>
It should give you the file pathname. Make sure firefox is not running while you are re-initializing it.

---+++ How do I switch window-managers?

Window managers can be chosen on the login screen, at any time before
submitting the password.  At the top-left side there is a menu, "Session".
There are choices for KDE, Gnome, Failsafe Gnome, and Failsafe Terminal. 

The user will be asked to confirm whether they want to use the non-default
window-manager.  They can chose to use the non-default window manager for one
session, or all future sessions.

   * Customizing KDE

  KDE can be customized by running 'kcontrol' from the command-line.  Some customizations can be made by editing configurations in $USER/.kde . 

   * Customizing Gnome

  Gnome can be customized by selecting the "System" menu from the top bar, sub-menu "Preferences".

   * Can a user keep using their existing KDE/Gnome configurations?

The user's home directory is shared across the entire student.cs region.  Some
students may already have KDE/Gnome configurations on other Linux servers in
cs; such as in the Trash.TrashCFGraphicsLab.
Topic revision: r16 - 2014-05-12 - OmNafees
Information in this area is meant for use by CSCF staff and is not official documentation, but anybody who is interested is welcome to use it if they find it useful.
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