Score:1

How best to bring a broken desktop (MATE) back?

ar flag

At power-up, the greeter window provides for each of my 4 login ID's these desktops: Gnome, Gnome Classic, Ubuntu, Ubuntu w/ Wayland, MATE, Budgie, KDE/Plasma, and a few others.

Something about the MATE desktop is broken to the extent all I get is a background image and a moving mouse cursor.

No clicking or keystrokes (shy of ctrl-alt-F1, which brings up a console login) do anything.

What is the suggested way to repair MATE? Thx.

guiverc avatar
cn flag
You've not provided your OS/release details; not been very specific with details. I'm a lover of multi-desktop boxes (or *bloated* systems) but I ensure I install everything I usually install the whole *flavor* desktop as installing less than has in my experience meant the results are release specific (*and you've not provided yours*). What exactly you have installed (*given what you've provided*) to me matters, as beyond 3 desktops which you appear to have, issues can be expected which vary on what is installed + the order it was installed; which you didn't specify.
gandsnut avatar
ar flag
Sorry, it's Ubuntu 20.04... First installed desktop was Gnome, then MATE, then KDE/Plasma, then Budgie, and finally XFCE4.
guiverc avatar
cn flag
Does this answer your question? [Installing several different flavours of Ubuntu 20.04](https://askubuntu.com/questions/1295149/installing-several-different-flavours-of-ubuntu-20-04)
gandsnut avatar
ar flag
@guiverc: Unfortunately that link is focused on installing. Which I have done w/o problem. The OP topic is about repairing a particular desktop that appears broken. Would you know of troubleshooting steps or suggestions in that area?
guiverc avatar
cn flag
In my opinion that link describes your problem; in you have Ubuntu Desktop; added Kubuntu DE Ubuntu Budgie DE & finally Xubuntu DE (*though your question also mentions Ubuntu-MATE desktop too*). Fixing the issues I mentioned is very specific & likely relates (*in my experience*) to interactions of the *flavor* desktops & your settings. If you had Ubuntu Desktop & added Ubuntu MATE alone you'd have no issues with setup as its interaction between many you have, and only those with all those *flavors* installed (*and in the order you used*) are likely to experience issues you have & provide clues
guiverc avatar
cn flag
I also said to be specific on details; to install KDE Plasma did you install `kubuntu-desktop` or something else? ie. specifics. When multi-desktop setups are installed (esp. if >3) specific details really matter, and that can include the icons/themes/etc used on each (as they all ~interact with GTK/Qt themes directly or indirectly due to the multitude of apps we'll have installed). You can influence one DE's looks/behavior by making changes in others (*one of reasons why multi-desktop installs aren't great for newbies; so all DEs must be setup in ways that won't be problems with others*).
gandsnut avatar
ar flag
I think I used kubuntu-desktop (as the label for a package) to install KDE/Plasma. I'm OK with less DE's. The impetus behind having multiple DE's, was to chase an elusive problem that had arisen with a critical application I need to run, 'MuseScore'. Just last night I found the Budgie DE seems to allow MuseScore to run w/o problem. Which is curious & surprising to me. I'd be OK with simply de-installing MATE (if that's possible). I get reluctant with removing -whatever- when Synaptic warns it has to remove what sounds like packages I need, as dependent on removal of XX or YY.
I sit in a Tesla and translated this thread with Ai:

mangohost

Post an answer

Most people don’t grasp that asking a lot of questions unlocks learning and improves interpersonal bonding. In Alison’s studies, for example, though people could accurately recall how many questions had been asked in their conversations, they didn’t intuit the link between questions and liking. Across four studies, in which participants were engaged in conversations themselves or read transcripts of others’ conversations, people tended not to realize that question asking would influence—or had influenced—the level of amity between the conversationalists.