Score:0

Ubuntu

How can I repair the Plasma (X11) environment?

DonP

4/22/24, 2:49 AM

It ran well even if a little show before when running the somewhat bloated Ubuntu Studio and only 1GB RAM, then better with the lighter-weight Xubuntu 22.10 and 2GB but after upgrading Kubuntu from 22.10 to 23.04, apps do nothing when I click on them and none of my desktop items are there even though they are visible in the /home/Desktop folder.

With Gnome installed and loaded, it works and apps open but due to the limited resources that cannot be upgraded further (only 2GB memory) on this old laptop, I prefer the default Plasma (X11) and again, it was working well before the upgrade to 23.04. How can I repair or reinstall it without a fresh install?

UPDATE: Trying popey’s tip below to run sudo apt update ; sudo apt install kubuntu-desktop^, no different when done so I tried sudo apt update ; sudo apt install —reinstall kubuntu-desktop^ which took over two hours to run but still the same result. Could this be a bug between Plasma and 23.04 perhaps?

I may have found a clue to the problem. Even though this is a fresh installation with only a few additional applications added, it is taking up nearly the entire nearly-1TB partition! I suspect the upgrade to 23.04 did not complete properly but could it have left so much there and how can the excess be removed? My three other Ubuntu Studio PCs are filled with data and apps but don’t use half the space.

315

0 + 11

upgrade

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popey

4/22/24, 7:01 PM

It's possible something is missing. Try a simple `sudo apt update ; sudo apt install kubuntu-desktop^` with the caret (`^`) to reinstall any missing packages. Be keen to know if that works.

DonP

4/22/24, 7:14 PM

It seemed very promising as it was something I hadn’t tried but unfortunately it is the same as before. I don’t know if it makes a difference (probably not) but the screen shows `Plasma made by KDE` when it first boots.

popey

4/22/24, 9:51 PM

Sorry, I completely missed the fact you only have 2GB RAM. You're pushing the limits of what's possible here. Do you have any swap space configured? You will need some, but it will run like an absolute dog with that little RAM.

DonP

4/22/24, 11:19 PM

@popey Please see my updated question and yes, there is swap at about 6GB and there is a swap partition but not sure how to access it with only terminal as GParted won’t run.

Archisman Panigrahi

4/22/24, 11:22 PM

2 GB ram is too small to comfortably run a modern version of Ubuntu or Xubuntu. Try https://antixlinux.com/ or https://mxlinux.org/ or https://www.linuxliteos.com/ (Also see https://www.linuxliteos.com/assets/img/download/min_req_win_lin_6x.png)

DonP

4/22/24, 11:30 PM

I have no choice as nothing larger is available. This is just a seldom-used standby system anyway so speed isn’t an issue but it does need to work. None of those others offer what I need and, as I said, this same laptop with a smaller hard drive and only 1GB used to run Ubuntu Studio 22.10. Although somewhat slow, it ran well.

popey

4/23/24, 12:51 PM

Can you upgrade the RAM in this computer? Upgrading to 4GB will make quite a difference, and an even bigger difference if you can get more.

DonP

4/23/24, 4:12 PM

@popey As stated, 1GB (each) is the max available that I can find in this SIMM format. As it holds two, it can have only 2GB. Please see the update to the original question too as I discovered that somehow Xubuntu is taking up nearly the entire 1TB SSD space for some unknown reason leaving only a small amount of free space which may be the primary problem.

popey

4/23/24, 6:23 PM

What make and model of computer is this? Sometimes the manufacturers specification is wrong, and the computer is capable of taking more RAM than they say.

DonP

4/23/24, 6:56 PM

@popey It’s a Gateway MX6440 but it is not a matter of the specifications and 1GB that it has is far beyond that. It’s a matter that compatible SIMMS do not exist larger than 1GB as that’s apparently the limit to this type.

popey

4/23/24, 7:57 PM

The processor in that computer is 18 years old. It could buy me a pint in the UK! You're asking too much of it. A very lean Linux distribution would work better. Ubuntu is really not going to cut it, and indeed even if you did get it running, barely any modern apps - and certainly no modern web browsers will work on it.

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