After I ran fsck the Files app aka Nautilus in Ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS always takes approx. a minute to startup and then shows approx. 50-100 file icons/symbols in the left sidebar.
How can I get rid of them and what are they ? Please see attached image. I did not find an explanation for those icons on google. When I click on them, nothing happens. Many of those "directory names" start with square brackets.
The alternative file manager Krusader, on the other hand, works fine without problems.
Ubuntu is installed on a separate, bootable and persistent USB Harddrive.
As far as I remember, all began after I deleted some files on this USB Harddrive via access from Windows 10, which was booted from the main harddrive of my computer. Thereafter, Ubuntu did not boot, so I fixed it with fsck. After that, everything works fine again, with the exception of Finder getting slow and showing those symbols.
I tried to remove dead symbolic links with the terminal but got an error "too many levels of symbolic links".
lots of strange symbols in Ubuntu Files app
here is the output of "mount" terminal command:
guru@unb:~$ mount
sysfs on /sys type sysfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)
proc on /proc type proc (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)
udev on /dev type devtmpfs (rw,nosuid,relatime,size=8129620k,nr_inodes=2032405,mode=755,inode64)
devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,nosuid,noexec,relatime,gid=5,mode=620,ptmxmode=000)
tmpfs on /run type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,size=1633356k,mode=755,inode64)
/dev/sdb1 on / type ext4 (rw,relatime,errors=remount-ro,stripe=8191)
securityfs on /sys/kernel/security type securityfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)
tmpfs on /dev/shm type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,inode64)
tmpfs on /run/lock type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,size=5120k,inode64)
cgroup2 on /sys/fs/cgroup type cgroup2 (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,nsdelegate,memory_recursiveprot)
pstore on /sys/fs/pstore type pstore (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)
efivarfs on /sys/firmware/efi/efivars type efivarfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)
bpf on /sys/fs/bpf type bpf (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,mode=700)
systemd-1 on /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc type autofs (rw,relatime,fd=29,pgrp=1,timeout=0,minproto=5,maxproto=5,direct,pipe_ino=18681)
hugetlbfs on /dev/hugepages type hugetlbfs (rw,relatime,pagesize=2M)
mqueue on /dev/mqueue type mqueue (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)
debugfs on /sys/kernel/debug type debugfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)
tracefs on /sys/kernel/tracing type tracefs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)
configfs on /sys/kernel/config type configfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)
fusectl on /sys/fs/fuse/connections type fusectl (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)
none on /run/credentials/systemd-sysusers.service type ramfs (ro,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,mode=700)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/bare_5.snap on /snap/bare/5 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/chromium_2590.snap on /snap/chromium/2590 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/chromium_2599.snap on /snap/chromium/2599 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/chromium-ffmpeg_34.snap on /snap/chromium-ffmpeg/34 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/chromium-ffmpeg_33.snap on /snap/chromium-ffmpeg/33 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/codium_337.snap on /snap/codium/337 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/codium_339.snap on /snap/codium/339 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/core_15511.snap on /snap/core/15511 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/core_15925.snap on /snap/core/15925 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/core18_2790.snap on /snap/core18/2790 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/core18_2785.snap on /snap/core18/2785 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/core20_1974.snap on /snap/core20/1974 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/core20_2015.snap on /snap/core20/2015 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/core22_817.snap on /snap/core22/817 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/core22_858.snap on /snap/core22/858 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/cups_974.snap on /snap/cups/974 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/cups_980.snap on /snap/cups/980 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/firefox_2987.snap on /snap/firefox/2987 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/firefox_3026.snap on /snap/firefox/3026 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/freecad_517.snap on /snap/freecad/517 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/freecad_727.snap on /snap/freecad/727 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/ghostscript-printer-app_783.snap on /snap/ghostscript-printer-app/783 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/ghostscript-printer-app_785.snap on /snap/ghostscript-printer-app/785 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/gimp_383.snap on /snap/gimp/383 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/gimp_393.snap on /snap/gimp/393 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/gnome-3-28-1804_194.snap on /snap/gnome-3-28-1804/194 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/gnome-3-28-1804_198.snap on /snap/gnome-3-28-1804/198 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/gnome-3-34-1804_90.snap on /snap/gnome-3-34-1804/90 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/gnome-3-34-1804_93.snap on /snap/gnome-3-34-1804/93 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/gnome-3-38-2004_143.snap on /snap/gnome-3-38-2004/143 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/gnome-3-38-2004_140.snap on /snap/gnome-3-38-2004/140 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/gnome-42-2204_120.snap on /snap/gnome-42-2204/120 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/gnome-42-2204_126.snap on /snap/gnome-42-2204/126 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/gtk2-common-themes_13.snap on /snap/gtk2-common-themes/13 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/gtk-common-themes_1534.snap on /snap/gtk-common-themes/1534 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/gtk-common-themes_1535.snap on /snap/gtk-common-themes/1535 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/hugo_16794.snap on /snap/hugo/16794 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/hugo_17056.snap on /snap/hugo/17056 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/kde-frameworks-5-91-qt-5-15-3-core20_1.snap on /snap/kde-frameworks-5-91-qt-5-15-3-core20/1 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/kde-frameworks-5-96-qt-5-15-5-core20_7.snap on /snap/kde-frameworks-5-96-qt-5-15-5-core20/7 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/kde-frameworks-5-98-qt-5-15-6-core20_9.snap on /snap/kde-frameworks-5-98-qt-5-15-6-core20/9 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/kde-frameworks-5-99-qt-5-15-7-core20_7.snap on /snap/kde-frameworks-5-99-qt-5-15-7-core20/7 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/kf5-5-104-qt-5-15-8-core22_7.snap on /snap/kf5-5-104-qt-5-15-8-core22/7 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/kf5-5-104-qt-5-15-8-core22_9.snap on /snap/kf5-5-104-qt-5-15-8-core22/9 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/kf5-5-105-qt-5-15-9-core22_11.snap on /snap/kf5-5-105-qt-5-15-9-core22/11 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/kf5-5-105-qt-5-15-9-core22_9.snap on /snap/kf5-5-105-qt-5-15-9-core22/9 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/kf5-5-108-qt-5-15-10-core22_5.snap on /snap/kf5-5-108-qt-5-15-10-core22/5 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/nextcloud-desktop-client_147.snap on /snap/nextcloud-desktop-client/147 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/nextcloud-desktop-client_150.snap on /snap/nextcloud-desktop-client/150 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/okular_129.snap on /snap/okular/129 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/okular_142.snap on /snap/okular/142 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/qt515-core20_27.snap on /snap/qt515-core20/27 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/qt515-core20_28.snap on /snap/qt515-core20/28 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/skype_291.snap on /snap/skype/291 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/skype_293.snap on /snap/skype/293 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/snap-store_638.snap on /snap/snap-store/638 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/snap-store_959.snap on /snap/snap-store/959 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/snapd_19457.snap on /snap/snapd/19457 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/snapd_19993.snap on /snap/snapd/19993 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/telegram-desktop_4939.snap on /snap/telegram-desktop/4939 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/telegram-desktop_4980.snap on /snap/telegram-desktop/4980 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/vlc_3078.snap on /snap/vlc/3078 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/whatsie_145.snap on /snap/whatsie/145 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/whatsie_146.snap on /snap/whatsie/146 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
/dev/sdb1 on /var/snap/firefox/common/host-hunspell type ext4 (ro,noexec,noatime,errors=remount-ro,stripe=8191)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/xournalpp_82.snap on /snap/xournalpp/82 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
binfmt_misc on /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc type binfmt_misc (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)
tmpfs on /run/snapd/ns type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,size=1633356k,mode=755,inode64)
nsfs on /run/snapd/ns/ghostscript-printer-app.mnt type nsfs (rw)
nsfs on /run/snapd/ns/cups.mnt type nsfs (rw)
tmpfs on /run/user/1000 type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,size=1633352k,nr_inodes=408338,mode=700,uid=1000,gid=1000,inode64)
gvfsd-fuse on /run/user/1000/gvfs type fuse.gvfsd-fuse (rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,user_id=1000,group_id=1000)
portal on /run/user/1000/doc type fuse.portal (rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,user_id=1000,group_id=1000)
nsfs on /run/snapd/ns/snap-store.mnt type nsfs (rw)
nsfs on /run/snapd/ns/nextcloud-desktop-client.mnt type nsfs (rw)
nsfs on /run/snapd/ns/chromium.mnt type nsfs (rw)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/xournalpp_86.snap on /snap/xournalpp/86 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,errors=continue,x-gdu.hide)
nsfs on /run/snapd/ns/xournalpp.mnt type nsfs (rw)
nsfs on /run/snapd/ns/firefox.mnt type nsfs (rw)
guru@unb:~$
