2

I'm still getting used to Linux, having come from Windows. I was receiving an error that "compiz" had crashed a few times so I figured I'd uninstall it.

sudo apt-get remove compiz
sudo apt-get install compiz

I logged out then back in, after that, the GUI was totally gone and I have no idea how to get it back or what I need to do to restore the GUI to what it was before I killed poor Compiz. GUI was pretty much unmodified after a fresh install of 14.04

How can I fix it? I'm not even sure how to get to a terminal or anything. The login screen looks normal, but after logging in, it's a totally bare desktop with my backround and a few icons. No Dash, toolbar, etc. Hot Keys don't seem to work either (Super = Dash doesn't work, etc); although I did accidently open "Disk" UI. Not sure how.

Please Help! Right now I'm working off my W7 dualboot.

David Foerster
  • 36,264
  • 56
  • 94
  • 147
tSquirrel
  • 315
  • Try opening a virtual terminal (CTRL + ALT + F1). Login and type compiz. Then press CTRL + ALT + F7 to return to the graphical interface. – To Do May 31 '14 at 15:22

2 Answers2

3

Compacted answer according to OP:

  1. Switch to a virtual terminal (Ctrl+Alt+F1) and log in with your user name and password.

  2. Reinstall the ubuntu-desktop meta-package:

    sudo apt-get install -f ubuntu-desktop

    This will restore all the missing packages necessary to run Ubuntu and the Unity desktop.

  3. Either

    • reboot (sudo reboot or Ctrl+Alt+Del) or
    • restart the display manager¹ and switch back to the graphical interface (Ctrl+Alt+F7).

¹ to restart the display manager:

  • on Trusty (14.04): sudo initctl restart lightdm
  • on Wily (15.10) and later: sudo systemctl restart lightdm

Original answer by OP moved here from the question:

Thanks @Laugeo and @ToDo, you both helped out. Here's what I did...

  1. Booted into Ubuntu with my broken desktop
  2. Ctrl+Alt+F1 to open virtual terminal
  3. sudo install gnome-session-flashback
  4. Reboot
  5. Launch session with Flashback (compiz)
  6. Launch Terminal and type apt-get install ubuntu-desktop
  7. Reboot
  8. Back up and running

Ultimately I suppose steps 3-5 weren't necessary, but they allowed me to get to a functional desktop and then I did more searching and found ubuntu-desktop to install.

David Foerster
  • 36,264
  • 56
  • 94
  • 147
1
  • In the login screen , select for non-compiz session in the upper right corner (called "metacity" on my pc).

  • If problem remains, try to install gnome-session-flashback, searching it in the software center or typing this command a terminal :
    sudo apt-get install gnome-session-flashback

    • To open a terminal with empty desktop, press alt+F2 then type
      gnome-terminal
    • If ALT+F2 don't work, press ctrl+alt+F1 and type login and password blindly: it will open a terminal.
      gnome-session-flashback will give you one more choice in the login screen for another desktop type.

  • You can also try reinstalling Compiz typing or copying this in a terminal:
    sudo apt-get --reinstall install compiz

laugeo
  • 2,827