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The 16.04 Gnome Software Center will not open. When I click the icon on the launcher, all it does is show the loading icon and... that's it.

I looked it up, and nothing is working. I didn't even do anything either, it's just not opening. This is a fresh install from today. I first clicked the "Try Ubuntu" option when I got it working, and it would open, but since I actually installed it, it won't open.

After typing in the terminal apt policy software-center gnome-center, I got this: 

software-center:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: (none)
  Version table:
gnome-software:
  Installed: 3.20.1+git20160617.1.0440874.ubuntu-xenial-0ubuntu1~16.04.1
  Candidate: 3.20.1+git20160617.1.0440874.ubuntu-xenial-0ubuntu1~16.04.1
  Version table:
 *** 3.20.1+git20160617.1.0440874.ubuntu-xenial-0ubuntu1~16.04.1 500
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates/main amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
     3.20.1+git20160420.1.ca63436.ubuntu-xenial-0ubuntu2 500
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial/main amd64 Packages

And after typing software-center, it gave me 

The program 'software-center' is currently not installed. You can install it by typing:
sudo apt install software-center

and after typing gnome-software, it didn't show anything.

The output of gnome-software --verbose is this:

(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: compatible-project: GNOME
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: compatible-project: KDE
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: compatible-project: XFCE
(gnome-software:28808): As-DEBUG: run GsPlugin::setup
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: searching for plugins in /usr/lib/gs-plugins-9
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: opened plugin /usr/lib/gs-plugins-9/libgs_plugin_provenance.so: provenance
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: opened plugin /usr/lib/gs-plugins-9/libgs_plugin_epiphany.so: epiphany
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: opened plugin /usr/lib/gs-plugins-9/libgs_plugin_moduleset.so: moduleset
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: opened plugin /usr/lib/gs-plugins-9/libgs_plugin_apt.so: apt
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: opened plugin /usr/lib/gs-plugins-9/libgs_plugin_appstream.so: appstream
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: opened plugin /usr/lib/gs-plugins-9/libgs_plugin_dpkg.so: dpkg
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: opened plugin /usr/lib/gs-plugins-9/libgs_plugin_fwupd.so: fwupd
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: opened plugin /usr/lib/gs-plugins-9/libgs_plugin_ubuntu-reviews.so: ubuntu-reviews
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: opened plugin /usr/lib/gs-plugins-9/libgs_plugin_menu-spec-categories.so: menu-spec-categories
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: opened plugin /usr/lib/gs-plugins-9/libgs_plugin_menu-spec-refine.so: menu-spec-refine
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: opened plugin /usr/lib/gs-plugins-9/libgs_plugin_icons.so: icons
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: opened plugin /usr/lib/gs-plugins-9/libgs_plugin_dummy.so: dummy
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: opened plugin /usr/lib/gs-plugins-9/libgs_plugin_snappy.so: snappy
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: opened plugin /usr/lib/gs-plugins-9/libgs_plugin_hardcoded-featured.so: hardcoded-featured
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: opened plugin /usr/lib/gs-plugins-9/libgs_plugin_hardcoded-blacklist.so: hardcoded-blacklist
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: provenance [0.0] to be ordered after apt [0.0] so promoting to [1.0]
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: cannot find plugin 'packagekit-refine'
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: epiphany [0.0] to be ordered after appstream [0.0] so promoting to [1.0]
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: cannot find plugin 'packagekit-refine'
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: moduleset [0.0] to be ordered after menu-spec-categories [0.0] so promoting to [1.0]
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: cannot find plugin 'packagekit-refine'
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: apt [0.0] to be ordered after appstream [0.0] so promoting to [1.0]
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: provenance [1.0] to be ordered after apt [1.0] so promoting to [2.0]
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: cannot find plugin 'packagekit-refine'
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: appstream [0.0] to be ordered after menu-spec-categories [0.0] so promoting to [1.0]
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: cannot find plugin 'packagekit-refine'
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: epiphany [1.0] to be ordered after appstream [1.0] so promoting to [2.0]
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: cannot find plugin 'packagekit-refine'
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: moduleset [1.0] to be ordered after appstream [1.0] so promoting to [2.0]
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: cannot find plugin 'packagekit-refine'
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: apt [1.0] to be ordered after appstream [1.0] so promoting to [2.0]
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: provenance [2.0] to be ordered after apt [2.0] so promoting to [3.0]
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: cannot find plugin 'packagekit-refine'
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: ubuntu-reviews [0.0] to be ordered after appstream [1.0] so promoting to [2.0]
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: cannot find plugin 'packagekit-refine'
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: menu-spec-refine [0.0] to be ordered after appstream [1.0] so promoting to [2.0]
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: cannot find plugin 'packagekit-refine'
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: icons [0.0] to be ordered after appstream [1.0] so promoting to [2.0]
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: cannot find plugin 'packagekit-refine'
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: icons [2.0] to be ordered after epiphany [2.0] so promoting to [3.0]
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: cannot find plugin 'packagekit-refine'
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: hardcoded-blacklist [0.0] to be ordered after appstream [1.0] so promoting to [2.0]
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: cannot find plugin 'packagekit-refine'
(gnome-software:28808): As-DEBUG: run GsPlugin::dpkg(gs_plugin_initialize)
(gnome-software:28808): As-DEBUG: run GsPlugin::fwupd(gs_plugin_initialize)
(gnome-software:28808): As-DEBUG: run GsPlugin::dummy(gs_plugin_initialize)
(gnome-software:28808): GsPlugin-DEBUG: disabling 'dummy' as not in self test
(gnome-software:28808): As-DEBUG: run GsPlugin::snappy(gs_plugin_initialize)
(gnome-software:28808): As-DEBUG: run GsPlugin::appstream(gs_plugin_initialize)
(gnome-software:28808): As-DEBUG: run GsPlugin::epiphany(gs_plugin_initialize)
(gnome-software:28808): GsPlugin-DEBUG: disabling 'epiphany' as epiphany does not exist
(gnome-software:28808): As-DEBUG: run GsPlugin::moduleset(gs_plugin_initialize)
(gnome-software:28808): As-DEBUG: run GsPlugin::apt(gs_plugin_initialize)
(gnome-software:28808): As-DEBUG: run GsPlugin::ubuntu-reviews(gs_plugin_initialize)
(gnome-software:28808): As-DEBUG: run GsPlugin::provenance(gs_plugin_initialize)
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: [enabled] 0.0 ->  dpkg
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: [enabled] 0.0 ->  fwupd
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: [enabled] 0.0 ->  menu-spec-categories
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: [disabled]    0.0 ->  dummy
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: [enabled] 0.0 ->  snappy
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: [enabled] 0.0 ->  hardcoded-featured
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: [enabled] 1.0 ->  appstream
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: [disabled]    2.0 ->  epiphany
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: [enabled] 2.0 ->  moduleset
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: [enabled] 2.0 ->  apt
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: [enabled] 2.0 ->  ubuntu-reviews
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: [enabled] 2.0 ->  menu-spec-refine
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: [enabled] 2.0 ->  hardcoded-blacklist
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: [enabled] 3.0 ->  provenance
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: [enabled] 3.0 ->  icons
Timeout was reached
(gnome-software:28808): Gs-DEBUG: emitting finished(<general>)
(gnome-software:28808): As-DEBUG: run GsPlugin::fwupd(gs_plugin_destroy)
(gnome-software:28808): As-DEBUG: run GsPlugin::snappy(gs_plugin_destroy)
(gnome-software:28808): As-DEBUG: run GsPlugin::appstream(gs_plugin_destroy)
(gnome-software:28808): As-DEBUG: run GsPlugin::moduleset(gs_plugin_destroy)
(gnome-software:28808): As-DEBUG: run GsPlugin::apt(gs_plugin_destroy)
(gnome-software:28808): As-DEBUG: run GsPlugin::ubuntu-reviews(gs_plugin_destroy)
(gnome-software:28808): As-DEBUG: run GsPlugin::provenance(gs_plugin_destroy)

Could someone please help me? Thank you.

Byte Commander
  • 107,489
A Derp
  • 51
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    The old "Ubuntu Software Centre" is the command software-center and the now "Ubuntu Software" from GNOME is the command gnome-software. In Ubuntu 16.04, only the new one is preinstalled though, but it seems like you want to launch the old one. Please [edit] your question and add the output of apt policy software-center gnome-software to check which packages are installed and then try to run both software-center and gnome-software from the terminal and add their outputs to the question ans well. Leave me a comment "@ByteCommander" once you're done. – Byte Commander Sep 03 '16 at 17:44
  • Okay, I see! I just edited the question, it is the Gnome Software I was trying to open, as it said the Ubuntu Software Center was not installed. Thank you clearing that up! – A Derp Sep 03 '16 at 17:55
  • Still, can you please [edit] your question and add the output of apt policy gnome-software and gnome-software then? – Byte Commander Sep 03 '16 at 17:59
  • When you say nothing appears when running gnome-software, do you mean it returns immediately and you get the Bash prompt again to type the next command, or does it run, but output nothing? – Byte Commander Sep 03 '16 at 18:32
  • It outputs nothing. After waiting for a few seconds, it says Timeout was reached and I get the Bash prompt again. – A Derp Sep 03 '16 at 18:36
  • Can you check what gnome-software --verbose outputs? Also what about ls -l $(which gnome-software)? And if you launch gnome-software, can you find any background process of it running afterwards if you examine it with "System Monitor"? – Byte Commander Sep 03 '16 at 18:38
  • This question seems to be about the same issue, but not closing as duplicate because it does not have useful answers IMHO: http://askubuntu.com/q/812449/367990 – Byte Commander Sep 03 '16 at 18:39
  • The first command you suggested brought up a super long output, so I won't post it since I don't think it was useful. Maybe you could try it for yourself? The second command brought up -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 639568 Jun 21 06:27 /usr/bin/gnome-software, and I can't find any background process of gnome-software. – A Derp Sep 03 '16 at 18:54
  • Please upload the long verbose output to e.g. https://pastebin.com and share the link here - it will most likely contain a hint on the problem. – Byte Commander Sep 03 '16 at 19:03
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    Here is the link: http://pastebin.com/CbUgyZ4b – A Derp Sep 03 '16 at 19:08
  • can you please open terminal and run: sudo software-center and give me the log file – Nour Alhadi Mahmoud Sep 03 '16 at 17:15
  • sudo: software-center: command not found That's what it says after typing that in. – A Derp Sep 03 '16 at 17:23
  • then try this: sudo gnome-software-center – Nour Alhadi Mahmoud Sep 03 '16 at 17:27
  • sudo: gnome-software-center: command not found – A Derp Sep 03 '16 at 17:28
  • ok now i found a topic about this problem that had this commands: sudo apt purge gnome-software ubuntu-software sudo apt autoremove sudo apt install gnome-software ubuntu-software PS: this commands will remove software center and reinstall it – Nour Alhadi Mahmoud Sep 03 '16 at 17:31
  • @NourAlhadiMahmoud So, does that solves your problem? If so, then post it as an answer. Don't let it get lost in the comments! :-) – Cristiana Nicolae Sep 03 '16 at 17:37
  • I typed all those commands, I tried opening it from the launcher and from the Dash, and it still will not open. It just shows the cursor as a loading icon. Would you like me to give you the log files? – A Derp Sep 03 '16 at 17:43
  • One does not run GUI apps with sudo! And software-center would ask to elevate its privileges itself when needed. It is not meant to completely run as root. Reinstalling a package also rarely is the right solution. – Byte Commander Sep 03 '16 at 18:00
  • Sorry, I am not really sure about how to proceed... No idea. :-( – Byte Commander Sep 03 '16 at 23:12
  • Actually, I just logged on to my computer recently, and I was able to open the Gnome Software Center and get the app I needed! The only problem is that I don't think it saved most of what I did yesterday. For example, the apps that I unlocked and locked onto the launcher are reset back to when I first installed it, the theme I set for Firefox is gone, and my wallpaper is gone. However, it did save my username and password. I feel like this is another problem, but, oh well. At least I now have the Software Center running. Thanks for your help! – A Derp Sep 04 '16 at 12:37

1 Answers1

6

this problem can be solved by deleting the file ~/.local/share/gnome-software. It will be recreated when you start gnome-software. So just make sure you do not have any running instances of ubuntu-software or gnome-software:

$ killall ubuntu-software

$ killall gnome-software

and then:

$ rm -r ~/.local/share/gnome-software

This solution was initially proposed here

Community
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salihcenap
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