Comment 68 for bug 1026426

I can only echo the frustration expressed by others that this remains such a problem - a regression, at that. The worst of it is no longer being able to recommend Ubuntu - even though I love it - and Unity.

Splash screen: I have seen no improvement at all by setting the splashscreen to off, in case that is of use.

Another workaround, however, in case it helps anyone:
Much quicker than logging off and back on, restart Unity to get things working again (no saving work or closing applications needed). Run "unity --replace" either as a command (alt+f2, not in the terminal, or it has to stay open forever) or from a tiny script run from a keyboard shortcut. Since it has to be SO often (sigh), I find this a help:

- Create a file: "home/yourname/Scripts/Unity-replace" containing the code:

#!/bin/bash

unity --replace

- Mark it as executable (properties/permissions/allow executing...).
- Run it from a custom keyboard shortcut (system settings/keyboard/keyboard shortcuts) called Unity-replace (anything you like, in fact).
- The command is simply the path to the script (/home/yourname/Scripts/Unity-replace).

I allocated it a memorable key-combination and just hit Ctrl+Alt+U at the first sign of trouble...

(running 12.04, 64bit)