Switch Desktop Mode corrupted settings

[Scott Evans]

When using the Switch Desktop Mode to swap from netbook to classic upon reboot GNOME desktop setting are not retained, in that all you end up with (classic) is just the desktop background image without the GNOME panels on the top & bottom of screen! essentially leaving you with a Xsession you can only use the right click options! Further to this if you insert a USB pen-drive that spawns nautilus you can then navigate to the Switch Desktop Mode binary to then reselect the netbook selection only again on reboot for the GNOME panel missing! Again if there is a utility that can help me provide further information please advise...

ASUS Eee PC 900

[Neil J. Patel (njpatel)]

Thanks for reporting this bug. When this problem occurs, could you please paste here the output of

gconftool-2 --dump /desktop/gnome/session

Thanks!

[Scott Evans (vk7hse)]

Please find attached files classic-before-reboot & classic-after-reboot

On Fri, 2009-03-27 at 11:43 +0000, Neil J. Patel wrote:

> Thanks for reporting this bug. When this problem occurs, could you
> please paste here the output of
>
> gconftool-2 --dump /desktop/gnome/session
>
> Thanks!
>
> ** Changed in: desktop-switcher
> Status: New => Triaged
>
> ** Changed in: desktop-switcher
> Product: Ubuntu Netbook Remix => desktop-switcher
>

Scott Evans VK7HSE
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[Neil J. Patel (njpatel)]

Thanks! desktop-switcher isn't putting "panel" in the required components list, which causes this issue. I'm working on a fix for this now.

[Scott Evans (vk7hse)]

Cool Thanks !!! :)

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[Neil J. Patel (njpatel)]

Okay, so I think I've fixed this and attached a new version of desktop-switcher for testing purposes.

Before you install it, though, we need to fix your existing set-up, so:

If you are in "netbook-mode", with broken panels, then please run this command:

gconftool-2 --set /desktop/gnome/session/required_components_list --list-type=string ["filemanager","panel"]

OR, if you are in "classic mode", please run this:

gconftool-2 --set /desktop/gnome/session/required_components_list --list-type=string ["filemanager","panel","windowmanager"]

After restarting, you should now have your panel loaded properly.

Then, please download the attached desktop-switcher.deb, and install using:

sudo dpkg -i desktop-switcher_0.4.3-1_i386.deb

and then start desktop-switcher as normal, switch modes, and hopefully you should always be left with the correct set-up.!

It may also help if you delete the ~/.confg/desktop-switcher folder, which may have a corrupted panel config in it.

Hopefully this should fix the problem for you!

[Neil J. Patel (njpatel)]

Woops,

the "netbook-mode" gconf command should be:

gconftool-2 --set /desktop/gnome/session/required_components_list --list-type=string ["windowmananger","panel"]

(I wish launchpad let you edit your comments!)

[Neil J. Patel (njpatel)]

dammit, made another mistake!

Netbook-mode should be:

gconftool-2 --set /desktop/gnome/session/required_components_list --type list --list-type=string ["windowmanager","panel"]

Classic mode:

gconftool-2 --set /desktop/gnome/session/required_components_list --type list --list-type=string ["windowmanager","panel","filemanager"]

[Scott Evans (vk7hse)]

I'm sorry but there's still some bad news! after applying the suggested
fix & install of replacement .deb

I'm now getting the following error when switching between classic back
to netbook...

An error occurred while loading or saving configuration information for
netbook-launcher. Some of your configuration settings may not work
properly. [details] Failed to connect configuration server; some
possible causes are that you need to enable TCP/IP networking for the
ORBit, or you have stale NFS locks due to a system crash. See
http://projects.gnome.org/gconf/ for information. (Details - 1: Could
not send message to gconf daemon: Message did not receive a reply
(timeout by message bus)

To get things back to a working desktop unfortunately I have to delete
all relevant configuration from my /home :(

Never fear! I like to help out with just this kind of problem so I'm
sure a logical solution will prevail !!!

Scott Evans VK7HSE
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[Neil J. Patel (njpatel)]

I think that happened because your config became corrupt with the previous issues. Could you try these debs again now that you have a clean gconf directory (be sure to remove ~/.config/desktop-switcher).

[Scott Evans (vk7hse)]

Hi... I'll get to this tomorrow and get back to you...

On Mon, 2009-03-30 at 10:23 +0000, Neil J. Patel wrote:

> I think that happened because your config became corrupt with the
> previous issues. Could you try these debs again now that you have a
> clean gconf directory (be sure to remove ~/.config/desktop-switcher).
>

Scott Evans VK7HSE
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[Scott Evans (vk7hse)]

Ok further to my previous... I have done a reinstall & update then applied the suggested fix .deb but unfortunately I still have the same error and condition... But what I've done this time is to install it onto a SDHC card leaving the SSD untouched (with Easy Peasy) So I'll be able to acquire any config files from the /home for further analysis... Please advise what information you will require...

[Scott Evans (vk7hse)]

Another test I have just done was to test the current version in the Ubuntu Netbook Remix Team PPA (0.4.2~ppa1) this is used in EasyPeasy 1.1rc2 and it too suffers the same issue. :(

[Scott Evans (vk7hse)]

Neglected to mention that Easy Peasy is remix of ubuntu intrepid. So the
bug is not just Jaunty related!

Scott Evans VK7HSE
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[JoiHap (astronomy)]

I can confirm in Ubuntu Jaunty Netbook Remix Beta that the new .DEB solved the problem. I just deleted:

~/.confg/desktop-switcher

after the corruption mentioned in the bug.

[JoiHap (astronomy)]

After reboot, the desktop was corrupted again, so ignore my last comment.

[Neil J. Patel (njpatel)]

I'm really confused and concerned about this bug. I can't reproduce it with the latest desktop-switcher, and I've been testing for over a week :-/.

Rui, when you say "corrupted", do you mean that the gnome-panel configuration is screwed up?

I think that in addition to removing ~/.config/desktop-switcher, it may be an idea (when you are in "netbook-mode"), to run:

gconftool-2 --recursive-unset /apps/panel

and reboot. This will restore all the panel gconf keys to the default settings, and hopefully fix your issue. If that doesn't work, then try moving .gconf and .gconfd somewhere (make sure you back them up first), and reboot. This means that your system will be have all the default settings, and although it's a pain, at least it will start to work again.

[Scott Evans (vk7hse)]

Hmm... I really don't know! I have followed all suggestions as well and
even the new desktop switcher is still the same for me in that when the
classic desktop is selected upon reboot or logout you are just left with
no panels :(

So what config files are used for this? as I can send you the ones that
leave the desktop in an un-usable state...

maybe this is just an issue on the ASUS 701SD (?) please advise so I can
forward to you the relevant files...

Scott Evans VK7HSE
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[JoiHap (astronomy)]

Neil, by corrupted I meant:

* gnome-panel does not load (Only the ubuntu netbook remix menus are available )
* windows are not maximized and are only loaded in a small percentage of the screen size

(I'm on a fresh install right now. I will test the new deb later on since I need a working environment)

[Scott Evans (vk7hse)]

I too am just currently reinstalling to start a fresh!...

Scott Evans VK7HSE
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[Scott Evans (vk7hse)]

Sorry no joy on a fresh install including all current updates (at time
of writing!) the desktop-switcher still leaves classic without
panels :(

Scott Evans VK7HSE
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[Neil J. Patel (njpatel)]

That's unfortunate. I did a new install this morning and did the following test, please let me know if you've done anything different:

1. From the default install, start desktop-switcher and switch to Classic Mode
2. Reboot and see if panels are available
3. Start desktop-switcher and switch back to Netbook Mode,
4. Reboot and see if panels are available

I did this many times and everything works as expected. Can you please attach to the bug report the output of

gconftool-2 --dump /apps/panel
gconftool-2 --dump /desktop/gnome/session

Thanks!

[Scott Evans (vk7hse)]

Hey don't fear... that's what this whole process is for! I'll do some
further testing in the morning and post the results for you...

Scott Evans VK7HSE
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[Scott Evans (vk7hse)]

Ok after some time If managed exactly the same result each time :( here
are the files for each session (classic & netbook)

To make it easier for me I had setup 2 accounts so I didn't mess up mine!

please find the attached files for your review... thanks!

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[Neil J. Patel (njpatel)]

Thanks for the log files Scott, it seems that the setting of the new required_components list get's screwed up in gconf.

I have a new version of the switcher attached, could you please try that with a new test user and see if the same problem occurs?

[Scott Evans (vk7hse)]

Ok I've installed the updated desktop-switcher and I wish I could report
some good news but unfortunately again I still have the same issue :(

for some really strange reason the gconftool-2 --dump /apps/panel yielded
no output (?) I'll do some further investigation here me thinks!

please find the attached file for hopefully some further insight!

Scott Evans VK7HSE
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[Scott Evans (vk7hse)]

Ok got the missing info! please find attached files...

The error was from switching from classic back to netbook!

Scott Evans VK7HSE
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[Neil J. Patel (njpatel)]

Damn :(. Did you try the new switcher on a new test user, or the one that was already messed up? I'm going to build a version of desktop-switcher that explicity sets the components, but the gconf issue worries me...

[Neil J. Patel (njpatel)]

The attached switcher explicitly sets the components list in gconf, which should stop components going missing :)

To test properly (and to eliminate any other possibilities), could you please do the following:

1. Create a new user for testing and log in as user (don't use fast-user-switch as the launcher can't run like that)
2. Verify that the user has the standard UNR netbook-mode setup
3. Run `sudo dpkg -r --force-all desktop-switcher` to remove the current desktop-switcher and all it's config files
3.1 Run `rm -rf ~/.config/desktop-switcher`, which should fail saying that the directory doesn't exist
4. Install the attached desktop-switcher package via `sudo dpkg -i desktop-switcher_0.4.4-1ubuntu2_i386.deb`
5. Open a terminal and run `desktop-switcher`, switch to classic mode (and please save the output)
6. Logout and log back in to the test user. Verify that panels are present. If not, please attach the panel and session gconftool-2 --dump output
7. Once again, please run `desktop-switcher` in a terminal, and switch back to netbook-mode. Once again, please save the console output of desktop-switcher.
8. Log-out/log-in to the test user and please verify that the panels are still there.

Thanks again for the time your putting into this :)

[Scott Evans (vk7hse)]

New user and the updated desktop-switcher (0.4.4-1)

On Thu, 2009-04-09 at 14:12 +0000, Neil J. Patel wrote:

> Damn :(. Did you try the new switcher on a new test user, or the one
> that was already messed up? I'm going to build a version of desktop-
> switcher that explicity sets the components, but the gconf issue worries
> me...
>

Scott Evans VK7HSE
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[Scott Evans (vk7hse)]

Ok will do first thing in the morning! it's 00:42 here and the eye lids
are heavy! ;)

On Thu, 2009-04-09 at 14:26 +0000, Neil J. Patel wrote:

> The attached switcher explicitly sets the components list in gconf,
> which should stop components going missing :)
>
> To test properly (and to eliminate any other possibilities), could you
> please do the following:
>
> 1. Create a new user for testing and log in as user (don't use fast-user-switch as the launcher can't run like that)
> 2. Verify that the user has the standard UNR netbook-mode setup
> 3. Run `sudo dpkg -r --force-all desktop-switcher` to remove the current desktop-switcher and all it's config files
> 3.1 Run `rm -rf ~/.config/desktop-switcher`, which should fail saying that the directory doesn't exist
> 4. Install the attached desktop-switcher package via `sudo dpkg -i desktop-switcher_0.4.4-1ubuntu2_i386.deb`
> 5. Open a terminal and run `desktop-switcher`, switch to classic mode (and please save the output)
> 6. Logout and log back in to the test user. Verify that panels are present. If not, please attach the panel and session gconftool-2 --dump output
> 7. Once again, please run `desktop-switcher` in a terminal, and switch back to netbook-mode. Once again, please save the console output of desktop-switcher.
> 8. Log-out/log-in to the test user and please verify that the panels are still there.
>
> Thanks again for the time your putting into this :)
>
> ** Attachment added: "desktop-switcher_0.4.4-1ubuntu2_i386.deb"
> http://launchpadlibrarian.net/25113037/desktop-switcher_0.4.4-1ubuntu2_i386.deb
>

Scott Evans VK7HSE
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[Scott Evans (vk7hse)]

Getting closer! below is a description of attached files...

netbook-classic is the requested capture

netbook-classic.png is a screen capture after logout/login

classic-netbook is the 2nd requested capture

error.png is the error presented after switch

classic-netbook.png is a screen capture again after logout/login

The only other thing to note was that when I made the switch from
netbook to classic, I did make two launchers on the desktop just in-case
the panels weren't there! they didn't get restored after the
logout/login...

Scott Evans VK7HSE
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[Scott Evans (vk7hse)]

He he I have an itchy send button!

however, the launchers are present when desktop-switcher is used again!
and then were present after logout/login (?) mabe just a one off?

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[mobile (carlleach)]

I installed Ubuntu 9.04 NBR on my Asus Eee PC 701 yesterday and switched to Classic Desktop, as Netbook Desktop has painfully slow response. Rebooted and now I am left with just a background and no panel. Could someone please advise on either how to apply this fix or at least how to switch back to Netbook Desktop? The problem is that because I don't have panel, I have no idea on how to apply this.

Thanks

[Scott Evans (vk7hse)]

right click and create a folder on the desktop then double click on the
new folder (spawns nautilus)to navigate to /usr/bin/desktop-switcher
then you can reset back to the netbook default.

to get you back to usable and if have nothing important on your Eee...
then just delete...

.config
.gconfd

should get you back to a usable system!

On Mon, 2009-04-13 at 07:28 +0000, mobile wrote:
> I installed Ubuntu 9.04 NBR on my Asus Eee PC 701 yesterday and switched
> to Classic Desktop, as Netbook Desktop has painfully slow response.
> Rebooted and now I am left with just a background and no panel. Could
> someone please advise on either how to apply this fix or at least how to
> switch back to Netbook Desktop? The problem is that because I don't have
> panel, I have no idea on how to apply this.
>
> Thanks
>

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[mobile (carlleach)]

Thanks for the reply Scott. What is the consequences of deleting .config .gconfd?

[Scott Evans (vk7hse)]

 Any customising of GNOME returns back to default is all...

On Mon, 2009-04-13 at 11:42 +0000, mobile wrote:

> Thanks for the reply Scott. What is the consequences of deleting .config
> .gconfd?
>

Scott Evans VK7HSE
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[mobile (carlleach)]

Confirmed that below works.

Also confirmed that fresh install of Ubuntu 9.04 NBR and installation of
desktop-switcher_0.4.4-1ubuntu2_i386.deb prior to trying to switch works.

Scott Evans wrote:
> right click and create a folder on the desktop then double click on the
> new folder (spawns nautilus)to navigate to /usr/bin/desktop-switcher
> then you can reset back to the netbook default.
>
> to get you back to usable and if have nothing important on your Eee...
> then just delete...
>
> .config
> .gconfd
>
> should get you back to a usable system!
>

[Scott Evans (vk7hse)]

Neil Is there any further information your require for this or do you have all that you need?

[Neil J. Patel (njpatel)]

Scott, could you just confirm whether the last switcher build here works for you when switching between modes, and your panels/windows are present after log-out/log-in?

[Scott Evans (vk7hse)]

Hi Neil... Yes it did :)

On Tue, 2009-04-21 at 09:29 +0000, Neil J. Patel wrote:
> Scott, could you just confirm whether the last switcher build here works
> for you when switching between modes, and your panels/windows are
> present after log-out/log-in?
>

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[Tony (aqk) (aqk)]

 BUG IS STILL THERE.
 At present (June 23/2009) On a ASUS 9 Netbook, I have my Ubu 9.04 completely up-to-date- all upgrades have been applied.
Now-
   If I open it in the "netbook" menu mode, and then switch to "Classic, it is OK.

But If I switch to "classic" and then restart in Classic mode,
   the desktop will come up with no top or bottom menus. But, my changed wallpaper is OK. And desktop icons, including terminal and desktop-switcher that I have added, are available,.
But NO MENUS WHATSOEVER.

Then, I either do a Ctl-Alt-Del F2, sign in and run a desktop-switcher, -OR-
 -On the desktop, I have conveniently added a 'desktop-switcher" icon.
 - I click the icon once to switch it from a no-menus "classic" to the Netbook menu (ugh!) and then-
 - I Use the switch desktop (I have added it to my favorites) and then switch back to "classic" mode.

   Classic is then OK!

  It is annoying, but it works.
When, WHEN is a fix for this feshlugginer bug gonna be forthcoming??

[Ricky Wong (rwong48)]

I just ran into this bug also.

Fresh install of ubuntu-9.04-netbook-remix-i386.img on my Asus EEE 1000HA and applied all updates.

Then I switched over to Classic mode and rebooted. Panels were gone. Alt+F2 doesn't work so I had to make a desktop shortcut to gnome-terminal to do stuff (including launching gnome-panel).

I hope it gets fixed soon.. it has been a while and it has probably annoyed other people more than it has annoyed me.

[evan s (powerpotatoe)]

The attached file "desktop-switcher_0.4.4-1ubuntu2_i386.deb" worked for me on my Dell Latitude C640. Thanks! The Netbook Remix desktop did not work to my liking at all. I searched for some time for a solution. Thanks for all of your guys' help.

[Jordi Guillaumes (jguillaumes)]

Hi there. _0.4.6 seems to work for me (eeePC 900, using 9.04), but I had to switch back and forth once betweent the two modes to get it right.

[Martin Pitt (pitti)]

setting back to confirmed, since apparently not fixed yet

[mrconkerd (mrconkerd)]

After much confusion, I have everything back to normal, aside from one small issue. After installing the desktop-switcher 0.4.6.deb, I have the problem of UNR interface going down sporadically. I noticed that i am running the i686 platform and the desktop switcher .deb is configured for a i386 platform. Could this be the cause of the aforementioned issue? I have had to alt+F1 to access applications.

[mrconkerd (mrconkerd)]

Additionally, I have noticed that as the UNR interface goes down, it is caused by the desktop switcher permitting the system to switch back into desktop mode. When I use the switcher to switch back to UNR, I am able to use everything, and normality is restored until it switches back... However I do get the same error message as rdsherwood and cowboy above.
"An error occurred while loading or saving configuration information for netbook-launcher. Some of your configuration settings may not work properly" and under Details it says "Failed to contact configuration server; some possible causes are that you need to enale TCP/IP networking for ORBit, or you have stale NFS locks...".

Dell Mini 9 with jaunty

[mrconkerd (mrconkerd)]

Since my previous posts, i have learned that my home partition does display correctly in the UNR mode and upon mousing over it, the system automatically switches to desktop mode without windows panels. Any help with the issue?

[Elton Woo (elton-woo)]

I feel reasonably certain that i have not encountered this bug until yesterday, when several installs resulted the same way: switching to standard mode from netbook, and upon reboot, I lose both top and bottom panels and can only right click on the desktop. As such, I cannot even open a console, let alone get to a menu.

The problem is consistent: at one install I switched desktop mode *before* installing any updates, and another time, I did the switch after the most recent updates [06 AUG 09] were received from the channel and installed.

... hence my QUESTION:
how soon may one reasonably expect a fix to be in the updates channel?

I only intend to run Jaunty on my Asus EEE 1000 PC, but not Karmic or any unstable / development code. I would really like to switch to the desktop mode, but am willing to wait until a fix is out ... if it's not too long a wait...

[sachin (sachin-khartude)]

solution worked out for me Eee PC 900 (sequentially what i did):
changed to normal desktop - restart - no panel desktop - right click create new folder - go to folder - search in 'file system' for UNR launcher (sorry i dont remind the path) - change to UNR desktop - go to synaptic 'unmark' UNR desktop or launcher - restart - no desktop panel - go to folder - go to /usr/share/applications - open "Panel" (icon with small arrow and foot print) - restart - everything is very fine ..

[Elton Woo (elton-woo)]

@sachin:
Thank you.
What is the name of the UNR launcher executable? I re-installed the (defualt) Xandros distro, and I was thinking of installing either EEEbuntu or Easy Peasy, but since both of these are based on ubuntu, I suspect that the problem might exist across these variations of the distro.

[Elton Woo (elton-woo)]

@sachin:
This is very strange. I had printed up your suggestions, and was about to follow the directions. Guess what?
I had NO NEED to do so.

NOTE: Machine: ASUS EEE 1000 PC

1) I had re-installed the [ASUS] Xandros distro, after reading your post, I did a CLEAN install of Jaunty 9.40 NBR from my SD card.
2) Once the system initially booted, I went to my system preferences and switched to desktop mode.
3) Select "REBOOT" and stepped away from the machine to read the rest of my emails on my Macintosh.

To my surprise I went back to the Asus and found that I had the standard desktop.

To VERIFY, I selected reboot again. sat and *watched* the machine, and it came up again _as it should_: NO MISSING PANELS or menus.

      *** I had NO NEED to follow your workaround. ***

INSTALL METHOD: Manual,
/dev/sda partitioned as follows: 7 Gb [ext3] mount point / , swap at end of partition 1 Gb
/dev/ sdb 32 Gb [ext3] mount point /home

/REM: This was done before installing any additional applications, or downloading the latest updates.
Code on the machine is the default from the NBR image file as provided from Ubuntu.

/ REM: I *know* that I had previously installed / re-installed the 9.10 NBR a couple of times, and each time I was able to switch desktop modes without Bug 349519 ever rearing its ugly head on my Asus.

/REM: The only difference in past installs was that _THIS TIME_ I had initially installed Jaunty 9.10 NBR _without_ a SWAP partition.

Hence:
/dev/sda [ext3] mount point /
/dev/sdb [ext3] mount point /home

        !!! This was the only (and first) time that I encountered Bug 349519 on my Asus EEE 1000 PC. !!!
Previous installs never exhibited this problem, even after constant upgrades from the update channel, or installation of third party applications ... including the bug fix for Pidgin (bug: not connecting to Yahoo).

[Tony (aqk) (aqk)]

There is a fix for this (as explaned above! -
 desktop-switcher_0.4.6_i386.deb (38.2 KiB, application/x-debian-package)
  I still have not gotten around to installing it

AFAIK, this problem only happens if you shutdown/restart whilst in "Classic" mode.

I have a workaround as posted - it has worked on all three of my Ubuntu 9.04 eee netbooks.

 Follow these instructions:

 .Add a 'desktop-switcher" icon. on the "classic" desktop, either with the top and bottom trays, or with just the "blank background" desktop,
  When clicked, it will invoke the desktop-switcher routine.

 Then you can do as follows:
If before re-booting, you have forgotten to switch the desktop from classic back to the "netbook" mode, the screen after rebooting will have no top or bottom trays!
So....do as I do:

  1. I click the switch-desktop icon once to switch it from the no-menus "classic" mode that has no top or bottom trays, to the Netbook menu
and then-

  2. Use the switch desktop (I have added it to my favorites) to switch back to "classic" mode.

   Classic is then OK! i.e. it has the top and bottom trays.
  It is annoying, but it works.

  If you switch BACK to Netbook desktop before you do a re-start/shutdown all the above machinations need not be performed.

   -Tony

[Elton Woo (elton-woo)]

@ Tony:
/begin quote

There is a fix for this (as explaned above! -
 desktop-switcher_0.4.6_i386.deb (38.2 KiB, application/x-debian-package)
  I still have not gotten around to installing it

AFAIK, this problem only happens if you shutdown/restart whilst in "Classic" mode.

/end quote

       **I beg to differ**:

First of all, I did the switch to "Classic" *AND* rebooted _without_ switching back.
Since doing so, I have turned off the machine and done a cold boot (a few hours later)

I DO have the default launchers at the top and bottom of the screen. HOWEVER: I do not get any icons on the desktop when I mount my drives (fixed partitions, USB stick(s), SD card, or external DVD/ CD writer.

e.g. I used to have a picture on the desktop. *Now*, if I go to Places => Home => Pictures, I can copy and paste the photo to the "Places" Desktop. The photo / icon shows up in the file browser (desktop) but when I actually go to the desktop itself, the photo icon does not show up!
Synaptic shows that I have this packaged INSTALLED:
desktop-switcher 0.4.4-0ubuntu1 ("latest version" AND "installed version")
also, I have already done a packages update, and desktop-switcher_0.4.6_i386.deb, apparently did not come down with the latest updates.

I guess I'll have to google it, manually install the package / version that you suggest, and report back.

while posting this, I found the package, but GDebi warns me:
"An older version is available in a software channel

Generally you are recommended to install the version from the software channel, since it is usually better supported."
so it's clear that this is not yet on canonical, correct?

proceeding with the install...

!! Thank you for the pointer to the newer package. !!

[Elton Woo (elton-woo)]

  Success at last! After Installing desktop-switcher_0.4.6_i386.deb, I rebooted, but still no desktop icons. A cold boot showed no change: I still had the top and bottom launchers, but no objects on the desktop: mounted disks, or the image file that I had copied in the file manager. I had a hairy moment when I went to the Preferences menu and chose to switch modes: I was able to switch to "netbook" , but when I attemped to switch back, the dialog box behaved very strangely:

At each click of the mouse the dialog would minimize to the upper LEFT of the screen, and then jump back. During this time the contents of the dialog were not legible, as part of the screen turned black. After a few tries I was finally able to select "classic" *THEN* find the "OK" button. some more flickering, and then I finally got back my desktop, this time INCLUDING icons of objects on the desktop and the mounted drives.

/REM I wonder if the refresh rate had anything to to with this. BEFORE installing the update, I had changed the display in my Asus EEE 1000 from 1024 x 600, 60 Hz (default) to 65 Hz.

Hopefully the newer package will be added to the updates channel to facilitate newer users.

[Tony (aqk) (aqk)]

Dear, dear Elton Woo-
 it is late Friday night; I have consumed copious amounts of wine, and alas, am all alone.
So I appear to be prisoner to your miserable bleatings.
 Let's take this off-line.

AFAIK the fix (0.4.6) as posted by Neil J. Patel back in June seems to work, after a fashion.
I would STRONGLY suggest that you convert to classic mode and STAY there, if.. IF you have applied the above 0.4.6.
The cursor, in Netbook mode, is still extremely jumpy. Who knows why?
My "classic" mode now looks,and more importantly, operates just like my desktop Ubuntu 9.04 systems. That's all I want.
These Mini-PC eee modes be damned!
And at this time of night, I have no intention of trying to debug the XML .. LOL!
Will advise you privately.

[Elton Woo (elton-woo)]

Sir, It is quite clear that I (may have) offended you. That was certainly
NOT my intention. As regards my "miserable bleatings"... I confess that i
tend to be verbose, but this comes from years of beta testing and assisting
newbies. I prefer to err on the side of "excess detail".

The bottom line is that i AM satisfied that you have pointed me to a
solution, and that it works. I regret that you took offense, and offer my
sincere apologies.... I wish you a vey good weekend.

wiith cordial and RESPECTFUL greetings from Montreal, Canada.

THANK YOU for your help. End of discussion.

On Fri, Aug 7, 2009 at 11:02 PM, Tony <email address hidden> wrote:

> Dear, dear Elton Woo-
> it is late Friday night; I have consumed copious amounts of wine, and
> alas, am all alone.
> So I appear to be prisoner to your miserable bleatings.
> Let's take this off-line.
>
> AFAIK the fix (0.4.6) as posted by Neil J. Patel back in June seems to
> work, after a fashion.
> I would STRONGLY suggest that you convert to classic mode and STAY there,
> if.. IF you have applied the above 0.4.6.
> The cursor, in Netbook mode, is still extremely jumpy. Who knows why?
> My "classic" mode now looks,and more importantly, operates just like my
> desktop Ubuntu 9.04 systems. That's all I want.
> These Mini-PC eee modes be damned!
> And at this time of night, I have no intention of trying to debug the XML
> .. LOL!
> Will advise you privately.
>
> --
> Switch Desktop Mode corrupted settings
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/349519
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>
> Status in Desktop Switcher: Fix Committed
> Status in Ubuntu Release Notes: Fix Released
> Status in “desktop-switcher” package in Ubuntu: Fix Released
> Status in desktop-switcher in Ubuntu Jaunty: Confirmed
> Status in desktop-switcher in Ubuntu Karmic: Fix Released
>
> Bug description:
> When using the Switch Desktop Mode to swap from netbook to classic upon
> reboot GNOME desktop setting are not retained, in that all you end up with
> (classic) is just the desktop background image without the GNOME panels on
> the top & bottom of screen! essentially leaving you with a Xsession you can
> only use the right click options! Further to this if you insert a USB
> pen-drive that spawns nautilus you can then navigate to the Switch Desktop
> Mode binary to then reselect the netbook selection only again on reboot for
> the GNOME panel missing! Again if there is a utility that can help me
> provide further information please advise...
>
> ASUS Eee PC 900
>

--
Elton Woo ~~ elton47 AT linuxmail.org OR elton.woo AT gmail.com ~~
TEL:[phone].
       "You only live ONCE: let's make life BETTER for each other."

[Tony (aqk) (aqk)]

Grrr! I said-
" Let's take this off-line."

For the moment, Please use Neil Patel's 0.4.6 fix. It appears to work.
And - stick to "Classic mode" !
 - My opinion.

   ---- END of DISCUSSION ---

[Elton Woo (elton-woo)]

@Tony:
I hit reply, not realizing that your 'reply to' defaulted to this forum. Now that i manged to put my foot in my mouth. (hopefully) I might manage to take all ten toes back out! <*blush*>

[Elton Woo (elton-woo)]

I should know better to leave well enough alone: HOWEVER. old habits (as a beta tester) are hard to break.

... as a test, I reverted to "netbook" and got the following error:

/begin quote

An error occurred while loading or saving configuration information for netbook-launcher. Some of your configuration settings may not work properly.

Failed to contact configuration server; some possible causes are that you need to enable TCP/IP networking for ORBit, or you have stale NFS locks due to a system crash. See http://projects.gnome.org/gconf/ for information. (Details - 1: Could not send message to gconf daemon: Message did not receive a reply (timeout by message bus))

/end quote

/REM I wonder if this might relate to processor speed, since the intial reporte of this bug is using an Asus 900, whereas my machine is the newer Asus 1000. Hyperthreading is turned on by default in the BIOS.

When I booted back, the netbook interface was available, WITH the classic was also visible in the background. I easily reverted to the classic look. Now, though the 'compiz' toolbar which looks like the OS/X toolbar is now on the desktop behind the bottom launcher.

However, none of the icons in the 'compiz' toolbar work.

... taking my *own* advice: if it works, don't fsck with it! L0)

[Saad Kamal (kamal-saad)]

I have in installed the fix and tried to follow everything.

The Netbook remix view works perfectly...but when I switch to Classic, the top BAR stays as "Netbook remix" (the home button is not clickable though)

And there is no panel at the bottom and also no home button to access my programs..

How can I make this work?

[Saad Kamal (kamal-saad)]

I have added a screen shot of my current desktop in classic view.

As you can see, there is no bottom panel, and at the top bar, the button at the top left corner doesn't do anything. So I cant access my applications. When I open a window/browser and minimize it, it goes on top panel. (Like NBR view).

When I open terminal to switch back to the NBR using the desktop-switcher command -- i get the following errors --- but it does eventually take me to NBR view and everything works fine. My only problem is with the classic view..I just dont know why i cant have the old school classic view on my netbook, i definitely screwed up something which is causing this weird remix version of classic view (check screenshot).

Any help to restore my original classic view would be gr8tly appreciated.

saad@saad-netbook:~$ desktop-switcher
In classic mode: true
** (desktop-switcher:3755): DEBUG: Enabling netbook mode
** (desktop-switcher:3755): DEBUG: Enabling launcher autostart
** (desktop-switcher:3755): DEBUG: Launching the, er, Launcher
get fences failed: -1
param: 6, val: 0
** (netbook-launcher:3761): DEBUG: CONFIG: Low graphics mode: False
** (netbook-launcher:3761): DEBUG: CONFIG: Font dpi: 96.000000
** (netbook-launcher:3761): DEBUG: CONFIG: Font changed: Sans 10

** (netbook-launcher:3761): DEBUG: CONFIG: Connecting to ConsoleKit for suspend/resume restarting
** (desktop-switcher:3755): DEBUG: Restoring panel settings
WARNING: failed to associate schema `/schemas/apps/go-home-applet/prefs/icon_name' with key `/apps/panel/applets/applet_0/prefs/icon_name': Failed to contact configuration server; some possible causes are that you need to enable TCP/IP networking for ORBit, or you have stale NFS locks due to a system crash. See http://projects.gnome.org/gconf/ for information. (Details - 1: Could not send message to gconf daemon: Message did not receive a reply (timeout by message bus))
** (desktop-switcher:3755): DEBUG:
Restored panel configuration from: /home/saad/.config/desktop-switcher/netbook-panel-config.xml

** (desktop-switcher:3755): DEBUG: Removing nautilus from gnome session startup

** (desktop-switcher:3755): WARNING **: Failed to send buffer

** (desktop-switcher:3755): WARNING **: Failed to send buffer

** (netbook-launcher:3761): WARNING **: Failed to send buffer

** (netbook-launcher:3761): WARNING **: Failed to send buffer
saad@saad-netbook:~$ Cannot register the panel shell: there is already one running.
** (netbook-launcher:3761): DEBUG: PLACES: Volume Added: 66.4 GB Media /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/volume_uuid_003C45DF3C45CFF8
** (netbook-launcher:3761): DEBUG: PLACES: Volume Added: 77.4 GB Media /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/volume_uuid_A2F48F73F48F490D
** (netbook-launcher:3761): DEBUG: PLACES: Volume Added: PE /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/volume_uuid_CCED_990E

[Bart (ahverbeek)]

On Monday 10 August 2009 17:20:36 Saad Kamal wrote:
> I have added a screen shot of my current desktop in classic view.
>
> As you can see, there is no bottom panel, and at the top bar, the button
> at the top left corner doesn't do anything. So I cant access my
> applications. When I open a window/browser and minimize it, it goes on
> top panel. (Like NBR view).
>
> When I open terminal to switch back to the NBR using the desktop-
> switcher command -- i get the following errors --- but it does
> eventually take me to NBR view and everything works fine. My only
> problem is with the classic view..I just dont know why i cant have the
> old school classic view on my netbook, i definitely screwed up something
> which is causing this weird remix version of classic view (check
> screenshot).
>
> Any help to restore my original classic view would be gr8tly
> appreciated.
>
>
> saad@saad-netbook:~$ desktop-switcher
> In classic mode: true
> ** (desktop-switcher:3755): DEBUG: Enabling netbook mode
> ** (desktop-switcher:3755): DEBUG: Enabling launcher autostart
> ** (desktop-switcher:3755): DEBUG: Launching the, er, Launcher
> get fences failed: -1
> param: 6, val: 0
> ** (netbook-launcher:3761): DEBUG: CONFIG: Low graphics mode: False
> ** (netbook-launcher:3761): DEBUG: CONFIG: Font dpi: 96.000000
> ** (netbook-launcher:3761): DEBUG: CONFIG: Font changed: Sans 10
>
> ** (netbook-launcher:3761): DEBUG: CONFIG: Connecting to ConsoleKit for
> suspend/resume restarting ** (desktop-switcher:3755): DEBUG: Restoring
> panel settings
> WARNING: failed to associate schema
> `/schemas/apps/go-home-applet/prefs/icon_name' with key
> `/apps/panel/applets/applet_0/prefs/icon_name': Failed to contact
> configuration server; some possible causes are that you need to enable
> TCP/IP networking for ORBit, or you have stale NFS locks due to a system
> crash. See http://projects.gnome.org/gconf/ for information. (Details - 1:
> Could not send message to gconf daemon: Message did not receive a reply
> (timeout by message bus)) ** (desktop-switcher:3755): DEBUG:
> Restored panel configuration from:
> /home/saad/.config/desktop-switcher/netbook-panel-config.xml
>
> ** (desktop-switcher:3755): DEBUG: Removing nautilus from gnome session
> startup
>
> ** (desktop-switcher:3755): WARNING **: Failed to send buffer
>
> ** (desktop-switcher:3755): WARNING **: Failed to send buffer
>
> ** (netbook-launcher:3761): WARNING **: Failed to send buffer
>
> ** (netbook-launcher:3761): WARNING **: Failed to send buffer
> saad@saad-netbook:~$ Cannot register the panel shell: there is already one
> running. ** (netbook-launcher:3761): DEBUG: PLACES: Volume Added: 66.4 GB
> Media /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/volume_uuid_003C45DF3C45CFF8 **
> (netbook-launcher:3761): DEBUG: PLACES: Volume Added: 77.4 GB Media
> /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/volume_uuid_A2F48F73F48F490D **
> (netbook-launcher:3761): DEBUG: PLACES: Volume Added: PE
> /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/volume_uuid_CCED_990E
>
> ** Attachment added: "screen.png"
> http://launchpadlibrarian.net/30116656/screen.png

[Elton Woo (elton-woo)]

@Bart:
on other mailing lists, the directions to unsubscribe are generally or always in the message FOOTER.
However, I notice that the method is different here.
Running the browser on a 10" netbook screen one might easily miss it:
Look to the right of the screen (*your* right) ---
just above the list of subscribers, there is the "unsub" button.

HTH... <G>
respectfully,

[stevebroome (fasttalker)]

Hello. I am a newbie to Ubuntu & Linux. I am having the same problem as most in this forum. My problem is as follows: After a fresh install UNR on my Asus Eee Pc 901a, when i switch to classic desktop mode and reboot, I also lose all menu bars. When i switch back to Netbook Desktop, I have my desktop, but i do NOT have top menu bars and anything I launch is missing the "close (x)" button and most windows such as Firefox and other programs are not maximized.

My question is this:

I want apply the patch by Neil Patel (desktop-switcher_0.4.6_i386.deb (38.2 KiB, application/x-debian-package)

BUT, how do I do this. I am a beginner. Can somebody please give me step by step instructions on how to do this. Do I do this from the terminal? I really need step by step instructions from a pro.

Thanks so much to everybody for your help.

Steve Broome

[John Hart (jlhart68)]

I am not a Pro, but I will try to help. First make sure you have
installed "GDebi Package Installer" from the Add/Remove Applications menu.

Then down load to your desktop the patch.

Open the patch with GDebi Package installer. (right click on the file on
your desktop, it should default to open with the GDebi Installer).

I think then, you can reboot and try the switch again and it should work.

johnH

stevebroome wrote:
> Hello. I am a newbie to Ubuntu & Linux. I am having the same problem
> as most in this forum. My problem is as follows: After a fresh install
> UNR on my Asus Eee Pc 901a, when i switch to classic desktop mode and
> reboot, I also lose all menu bars. When i switch back to Netbook
> Desktop, I have my desktop, but i do NOT have top menu bars and anything
> I launch is missing the "close (x)" button and most windows such as
> Firefox and other programs are not maximized.
>
> My question is this:
>
> I want apply the patch by Neil Patel (desktop-switcher_0.4.6_i386.deb
> (38.2 KiB, application/x-debian-package)
>
> BUT, how do I do this. I am a beginner. Can somebody please give me
> step by step instructions on how to do this. Do I do this from the
> terminal? I really need step by step instructions from a pro.
>
> Thanks so much to everybody for your help.
>
> Steve Broome
>
>

[John Hart (jlhart68)]

More: also you might have to to the following:
>
> Goto Preferences -> startup programs
> Add 2 new entries:
> 1. /usr/bin/gnome-panel
> 2. /usr/bin/gnome-wm
>
> Reboot.
>
johnH

stevebroome wrote:
> Hello. I am a newbie to Ubuntu & Linux. I am having the same problem
> as most in this forum. My problem is as follows: After a fresh install
> UNR on my Asus Eee Pc 901a, when i switch to classic desktop mode and
> reboot, I also lose all menu bars. When i switch back to Netbook
> Desktop, I have my desktop, but i do NOT have top menu bars and anything
> I launch is missing the "close (x)" button and most windows such as
> Firefox and other programs are not maximized.
>
> My question is this:
>
> I want apply the patch by Neil Patel (desktop-switcher_0.4.6_i386.deb
> (38.2 KiB, application/x-debian-package)
>
> BUT, how do I do this. I am a beginner. Can somebody please give me
> step by step instructions on how to do this. Do I do this from the
> terminal? I really need step by step instructions from a pro.
>
> Thanks so much to everybody for your help.
>
> Steve Broome
>
>

[Guy Stone (stoneguy3)]

Add a "Me too" with a 900 and a fully updated 9.04.

Took installing desktop-switcher out of jaunty proposed, plus #142 info to set things right again. Thanks guys.

Hopefully there'll be an upgrade in the standard fixes for Intrepid before Karmic gets released. Will test in Alpha5 though.

[Steve (ricojonah)]

I'm not sure why, but this fixed my problem immediately (at least for my current session):

If possible, bring up a terminal and run
metacity --replace

I don't remember where I found this suggestion, but it worked for me.

[Michael Baudino (gornack)]

I want to confirm that 0.4.6 package seems to work for me.

My users are using Dell Inspiron Mini 10v with Ubuntu UNR (I reinstalled it over the Dell-customized UNR), and had that desktop-switcher problem.
When they came to me with their desktop stalled after trying to switch desktop mode, I just manually installed (dkpg -i) desktop-switcher_0.4.6, and entered 'gconftool-2 --set /desktop/gnome/session/required_components_list --type list --list-type=string ["windowmanager","panel","filemanager"]', and it's working fine.

Thanks.

[ak4life (x-launchpad-ak4life-com)]

I've got UNR on a Dell Mini 9. The desktop switcher problem was resolved by just running 'gconftool-2 --set /desktop/gnome/session/required_components_list --type list --list-type=string ["windowmanager","panel"]'. Didn't even have to install the posted desktop-switcher deb. Rebooted a bunch of times switching back and forth between netbook and classic and no problems.

Many thanks to Neil J. Patel for fixing this and to Scott Evans for reporting the bug.

This is really great...

[Martin Pitt (pitti)]

Since this is verification-failed, I removed the packge from -proposed:

2009-09-09 10:26:28 INFO Removing candidates:
2009-09-09 10:26:28 INFO desktop-switcher 0.4.4-0ubuntu1.1 in jaunty
2009-09-09 10:26:28 INFO Removed-by: Martin Pitt
2009-09-09 10:26:28 INFO Comment: failed SRU
2009-09-09 10:26:28 INFO 9 packages successfully removed.

[Grrr (luke-perfumeprincess-deactivatedaccount)]

This thread has a lot of different commands suggested? I'm confused. I have a brand new laptop Benq U101P, with a brand new install of NBR. All I did was use the desktop switcher, whilst in the gnome desktop I added a workspace switcher to the top bar/menu and 3 workspaces. Then came back into the NBR desktop, (the workplace switcher was not there, so am using the function keys to switch workspaces). I then went back into the gnome desktop and removed the workspace switcher and put everything in the top bar/menu to the standard setup. Went back to the NBR desktop. At this stage the NBR top bar/menu is still there. I shutdown the netbook and restarted.

BUG: No top bar/menu in NBR desktop.

Tried switching to the gnome desktop and back again, does not fix bug.

BUG: I get a very quick error window, that I don't have time to read ofter switching back to the NBR menu.

Grrr.

[Grrr (luke-perfumeprincess-deactivatedaccount)]

Paste this command in the terminal press enter, then restart, to fix the Ubuntu Netbook Remix Desktop Switcher bug.

gconftool-2 --set /desktop/gnome/session/required_components_list --type list --list-type=string ["windowmanager","panel"]

[jenkinsororo (laurenberns3)]

Hey! I just tried a few commands in terminal and My netbook got fixed. Thanks!

[Paolo Sammicheli (xdatap1)]

Hello,

I fall in BUG #453933 that i later marked duplicate of this because I solved with the same command suggested above.

The bad news is that there's a regression because I experienced it in 0.5.8 when i understand reading the comments above that 0.4.6 did soved it.

x@dellino:~$ apt-cache policy desktop-switcher
desktop-switcher:
  Installato: 0.5.8-0ubuntu2
  Candidato: 0.5.8-0ubuntu2
  Tabella versione:
 *** 0.5.8-0ubuntu2 0
        500 http://it.archive.ubuntu.com karmic/main Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

Let me know if you need more datails, my all configuration are attached to #453933

Greetings

[Sebastian Geiger (lanoxx)]

Hi, Bug 390001 could be a duplicate of this bug. Also Bugs:
#269292
#413385
which are duplicates of 390001.
Maybe bug 390001 should be marked a duplicate of this bug?

[Steve Langasek (vorlon)]

please don't change bug statuses without explanation.

[Alex Valavanis (valavanisalex)]

Jaunty has reached end-of-life, so I'll close this report. The bug is marked as being fixed in later versions of Ubuntu

[Jeffrey LaPointe (slackguru)]

It's not a laptop or netbook thing only. I'm running Precise on an older 32 bit Intel x86 machine and I'm not switching desktops. I use the UBUNTU login for the Unity desktop and have since I installed Precise. I find these errors:

Window manager warning: Buggy client sent a _NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW message with a timestamp of 0 for 0x2600003 (Archive Ma)
Window manager warning: meta_window_activate called by a pager with a 0 timestamp; the pager needs to be fixed.
Window manager warning: Buggy client sent a _NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW message with a timestamp of 0 for 0x260003f (Workspace )
Window manager warning: meta_window_activate called by a pager with a 0 timestamp; the pager needs to be fixed.
Window manager warning: Buggy client sent a _NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW message with a timestamp of 0 for 0x2600003 (Eclipse SD)
Window manager warning: meta_window_activate called by a pager with a 0 timestamp; the pager needs to be fixed.
Window manager warning: Buggy client sent a _NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW message with a timestamp of 0 for 0x26001e2 (Java - Ecl)
Window manager warning: meta_window_activate called by a pager with a 0 timestamp; the pager needs to be fixed.
Window manager warning: Buggy client sent a _NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW message with a timestamp of 0 for 0x2602b3b (New Projec)
Window manager warning: meta_window_activate called by a pager with a 0 timestamp; the pager needs to be fixed.
Window manager warning: Buggy client sent a _NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW message with a timestamp of 0 for 0x26001e2 (C/C++ - Ec)
Window manager warning: meta_window_activate called by a pager with a 0 timestamp; the pager needs to be fixed.
Window manager warning: Buggy client sent a _NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW message with a timestamp of 0 for 0x2605ce6 (New Projec)
Window manager warning: meta_window_activate called by a pager with a 0 timestamp; the pager needs to be fixed.
Window manager warning: Buggy client sent a _NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW message with a timestamp of 0 for 0x26001e2 (C/C++ - Ec)
Window manager warning: meta_window_activate called by a pager with a 0 timestamp; the pager needs to be fixed.
Window manager warning: Buggy client sent a _NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW message with a timestamp of 0 for 0x260727c (Delete Res)
Window manager warning: meta_window_activate called by a pager with a 0 timestamp; the pager needs to be fixed.
Window manager warning: Buggy client sent a _NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW message with a timestamp of 0 for 0x26001e2 (C/C++ - Ec)
Window manager warning: meta_window_activate called by a pager with a 0 timestamp; the pager needs to be fixed.
(gnome-shell:19705): Clutter-WARNING **: The meta of type 'StScrollViewFade' with name 'fade' is not attached to the actor 'StScrollView'
Window manager warning: Buggy client sent a _NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW message with a timestamp of 0 for 0x2200003 (Eclipse SD)
Window manager warning: meta_window_activate called by a pager with a 0 timestamp; the pager needs to be fixed.
Window manager warning: Buggy client sent a _NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW message with a timestamp of 0 for 0x2200310 (Java - Ecl)
Window manager warning: meta_window_activate called by a pager with a 0 timestamp; the pager needs to be fixed.
Window manager warning: Buggy client sent a ...