None of the proposed solutions so far works for my setup at all. Specs: Distribution: Ubuntu 11.04 64Bit (Actual machine, NOT a virtual machine) Codename: Natty Narwhal Desktop: Gnome 2 CPU: Intel Quad Core 2 Extreme, X9650, 64Bit, (3GHz per core) GPU: GeForce 8800 GT GPU MEM: 512 MB GPU MEM Interface: 256 MB GPU VBIOS: 62.92.24.00.00 MoBo: Asus MoBo MEM: 4GB Right clicking on the desktop and selecting "Change Desktop Background" results in the following error message: Unable to start the settings manager 'gnome-settings-daemon'. Without the GNOME settings manager running, some preferences may not take effect. This could indicate a problem with DBus, or a non-GNOME (e.g. KDE) settings manager may already be active and conflicting with the GNOME settings manager. Any attempt at starting the gnome-settings-daemon such as: sudo gnome-settings-daemon results in the following error messages: ** (gnome-settings-daemon:6805): WARNING **: Failed to acquire org.gnome.SettingsDaemon ** (gnome-settings-daemon:6805): WARNING **: Could not acquire name Here is the output from "apt-cache policy gnome-settings-daemon" gnome-settings-daemon: Installed: 2.32.1-0ubuntu13.1 Candidate: 2.32.1-0ubuntu13.1 Version table: *** 2.32.1-0ubuntu13.1 0 500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ natty/main amd64 Packages 100 /var/lib/dpkg/status Any attempt at killing and restarting the gnome-settings-daemon produces no significant change. I will list one debug output with elevated privileges, and one without. Here is the debug output after killing and restarting the gnome-settings-manager with elevated privileges: ~$ sudo gnome-settings-daemon --debug --no-daemon ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Successfully connected to D-Bus ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Starting settings manager ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading settings plugins from dir: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/ ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/mouse.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='Mouse' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/mouse.gnome-settings-plugin' location='mouse' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/clipboard.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='Clipboard' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/clipboard.gnome-settings-plugin' location='clipboard' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/a11y-keyboard.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='Accessibility Keyboard' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/a11y-keyboard.gnome-settings-plugin' location='a11y-keyboard' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/xrdb.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='X Resource Database' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/xrdb.gnome-settings-plugin' location='xrdb' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/xrandr.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='XRandR' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/xrandr.gnome-settings-plugin' location='xrandr' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/font.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='Font' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/font.gnome-settings-plugin' location='font' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/xsettings.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='X Settings' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/xsettings.gnome-settings-plugin' location='xsettings' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/typing-break.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='Typing Break' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/typing-break.gnome-settings-plugin' location='typing-break' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/media-keys.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='Media keys' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/media-keys.gnome-settings-plugin' location='media-keys' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/keyboard.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='Keyboard' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/keyboard.gnome-settings-plugin' location='keyboard' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/housekeeping.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='Housekeeping' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/housekeeping.gnome-settings-plugin' location='housekeeping' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/sound.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='Sound' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/sound.gnome-settings-plugin' location='sound' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/keybindings.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='Keybindings' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/keybindings.gnome-settings-plugin' location='keybindings' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/ubuntuone.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='Ubuntu One' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/ubuntuone.gnome-settings-plugin' location='ubuntuone' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/background.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='Background' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/background.gnome-settings-plugin' location='background' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsModule 0xc002d0 initialising ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/libxrandr.so ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Registering GsdXrandrPlugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Creating object of type GsdXrandrPlugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GsdXrandrPlugin initializing ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Activating xrandr plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Starting xrandr manager ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsManager: emitting plugin-activated xrandr ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Plugin xrandr: active ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsModule 0xc0acf0 initialising ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/libxsettings.so ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Registering GnomeXSettingsPlugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Creating object of type GnomeXSettingsPlugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeXSettingsPlugin initializing ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Activating xsettings plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Starting xsettings manager ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: xft_settings_set_xresources: orig res 'Xft.dpi: 96 Xft.antialias: 1 Xft.hinting: 1 Xft.hintstyle: hintslight Xft.rgba: rgb Xft.lcdfilter: lcddefault ' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: xft_settings_set_xresources: new res 'Xft.dpi: 96 Xft.antialias: 1 Xft.hinting: 1 Xft.hintstyle: hintslight Xft.rgba: rgb Xft.lcdfilter: lcddefault ' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsManager: emitting plugin-activated xsettings ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Plugin xsettings: active ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Plugin font: inactive ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsModule 0xbf50f0 initialising ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/libsound.so ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Registering GsdSoundPlugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Creating object of type GsdSoundPlugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GsdSoundPlugin initializing ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Activating sound plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Starting sound manager ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Registering directory monitor for /home/sysop/.local/share/sounds ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Registering directory monitor for /usr/local/share ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Registering directory monitor for /usr/share ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsManager: emitting plugin-activated sound ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Plugin sound: active ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsModule 0xc0b280 initialising ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/libkeyboard.so ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Registering GsdKeyboardPlugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Creating object of type GsdKeyboardPlugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GsdKeyboardPlugin initializing ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Activating keyboard plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsManager: emitting plugin-activated keyboard ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Plugin keyboard: active ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsModule 0xc0b2d0 initialising ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/liba11y-keyboard.so ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Registering GsdA11yKeyboardPlugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Creating object of type GsdA11yKeyboardPlugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GsdA11yKeyboardPlugin initializing ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Activating a11y_keyboard plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsManager: emitting plugin-activated a11y-keyboard ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Plugin a11y-keyboard: active ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsModule 0xc0b320 initialising ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/libmouse.so ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Registering GsdMousePlugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Creating object of type GsdMousePlugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GsdMousePlugin initializing ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Activating mouse plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsManager: emitting plugin-activated mouse ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Plugin mouse: active ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsModule 0xc0b370 initialising ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/libkeybindings.so ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Registering GsdKeybindingsPlugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Creating object of type GsdKeybindingsPlugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GsdKeybindingsPlugin initializing ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Activating keybindings plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Starting keybindings manager ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsManager: emitting plugin-activated keybindings ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Plugin keybindings: active ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Plugin xrdb: inactive ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsModule 0xc85c00 initialising ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/libbackground.so ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Registering GsdBackgroundPlugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Creating object of type GsdBackgroundPlugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GsdBackgroundPlugin initializing ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Activating background plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Starting background manager ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsManager: emitting plugin-activated background ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Plugin background: active ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsModule 0xc85c50 initialising ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/libmedia-keys.so ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Registering GsdMediaKeysPlugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Creating object of type GsdMediaKeysPlugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GsdMediaKeysPlugin initializing ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Activating media_keys plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsManager: emitting plugin-activated media-keys ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Plugin media-keys: active ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsModule 0xc85f20 initialising ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/libclipboard.so ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Registering GsdClipboardPlugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Creating object of type GsdClipboardPlugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GsdClipboardPlugin initializing ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Activating clipboard plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsManager: emitting plugin-activated clipboard ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Plugin clipboard: active ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsModule 0xc85f70 initialising ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/libtyping-break.so ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Registering GsdTypingBreakPlugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Creating object of type GsdTypingBreakPlugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GsdTypingBreakPlugin initializing ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Activating typing_break plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Starting typing_break manager ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsManager: emitting plugin-activated typing-break ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Plugin typing-break: active ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsModule 0xcc0800 initialising ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/libubuntuone.so ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Registering GsdUbuntuOne ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Creating object of type GsdUbuntuOne ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsManager: emitting plugin-activated ubuntuone ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Plugin ubuntuone: active ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsModule 0xcc0850 initialising ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Loading /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/libhousekeeping.so ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Registering GsdHousekeepingPlugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Creating object of type GsdHousekeepingPlugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GsdHousekeepingPlugin initializing ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Activating housekeeping plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Starting housekeeping manager ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: housekeeping: will tidy up in 2 minutes ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsManager: emitting plugin-activated housekeeping ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Plugin housekeeping: active ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Updating client: index=0 name='ConsoleKit Session /org/freedesktop/ConsoleKit/Session2' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Updating client: index=1 name='Alarm Clock' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Updating client: index=6 name='XSMP Session on gnome-session as 10c869994754ac71f13420374189666900000028570042' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Updating client: index=7 name='Indicator Sound' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Updating client: index=10 name='Panel' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Updating client: index=13 name='fusion-icon' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Updating client: index=14 name='gtk-window-decorator' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Updating client: index=21 name='Indicator Applet' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Updating client: index=22 name='wnck-applet' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Updating client: index=26 name='Root Terminal' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Updating client: index=30 name='Firefox' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Updating client: index=41 name='GNOME Volume Control Media Keys' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Updating sink: index=0 name='alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1b.0.analog-surround-51' description='Internal Audio Analog Surround 5.1' map='front-left,front-right,rear-left,rear-right,front-center,lfe' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Updating source: index=0 name='alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1b.0.analog-surround-51.monitor' description='Monitor of Internal Audio Analog Surround 5.1' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Updating source: index=1 name='alsa_input.pci-0000_00_1b.0.analog-stereo' description='Internal Audio Analog Stereo' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Udpating card alsa_card.pci-0000_00_1b.0 (index: 0 driver: module-alsa-card.c): ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Profile 'output:analog-stereo': 0 sources 1 sinks ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Profile 'output:analog-stereo+input:analog-stereo': 1 sources 1 sinks ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Profile 'output:analog-stereo+input:iec958-stereo': 1 sources 1 sinks ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Profile 'output:analog-surround-40': 0 sources 1 sinks ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Profile 'output:analog-surround-40+input:analog-stereo': 1 sources 1 sinks ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Profile 'output:analog-surround-40+input:iec958-stereo': 1 sources 1 sinks ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Profile 'output:analog-surround-41': 0 sources 1 sinks ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Profile 'output:analog-surround-41+input:analog-stereo': 1 sources 1 sinks ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Profile 'output:analog-surround-41+input:iec958-stereo': 1 sources 1 sinks ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Profile 'output:analog-surround-50': 0 sources 1 sinks ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Profile 'output:analog-surround-50+input:analog-stereo': 1 sources 1 sinks ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Profile 'output:analog-surround-50+input:iec958-stereo': 1 sources 1 sinks ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Profile 'output:analog-surround-51': 0 sources 1 sinks ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Profile 'output:analog-surround-51+input:analog-stereo': 1 sources 1 sinks (Current) ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Profile 'output:analog-surround-51+input:iec958-stereo': 1 sources 1 sinks ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Profile 'output:analog-surround-71': 0 sources 1 sinks ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Profile 'output:analog-surround-71+input:analog-stereo': 1 sources 1 sinks ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Profile 'output:analog-surround-71+input:iec958-stereo': 1 sources 1 sinks ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Profile 'output:iec958-stereo': 0 sources 1 sinks ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Profile 'output:iec958-stereo+input:analog-stereo': 1 sources 1 sinks ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Profile 'output:iec958-stereo+input:iec958-stereo': 1 sources 1 sinks ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Profile 'input:analog-stereo': 1 sources 0 sinks ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Profile 'input:iec958-stereo': 1 sources 0 sinks ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Profile 'off': 0 sources 0 sinks ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Property: 'alsa.card' = '0' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Property: 'alsa.card_name' = 'HDA Intel' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Property: 'alsa.long_card_name' = 'HDA Intel at 0xf9ff8000 irq 45' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Property: 'alsa.driver_name' = 'snd_hda_intel' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Property: 'device.bus_path' = 'pci-0000:00:1b.0' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Property: 'sysfs.path' = '/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1b.0/sound/card0' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Property: 'device.bus' = 'pci' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Property: 'device.vendor.id' = '8086' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Property: 'device.vendor.name' = 'Intel Corporation' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Property: 'device.product.id' = '293e' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Property: 'device.product.name' = '82801I (ICH9 Family) HD Audio Controller' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Property: 'device.form_factor' = 'internal' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Property: 'device.string' = '0' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Property: 'device.description' = 'Internal Audio' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Property: 'module-udev-detect.discovered' = '1' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Property: 'device.icon_name' = 'audio-card-pci' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Updating client: index=1 name='Alarm Clock' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Updating client: index=22 name='wnck-applet' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Updating client: index=22 name='wnck-applet' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Starting keyboard manager [1342055139,000,xklavier.c:xkl_engine_start_listen/] The backend does not require manual layout management - but it is provided by the application ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Starting a11y_keyboard manager ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Starting media_keys manager ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Not a valid shortcut: '' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: adding key filter for screen: 0 ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Updating client: index=1 name='Alarm Clock' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Updating client: index=10 name='Panel' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Updating client: index=10 name='Panel' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Updating client: index=21 name='Indicator Applet' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Updating client: index=21 name='Indicator Applet' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Updating client: index=13 name='fusion-icon' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Updating client: index=13 name='fusion-icon' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Updating client: index=14 name='gtk-window-decorator' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Updating client: index=14 name='gtk-window-decorator' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20326): DEBUG: Syncdaemon not running, waiting for it to start in NameOwnerChanged No joy. The last line above is where it just hangs. Here is the output of killing and restarting the gnome-settings-manager without elevated privileges: ~$ gnome-settings-daemon --debug --no-daemon ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: Successfully connected to D-Bus ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: Starting settings manager ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: Loading settings plugins from dir: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/ ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/mouse.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='Mouse' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/mouse.gnome-settings-plugin' location='mouse' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/clipboard.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='Clipboard' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/clipboard.gnome-settings-plugin' location='clipboard' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/a11y-keyboard.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='Accessibility Keyboard' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/a11y-keyboard.gnome-settings-plugin' location='a11y-keyboard' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/xrdb.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='X Resource Database' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/xrdb.gnome-settings-plugin' location='xrdb' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/xrandr.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='XRandR' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/xrandr.gnome-settings-plugin' location='xrandr' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/font.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='Font' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/font.gnome-settings-plugin' location='font' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/xsettings.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='X Settings' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/xsettings.gnome-settings-plugin' location='xsettings' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/typing-break.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='Typing Break' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/typing-break.gnome-settings-plugin' location='typing-break' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/media-keys.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='Media keys' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/media-keys.gnome-settings-plugin' location='media-keys' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/keyboard.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='Keyboard' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/keyboard.gnome-settings-plugin' location='keyboard' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/housekeeping.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='Housekeeping' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/housekeeping.gnome-settings-plugin' location='housekeeping' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/sound.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='Sound' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/sound.gnome-settings-plugin' location='sound' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/keybindings.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='Keybindings' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/keybindings.gnome-settings-plugin' location='keybindings' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/ubuntuone.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='Ubuntu One' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/ubuntuone.gnome-settings-plugin' location='ubuntuone' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: Loading plugin: /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/background.gnome-settings-plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsPluginInfo: name='Background' file='/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/background.gnome-settings-plugin' location='background' ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsModule 0x1977320 initialising ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: Loading /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/libxrandr.so ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: Registering GsdXrandrPlugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: Creating object of type GsdXrandrPlugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: GsdXrandrPlugin initializing ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: Activating xrandr plugin ** (gnome-settings-daemon:20754): DEBUG: Starting xrandr manager The program 'gnome-settings-daemon' received an X Window System error. This probably reflects a bug in the program. The error was 'BadValue (integer parameter out of range for operation)'. (Details: serial 193 error_code 2 request_code 154 minor_code 30) (Note to programmers: normally, X errors are reported asynchronously; that is, you will receive the error a while after causing it. To debug your program, run it with the --sync command line option to change this behavior. You can then get a meaningful backtrace from your debugger if you break on the gdk_x_error() function.) This should confirm that this problem still exists on a non-virtual actual hardware install of Ubuntu 11.04. Questions: 1.) Can some one please change the status for Natty to confirmed or something that more accurately reflects the evedence given in this post? 2.) How can I test this further? 3.) Are themes for Natty completey and perminantly busted by this problem?