bug in KDE menu. Applications cant be started

English Applications
1

Hello all,

I’m using KDE Plasma 5 (KDE Frameworks 5.54.0 with Qt 5.12.1.
Since the latest update, I cant start any application in the KDE menu. But all applications start with Alt+F2.
I’ve created another user: everything is ok with KDE.
So I guess, there’s something weird with my profile.
Prior writing this post, i went to login with my account and after validating my password, the system went to hibernate or suspend to RAM whereas I have never used this feature before.
what files and folders should be removed to fix this?

Thanks for your help

2

In other words, neither a Bug nor a feature …

If KDE begins to massively misbehave and, a “new” user doesn’t experience this misbehaviour then, the following is possibly a remedy:

  • From a VT TTY – console, no GUI running – remove everything in ~/.cache/.

  • Execute kbuildsycoca5 to rebuild the KDE Cache.

  • Login again via the KDE GUI.

If that doesn’t help then, the KDE environment of the user who is suffering this issue will have to be rebuilt:

  • With the user “root”:
  1. Rename the user’s Home directory to something else indicating that it’s an archive.
  2. Recreate the user’s Home directory – using the “–archive” option of “cp” (to preserve the default directory protections) copy everything in /etc/skel/ over to the user’s newly created empty Home directory – change the ownership and user group of the newly created Home directory and all it’s contents to those of the affected user.

Now have the affected user login to their “new, fresh” KDE environment – KDE will automatically create everything it needs at this “1st login” to the user’s newly created Home directory.

  • The affected user now has to setup their Home directory again.
  • Please be aware that, as a general rule, the user’s hidden directories should not be restored from the contents of the archived Home directory …
  • The exception is any Kontact/KMail/Korganizer file in the archived ~/.local/share/ directory:

As a general rule the archived contents of the following ~/.local/share/ directories can be moved to the new Home directory: contacts/ kaddressbook/ korganizer/ local-mail/ .local-mail.directory/ notes/.

  • The contents of other ~/.local/share/ directories such as okular/ are the applications history – restore as needed.
  • Once the user’s KDE environment has been completely restored, after a suitable “wait and see” period, the remaining contents of the archived Home directory can be deleted – the KDE environment in the archived home directory misbehaves and can therefore be regarded as being corrupt …
3

Thanks, the issue is fixed with the second solution.
Nevertheless, this kind of bug is annoying after an update

4

starting the computer this morning, the issue went back :sarcastic:

5

On 2/9/19 12:46 PM, dcurtisfra wrote:
>
> -In other words, neither a Bug nor a feature- …
> jnowe;2894010 Wrote:
>> what files and folders should be removed to fix this?
> If KDE begins to massively misbehave and, a “new” user doesn’t
> experience this misbehaviour then, the following is possibly a remedy:
>
> - From a VT TTY – console, no GUI running – remove everything in
> ~/.cache/.
> - Execute kbuildsycoca5 to rebuild the KDE Cache.
>
>
>
> - Login again via the KDE GUI.
>
> If that doesn’t help then, the KDE environment of the user who is
> suffering this issue will have to be rebuilt:
>
> - With the user “root”:
>
>
>
> - Rename the user’s Home directory to something else indicating that
> it’s an archive.
> - Recreate the user’s Home directory – using the “–archive”
> option of “cp” (to preserve the default directory protections)
> copy everything in /etc/skel/ over to the user’s newly created empty
> Home directory – change the ownership and user group of the newly
> created Home directory and all it’s contents to those of the affected
> user.
>

No need for copying anything. Just rename the current home directory,
recreate the home directory and login. all necessary files and
directories will automatically be created.

–
Ken
unix since 1986
S.u.S.E.-openSUSE since 1998

6

Then, you have a rogue application which is messing about with the KDE Plasma 5 Starter menu entries …

7

Do you mean, use (as the user “root”) the CLI command “mkhomedir_helper”?

  • /sbin/mkhomedir_helper
  • man 8 mkhomedir_helper
8

Why all this hacking around? I wouldn’t want to rename my homedir, ever again. Why not use


kbuildsyscoca5 --noincremental

? That’s the way it’s done in KDE.

9

On 2/11/19 4:26 AM, dcurtisfra wrote:
>
> kensch;2894093 Wrote:
>>
>> No need for copying anything. Just rename the current home directory,
>> recreate the home directory and login. all necessary files and
>> directories will automatically be created.
>>
> Do you mean, use (as the user “root”) the CLI command
> “mkhomedir_helper”?
>
> - /sbin/mkhomedir_helper
> - man 8 mkhomedir_helper
>
>

As user ‘root’:

/code

cd /home
mv <username> <username>.org
mkdir <username>
chown <username>.users <username>

Substitute the real user name for <username>.
This should only be needed as a last resort.

–
Ken
unix since 1986
S.u.S.E.-openSUSE since 1998