Compiz problem.. I lost my GUI

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#1

Hai all,
I’m a newbie to this Linux platform.
I installed compiz yesterday but it was not working…
I tried to open ccsm, desktop effects but both does not show up not even an error message. When trying to run ccsm from command line it says some shared file is missing. its name i forgot but something like lib…so
And for my stupidity i as a last resort :shame: tried Alt+f2 and typed compiz --replace.
it took me to text mode… now i dont know how to get back to my GUI…
I tried startx and kdm but it ends in an error :’(

I think i should disable compiz somehow but i dont know how to do it via commandline…
Can anyone help… Address me as totally noob. :shame:

I searched all forum but there is no excat problem or suitable solution found.

My system at glance…
→ Using opensuse 11.1 with kde installed from live cd available from official download.

-> Updated kde to 4.2 via yast

-> Updated compiz from 0.7.x to 0.8.x via yast. (Got some dependency issues while upgrading and I choose ignore )

I’m not sure if any other information is needed.
Thanks
threecoins

#2

Why, oh why do people choose to ignore dependencies? I understand the noobishness but a simple search would have revealed most of your conflicts you got with the solutions to them.

Sorry.

Okay, now, you lost your gui. Because of compiz. So off the top of my head, you could try to do a removal of your kde profile so it loads Kwin as the default window manager instead of compiz. To do this, boot up the computer and choose failsafe mode. It will end in a tty1 console (just text). Login with your username and password and it will say something to the effect of “have fun…”

Then type these lines one by one (type first hit enter type second hit enter):

rm -r /home/username/.kde4
rm -r /home/username/.kde

where username is your username. For example, for me it would be

rm -r /home/ian/.kde4
rm -r /home/ian/.kde

Then restart your computer by typing this:

shutdown -r now

Boot up regularly (not failsafe) and you should have your GUI back. Then we’ll get to setting your compiz-fusion up correctly :).

P.S. This will remove all your KDE settings such as wallpaper, cursors, etc.

Good Luck,

Ian

#3

ijbreakey adjusted his/her AFDB on Monday 25 May 2009 21:56 to write:

>
> Why, oh why do people choose to ignore dependencies? I understand the
> noobishness but a simple search would have revealed most of your
> conflicts you got with the solutions to them.
>
> Sorry.
>

Agree there but is not completely removing the .kde and .kde4 a bit over the
top the OP could rename them

with:

mv /home/username/.kde4 /home/username/.kde4-bak
mv /home/username/.kde /home/username/.kde-bak

That way he would be able to copy across his mail and other settings after
he had a working system?

HTH

–
Mark

Nullus in verba
Nil illegitimi carborundum

#4

I lost my gui because of the same reason but I was able to find a solution described in this thread:
Compiz Troubleshooting - openSUSE

do these steps:

  1. rpm -qa ‘compiz’ #This will list all the packages installed

  2. rpm -e <package list from the above command>
    note that you have to them one by one and you will receive errors because of dependencies. just continue to the next one and try to figure out the dependencies. I was not able to remove 3 of them which were dependent on each other, but removed after I got into the gui.

  3. sax2 -a #will regenerate xorg.conf

  4. gconftool-2 --recursive-unset /apps/compiz

  5. rm -rf /home/<yourusername>/.config/compiz

  6. init 5
    this is the cleanest method i think to solve the problem.

#5

I lost my gui because of the same reason but I was able to find a solution described in this thread:
Compiz Troubleshooting - openSUSE

do these steps:

  1. rpm -qa ‘compiz’ #This will list all the packages installed

  2. rpm -e <package list from the above command>
    note that you have to them one by one and you will receive errors because of dependencies. just continue to the next one and try to figure out the dependencies. I was not able to remove 3 of them which were dependent on each other, but removed after I got into the gui.

  3. sax2 -a #will regenerate xorg.conf

  4. gconftool-2 --recursive-unset /apps/compiz

  5. rm -rf /home/<yourusername>/.config/compiz

  6. init 5
    this is the cleanest method i think to solve the problem.

Can’t say I’ve ever seen that before, but thanks. I’ll have to try that next time I screw compiz up.

Agree there but is not completely removing the .kde and .kde4 a bit over the
top the OP could rename them

As I stated

So off the top of my head
. I guess I should have thought it out more thoroughly. I know I’ve seen your solution before so I should have searched for it, as I had told the OP to do with his conflict problem :wink:

Take Care,

Ian

#6

I tried this but still i’m starting up in text mode. I tried startx which showed an error and returns to commandline :frowning:
the error is like unknown symbol in libQt.so or something.

Whats next??

#7

Hmmm… this rings a bell as familiar… let me dig… Ah yes here it is.

kde 4.1 to 4.2 upgrade problem - openSUSE Forums

Alright first we’ll need the output of

zypper lr -u -p

Good Luck,

Ian

#8

Is it possible to take a screenshot while in commandline? (I’m still in commandline, no hui yet :()

i tried the other solution

do these steps:

  1. rpm -qa ‘compiz’ #This will list all the packages installed

  2. rpm -e <package list from the above command>
    note that you have to them one by one and you will receive errors because of dependencies. just continue to the next one and try to figure out the dependencies. I was not able to remove 3 of them which were dependent on each other, but removed after I got into the gui.

  3. sax2 -a #will regenerate xorg.conf

When I ran sax2 command, it displayed many things including a line similar to
will star startx if needed
then
displayed an error saying cannot mix incompatable Qtlibraries.

Thanks

#9

I don’t think it’s possible to take a screenshot while in that text based mode.You can, however, export that zypper output to a file by typing

zypper lr -e my

This will create a text file called my.repo in your /home folder.

You can then retrieve this file by using the live cd to mount your /home partition. You can do that by following these steps:

Boot live cd.

Once the GUI comes up, open a terminal (konsole) and become root by typing

su

Then type

fstab -l

Usually openSUSE installs into sda5,sda6, and sda7 partitions of your hard drive with sda2 holding the extended partition if you have windows on sda1. As I do not know the configuration of your computer and you’re a newcomer to linux, I’m going to give instructions for just one hard drive with windows also installed.

For me, my /home partition is sda7 and is larger than my / (root) partition on sda6. So you’ll want to mount the partition sda7. You can do this by typing

mkdir /diskhome

this will make a folder called diskhome in the root folder of the livecd so you have a place to mount your partition.

mount /dev/sda7 /diskhome

This actually mounts the partition.

Then you can open dolphin or konqueror and browse to the root folder. You’ll see a folder called diskhome. Click into that then click into your username’s folder and find the file called my.repo

Then post the contents of that file here.

Basically this will let us see what repositories you have enabled to check for conflicts.

P.S. If you do not have windows installed and this is a pure linux system, your /home partition will be sda3 not sda6.

P.P.S. If there’s a simpler solution or way for this, I’m terribly sorry. I’m just going from what I know.

Good Luck,

Ian

#10

I just issued the following command

zypper lr -u -p -e /windows/d/my

and since i had windows it was easy to retrive that file from windows.
And here is the contents of that file.

[20090521-150208]
name=20090521-150208
enabled=1
autorefresh=1
baseurl=http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/KDE%3a/KDE4%3a/Factory%3a/Desktop/openSUSE_11.1/
type=rpm-md
keeppackages=0

[KDE:42]
name=KDE:42
enabled=1
autorefresh=1
baseurl=http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/KDE:/42/openSUSE_11.1/
type=rpm-md
keeppackages=0

[KDE:KDE4:Factory:Desktop]
name=KDE:KDE4:Factory:Desktop
enabled=1
autorefresh=1
baseurl=http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/KDE:/KDE4:/Factory:/Desktop/openSUSE_11.1/
type=rpm-md
keeppackages=0

[Packman Repository]
name=Packman Repository
enabled=1
autorefresh=1
baseurl=http://packman.mirrors.skynet.be/pub/packman/suse/11.1
type=rpm-md
keeppackages=0

[X11:XGL]
name=X11:XGL
enabled=1
autorefresh=1
baseurl=http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/X11:/XGL/openSUSE_11.1_KDE4_Factory/
type=rpm-md
keeppackages=0

[devel:tools:building]
name=devel:tools:building
enabled=1
autorefresh=1
baseurl=http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:/tools:/building/openSUSE_11.1/
type=rpm-md
keeppackages=0

[repo-debug]
name=openSUSE-11.1-Debug
enabled=1
autorefresh=1
baseurl=http://download.opensuse.org/debug/distribution/11.1/repo/oss/
path=/
type=yast2
priority=100
keeppackages=0

[repo-non-oss]
name=openSUSE-11.1-Non-Oss
enabled=1
autorefresh=0
baseurl=http://download.opensuse.org/distribution/11.1/repo/non-oss/
type=yast2
keeppackages=0

[repo-oss]
name=openSUSE-11.1-Oss
enabled=1
autorefresh=0
baseurl=http://download.opensuse.org/distribution/11.1/repo/oss/
type=yast2
keeppackages=0

[repo-source]
name=openSUSE-11.1-Source
enabled=1
autorefresh=1
baseurl=http://download.opensuse.org/source/distribution/11.1/repo/oss/
path=/
type=yast2
priority=100
keeppackages=0

[repo-update]
name=openSUSE-11.1-Update
enabled=1
autorefresh=0
baseurl=http://download.opensuse.org/update/11.1/
type=rpm-md
keeppackages=0

#11

Haha you’re quite the smart person for a newbie :wink:

Wish I’d have thought of that!

Anyways, you have conflicting repositories.

You need to get rid of this

[20090521-150208]
name=20090521-150208
enabled=1
autorefresh=1
baseurl=http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/KDE%3a/KDE4%3a/Factory%3a/Desktop/openSUSE_11.1/
type=rpm-md
keeppackages=0

and this

[KDE:KDE4:Factory:Desktop]
name=KDE:KDE4:Factory:Desktop
enabled=1
autorefresh=1
baseurl=http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/KDE:/KDE4:/Factory:/Desktop/openSUSE_11.1/
type=rpm-md
keeppackages=0

As they house the 4.3 beta’s now.

So, to remove them while stuck in command mode you’ll have to boot up your computer in failsafe mode. When it gets to the login, login as root and enter the root password.

Then type these one by one in the order they’re shown:

zypper rr 3
zypper rr 1

These will remove the two conflicting repositories. Then you’ll need to refresh and update.

zypper refresh

zypper up

Then restart and you SHOULD be good to go.

Good Luck,

Ian

#12

Haha you’re quite the smart person for a newbie

Thanks for the comment… Basically I’m a computer addict :smiley:

Thanks for the solution but I think I cannot complete it,
the problem is with my internet connection. It needs me to login everyday for accessing internet (yeah, its broadband but it needs login)
And login is possible only through a web interface :frowning:
So I cannot refresh or update the repo without getting the GUI (i need to run firefox)

by the way, i’ve removed the repos you told me.

Is there a way to skip those refresh and update and get the GUI and then do it?

Because without gui i cannot access internet, or is there a way?

If there is no other way no prob just tell me to reinstall :’(

#13

You should have a text browser with my router I can navigate it…

w3m 192.168.1.*

Should get to the router. Otherwise use the install media as a source and use the packages from there, disable the others or use the repo option of zypper dup.

#14

OK, assuming my system is now clean like a new installation(from live cd) without anything else installed extra,
Can you tell me the correct steps to install KDE4.2 and compiz 0.8 and make them work well ?

#15

Presuming you’ve got a clean install everything is updated you only have OSS, Non-Oss, Update and Packman(Maybe a couple of others i.e wireless, graphics)

Then you need the 4.2.3 repos from here KDE/Repositories - openSUSE Now I’ve not got a clue why that says you may need QT(Ignore it) I’ve not got it not noticed it missing and thought there was some kind of qt package on the repo.

So now you have the first few, and at least core 42 and maybe community(I would say don’t unless you really know it has something you need)

I would go for a zypper dup, none of this upgrade but zypper dup, seems made for this. You need to make sure that the repos priorities are correct i.e OSS is lower than KDE 42, thats a higher number.

As for compiz do you have a reason? Or are we talking compiz-fusion…

Any way not checked for a while but again zypper dup. You could enable the compiz repo first, then do the zypper dup for both KDE and compiz, should then pull in the correct bits, I suspect without the conflicts.

I’ve tested zypper dup by coming down from 42 with an x-less install, back to 4.1 back to 4.2 and seemed hassle free. I would expect the same for compiz, though you can actually tell zypper dup what repos man zypper or wiki page.

#16

If it’s a clean, then, if I remember correctly, the update repo will be set at priority 20. This needs to be changed.

Have a look at this to learn how to manage your repositories.

Repository Management - openSUSE Forums

Once you’ve got that down then check this how-to out on upgrading to KDE 4.2

KDE4.2.* (How To Add) Guide. - openSUSE Forums

And finally, to get Compiz-fusion updated check this thread out where I explain step-by-step what to do

Compiz hell ? Need help - openSUSE Forums

That should get you completely straightened out. If you get any conflicts or errors just report them here.

Good Luck,

Ian