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tSquirrel
Asked: 2014-06-01 07:06:45 +0800 CST

HELP: I Broke Ubuntu By Uninstalling Compiz [duplicate]

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I'm still getting used to Linux, having come from Windows. I was receiving an error that "compiz" had crashed a few times so I figured I'd uninstall it.

sudo apt-get remove compiz
sudo apt-get install compiz

I logged out then back in, after that, the GUI was totally gone and I have no idea how to get it back or what I need to do to restore the GUI to what it was before I killed poor Compiz. GUI was pretty much unmodified after a fresh install of 14.04

How can I fix it? I'm not even sure how to get to a terminal or anything. The login screen looks normal, but after logging in, it's a totally bare desktop with my backround and a few icons. No Dash, toolbar, etc. Hot Keys don't seem to work either (Super = Dash doesn't work, etc); although I did accidently open "Disk" UI. Not sure how.

Please Help! Right now I'm working off my W7 dualboot.

unity

2 Answers

  1. Compacted answer according to OP:

    1. Switch to a virtual terminal (Ctrl+Alt+F1) and log in with your user name and password.

    2. Reinstall the ubuntu-desktop meta-package:

      sudo apt-get install -f ubuntu-desktop

      This will restore all the missing packages necessary to run Ubuntu and the Unity desktop.

    3. Either

      • reboot (sudo reboot or Ctrl+Alt+Del) or
      • restart the display manager¹ and switch back to the graphical interface (Ctrl+Alt+F7).

    ¹ to restart the display manager:

    • on Trusty (14.04): sudo initctl restart lightdm
    • on Wily (15.10) and later: sudo systemctl restart lightdm

    Original answer by OP moved here from the question:

    Thanks @Laugeo and @ToDo, you both helped out. Here's what I did...

    1. Booted into Ubuntu with my broken desktop
    2. Ctrl+Alt+F1 to open virtual terminal
    3. sudo install gnome-session-flashback
    4. Reboot
    5. Launch session with Flashback (compiz)
    6. Launch Terminal and type apt-get install ubuntu-desktop
    7. Reboot
    8. Back up and running

    Ultimately I suppose steps 3-5 weren't necessary, but they allowed me to get to a functional desktop and then I did more searching and found ubuntu-desktop to install.

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  2. Best Answer
    • In the login screen , select for non-compiz session in the upper right corner (called "metacity" on my pc).

    • If problem remains, try to install gnome-session-flashback, searching it in the software center or typing this command a terminal :
      sudo apt-get install gnome-session-flashback

      • To open a terminal with empty desktop, press alt+F2 then type
        gnome-terminal
      • If ALT+F2 don't work, press ctrl+alt+F1 and type login and password blindly: it will open a terminal.
        gnome-session-flashback will give you one more choice in the login screen for another desktop type.

    • You can also try reinstalling Compiz typing or copying this in a terminal:
      sudo apt-get --reinstall install compiz

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