Unity doesn't load, no Launcher, no Dash appears

Question

When I login, nothing happens.

I am presented with my desktop wallpaper.

No Dash, no Launcher, nothing.

Answer 1

You just need to turn the Unity plugin back on. The problem is this is a pain in the bottom because you've now got no graphical method to do this. So:

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+F1 and log in.

2. Install the jibby you'll need to configure the settings by running this:

   sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager
   

3. Then run it by doing this:

   export DISPLAY=:0
   ccsm
   

   The first part tells the terminal which display you want it to load on (otherwise it won't have a clue).

4. Press Ctrl+Alt+F7 (or Ctrl+Alt+F8 sometimes) to get back to the graphical display where there should be a CompizConfig Settings Manager screen sitting there.

5. Find the Unity plugin. Enable it.

6. Everything should spring into life but if it doesn't, you might have to restart. You can do that by going back to TTY1 and running sudo reboot.

Answer 2

Press Ctrl+Alt+T for a terminal and run ccsm, then re-enable your 'Unity' plugin.

You also may then need to run a unity --reset.

Answer 3

You might want to run the compizconfig-settings-manager package and make sure that the Unity plugin is checked.

• What are some of the issues with ccsm and why should I not use it?

Answer 4

I have had exactly the same issue.

If you have Compiz Config Settings Manager installed it may be that the Unity Desktop Plugin is disabled.

Log in to a Unity 2D desktop and check that it is enabled in CCSM like this,

Unity Shell will not load in the default desktop if the tickbox is not checked and you will get the session in your picture.

Answer 5

Developers are always fixing bugs, so an alternative is to wait, and to follow progress on bug fixing (subscribe to Unity development in Launchpad).

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+F2.

2. Log in.

3. Run sudo shutdown -r now in a terminal.

4. At the login screen after your system restarts, choose Unity 2D (for now) by right-clicking the sprocket icon.

5. Wait for a fix for Unity 3D/Ubuntu 11.10 (e.g. a week).

6. Update your system to get the fix; in a terminal type sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade.

UPDATE: I was able to resolve this by using ccsm, from Unity 2D login.

(This is adapted from this Ubuntu Forums post.)

1. At the login screen, select Unity 2D and login.

2. Install ccsm (CompizConfig Settings Manager) by running in a terminal: sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager compiz-fusion-plugins-extra.

3. Start ccsm, and select the category Desktop. Enable the Ubuntu Unity Plugin; if asked to resolve conflicts, select the MIDDLE button for all conflicts. Close ccsm when done.

4. Restart, select Unity (3D) and login.

Answer 6

The easiest way to do this is to press Ctrl+Alt+T to get a terminal and then issue:

rm -rf .compiz-1

and your unity session will come back before your eyes..

This technique is better than re-launching ccsm, because you can get into OP's error condition without even accidentally de-selecting unity in ccsm; you can get it simply by accidentally pressing the "preferences" button in ccsm.

Answer 7

I had this problem too. I solved it with deleting the content of the ~/.config/compiz-1/compizconfig file and relog.

rm -rf ~/.config/compiz-1/compizconfig/*

Answer 8

It seems there's a problem with 12.04 Unity 3D and the current Nvidia drivers.

See this post (Unity 3d no longer works after installing 12.04) for details of how to work round the problem.

I have a 32 bit Pentium 4 3.06 GHz Compaq D520SFF, with an Nvidia GeForce 6200, running kernel 3.2.0-24-generic-pae, and had exactly the same problem (2D works, 3D doesn't), and downgrading the Nvidia drivers got 3D working for me in a couple of minutes.

Answer 9

In 13.04, unity --replace is deprecated. Instead, use the following:

dconf reset -f /org/compiz/ 
unity --reset-icons &disown

Reboot if it doesn't work right away.

Answer 10

You REALLY don't want to run ccsm. It's like walking around with a loaded shotgun pointed at parts of your body that you really would prefer not to get shot off.

Crashing when pressing the 'preferences' in ccsm is a known bug.

To recover:

Ctrl+Alt+T (to open a terminal window):

rm -rf .compiz-1

Your session should come back, fixed.

Finally:

sudo apt-get purge compizconfig-settings-manager

And never ever run ccsm again. Seriously.

Answer 11

I have had about 3 times where I needed the ctrl+alt+f1 to not loose work and it messed up... I have nvidia also. I would like to suggest this:

ctrl+alt+f1 (ok, blank screen) type your login, hit Enter, then password (all in blank screen) type this now:

sudo startx -- :1

will have to type password again and Enter this will open a X session at ctrl+alt+f8 (will jump to it automatically) now create a new empty text file called runBash.sh, and type on it:

bash

save it, change its permissions to executable, and run it, you will get a truly relieving terminal that makes you remember why linux is good ! :D

after you finish, remember to ctrl+alt+f1, hit ctrl+c (will end the new X session), type exit, Enter, will end the terminal (blank screen) session. if you think you missed typing exit, just hit ctrl+c and type again, dont do it too fast...

so you can improve it, make a script to let you type as little as possible, but anyway you will still have to type a lot while the screen is blank, but it is better than nothing :)

still looking for definitive ctrl+alt+f1 proper solution ubuntu 12.04 + nvidia

Answer 12

The original poster of the duplicate question, solved in editing his own question:

Solution found : Delete .Xauthority in my home (or rename it)

Answer 13

It happens when you login with another tty and try, as the same user, to start X (with startx or initx) .

For example, Ubuntu runs in tty7. With CTRL-ALT-F1 tty1 opens. Log in as the same user, and run startx. Go back to tty7, logout and login. You only get the desktop wall paper.

To solve the problem, choose tty1, login, remove the .Xauthority file in your home directory, logout, login. Solved.

Answer 14

For the icons, it is due to Nautilus. Write nautilus & in a terminal, do not close it, and the icons will be back.