12

I don't know how to access Skype in Ubuntu 11.10 because it gives me some error when I press the Skype icon on Unity launcher.

Here is a screenshot. Skype error message.

It's obvious that another instance of Skype is running but I don't know how to access it.

What could be the problem?

5
  • Try open a terminal and type <i>killall skype</i> and then try starting skype again. Or you could go to "System Monitor" the find skype in the list of processes and click "End Process" at the bottom right corner.
    – choel
    Oct 31, 2011 at 22:41
  • Why to kill Skype process? I am asking how to access already running Skype. Oct 31, 2011 at 22:51
  • Did you install Skype from partner repository or from Skype website?
    – igi
    Oct 31, 2011 at 22:53
  • I think it was from Skype website. Oct 31, 2011 at 23:14
  • aptitude may not list skype even with Partner Repository registered. To install search for Skype in the Ubuntu Software Center this will automatically install everything required even on 64-bit.
    – user46560
    Feb 15, 2012 at 19:05

7 Answers 7

12

I found solution. After first signing in, I opened options, and checked option "Start Skype minimized in the system tray". Here is screenshot: enter image description here

EDIT: After there steps I had to do one more step. After typing next command into terminal:

gsettings get com.canonical.Unity.Panel systray-whitelist

I've got this:

['JavaEmbeddedFrame', 'scp-dbus-service', 'Wine']

I've just added Skype into this list issuing this command:

gsettings set com.canonical.Unity.Panel systray-whitelist "['JavaEmbeddedFrame', 'Skype', 'scp-dbus-service', 'Wine']"

You don't need to check Start Skype minimized... for this to work - as soon you as you update gsettings the skype icon will appear.

Hope this helps :)

7
  • That's not going to fix it. There are many posts on this same bug, see the sidebar or search here for 'Skype single instance' for more info. The root cause is that Skype just stops working with no indication it has stopped, and does not properly shut down. I hope for an update someday from Skype but I have uninstalled it for now as it is totally unreliable and no longer functions on my machine. Nov 3, 2011 at 16:33
  • 1
    @TomBrossman: did you reinstall Skype? I hope you made sure to do that before saying "That's not going to fix it".
    – RolandiXor
    Nov 3, 2011 at 17:26
  • @Roland Taylor I did, I also tried a few other suggestions like deleting the .skype folder. It didn't work for me, and I suspect the OP will experience the same bug continuing. If it works for someone else, great. I can always edit my comment if I see others having success with this method. Nov 3, 2011 at 19:05
  • @TomBrossman: I deleted .Skype dir and after checking "Start Skype minimized in the system tray" option, for me now works. Nov 3, 2011 at 19:05
  • @Иван Бишевац glad to hear it. I had the same problem, tried the same thing, and Skype still silently crashed every single day. Hope you have better luck. Also, now that I said I can edit my original comment, I don't see how. D'oh! Nov 3, 2011 at 19:48
5

Try to reinstall official Skype version for Oneiric. Open a terminal and type:

sudo apt-get remove skype
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install skype

Then restart your system.

6
  • Running the first command with purge instead of remove will completely remove Skype, along with (possibly) faulty configuration files, from your system. Nov 3, 2011 at 13:47
  • @WarriorIng64: not from your home folder though.
    – RolandiXor
    Nov 3, 2011 at 17:25
  • 1
    what software source do you need to have enabled for this to work on AMD64? I can't install skype using apt-get, it tells me that there is no installation candidate. Nov 15, 2011 at 7:51
  • 2
    @Igor Zinov'yev: you should activate the Partner repository.
    – igi
    Nov 15, 2011 at 21:51
  • This worked great for me, thanks for the suggestion!
    – slacy
    Nov 18, 2011 at 17:03
4

I had a similar issue where another instance of Skype wasn't running. From this answer on my question, can you try deleting the ~./Skype hidden folder after backing it up, then rebooting and restarting Skype?

4

The real problem here is that under Unity, the Skype icon doesn't appear in the tray when it is running. When you close the Skype window, the Skype process is still running as you expect, only there is no tray icon to show that it is. After you change com.canonical.Unity.Panel systray-whitelist as described in #2, the icon appears (on next log in, for me), and it is now obvious when Skype is running, and when it is not.

What I can't tell you is why this white listing was added...

3

Make sure these two packages are installed.

sudo apt-get install sni-qt sni-qt:i386
1

It happened to me that Skype did not started minimized to tray, and I had marked the option "start skype minimized"...

I found out this was because I was launching skype from a shell script, with the "--pipelogin" argument - which seems to make skype ignore the "start minimized" setting

Hope it helps someone

0

You can activate Keyboard hotkeys in options. "Focus Skype" is Ctrl+Shift+# by default. keyboard shortcut to focus skype

1
  • Welcome to askubuntu! Would you be so kind as to add versions to your answer? Like the version of skype to which your answer applies? I thank you and the community thanks you!
    – Elder Geek
    Mar 27, 2015 at 15:11

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