Ubuntu/Gnome Environment Reset
Every now and then, I find I need to reset the Gnome desktop environment. I’ve either hacked it beyond repair, come across an instability with an old home directory on a new machine, or would just like to start with a “fresh template” in which to build another masterpiece. Whatever the case, it’s easier than it sounds.
I usually have to Google for the answer as it doesn’t happen often enough for me to recall it from my own memory. Given the fact that I have my own Linux/Ubuntu-related blog for just such occasions, I feel dumb that I haven’t posted it here, yet.
My solution comes from LinuxFUD, How to Reset Ubuntu/Gnome Settings to Defaults without Re-installing. The trick is to get to a command line and remove a few directories. Open a terminal window if you still can or don’t already have one open, or switch to a terminal window with CTRL-ALT-F1, or if all else fails you can reboot and choose the “recovery mode” boot option from the Grub menu.
You’ll need to be in your home directory. You should be there by default, but if you’ve been doing other things and/or not sure, just issue cd by itself and you’ll change to it automagically. If you see a lone tilde for your current location, than you’re there.
adam@obsidian:/etc/apt/sources.list.d$ cd
adam@obsidian:~$
Once in your home directory, issue the following:
rm -rf .gnome .gnome2 .gconf .gconfd .metacity
Log back into your Gnome desktop and the environment should appear as it was when you first installed it.
January 26th, 2009 at 2:08 am
Yes, but WHERE do the Gnome defaults reside? How can the defaults be changed, so that when new users are added, the changed defaults will take effect?
January 26th, 2009 at 2:29 am
Timothy Fossum,
That’s a bit outside the scope of this post. We weren’t trying to change defaults, just restore the environment to them. What you’re asking is a bit more advanced. Gnome has a huge amount of community support that would probably be a better source to answer those questions. You can start at http://www.gnome.org/support/ and make your way around. If I had to make a guess, the /usr/share/gconf/defaults/ directory looks like a promising place to start. Maybe when I find the time, I’ll tackle some tweaking on my own in a virtual machine.