New kernel won't boot SOLVED! Thanx again!

[dougmack]

Mellon, it's already too late.  There seems to be no way to get back to the kind of desktop I had before this whole mess went down, short of installing a 2011 version of software
and trying to update it without losing the desired performance.  --doug

[CaptainSarcastic]

Why don't you try creating a new user (call it Doug2 or something), then log in to that account from the login screen.  Odds are it will have the default settings you are looking for.  If you are having trouble navigating the desktop configuration tools then this might be a workaround.

[Old-Polack]

Mellon, it's already too late.  There seems to be no way to get back to the kind of desktop I had before this whole mess went down, short of installing a 2011 version of software
and trying to update it without losing the desired performance.  --doug

All of us, including you, started with a default desktop, then made whatever modifications we preferred. Whatever your desktop looked like before, you made it that way, so starting from the same original desktop, you can do it again.

There's no reason to reinstall your system, just start with the default desktop, and change one thing only. Taken one step at a time, you can eventually end up with the same, or even better desktop as you had before.

As for those telling you you can't copy the .kde4 desktop configuration directory from one installation to another, I have essentially the same desktop on all my many installations, because I have one original setup backed up to a data partition, and I just copy it to any new installation, then make any individual modifications I may want from there.

The worst that can happen if you copy the .kde4 directory from the other installation to this one is that you may not have a specific application installed, and the icon for that app won't be usable, or you may have an additional application installed and not have a desktop or panel icon for it yet. You then have the choice to install that application or delete that one icon, or add the icon if the latter case is involved. Either way, it's a rather simple process, if you don't panic and try to make too many changes all at once.

If you do copy the .kde4, and you don't have the same wallpaper on the second installation, as you had on the first, you'll also have to copy that wallpaper over too, than select it as your background, just as you did the first time you used it.

To illustrate, here are two screen shots of a VM, that has essentially the same desktop as the host machine. There are minor differences, because each has had modifications made since the original .kde4 was copied to each. There are differences in the launcher icon arrangement in the Panel Quicklauncher, and there are different applications running in the System Tray, and the color of the clock fonts is different. The icons on the desktop, and the desktop wallpaper are also different, but could easily be made the same, if I wished to do so.

With the VM reduced in size, to show both desktops.



With the VM maximized to show the similarity of the bottom Panels.



Both have the Smooth Tasks in the narrow upper Panel, and each upper Panel has a Dictionary and a single row Quicklauncher added, with different launchers in each.

In the Pagers, one can see that a number of apps are running on different desktops on the host, while only one app is currently running on desktop 20 in the guest VM.

[dougmack]

PK, I'm gradually learning some things, but I don't know how to put them in practice.  I read CaptainSarcastic's post, and tried it--sure enough, the desktop I get looks like
the version that I would be happy with.  It must be the default. Only thing is, from user dm, I can't access anything from user doug to put on that desktop. If I have to stay with that user, then is there a way to copy EVERYTHING from user doug to user dm--EXCEPT the desktop setup, that is!  Better the next option, if available:

According to OP, there is a "default" desktop: "There's no reason to reinstall your system, just start with the default desktop, and change one thing only."  How would I get that default desktop under user doug? Then if I have to add back all the widgets and icons, at least I'd have the desktop I've been trying for.  And access to all the files that were there. This sounds like the answer I've been looking for. 

Maybe at last the end of a long, long journey!

--doug

[Old-Polack]

PK, I'm gradually learning some things, but I don't know how to put them in practice.  I read CaptainSarcastic's post, and tried it--sure enough, the desktop I get looks like
the version that I would be happy with.  It must be the default. Only thing is, from user dm, I can't access anything from user doug to put on that desktop. If I have to stay with that user, then is there a way to copy EVERYTHING from user doug to user dm--EXCEPT the desktop setup, that is!  Better the next option, if available:

According to OP, there is a "default" desktop: "There's no reason to reinstall your system, just start with the default desktop, and change one thing only."  How would I get that default desktop under user doug? Then if I have to add back all the widgets and icons, at least I'd have the desktop I've been trying for.  And access to all the files that were there. This sounds like the answer I've been looking for. 

Maybe at last the end of a long, long journey!

--doug

If you delete, or rename, the current .kde4 sub directory in your /home/doug directory, it will automatically be replaced with the default desktop once you log out and back in.

[dougmack]

To OP: Ok, did that.  Doesn't work like you say, or like your pictures.  Your pictures show a simple white-text label under the widgets/icons.  The default that came up on user dm
showed white text under them.  Deleted .kde4 (I renamed it) and restarted, and the same old junk with black text in a white cloud comes up. SOMEWHERE in this machine is the
desktop I want, as shown by user dm--how do I get it for user doug?

Still trying--doug

[Old-Polack]

To OP: Ok, did that.  Doesn't work like you say, or like your pictures.  Your pictures show a simple white-text label under the widgets/icons.  The default that came up on user dm
showed white text under them.  Deleted .kde4 (I renamed it) and restarted, and the same old junk with black text in a white cloud comes up. SOMEWHERE in this machine is the
desktop I want, as shown by user dm--how do I get it for user doug?

Still trying--doug

I don't know what you've done to get that, but it is not the default desktop. Here is a screenshot of a desktop immediately after installing kde4-config, which is the package that has been causing all the hubbub. This is the default desktop, as seen on the liveCD, with the exception of the Utilities directory, and the shopping link. (my shopping list for my next trip to the various stores I frequent)

Note it has the white letters on the dark background, and no colored box of any kind around them.



With Dolphin opened to /home/polack you can see the default Dolphin configuration and the selected .kde4.bak directory.



Here I've renamed the two .kde4 directories, as already explained.



After logging out, and back in.



This is the desktop as I had configured it. This one has only 10 desktops in the pager, and the Smooth Task widget is in the default location on the bottom Panel. A Quicklaunch widget has been added, but contains a different selection of launchers than the previous desktop, and the clock font is blue. Also note that the Panel now extends to the screen edges.

Dolphin has a totally different look too. As I use it, there is an editable location bar, different window trim, the left panel shows the directory tree folder view, and there is an attached terminal open to the same location as the upper right window pane, and automatically tracks along with any directory change.

To finalize the restoration, the extra default icons added to the desktop are moved into the Utilities directory, where they will be out of the way but still available.

[dougmack]

Maybe I'm getting a clue.  You say, here, "Here is a screenshot of a desktop immediately after installing kde4-config, which is the package that has been causing all the hubbub. This is the default desktop, as seen on the liveCD, ..."  And further down you say: "Here I've renamed the two .kde4 directories, as already explained." 

This is the first I've heard anything about kde4-config.  So what's the drill?  Remove both? Go to Synaptic and reinstall kde4-config? I have a feeling I'm getting to the solution.
Maybe one more go-round at this end, after you tell me what to do, and hopefully it's finished! 

PS: Please tell me how you post screenshots on the forum page!  I've tried to paste in a KSnaphot picture, but nothing happens.

--doug

[Old-Polack]

Maybe I'm getting a clue.  You say, here, "Here is a screenshot of a desktop immediately after installing kde4-config, which is the package that has been causing all the hubbub. This is the default desktop, as seen on the liveCD, ..."  And further down you say: "Here I've renamed the two .kde4 directories, as already explained." 

This is the first I've heard anything about kde4-config.  So what's the drill?  Remove both? Go to Synaptic and reinstall kde4-config? I have a feeling I'm getting to the solution.
Maybe one more go-round at this end, after you tell me what to do, and hopefully it's finished! 

PS: Please tell me how you post screenshots on the forum page!  I've tried to paste in a KSnaphot picture, but nothing happens.

--doug

You don't have to, but i signed up for an account here.

http://postimage.org



That way I have all my screen shots uploaded and available for reuse. After browsing to the location on your own system where the screenshots are saved, and selecting the one you want to upload, click the Upload It! button.

You'll see this window;



Don't pay any attention to the apparently selected item in the image above, that just sometimes happens. The item you want is the top one in the section, Hotlink for Forums (1). Click the copy to clipboard button... a message copied will appear where Hotlink for Forums (1) was, and last only a moment.

Back in the forum Post reply window, left click where you want the image to appear, to set the cursor, then right click and choose Paste.

By being logged in at postimage, I can view pages of past uploaded images and reuse any of them for another post where it might be relevant. Clicking the My Images link, I see this;



Clicking the 110 images link gets a page of screenshots, 3 wide and scrollable to view all previous uploads. You might recall some of these from previous posts here.



Clicking the show codes link of any one allows one to do this;



...which was posted quite some time ago. 

It has a strangely familiar look... 

[dougmack]

At last, at last!  I believe I can mark this problem SOLVED.  The key was in reinstalling /usr/bin/kde4-config.  (From Synaptic.) Nobody had mentioned this before, but that solved the problem,
in conjunction with removing /home/doug/.kde4 and letting the system rebuild it.  This gave me a black screen.  I forget if this go-round I had to add the panel or not.  If you have to, then
you click on the "cashew" on the upper right corner of the screen, and in the box it says "Add Panel," so you can do that here if necessary.  Then resize the panel to full size and increase
the height a skosh so you can see it. 
Now you have this black screen still, so right click on the desktop, and  select Folder View Settings--then Open--then pick a background from your picture file, or choose a color, if that
floats your boat.  Finally, of course, I had to go thru the menu (reset it to classic by right clicking on the Menu icon) and reinstall all the apps I use onto the desktop, where they come
up nicely on the screen with white letters underneath, at least if you have a fairly dark background.

The information about PostImage.org will have to be studied, but I'll do that, and register with them.

THANK YOU ALL WHO HAVE FOLLOWED ME THRU THIS SWAMP AND FINALLY HAULED ME OUT!   --doug