keyboard layout not changing, dolphin sluggish, after latest update

[shimonl]

About a month ago I upgraded my system to KDE 4.8, and all was well.
However, at some point within the last week I ran a full Synaptic update,
and have started experiencing a few new problems.

1. I use two keyboard layouts, English and Hebrew. There is a keyboard layout indicator
on the system tray, which shows the current layout, and can be clicked to switch layouts.
This has stopped working. It is stuck displaying English, even when I use the keyboard
to switch layouts to Hebrew, and clicking it has no effect on the layout.

2, Another new problem is that dolphin unexpectedly "freezes", suddenly becoming
unresponsive to mouse clicks. This situation can go on for several minutes, with
right-click menus suddenly appearing when I am in a different application (such as
web browser).

Does anyone have any advice?
Thanks,
Shimon


 

[rgnr]

Did you check if update didn't restore your layout setting to default?

[agmg]

1. To check your keyboard layout, go to Configure Your Desktop -> Input Devices -> Keyboard -> Layouts.
There you can see what layouts are installed for your keyboard and the shortcut used to switch between them. If your original settings have been restored during the update, you can add your preferred layout again.

2. Have you noticed any error messages during the update? Have you updated to version 4.9.2?
Open a terminal and type "kde4-config -v" to find out what version of KDE you are currently using.
Also try starting Dolphin from terminal to see if any error messages come up.
These messages will help us determine the problem and provide more help.

[shimonl]

Thank you for responding! The situation has been getting worse,
and my family is beginning to mutter about PCLOS... (My son thinks
the system has a virus!)

Here is the kde version info:
$ kde4-config -v
Qt: 4.8.2
KDE Development Platform: 4.9.2
kde4-config: 1.0

I have been keeping Synaptic up to date, I believe my problems started when I went to 4.8
(the BIG change that required extra steps).

After a boot the system seems just fine, but over time bad things start to happen,
and unfortunately I have no idea what I might have done to trigger them.
Some of the phenomena which happen to me: (in no particular order)

* my keyboard layouts still work, but the kde layout indicator on the panel gets stuck showing
   the current layout.
   a) clicking it has no effect (clicking usually changes layout)
   b) changing layout is not reflected in the indicator

* apps that don't start at all, or take VERY long. e.g. clicking to start Dolphin from the panel, I see it starting up,
   then its icon vanishes, and Dolphin "suddenly" appears on my screen about a minute or more later.

* In the Dolphin window, a right click hangs Dolphin, and no menu appears. Some time later, I might be in
   a different app (e.g. firefox), on a different desktop, and suddenly up pops a Dolphin right click menu.

* In a konsole, I try to select some text with the mouse, but there is no sign of a selection happening.
   The konsole window becomes stuck - if I move to a different window and then return, the konsole window
   does not redraw itself.

* I leave my user locked in screensaver, and a different family member uses the computer, by clicking
   "Switch user" and "Start new session". Later, when I log back in, I find the image of the
   "Start new session" window stuck on top of my desktop! I cant use my running programs unless I can
   move them around to the part of the screen not covered by it. I don't know how to reinitialize my
   desktop other than logging out and in again.

* Attempting to log out does not always work. I have been stuck both with the Lock/Logout widget
   on the panel, and with Start/Leave/Log out. The desktop becomes stuck, but the user remains logged in.
   I have gone to tty1 and killed startkde to get out of that situation.

* Logging in again after I logged out because of problems doesn't always help. When my user starts
   up, I see that some things are not working, particularly klipper and kmix in the panel.

* I have also noticed that even when I am supposedly logged out, some tasks of mine remain in the system,
   I particularly remember gam_server, gpg-agent, and one or more copies of: kdeinit4: kded4 [kdeinit]

You asked about error messages. No, I did not see anything out of the ordinary, AFAIR.
Before starting dolphin from konsole to see any Dolphin messages, I just now closed an open Dolphin window.
It gave me this:
We are sorry, Dolphin closed unexpectedly.
... etc...
Details:
Executable: kdeinit4 PID: 4258 Signal: Segmentation fault (11)
(I have not seen this recently, it's a first).

Here is what I got starting it on konsole (but right now the system is behaving beautifully!! :-))) )
$ dolphin
"/usr/bin/dolphin(27371)" Soprano: "Could not connect to server at /home/shimon/tmp/ksocket-shimon/nepomuk-socket (No such file or directory)"
"/usr/bin/dolphin(27371)" Soprano: "Could not connect to server at /home/shimon/tmp/ksocket-shimon/nepomuk-socket (No such file or directory)"
dolphin(27371) KSambaSharePrivate::testparmParamValue: We got some errors while running testparm "Load smb config files from /etc/samba/smb.conf
Loaded services file OK.
Warning: Service printers defines a print command, but rameter is ignored when using CUPS libraries.
"

Thank you VERY much,
Shimon

[agmg]

Upgrade from 4.8.3 to 4.9.2 was much more smoother than the one from 4.6.5 to 4.8.3.
Maybe there lies the source of your problems but I believe it would be easier and faster to just use a current KDE 2012.08 iso and perform a reinstallation, than to try to find a solution. Then you can upgrade to 4.9.2 which I'm sure will be 99.9% flawless.

You could also keep your /home folder but I don't recommend it because there may be some settings or leftovers that could also cause problems to your new installation.
My suggestion is to backup your important files to an external drive or a different partition and proceed with a clean installation with a new /home folder.

[menotu]

In Dolphin, if you're  using the Information Panel try deselecting (F11 will toggle it on/off) it and restart Dolphin.

Another option you could look at is to see if you have multiple processes being used (Press Ctrl+Esc to bring up the System Activity module.) and then do a sort using column headers.  If there are any. Kill them

Also, if you are using Nepomuk/Strigi to index your files you could try disabling it via

Config Your Desktop > Workspace Appearance and Behavior > Desktop Search

And restart Desktop.

Lastly, you could run BleachBit to clear out any "junk files" on your system. Of course, use with care as it can remove Firefox cookies, history and passwords  and more.........

[shimonl]

Menotu:
You suggested "And restart Desktop.".
Can you please tell me how that is done, short of logging out and in again?

agmg:
You suggested a reinstall. How would I ever show my face in public again,
after the years of laughing at Windows users who do that every six months?
What I did was to "sort of" take your advice. I renamed my .kde4 folder,
and then logged in again. I have to keep setting up things I used to have,
but after several hours I still do not have the recent problems.
Maybe this was enough :-)

Thank you all!

[pags]

Do all your users share the same login?

Have you considered creating another (even temporary, for testing) account, and logging to that, and see if the problem persists?

[shimonl]

Since I introduced my family to the wonders of linux, we use separate user accounts.
Other users have suffered the same problems as I have.

As I wrote before, so far, so good... Since I dropped my old kde settings and
built a new .kde4 folder, I have not hit any problems. Here's hoping

If I get through a few days, I will give them the same solution.

[shimonl]

Well, everything was working fine, until...
Tonight I connected my phone (Sony Ericsson, by USB) in order to move over
some audio and photos. The Device Notifier saw it and I clicked on Open
with File Manager. That's when things started hanging again.

Dolphin - no response, or very late
Konsole - totally stuck

But the good thing is, I see this time what exactly triggered my problems.

Does this ring any bells for anyone? Any suggestions what I can do to
fix it?

Thanks!!
Shimon

[szyszkos]

I'm having this same problem and yes it seems that its clicking "open with file manager" in Device Notifier that triggers it.

Once I do that, Dolphin, Konqueror, and Krusader all hang before (eventually, after about a minute or so) finally opening a window.  Actually, Konqueror takes about 3 minutes to open.
I've tried opening CDs, USB drives, and my digital camera - all with Device Notifier - and all give the same result.

Sorry, I don't know what is causing this - but you are not alone!

Rebooting clears things up but Ugh! that's too Windows-like.

[shimonl]

And even rebooting only helps until the next removable device is attached.
How long can I go without plugging in a USB drive, or inserting a CD?

Thank you for letting me know I am not alone!

[szyszkos]

Just a thought - you might try changing the settings in Device Notifier so that it auto-mounts the removable media.  That way you will avoid having to use Device Notifier to open with the file manager (check "automatically mount removable media when attached").

I'm thinking you ought to be able to go straight to your file manager (Dolphin, usually, in my case) to access your device.

Haven't tried it yet, myself - its on my list of things to do....

[szyszkos]

By golly - setting Device Notifier to auto-mount the media did the trick for me.....no more 'hang-time' (so far, at least).