Missing launcher after 12.04 upgrade [duplicate]

Solution 1:

I had the same problem. I tried with unity --reset (as it used to fix things when I messed things up before with compiz-config) but that didn't solve my problem now. The only thing I could do for getting everything working as normal was to reset compiz settings.

Just backup (rename) ~/.compiz-1 and ~/.config/compiz-1 directories and let them to be created again with the default settings (you'll need to logout and log back in again).

mv ~/.compiz-1 ~/.compiz-1.BACKUP
mv ~/.config/compiz-1 ~/.config/compiz-1.BACKUP

After having restarted and confirmed that everything works as expected, you can simply remove these backups (unless you have a use for them).

rm -Rfv ~/.compiz-1.BACKUP
rm -Rfv ~/.config/compiz-1.BACKUP

Note: To some people, one of the following links might have the solution. Try them if you don't want to lose all your compiz customizations.

• Unity doesn't load, no Launcher, no Dash appears
• How do I reset my Unity configuration?

In my case just resetting Unity wasn't enough, so I decided to get rid of all compiz settings.

Solution 2:

I had the same problem. I tried this.

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+F1 to switch to the CLI/tty.

2. Check if unity package installed:

   dpkg -l | grep unity
   

   If 'unity' is listed in the output, proceed with the next step. If not, install it (and its dependencies):

   sudo apt-get update
   sudo apt-get install unity
   

3. Check if 'ubuntu-desktop' installed:

   dpkg -l | grep ubuntu-desktop
   

   if not, install it:

   sudo apt-get update
   sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop
   

4. Restart your display manager.

   If you're a Natty user, you need to restart GDM:

   sudo service gdm restart
   

   or if you're on Oneiric and later you need to restart LightDM instead (default):

   sudo service lightdm restart
   

Solution 3:

Simon's method works if you are not able to open terminal you can work in login shells(virtual consoles). @erik you could have done it in any virtual consoles

ctrl+alt+F1-6

I think it would have worked.

Solution 4:

In my case I had an old .gnomerc file that seemed to be the culprit. Probably from some very old compiz install (circa 2008). Removing the file solved the problem for me, may help someone else.

File was:

cat .gnomerc
export LIBGL_ALWAYS_INDIRECT=1

rm ~/.gnomerc and reboot or log out/in.