File manager corrupted?

[Kimenyi]

Hello

I'm new to Ubuntu and moved to to the OS in late October last year. I'm therefore running 10.10 and have had no experience with any other versions of the OS. I'm running all the default programs except for the mail manager (I run Thunderbird) and now, the file manager (the reason for this post).

Everything was running fine until early December 2010. Then, my file manager started acting up. Whenever my computer boots up, the file manager starts running overtime. I get an icon labelled, "Opening File Manager", and this runs repeatedly for approximately 15 mins. After this, the different instances of the "Opening File Manager" would close one-at-a-time and disappear altogether. I still hear my machine working hard in the background (fan), and it would get very hot (and the fan runs continuously). When this is happening, I can't see any of the files or folders on my desktop. Opening the file manager to access files prompts the same sequence of events ("Opening File Manager" repeatedly) to recur.

If I reboot the machine (or log-off), after the machine asks if I really want to close all programs, I get a message saying that the file manager is still running and asking if I want to wait for it to respond. I always decline this and reboot (or shut-down). When I restart, the same thing happens all over again.

I tried changing the default file manager from Nautilus to PCManFM (using Ubuntu Tweak), and when I logged in again, despite PCManFM being the default file manager) the same thing has happened. I will try to change to Thunar as the default file manager, but I have little faith at the moment.

One strange thing that happened is that over the holiday break, I didn't use my machine much. This was before I had switched from Nautilus to PCManFM. The instances of "Opening File Manager" would begin, but stop in a few minutes and I would be able to see all the files on my desktop.

If anyone has a solution to my problem, please reply to this post. Thank you in advance.

[Bucky Ball]

Try 10.04 LTS. You will get a longer support time and a smoother ride for a newcomer.

Unless you want in the deep end and expect to do some tweaking. The updates for 10.10 are causing a few headaches at the moment as well. 2.6.35-24 kernel is the culprit so think twice and do some research if you are going to update your kernel to it.

If you are using it now, could be your issue. Try booting the last kernel; 2.6.35-22 or 23. It should be there on the list at boot. Do you get the same issue?

10.04 LTS might be your best bet for now though, either way. The latest is NOT always the greatest. Back up anything you don't want to lose before installing.

Welcome to the forums, Ubuntu, and the learning curve. Enjoy!

[Kimenyi]

Thanks for the quick response @BuckyBall. I have a newbie-type question...

How do I boot to a previous kernel from memory?

[Bucky Ball]

Just boot up your machine. If you are not looking at a selection of kernels and it just boots into the regular one then restart and right after it boots, start pressing escape key. That should get you to a list of Ubuntu kernels (and show any other operating systems your running). First you will have the current kernel and its recovery kernel below it.

Third on the list below that you should have the last kernel (click that one) followed by its recovery kernel.

[Kimenyi]

Thanks again. I'll try that and let you know if it works.

Nano Nano

[Kimenyi]

Hi @BuckyBall

No luck. I tried hitting Esc as the machine was booting up several times, but had no luck. The problem has recurred and is happening again. Is there another way of booting up from an earlier kernel?

[Bucky Ball]

I know you're a bit green with Ubuntu, but this is fairly easy and will guarantee you get a menu at boot. Plus you'll learn how to change whether you get a grub list or not and for how long.

Open a teminal (Applications->Accessories->Terminal) and type (safer to copy and paste):

nano /etc/default/grub

Look in there for a line that looks like this:

GRUB_TIMEOUT=0

You are going to want to change that to:

GRUB_TIMEOUT=10

When you are confident you know what you are doing, hit control+x to exit the file and you will be back at the cursor in the terminal. Type or copy and paste:

sudo nano /etc/default/grub

Sudo makes you root user so you can make changes to the file. Now change that line - and NOTHING else - to:

GRUB_TIMEOUT=10

Hit control+x, then 'y' (you'll be instructed on the line at the bottom).

Reboot the machine and you should see the menu. Choose the third one down.

[Kimenyi]

@BuckyBall

I'll try that fix when I get back. I have to excuse myself as the wifey needs to leave the house. I will log in again and hopefully be able to go back to a previous kernel. Thanks again and I'll keep you informed.

[mikewhatever]

Last time I checked, the Esc key for showing the menu was changed to Shift in grub2. Press and hold the Shift key after the BIOS screen, and you should see the menu in a second.

I wonder if the file manager problem is user related. Kimenyi, can you try adding another admin user to your system (System->Administration->Users and Groups), and then logging in with that user's credentials. If running as a new user fixes the problem, then something must be messed up with the initial user's settings, but it's not a system wide problem. If that's the case, you really don't need to reinstall.

Every release has its share of bugs, LTS's included.

[Bucky Ball]

Last time I checked, the Esc key for showing the menu was changed to Shift in grub2. Press and hold the Shift key after the BIOS screen, and you should see the menu in a second.

Cheers for that info.

Every release has its share of bugs, LTS's included.

Yes, but the 2.6.35-24 kernel has known issues on some machines at the moment; eg breaking Broadcom card config, Ubiquity installer wiping Windows when attempting a dual-boot, side by side install, and numerous other oddities. Not on ALL machines (I am using it problem free) but there are numerous threads and bug reports about. 10.04 LTS has been about since April and is stabler for the most part.

I was going to suggest booting from the LiveCD and seeing if you get the same issues. This probably would have proved the same point as mikewhatever's suggestion; problem with the user config/settings.