24 Comments so far

1. guy man on March 18, 2009 10:04 pm

   i would please like to know what do mean when you say nautilus because i am on an accer running on windows vista so can you please help me

2. UbuntuLinuxHelp on March 19, 2009 8:44 am

   @guy man – Nautilus is like Windows Explorer and a bit more. Sure it facilitates a visual listing of files, etc. but it also can use scripts to enhance, change, etc. it’s functionality. This link might provide you with some helpful information: http://www.ghacks.net/2009/02/.....e-manager/

   Hopefully this answer helps you. – Cheers!

3. Jady L. on April 19, 2009 11:15 am

   It worked!!! Thank you!!!! :) :)

4. James Joyce on April 28, 2009 4:07 pm

   Thanks for your fix. My problem was a little different. A black stripe had appeared above the background image. I could not eliminate it via the background dialog. The top panel could appear there, but if collapsed would leave a trail of garbage. Also, any window moved into and out of the area left a trail of its title bar. Very strange. But “killall nautilus” restored my background to its proper size and behavior. I was about to re-install Ubuntu, but you saved the day!

5. UbuntuLinuxHelp on April 28, 2009 4:37 pm

   @James Joyce – Thanks, nice to hear! Hopefully, the new Ubuntu 9.04 will have better control. I’ve reinstalled Ubuntu a few times in the past because I could not figure out how to change (fix) something. Cheers to you!

6. Oriol on June 13, 2009 10:34 am

   Good job. I’m having the same problem but I dont know how to open a terminal, alt+f2 doesnt work.

   I’d like to kill nautillus :/

   Thanks :)

7. UbuntuLinuxHelp on June 13, 2009 11:58 am

   @Oriol

   alt+f2 is not a terminal, it’s a “Run application” applet. To open a terminal in Ubuntu Linux 8.04 access terminal via your Gnome menu like this:

   Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal

   As mentioned, alt+f2 is not a terminal, but you can access terminal after the alt+f2 combo by typing gnome-terminal in the available text field (that you’ll see when the “Run Application” applet opens up).

   I hope this helps you. :)

8. oriol on June 13, 2009 12:52 pm

   Yeah i know alt+f2 is not a terminal :P I mean , I could not open a terminal in any way.. I had no menus ..

   Anyway, I couldnt solve the problem by killing nautilus ( in fact i dont know if it was running .. ) so i ve reinstalled ubuntu ;(

9. UbuntuLinuxHelp on June 13, 2009 1:08 pm

   @oriol

   Eeek! Are you using Jaunty? If so, maybe it’s a bug? See here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gconf2/+bug/328575

   If so try this command in the alt+f2 “Run Application” instead: gnome-terminal -e "sudo -i"

   (I’ve had to do reinstalls a few times now).

10. jordanwb on August 6, 2009 3:06 pm

    ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ killall nautilus
    nautilus: no process killed

    Now what?

11. UbuntuLinuxHelp on August 7, 2009 8:42 am

    @jordanwb

    Now your black screen will be fixed. If not, you may be experiencing additional (and other) issues as well (which contribute to the problem.

12. Rebeliant on August 21, 2009 10:45 am

    Hi. Just installed Ubuntu 9.04 and manual installed Gnome and I have the same problem:
    http://i27.tinypic.com/2vjeres......jpg

    I have followed your tips and the output is:
    nautilus: no process killed

    The screen is still black.

13. UbuntuLinuxHelp on August 23, 2009 8:28 am

    @Rebeliant
    Looks like you make have another issue. You don’t have nautilis running or in use?

14. Rebeliant on August 23, 2009 11:02 am

    It was Ubuntu Server edition. I installed it many times + Gnome and was fine. At this time not. Just reinstalled to newest CentOS and I’m happy ;-). Thanks for answer.

15. Adam on November 30, 2009 5:28 am

    searched, found, read, executed, fixed
    all less than 10 seconds
    Thanks

16. John on January 9, 2010 12:39 pm

    I have a similar problem with 9.10. I can’t see my background or icons unless I switch the login manager to failsafe Gnome. Otherwise it is all black. Your solution for killing nautilus didn’t work.

    I have a feeling this is something very simple, but can’t for the life of me figure it out.

17. Bala on February 13, 2010 3:52 am

    I have same problem ,it worked with
    killall nautilus
    But during the subsequent login the screen is black again…i was wondering if there is a permanent solution to this problem

18. reza on March 9, 2010 1:27 am

    The mentioned method doesn’t solve the problem on Ubuntu 9.10.
    The only way I find after googling, was to turn off the visual effect in Appearance preferences. I don’t know why I am not able to have the visual effect without having that problem.

19. jason on July 2, 2010 8:52 pm

    Reza’s solution is what worked for me as well.

    Visual effects > NONE

20. Ralph on July 23, 2010 9:27 am

    Same problem – missing my screen – but also missing icons. I can see the top and bottom gnome panels, and use the Applications menu, as well as the System menu. However, I cannot use the Places menu. I select anything in Places, and the cursor spins for 15″ or so, then reverts to the arrow, but there’s no navigation window. Any clues? Running Ubuntu 9.10 on a Dell Inspiron 1150 laptop.

21. UbuntuLinuxHelp on July 24, 2010 9:54 am

    @Ralph

    Maybe there is a permissions issue? Maybe a script changed permissions? Maybe a config file is corrupted?

22. Randhir on July 29, 2010 3:02 pm

    i lost all the icons on desktop. i cannot open pen drive & dvd also. i using centos 5 ….please help me…

23. Escritorio Color Negro en Linux (Xubuntu) « Omar's Blog on August 14, 2010 9:02 pm

    [...] que un cuate había tenido el mismo problema, pero él usaba Ubuntu, sospechaba que el problema era con GNOME y se guió de este foro: al final [...]

24. OmarTrinidad on August 14, 2010 9:39 pm

    I solved a similar issue.
    But I am using Xubuntu 9.10. I posted the solution in Spanish.

    Cheers! :)