[ubuntu-za] Moving windows between desktops

Tue Jul 12 11:14:14 UTC 2011

Hi Jan,

Don't give up man. We all had something like this happen at one point or
another. Use it as an opportunity to learn the system.
It happens less and less over time - I kind of miss it.
By the time you fix this, you will likely know alot more about other things
as well ( as a bonus :-) ) -- if you start feeling overwhelmed, just
remember what you wanted to achieve in the first place.

TIP: You usually also get better google search results if you include
specific info, like error messages or hardware info related to the problem,
which is why I asked.

Anyways, I gave you the command to figure out the graphics card/driver in
the previous mail. Here is is again:

# Method 1:
 $ lspci | grep VGA

(ignore the '$' - that just signifies that you type it in a terminal, i.e.
command line)
What it does:
- 'lspci' (a.k.a. LiSt PCI devices - basically lists info on all your
devices, useful for troubleshooting hardware)
- '|' (pipe - redirect output of previous command, as input to the next
command)
- 'grep' VGA ("Gnu Regular Expression Processor - filters out lines matching
'VGA')

TIP: For the manual on any command, type
 $ man <cmd>
// e.g. $ man man

Another, very verbose tool for hardware info is
 $ lshw
// though output seems a bit cryptic

# Method 2:
You can also try installing some hardware inspection apps from the Software
Centre, just search for 'hardware'.
I just tried it, here are some that look promising (i just installed them):
- Sysinfo (pkg: 'sysinfo'; also has a nvidea-settings plugin installable
from the install page, if you have an NVIDEA card)
- System Profiler and Benchmark (pgk:'hardinfo')

# Method 3 - manually, if none of the above helped :
a) If your machine is a laptop, then check out the specifications for your
make+model laptop on the web (google).
b.1) (*) If you have a desktop pc, with integrated/onboard graphics, you'll
probably need to search for the make+model of your motherboard to see what
grahics card is built-in.
b.2) (**) If you have a desktop pc, with discreet graphics (ie. separate gfx
card), you'll need to search for the make+model of the card itself.
c) Perhaps you still have your purchase invoice somewhere with the details
on it?

For (b) you'll have to open up the lid of your pc and look inside.
(*) look for the details on the motherboard, there should be a logo with
manufacturer & model details.
(**) may be more difficult. Perhaps the serial number on a little sticker...

# Method 4 - error logs (look for log output that looks related to your
problem):

# output system messages, incl errors...
$ dmesg
# or, to make results scrollable...
$ dmesg | less

# show contents of more logs (may be different on your system, look in
/var/log/ directory for log files):
$ cat /var/log/dmesg
$ cat /var/log/messages
$ cat /var/log/error.log
$ cat /var/log/faillog
$ cat /var/log/kernel.log
# TIP: 'cat' just dumps the file to screen, you can also use 'less' to view
scrollable results, or 'tail' to view the last couple of lines

Hope you manage to achieve something with this info. Please let us know.
Good luck.

Péter

PS. Regarding your removal of Compiz problem... how exactly did you try to
remove it? You should probably not remove compiz itself..., just the
settings manager, though that will probably leave compiz in it's current
state. If that's a bad thing, I think you can disable compiz effects in
Ubuntu 10.10 here:
Preferences –> Appearance –> Visual Effects (select "None")
Do this as a last resort. Rather try to get it to the way it was before.
TIP: as mentioned before, you can also move windows to other desktops with
 Ctrl+Alt+Shift+cursor(up/down/left/right)

On Mon, Jul 11, 2011 at 1:11 PM, Jan Greeff <jan at verslank.net> wrote:

> **
> Hi Peter, I have no idea what graphics card/driver I have or where to find
> out.
>
> This is getting well over the top for my needs and abilities, but now the
> Compiz seems to be non-removable! It has been sitting in "applying changes"
> mode after my "removal" command for at least 40 minutes.
>
> Jan
>
>
> On 11/07/2011 11:50, Peter Nel wrote:
>
> It might be related to your proprietary graphics driver. Here are two
> launchpad bugs where this is discussed:
>
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xserver-xorg-video-intel/+bug/267269
>  https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ltsp/+bug/441586
>
>  What graphics card/driver do you have?
>   $ lspci|grep VGA
>
> Try switching your proprietary graphics driver off-and-on again, and
> restart compiz. (google on howto do that)
>
>  PS remember to CC the list when you reply
>
>  --
> Péter Nel
>
> On Mon, Jul 11, 2011 at 11:23 AM, Jan Greeff <jan at verslank.net> wrote:
>
>>  No Peter, it's inside out! Just kidding - it goes upside down.
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Jan
>>
>>
>>
>> On 11/07/2011 11:09, Peter Nel wrote:
>>
>> Lol. Then don't select it!
>>
>>  Just kidding.
>>
>>  Is it color inversion (as in negative colors)? - because the
>> "Accessibility" -> "Negative"
>> effect inverts colors (default key-binding : Meta+m, or Meta+n)
>>
>>  I just enabled the "Negative" effect to check, and now the unity
>> launcher has a permanent imprint on the screen with drawing artifacts of
>> bits of the previous dialog on it - bug.
>> This is why we do'nt have compizconfig installed by default in 11.04. Not
>> all compiz effects work right with unity. Though I believe 10.10 didn't have
>> those problems.
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Jul 11, 2011 at 10:54 AM, Jan Greeff <jan at verslank.net> wrote:
>>
>>>  Now, if I select "visual effects" "extra" my desktop gets inverted!
>>>
>>> Jan
>>>
>>> On 11/07/2011 10:37, Peter Nel wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, Jul 7, 2011 at 2:04 PM, Jan Greeff <jan at verslank.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Done but the problem persists...
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 07/07/2011 13:43, Peter Nel wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>  sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager
>>>>>
>>>>
>>> Make sure the following is enabled in CompizConfig Settings Manager:
>>> "Desktop" section -> "Desktop Wall" ->"Edge Flipping" tab -> "Edge Flip
>>> Move" checkbox (on)
>>>
>>> --
>>> Péter Nel
>>>
>>>
>>
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