How to fix Ubuntu 11.04 / 11.10 (How to live with Gnome3 / Gnome-shell)

I often find myself looking forward to April and October, because these are the months when Ubuntu releases their latest updates for my favorite operating system. But, with my most recent upgrade I found myself thrown into the world of Unity and the loss of my beloved Gnome. My disgust was almost enough to make me switch back to an old copy of Windows Vista (yeah, it was that bad). But, with a little work, I’ve managed to shape the latest Ubuntu release (11.10 at the time of this writing) into something I can live with and be happy with. In this article, I will describe the steps I took to modify Ubuntu 11.10 to get me back to an Ubuntu 10.10 feel. Starting with Ubuntu 11.04, the default desktop was changed from Gnome 2.x.x to Unity. Most people will tell you to give Unity a try, I will not. I hated it when I first saw it, I hated it after trying, I hate it even now that I’m not using it. First things first, lets install Gnome.

$ sudo apt-get install gnome-shell

Once it is done installing, you can now log out and be done with Unity for ever. When you’re ready to log back in, click on the little gear icon next to the password box and select Gnome. This will log you into a session with Gnome3. Now, your first thought might be that this looks just like Unity. Compared to Gnome2, you’re right, it does. But, while I told you to skip over Unity, I will say that Gnome3 (aka Gnome from the log in menu) is worth a try. But, we’re here to get you back to where you came from, so keep Gnome3 in mind and lets move on. The next step is to install Gnome Classic (as its called in the login menu), also known as Forced Fallback.

$ sudo apt-get install gnome-session-fallback

Alright, log out once again and before you log back in, select Gnome Classic. And there you go, a desktop that looks like your old Ubuntu 10.10 desktop. You are still running Gnome3, but it should look like Gnome2. One big difference in using the top and bottom bars in Gnome Classic is that you have to hold down the Alt key to do anything with the bars. As an example, to move objects you used to middle click on that object and move it around, now you have to hold Alt + middle click to move that object. Similarly, you will need to hold Alt + right click to add items to the top (or bottom) bar. Now that things are starting to look like home, it’s time to start tweaking.

$ sudo apt-get install gnome-tweak-tool

Once installed, you’ll find this in the menu under Other -> Advanced Settings. Under Desktop, turn on “Have file manager handle the desktop”, then you can turn on what ever items you like after it. Things like displaying a Computer icon on the Desktop, as well as the Trash icon, mounted disks, etc. You can also modify the fonts used by the system, play with the clock, change themes and window behavor. More on gnome-tweak-tool: http://live.gnome.org/GnomeTweakTool Here is my desktop running Ubuntu 11.10 with Gnome Classic.   Another little change from previous versions of Gnome to now involves the Users and Groups administration.  The “updated” application removes a great deal of the functionality from the previous version.  I suppose this is to simplify it for some users.  For the rest of us that would like the full functionality, the old version is easy to restore. Just run the following in a terminal:

sudo apt-get install gnome-system-tools

	This is the new Users and Groups manager, found in the System Settings.
	This is what we want to restore.  There are many more options, such as the ability to manage Groups from a GUI.

Now, this will not completeley replace the new application.  You’ll still launch the new application when you go through the System Settings.  You can, however, add the new application to your Ubuntu menu (I suggest doing so in the System Tools section).  The name of the application to run is:

users-admin

Next, it is time to add features to Nautilus.

sudo apt-get install nautilus-convert-metadata
sudo apt-get install nautilus-image-converter
sudo apt-get install nautilus-data
sudo apt-get install nautilus-actions
sudo apt-get install nautilus-scripts-manager
sudo apt-get install nautilus-gksu
sudo apt-get install nautilus-wallpaper
sudo apt-get install nautilus-script-audio-convert
sudo apt-get install gnome-icon-theme-extras

As for your sound, you may or may not have issues when upgrading.  Some have reported that their sound no longer works after stepping up Ubuntu versions.  The first thing to check is that you are using the correct kernel.  Supposedly the sound will die if you use an older kernel on some machines.  The second thing to try is to install Pulse Audio and Pulse Audio Preferences.

sudo apt-get install pavucontrol paprefs

Pulse Audio will show up under the Ubuntu menu > Sound & Video > PulseAudio Volume Control, while Pulse Audio will show up under Ubuntu menu > Other > PulseAudio Preference. First make sure that nothing is muted in PulseAudio Volume Control. Then, try to enable virtual outputs in PulseAudio Preferences.

Then in the Sound settings (Ubuntu menu > System Tools > System Settings > Sound), on the Output tab, select the Simultaneous outputs.

Sound Settings

Now, on to enabling Compiz… Compiz is a window manager that you probably used with your last version of Ubuntu.  It enables a lot of nice features, like snapping windows. If it is not already installed on your computer from the previous installation, run:

sudo apt-get install compiz

To ensure that it starts up, go to Applications > Other > Startup Applications and click “+Add” to create a new entry.  Give it a name (“compiz” is suggested) and tell it to run “compiz –replace” (without the quotes).

To try it out now log out and log back in, or run:

sudo compiz --replace

You may also have to install Compiz Config Settings Manager (CCSM):

sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager

If all else fails…

If you still find yourself hating everything Unity and Gnome, you can always try XFCE.

$ sudo apt-get install xfce4

A note on some of the verbiage. Unity – Default Ubuntu desktop starting with 11.04. Based on Gnome, but only under the hood. Looks nothing like your old Gnome. Refered to as Ubuntu at the log in screen. Gnome3 – The latest version of the Gnome desktop. Also refered to as gnome-shell or Gnome Shell. Referred to as Gnome at the login screen. Gnome Classic – Looks a lot like your old Gnome2, but still built off of Gnome3. Also called Forced Fallback Mode. Ubuntu 10.x uses Gnome2 by default. Ubuntu 11.x uses Unity by default.