No Desktop Icons On Boot.

I installed Linux Mint but I can't see the taskbar to open menus,firefox or anything. When I hover my mouse in the bottom right corner the date pops up, so I think everything is there but I just can't see or click on anything. The only icons on my desktop are the Home and computer icons and they are barely on the screen but still visible. I'm hoping there is a way to adjust the screen ratio to show the whole screen. Also on web pages the "close tab x" is off the screen and out of range for my mouse to click but I was able to drag the page down to get to it.
I was able to make the taskbar icons larger, now I can see the tops of the icons so I at least know they are there.

I've just installed Debian 8 with Gnome and I can't change the icons that appear in my desktop. I had some problems with my old Wheezy 7.8 but now, with Jessie, is imposible.

When I select Main Menu one Window is opened but when I make a change this change is lost when I close the Window and always I see the same icons in Desktop.

Can anybody help me?

Thanks

Hello all,

I was screwin' around with Arch Linux. I'm interested in it but not more interested than my Kubuntu running KDStudio.

I didn't realize how much prep. their is and the fact that Arch does no prep. Anyway, I stopped trying to get it to run when I realized I had to pre-partition and set up a swap.

Now however grub does not boot into the KDE desktop. It boots into Kubuntu but with no desktop.

Does anyone know how to fix this, I would not like to have to re-install the whole system. I think there must be a fix, I'm not sure exactly what Arch did, gparted doesn't show anything.

OK, this is probably something really basic, but my power went out for a minute yesterday. Later when I turned the computer back on, my desktop was enlarged and so is internet browser, and the resolution is bad (like if I use google maps). It's been like that ever since when I turn it on. This used to happen on my Windows XP when it would start up in safe mode. I went onto display settings and readjusted the size of the tool bar, but the screen and file icons and internet are still enlarged. Anyone know what I'm talking about, or what to do? It also says "display unknown" when I check the settings. Thanks.

Well, Guys & Gals I am pretty sure this is not a new problem. I just installed Linux/Ubuntu updates and now, I no longer have any Icons/time/date/etc in the top line of my desktop. I would like them back. Could someone please tell me how to correct this using the Terminal commands?

for some reason (I think I accidently hit ctrl & another button) & it caused my screen objects to shrink- so webpage size of font objects etc, on desktop- icons have gone tiny & tabs labels on the web browser have shrunk.

How on earth do I change the size % display?
I just cannot find it!

Hi, I am trying Android for the desktop, maybe it is testing, it is very faulty, and will not allow a reboot, instead it starts again. So on my Asus eeepc, I press the start button to turn it off, but when I press the buitton again, with a live usb in the slot, it always reboots to Android immediately, no option for choosing which device to boot from.

How can I fix this and install Fedora or Mint, which I have with me on USB sticks?

I have installed a new Debian OS to try out the xfce desktop.
My radeon hdmi sound card needs non-free drivers and so I have no sound.
On my previous debian install with gnome desktop, I found a number of changes I had to make to get the sound working.

I have done all this with this new install with xfce.
However, one thing I haven't done yet is to change the System settings-Sound settings to use the hdmi sound card.
The problem is the xfce desktop doesn't have an icon for sound settings under System settings.

This is a bit weird. So I'm wondering if xfce has installed correctly or if it's missing a package so the System sound settings will show up.
Does anyone know what's going on?

Greetings,
I have been tinkering around with a distribution called gNewSense, a distribution endorsed and sponsored by the Free Software Foundation. I'm currently running version 3.1

I had a question about it.

I was wondering what the default desktop environment is. It looks to me like either Gnome 2 or the MATE desktop environment. I'm not sure which one it is. Both desktop environments look very similar to me.
A few places on the internet seem to indicate that it might actually be Gnome 2, however, I was under the impression that development for that version of the Gnome desktop has long ago stopped, and, in essence, the MATE desktop has taken it's place and continues to be developed for.

Thank you

First off, I want to apologise. I did write loads here but when I submitted it for moderation, the bulk of the message wasn't posted for some reason - only the title question. Thanks to those that did reply and I'll try again hopefully with better results.

Hi - my name is Gavin and although not a complete Linux newbie having tried several distros in the past, Ubuntu, Zorin, Peppermint, plus a few others, I want to ask questions as if I'd never installed a distro before and start from scratch.

Before I start getting into what I want, I have to be honest to you in that I live with a condition called Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) that directly affects my everyday life including how I use technology. I lead a very simple life, stream films online (films are my big passion), watch tv shows from the States, read film magazines, and have a very basic mobile phone which I use every few months just to check for voicemails.
I am comfortable with what little I have but my goal is to one day own a device/use a linux distro just for access to the internet and nothing else.

I currently share a laptop with my mother which we both paid halves for. We have Windows 7, and use the Chrome Browser with which I have installed an app called Zenmate which allows me to overcome blocking restrictions - this is very useful because 99 of the time, I use one particular film streaming website that can't be accessed without it (Primewire.ag).

The desktop is minimal, black background with no icons, no notifications showing and all I do is the updates, security essentials then straight onto the web - nothing else. I don't really like the desktop environment, but the laptop really belongings more to my mum than me, so Windows 7 doesn't bother me because of that fact.

I must of taken back to the shops at least 3 tablets, and 9 or 10 laptops in the past few years to get a refund because I couldn't cope with the various distros I tried and felt happier just sharing with my mum. I didn't buy one then return one straightaway - it was more like trying a device out for a week or so, get frustrated, the OCD gets worse, returned the product for a refund, then use my mum's laptop, then getting something new 4 or 5 weeks later. I think the reason I have done this is because I don't actually need another laptop in the house but my compulsion sometimes takes over strongly. Last week I took back an Asus Chromebook to PCWorld after walking out of the store and realising I didn't actually need it.

So you can see I am caught between a rock and a hard place. I want my own device just for watching movies, but at the same time enjoy just having one laptop around. My 'dream' is to find a Linux distro that can boot directly to the Chrome browser. I understand that I do need an underlying os otherwise how would I access the internet and would want an os that does all the security updates in the background, while just providing me with what I need. An analogy would be something like: I want one scoop of chocolate ice cream in a cone, and the ice cream man says I can give you that but it comes with 2 scoops of strawberry and you have to eat those before you get to the chocolate. Basically, I have personally have no use for operating systems, just the internet.

When I first heard about Chromebooks, I got very very excited - wow, a boot straight to the Chrome browser, but then I realised that there was a desktop with icons that can't be removed, and that the Chrome os browser included a section on 'touchpad settings' with a little slider - there is something about sliders and volume/ brightness controls that sets off my OCD. I don't know if Chromium OS is set up differently than Chrome OS as I've never tried it but I know that it, along with other distros can be put onto Chromebooks

I have heard some distros have something called Web Kiosks which locks down the browser to the laptop and you see nothing else. Is that something you think I could look into? Or do you know of a Linux distro in which the user decides what they want on it rather than being forced to live with stuff that isn't needed? There was a distro called Webian which was just the browser, but I don't think it's being developed anymore. Unfortunately, it did't use the Chrome browser (it used it's own browser) and so Zenmate can't be installed on it.

So really to sum it up, I am looking for something that fits my lifestyle, simple, preferably no desktop, and just works the way I want it to work.

I enjoy looking at Linux distros, use Distrowatch to keep up with the latest developments, but above all, one day would like my 'dream version'!

Any thoughts or advice would be really appreciated from this community as I do want to use Linux eventually.

Many thanks in advance,

Gavin