?? - Changing DE's causes battery monitor/touchpad issues

Quick to answer questions about finding your way around Linux Mint as a new user.
Forum rules
There are no such things as "stupid" questions. However if you think your question is a bit stupid, then this is the right place for you to post it. Stick to easy to-the-point questions that you feel people can answer fast. For long and complicated questions use the other forums in the support section.
Before you post read how to get help. Topics in this forum are automatically closed 6 months after creation.
Locked
Longstreet

?? - Changing DE's causes battery monitor/touchpad issues

Post by Longstreet »

Background - I'm running Mint 12 with Cinnamon on an Acer Aspire One D255E, dual-core Atom processor, 1G ram, 160G HD. I've had it for almost a year now. Right after I bought it new I put Ubuntu 10.10 dual-boot w/Win 7 Starter. Ubuntu always ran great; I go months without hitting my Win partition, and only do so if I'm doing something for a friend/family member that absolutely requires Win 7. I had had no problems with Ubuntu; none at all. But a month or so ago on a "stupid day" I decided to install Ubuntu 11.10. After a lengthy evaluation I decided it wasn't for me (ok, ok. It took me a couple of hours to decide that I absolutely despise Unity) I downloaded and installed Fedora 16.

I liked F16 just fine. Gnome 3 was different, but not too different. Everything worked, but my netbook would sometimes freeze up. I thought at first it was a Firefox issue, but it happened at other times as well. It would last from a few to 30 seconds and then return to normal. That wasn't too cool. I had tried Mint a year or so ago, and decided to try that instead.

I like Mint 12 very much. MGSE is neat, and Cinnamon is even better imho. Mint runs as well or better than Ubuntu ever did, with one exception. I'm still having a problem with intermittent freezing, though not quite as bad as with Fedora. It never happened with Ubuntu and Gnome 2. I'm kinda thinking it's related to Gnome 3 since Fedora 16 and Mint 12 both use that.

So. I mentioned in another thread that I was evaluating other windows managers and desktop enivronments to see if I can eliminate the freezing issue. Currently, in addition to Cinnamon and the other usual Mint 12 options, I have Enlightenment E17, XFCE and LXDE on here. They're all interesting, but not without problems of their own.

1. My on-screen battery indicator works fine in Mint 12, std or Cinnamon. But whichever other DE I use, the battery indicator reads 100% right up until I get the "Low Battery" pop-up. What would cause that, and how might I fix it?
2. My touchpad doesn't work any more. It worked fine with Mint 12/Cinnamon, but since loading the others it has stopped. A wireless mouse works fine. There's obviously a conflict in there, but I have no idea where to look for it or how to fix it.
3. If these issues can't be resolved, how can I completely delete the other DE's, so that no trace of them remains. I ask that because in Ubuntu I played with Docky, didn't like it, and had a hell of a time getting that thing completely gone. I suspect the DE's are going to be that way as well.

Thanks for any tips you might be able to give me.
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
felixlizarraga
Level 3
Level 3
Posts: 107
Joined: Thu Jan 26, 2012 5:30 pm

Re: ?? - Changing DE's causes battery monitor/touchpad issue

Post by felixlizarraga »

Greetings from a newbie to another! :D

Do you still have a Windows partition? That would help clear whether it is a hardware issue, which it could be --I'm referring to the touchpad.

A non-geeky, simple, if tedious way of getting rid of the DEs you no longer want is using Software Manager. Go to view, and make sure to uncheck "Available packages," so you only see whatever is already installed. Then use search to locate the files for each DE --typing, say, Xfce wll bring a list of all installed Xfce files-- and remove them one by one.

As for Battery Monitor, I'm having problems of my own with it, but only in LXDE. It displays the percentage correctly, but starts sending me "Battery low" messages as soon as I disconnect the AC adapter. And the battery is just fine, thank you, and Gnome doesn't give me any trouble. Too bad, because I love LXDE. Not too easy to learn, but the right blend of speed and looks for me.
revdjenk

Re: ?? - Changing DE's causes battery monitor/touchpad issue

Post by revdjenk »

see the post: http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.p ... ze#p543575
On the second page a post by vibhudost has a great fix, but seems to work only until the next boot. (However issuing the commands again keeps you fine for the rest of the day.) I am still seeking other answers for a real, permanent fix.

Have you found anything?

God Bless
Doug
Locked

Return to “Beginner Questions”