2

So I was messing around with tasksel to install LAMP. Foolishly I unchecked the ubuntu-desktop item. About 25% through the process I realized it is removing my desktop components. So I closed the terminal window, but now maybe something went wrong.

Many default applications are gone and I can't even boot into the desktop. I have a separate home folder so I don't really have to worry about data, but I did install a lot of other software which would be gone if I take reformat and reinstall. So is there a way to recover the desktop from a live CD?

htorque
  • 66,086
Rick_2047
  • 373

1 Answers1

1

I will give it a shot.

  • First, boot into the recovery console, then from there see if you can run metacity (at least): metacity &
  • If this works, you can run synaptic (if it is still installed) from the command line: sudo synaptic
  • From within synaptic, search for the Ubuntu Desktop package, and try to reinstall this (it will pull in dependencies automatically.
  • If synaptic is not installed, you can run: sudo apt-get install synaptic and then follow the third step.
  • After reinstalling the missing pieces, you should be able to log in again to your regular desktop (your settings will have been preserved of course).
RolandiXor
  • 51,797