[Desktop-packages] [Bug 328575] Re: [gnome-terminal SRU] Cannot start gnome-terminal (or x-terminal-emulator) because of gconf error
** Changed in: dbus Status: Confirmed => Unknown -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Desktop Packages, which is subscribed to gnome-terminal in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/328575 Title: [gnome-terminal SRU] Cannot start gnome-terminal (or x-terminal- emulator) because of gconf error Status in D-Bus: Unknown Status in gconf: Won't Fix Status in GNOME Terminal: Fix Released Status in gconf2 package in Ubuntu: Invalid Status in gnome-terminal package in Ubuntu: Fix Released Status in gconf2 source package in Jaunty: Invalid Status in gnome-terminal source package in Jaunty: Fix Released Status in Debian: Fix Released Bug description: Binary package hint: gnome-terminal IMPACT: gnome-terminal will fail to launch under any circumstance where gconfd isn't already running. This can include `sudo gnome- terminal` (since no gconfd is running for root), or starting gnome- terminal under a non-GNOME window manager. DEVELOPMENT: The Debian maintainer added 02_let_gconf_autostart.patch in 2.26.2-2 to solve this issue (debbugs #531734). That version has been merged into Karmic. PATCH: Patch available at http://launchpadlibrarian.net/30671489 /gnome-terminal_2.26.0-0ubuntu2.1.debdiff, with test builds in https://launchpad.net/~broder/+archive/ubuntu-tests. The upstream gnome-terminal maintainer rejected the patch used for 02_let_gconf_autostart.patch, because it reintroduced gnome-bugs #561663. The attached patch instead cherry-picks the commit the maintainer added to fix this bug upstream. INSTRUCTIONS: Attempt to run `sudo gnome-terminal`. It will exit with "Failed to contact the GConf daemon; exiting." REGRESSION: Seems limited - this is a cherry-pick of an upstream change that only changes a handful of lines. Original bug description: I cannot start gnome-terminal. If I open an xterm and start gnome- terminal from the command line, here is what I get: $ sudo gnome-terminal Failed to contact the GConf daemon; exiting. (original report didn't have sudo in this command, but a later comment by the submitter amended this.) $ ps ax | grep gconf 3956 pts/0R+ 0:00 grep gconf 6643 ?S 0:00 /usr/lib/pulseaudio/pulse/gconf-helper 6647 ?S 0:06 /usr/lib/libgconf2-4/gconfd-2 This is in Jaunty Alpha 4 with all updates current as of 12 Feb. This bug is now understood. Read all the comments (or at least try some text searches) before adding your own, because a lot of things have already been covered. summary of some stuff posted in comments: gnome-terminal on purpose refuses to start if it can't connect to gconfd to get its config settings. gconf clients now find the server using DBUS. Starting gnome- terminal as root doesn't work even when you have all the gnome bits and pieces running under your account, because DBUS is per-user. executive of summary: We know what is going on. Everything that doesn't work is a consequence of the design. Everything is working as designed, although obviously there are problems with this design. Discussion about the design probably belongs on freedesktop-bugs #17970 (link in the remote bug sidebar). Workarounds to use until the bugs are fixed: for the gconfd-not-running case: start gconfd. e.g. add /usr/bin/gnome-settings-daemon to your X session startup script, ahead of any gnome-terminal commands. This applies whatever window manager you happen to be using. (except if you're using Ubuntu's default GNOME desktop, which already starts gconfd itself.) multiple tabs over ssh: use screen(1) $ sudo aptitude install screen screen-profiles # if you don't have it already The default config has unhelpful keybindings. I'm used to ^t as the command key, and F11/F12 as next/previous tab (screen calls them "windows"). I set up my own .screenrc before screen-profiles was packaged, so I don't know if its examples and samples are good or not. If you insist on displaying a GUI over X11 over ssh, there are other terminal emulators with tabs, e.g. the lighter-weight mrxvt. (be careful, though: it doesn't support UTF-8.) You might also investigate ssh -M for connection sharing. As I understand it, this lets you tunnel multiple sessions over one SSH connection, so only one password prompt... You could presumably get a local gnome-terminal going with ssh connections in each tab. root shells: You can use sudo inside a gnome terminal that's running under your own account. sudo -s, sudo -i, sudo su, and sudo bash are all variations on getting a shell running as root. If you don't know which to pick, use sudo -s. Or, better, don't start a root shell, and simply use sudo or gksudo on the one or two commands that need it. This bug is partly that gconf requires DBUS, which breaks some remote-GUI situations, and partly that gnome-term
[Desktop-packages] [Bug 328575]
-- GitLab Migration Automatic Message -- This bug has been migrated to freedesktop.org's GitLab instance and has been closed from further activity. You can subscribe and participate further through the new bug through this link to our GitLab instance: https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/dbus/dbus/issues/7. -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Desktop Packages, which is subscribed to gnome-terminal in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/328575 Title: [gnome-terminal SRU] Cannot start gnome-terminal (or x-terminal- emulator) because of gconf error Status in D-Bus: Unknown Status in gconf: Won't Fix Status in GNOME Terminal: Fix Released Status in gconf2 package in Ubuntu: Invalid Status in gnome-terminal package in Ubuntu: Fix Released Status in gconf2 source package in Jaunty: Invalid Status in gnome-terminal source package in Jaunty: Fix Released Status in Debian: Fix Released Bug description: Binary package hint: gnome-terminal IMPACT: gnome-terminal will fail to launch under any circumstance where gconfd isn't already running. This can include `sudo gnome- terminal` (since no gconfd is running for root), or starting gnome- terminal under a non-GNOME window manager. DEVELOPMENT: The Debian maintainer added 02_let_gconf_autostart.patch in 2.26.2-2 to solve this issue (debbugs #531734). That version has been merged into Karmic. PATCH: Patch available at http://launchpadlibrarian.net/30671489 /gnome-terminal_2.26.0-0ubuntu2.1.debdiff, with test builds in https://launchpad.net/~broder/+archive/ubuntu-tests. The upstream gnome-terminal maintainer rejected the patch used for 02_let_gconf_autostart.patch, because it reintroduced gnome-bugs #561663. The attached patch instead cherry-picks the commit the maintainer added to fix this bug upstream. INSTRUCTIONS: Attempt to run `sudo gnome-terminal`. It will exit with "Failed to contact the GConf daemon; exiting." REGRESSION: Seems limited - this is a cherry-pick of an upstream change that only changes a handful of lines. Original bug description: I cannot start gnome-terminal. If I open an xterm and start gnome- terminal from the command line, here is what I get: $ sudo gnome-terminal Failed to contact the GConf daemon; exiting. (original report didn't have sudo in this command, but a later comment by the submitter amended this.) $ ps ax | grep gconf 3956 pts/0R+ 0:00 grep gconf 6643 ?S 0:00 /usr/lib/pulseaudio/pulse/gconf-helper 6647 ?S 0:06 /usr/lib/libgconf2-4/gconfd-2 This is in Jaunty Alpha 4 with all updates current as of 12 Feb. This bug is now understood. Read all the comments (or at least try some text searches) before adding your own, because a lot of things have already been covered. summary of some stuff posted in comments: gnome-terminal on purpose refuses to start if it can't connect to gconfd to get its config settings. gconf clients now find the server using DBUS. Starting gnome- terminal as root doesn't work even when you have all the gnome bits and pieces running under your account, because DBUS is per-user. executive of summary: We know what is going on. Everything that doesn't work is a consequence of the design. Everything is working as designed, although obviously there are problems with this design. Discussion about the design probably belongs on freedesktop-bugs #17970 (link in the remote bug sidebar). Workarounds to use until the bugs are fixed: for the gconfd-not-running case: start gconfd. e.g. add /usr/bin/gnome-settings-daemon to your X session startup script, ahead of any gnome-terminal commands. This applies whatever window manager you happen to be using. (except if you're using Ubuntu's default GNOME desktop, which already starts gconfd itself.) multiple tabs over ssh: use screen(1) $ sudo aptitude install screen screen-profiles # if you don't have it already The default config has unhelpful keybindings. I'm used to ^t as the command key, and F11/F12 as next/previous tab (screen calls them "windows"). I set up my own .screenrc before screen-profiles was packaged, so I don't know if its examples and samples are good or not. If you insist on displaying a GUI over X11 over ssh, there are other terminal emulators with tabs, e.g. the lighter-weight mrxvt. (be careful, though: it doesn't support UTF-8.) You might also investigate ssh -M for connection sharing. As I understand it, this lets you tunnel multiple sessions over one SSH connection, so only one password prompt... You could presumably get a local gnome-terminal going with ssh connections in each tab. root shells: You can use sudo inside a gnome terminal that's running under your own account. sudo -s, sudo -i, sudo su, and sudo bash are all variations on getting a shell running as root. If you don't know which to
[Desktop-packages] [Bug 328575] Re: [gnome-terminal SRU] Cannot start gnome-terminal (or x-terminal-emulator) because of gconf error
** Changed in: gconf Status: New => Won't Fix -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Desktop Packages, which is subscribed to gnome-terminal in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/328575 Title: [gnome-terminal SRU] Cannot start gnome-terminal (or x-terminal- emulator) because of gconf error Status in D-Bus: Confirmed Status in gconf: Won't Fix Status in GNOME Terminal: Fix Released Status in gconf2 package in Ubuntu: Invalid Status in gnome-terminal package in Ubuntu: Fix Released Status in gconf2 source package in Jaunty: Invalid Status in gnome-terminal source package in Jaunty: Fix Released Status in Debian: Fix Released Bug description: Binary package hint: gnome-terminal IMPACT: gnome-terminal will fail to launch under any circumstance where gconfd isn't already running. This can include `sudo gnome- terminal` (since no gconfd is running for root), or starting gnome- terminal under a non-GNOME window manager. DEVELOPMENT: The Debian maintainer added 02_let_gconf_autostart.patch in 2.26.2-2 to solve this issue (debbugs #531734). That version has been merged into Karmic. PATCH: Patch available at http://launchpadlibrarian.net/30671489 /gnome-terminal_2.26.0-0ubuntu2.1.debdiff, with test builds in https://launchpad.net/~broder/+archive/ubuntu-tests. The upstream gnome-terminal maintainer rejected the patch used for 02_let_gconf_autostart.patch, because it reintroduced gnome-bugs #561663. The attached patch instead cherry-picks the commit the maintainer added to fix this bug upstream. INSTRUCTIONS: Attempt to run `sudo gnome-terminal`. It will exit with "Failed to contact the GConf daemon; exiting." REGRESSION: Seems limited - this is a cherry-pick of an upstream change that only changes a handful of lines. Original bug description: I cannot start gnome-terminal. If I open an xterm and start gnome- terminal from the command line, here is what I get: $ sudo gnome-terminal Failed to contact the GConf daemon; exiting. (original report didn't have sudo in this command, but a later comment by the submitter amended this.) $ ps ax | grep gconf 3956 pts/0R+ 0:00 grep gconf 6643 ?S 0:00 /usr/lib/pulseaudio/pulse/gconf-helper 6647 ?S 0:06 /usr/lib/libgconf2-4/gconfd-2 This is in Jaunty Alpha 4 with all updates current as of 12 Feb. This bug is now understood. Read all the comments (or at least try some text searches) before adding your own, because a lot of things have already been covered. summary of some stuff posted in comments: gnome-terminal on purpose refuses to start if it can't connect to gconfd to get its config settings. gconf clients now find the server using DBUS. Starting gnome- terminal as root doesn't work even when you have all the gnome bits and pieces running under your account, because DBUS is per-user. executive of summary: We know what is going on. Everything that doesn't work is a consequence of the design. Everything is working as designed, although obviously there are problems with this design. Discussion about the design probably belongs on freedesktop-bugs #17970 (link in the remote bug sidebar). Workarounds to use until the bugs are fixed: for the gconfd-not-running case: start gconfd. e.g. add /usr/bin/gnome-settings-daemon to your X session startup script, ahead of any gnome-terminal commands. This applies whatever window manager you happen to be using. (except if you're using Ubuntu's default GNOME desktop, which already starts gconfd itself.) multiple tabs over ssh: use screen(1) $ sudo aptitude install screen screen-profiles # if you don't have it already The default config has unhelpful keybindings. I'm used to ^t as the command key, and F11/F12 as next/previous tab (screen calls them "windows"). I set up my own .screenrc before screen-profiles was packaged, so I don't know if its examples and samples are good or not. If you insist on displaying a GUI over X11 over ssh, there are other terminal emulators with tabs, e.g. the lighter-weight mrxvt. (be careful, though: it doesn't support UTF-8.) You might also investigate ssh -M for connection sharing. As I understand it, this lets you tunnel multiple sessions over one SSH connection, so only one password prompt... You could presumably get a local gnome-terminal going with ssh connections in each tab. root shells: You can use sudo inside a gnome terminal that's running under your own account. sudo -s, sudo -i, sudo su, and sudo bash are all variations on getting a shell running as root. If you don't know which to pick, use sudo -s. Or, better, don't start a root shell, and simply use sudo or gksudo on the one or two commands that need it. This bug is partly that gconf requires DBUS, which breaks some remote-GUI situations, and partly that gnome-termi
[Desktop-packages] [Bug 328575] Re: [gnome-terminal SRU] Cannot start gnome-terminal (or x-terminal-emulator) because of gconf error
** Changed in: dbus Status: Fix Released => Confirmed ** Changed in: dbus Importance: Critical => Medium -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Desktop Packages, which is subscribed to gnome-terminal in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/328575 Title: [gnome-terminal SRU] Cannot start gnome-terminal (or x-terminal- emulator) because of gconf error Status in D-Bus: Confirmed Status in The GConf Registry System: New Status in GNOME Terminal: Fix Released Status in “gconf2” package in Ubuntu: Invalid Status in “gnome-terminal” package in Ubuntu: Fix Released Status in “gconf2” source package in Jaunty: Invalid Status in “gnome-terminal” source package in Jaunty: Fix Released Status in Debian GNU/Linux: Fix Released Bug description: Binary package hint: gnome-terminal IMPACT: gnome-terminal will fail to launch under any circumstance where gconfd isn't already running. This can include `sudo gnome- terminal` (since no gconfd is running for root), or starting gnome- terminal under a non-GNOME window manager. DEVELOPMENT: The Debian maintainer added 02_let_gconf_autostart.patch in 2.26.2-2 to solve this issue (debbugs #531734). That version has been merged into Karmic. PATCH: Patch available at http://launchpadlibrarian.net/30671489 /gnome-terminal_2.26.0-0ubuntu2.1.debdiff, with test builds in https://launchpad.net/~broder/+archive/ubuntu-tests. The upstream gnome-terminal maintainer rejected the patch used for 02_let_gconf_autostart.patch, because it reintroduced gnome-bugs #561663. The attached patch instead cherry-picks the commit the maintainer added to fix this bug upstream. INSTRUCTIONS: Attempt to run `sudo gnome-terminal`. It will exit with "Failed to contact the GConf daemon; exiting." REGRESSION: Seems limited - this is a cherry-pick of an upstream change that only changes a handful of lines. Original bug description: I cannot start gnome-terminal. If I open an xterm and start gnome- terminal from the command line, here is what I get: $ sudo gnome-terminal Failed to contact the GConf daemon; exiting. (original report didn't have sudo in this command, but a later comment by the submitter amended this.) $ ps ax | grep gconf 3956 pts/0R+ 0:00 grep gconf 6643 ?S 0:00 /usr/lib/pulseaudio/pulse/gconf-helper 6647 ?S 0:06 /usr/lib/libgconf2-4/gconfd-2 This is in Jaunty Alpha 4 with all updates current as of 12 Feb. This bug is now understood. Read all the comments (or at least try some text searches) before adding your own, because a lot of things have already been covered. summary of some stuff posted in comments: gnome-terminal on purpose refuses to start if it can't connect to gconfd to get its config settings. gconf clients now find the server using DBUS. Starting gnome- terminal as root doesn't work even when you have all the gnome bits and pieces running under your account, because DBUS is per-user. executive of summary: We know what is going on. Everything that doesn't work is a consequence of the design. Everything is working as designed, although obviously there are problems with this design. Discussion about the design probably belongs on freedesktop-bugs #17970 (link in the remote bug sidebar). Workarounds to use until the bugs are fixed: for the gconfd-not-running case: start gconfd. e.g. add /usr/bin/gnome-settings-daemon to your X session startup script, ahead of any gnome-terminal commands. This applies whatever window manager you happen to be using. (except if you're using Ubuntu's default GNOME desktop, which already starts gconfd itself.) multiple tabs over ssh: use screen(1) $ sudo aptitude install screen screen-profiles # if you don't have it already The default config has unhelpful keybindings. I'm used to ^t as the command key, and F11/F12 as next/previous tab (screen calls them "windows"). I set up my own .screenrc before screen-profiles was packaged, so I don't know if its examples and samples are good or not. If you insist on displaying a GUI over X11 over ssh, there are other terminal emulators with tabs, e.g. the lighter-weight mrxvt. (be careful, though: it doesn't support UTF-8.) You might also investigate ssh -M for connection sharing. As I understand it, this lets you tunnel multiple sessions over one SSH connection, so only one password prompt... You could presumably get a local gnome-terminal going with ssh connections in each tab. root shells: You can use sudo inside a gnome terminal that's running under your own account. sudo -s, sudo -i, sudo su, and sudo bash are all variations on getting a shell running as root. If you don't know which to pick, use sudo -s. Or, better, don't start a root shell, and simply use sudo or gksudo on the one or two commands that need it. This bug is partly t
[Desktop-packages] [Bug 328575] Re: [gnome-terminal SRU] Cannot start gnome-terminal (or x-terminal-emulator) because of gconf error
** Changed in: dbus Status: In Progress => Fix Released -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Desktop Packages, which is subscribed to gnome-terminal in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/328575 Title: [gnome-terminal SRU] Cannot start gnome-terminal (or x-terminal- emulator) because of gconf error Status in D-Bus: Fix Released Status in The GConf Registry System: New Status in GNOME Terminal: Fix Released Status in “gconf2” package in Ubuntu: Invalid Status in “gnome-terminal” package in Ubuntu: Fix Released Status in “gconf2” source package in Jaunty: Invalid Status in “gnome-terminal” source package in Jaunty: Fix Released Status in Debian GNU/Linux: Fix Released Bug description: Binary package hint: gnome-terminal IMPACT: gnome-terminal will fail to launch under any circumstance where gconfd isn't already running. This can include `sudo gnome- terminal` (since no gconfd is running for root), or starting gnome- terminal under a non-GNOME window manager. DEVELOPMENT: The Debian maintainer added 02_let_gconf_autostart.patch in 2.26.2-2 to solve this issue (debbugs #531734). That version has been merged into Karmic. PATCH: Patch available at http://launchpadlibrarian.net/30671489 /gnome-terminal_2.26.0-0ubuntu2.1.debdiff, with test builds in https://launchpad.net/~broder/+archive/ubuntu-tests. The upstream gnome-terminal maintainer rejected the patch used for 02_let_gconf_autostart.patch, because it reintroduced gnome-bugs #561663. The attached patch instead cherry-picks the commit the maintainer added to fix this bug upstream. INSTRUCTIONS: Attempt to run `sudo gnome-terminal`. It will exit with "Failed to contact the GConf daemon; exiting." REGRESSION: Seems limited - this is a cherry-pick of an upstream change that only changes a handful of lines. Original bug description: I cannot start gnome-terminal. If I open an xterm and start gnome- terminal from the command line, here is what I get: $ sudo gnome-terminal Failed to contact the GConf daemon; exiting. (original report didn't have sudo in this command, but a later comment by the submitter amended this.) $ ps ax | grep gconf 3956 pts/0R+ 0:00 grep gconf 6643 ?S 0:00 /usr/lib/pulseaudio/pulse/gconf-helper 6647 ?S 0:06 /usr/lib/libgconf2-4/gconfd-2 This is in Jaunty Alpha 4 with all updates current as of 12 Feb. This bug is now understood. Read all the comments (or at least try some text searches) before adding your own, because a lot of things have already been covered. summary of some stuff posted in comments: gnome-terminal on purpose refuses to start if it can't connect to gconfd to get its config settings. gconf clients now find the server using DBUS. Starting gnome- terminal as root doesn't work even when you have all the gnome bits and pieces running under your account, because DBUS is per-user. executive of summary: We know what is going on. Everything that doesn't work is a consequence of the design. Everything is working as designed, although obviously there are problems with this design. Discussion about the design probably belongs on freedesktop-bugs #17970 (link in the remote bug sidebar). Workarounds to use until the bugs are fixed: for the gconfd-not-running case: start gconfd. e.g. add /usr/bin/gnome-settings-daemon to your X session startup script, ahead of any gnome-terminal commands. This applies whatever window manager you happen to be using. (except if you're using Ubuntu's default GNOME desktop, which already starts gconfd itself.) multiple tabs over ssh: use screen(1) $ sudo aptitude install screen screen-profiles # if you don't have it already The default config has unhelpful keybindings. I'm used to ^t as the command key, and F11/F12 as next/previous tab (screen calls them "windows"). I set up my own .screenrc before screen-profiles was packaged, so I don't know if its examples and samples are good or not. If you insist on displaying a GUI over X11 over ssh, there are other terminal emulators with tabs, e.g. the lighter-weight mrxvt. (be careful, though: it doesn't support UTF-8.) You might also investigate ssh -M for connection sharing. As I understand it, this lets you tunnel multiple sessions over one SSH connection, so only one password prompt... You could presumably get a local gnome-terminal going with ssh connections in each tab. root shells: You can use sudo inside a gnome terminal that's running under your own account. sudo -s, sudo -i, sudo su, and sudo bash are all variations on getting a shell running as root. If you don't know which to pick, use sudo -s. Or, better, don't start a root shell, and simply use sudo or gksudo on the one or two commands that need it. This bug is partly that gconf requires DBUS, which breaks some remot
[Desktop-packages] [Bug 328575] Re: [gnome-terminal SRU] Cannot start gnome-terminal (or x-terminal-emulator) because of gconf error
** Changed in: gnome-terminal Status: Confirmed => Fix Released -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Desktop Packages, which is subscribed to gnome-terminal in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/328575 Title: [gnome-terminal SRU] Cannot start gnome-terminal (or x-terminal- emulator) because of gconf error Status in D-Bus: In Progress Status in The GConf Registry System: New Status in GNOME Terminal: Fix Released Status in “gconf2” package in Ubuntu: Invalid Status in “gnome-terminal” package in Ubuntu: Fix Released Status in “gconf2” source package in Jaunty: Invalid Status in “gnome-terminal” source package in Jaunty: Fix Released Status in Debian GNU/Linux: Fix Released Bug description: Binary package hint: gnome-terminal IMPACT: gnome-terminal will fail to launch under any circumstance where gconfd isn't already running. This can include `sudo gnome- terminal` (since no gconfd is running for root), or starting gnome- terminal under a non-GNOME window manager. DEVELOPMENT: The Debian maintainer added 02_let_gconf_autostart.patch in 2.26.2-2 to solve this issue (debbugs #531734). That version has been merged into Karmic. PATCH: Patch available at http://launchpadlibrarian.net/30671489 /gnome-terminal_2.26.0-0ubuntu2.1.debdiff, with test builds in https://launchpad.net/~broder/+archive/ubuntu-tests. The upstream gnome-terminal maintainer rejected the patch used for 02_let_gconf_autostart.patch, because it reintroduced gnome-bugs #561663. The attached patch instead cherry-picks the commit the maintainer added to fix this bug upstream. INSTRUCTIONS: Attempt to run `sudo gnome-terminal`. It will exit with "Failed to contact the GConf daemon; exiting." REGRESSION: Seems limited - this is a cherry-pick of an upstream change that only changes a handful of lines. Original bug description: I cannot start gnome-terminal. If I open an xterm and start gnome- terminal from the command line, here is what I get: $ sudo gnome-terminal Failed to contact the GConf daemon; exiting. (original report didn't have sudo in this command, but a later comment by the submitter amended this.) $ ps ax | grep gconf 3956 pts/0R+ 0:00 grep gconf 6643 ?S 0:00 /usr/lib/pulseaudio/pulse/gconf-helper 6647 ?S 0:06 /usr/lib/libgconf2-4/gconfd-2 This is in Jaunty Alpha 4 with all updates current as of 12 Feb. This bug is now understood. Read all the comments (or at least try some text searches) before adding your own, because a lot of things have already been covered. summary of some stuff posted in comments: gnome-terminal on purpose refuses to start if it can't connect to gconfd to get its config settings. gconf clients now find the server using DBUS. Starting gnome- terminal as root doesn't work even when you have all the gnome bits and pieces running under your account, because DBUS is per-user. executive of summary: We know what is going on. Everything that doesn't work is a consequence of the design. Everything is working as designed, although obviously there are problems with this design. Discussion about the design probably belongs on freedesktop-bugs #17970 (link in the remote bug sidebar). Workarounds to use until the bugs are fixed: for the gconfd-not-running case: start gconfd. e.g. add /usr/bin/gnome-settings-daemon to your X session startup script, ahead of any gnome-terminal commands. This applies whatever window manager you happen to be using. (except if you're using Ubuntu's default GNOME desktop, which already starts gconfd itself.) multiple tabs over ssh: use screen(1) $ sudo aptitude install screen screen-profiles # if you don't have it already The default config has unhelpful keybindings. I'm used to ^t as the command key, and F11/F12 as next/previous tab (screen calls them "windows"). I set up my own .screenrc before screen-profiles was packaged, so I don't know if its examples and samples are good or not. If you insist on displaying a GUI over X11 over ssh, there are other terminal emulators with tabs, e.g. the lighter-weight mrxvt. (be careful, though: it doesn't support UTF-8.) You might also investigate ssh -M for connection sharing. As I understand it, this lets you tunnel multiple sessions over one SSH connection, so only one password prompt... You could presumably get a local gnome-terminal going with ssh connections in each tab. root shells: You can use sudo inside a gnome terminal that's running under your own account. sudo -s, sudo -i, sudo su, and sudo bash are all variations on getting a shell running as root. If you don't know which to pick, use sudo -s. Or, better, don't start a root shell, and simply use sudo or gksudo on the one or two commands that need it. This bug is partly that gconf requires DBUS, which breaks some