Re: [LUG] Ubuntu gnome-panel crashing

Width of negative 5 isn't going to be much good to anyone. You should
file a bug report with Ubuntu and try:
# dpkg-reconfigure gnome-panel

I've reconfigured everything. I got a new pango hinting system, while I was at it. No help.

Then logout and log back in.

If that fails, you may have to delete the panel but then you'll have to
add the various components back to the new panel.

Which panel is affected (top or bottom)?

They both are, it's all the same process. Neither of them are usable for any period of time. It loads the desktop button, workspace switcher, task list and gnome menu before crashing - this leaves the character map, system monitor, task tray and volume control still unloaded, so perhaps it's one of those that's causing the crash.

> I am on Ubuntu edgy (it has only just begun doing this; I upgraded
> last month.) Any ideas at all? I hadn't changed my panel configuration
> before this started happening

It's probably a bug in gnome-panel - there was something similar in
Debian a month or two ago and with the Ubuntu release, Ubuntu packages
are a little behind - it'll catch up. Filing a bug report just makes
sure the maintainer is aware that an update could be worth moving to
the top of his ToDo list.

Edgy has now been released, so it won't be updated for updates' sake until I upgrade to feisty, which doesn't yet exist in any practical sense.

> and it doesn't help. I've also reinstalled the package. I'm thinking

Reinstalling is NOT the same as reconfiguring. When you remove a
package - unless you specify --purge - the configuration remains.
Removing a package and installing it back again is not usually that
useful - that's Windows-type behaviour and GNU/Linux is quite different
in how these things are handled.

I purged. I reconfigured first, though. I also deleted the entire config directory, i.e. ~/.gconf/panel/ which didn't help either.

My fresh copy of Edgy is now 42% downloaded...