I believe i have found the problem with the kde4 components getting loaded.

In the /usr/share/autostart directory I have 4 .desktop files:

krunner.desktop
kwrited.desktop
nepomukserver.desktop
plasma.desktop


I removed all of these and the problems seem to have gone away.

As an aside. I opened an old vmware image that i was using for develoment to compare and the directory /usr/share/autostart is empty. I am not sure where these files on my current production image introduced? I have not explicitly addded any other kde components that I can remember. ( perhaps some dependencies got pulled in during a dist-upgrade ? )

--Will Esselink
School District 33
Chilliwack, BC
Canada




On Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 11:42 AM, Will Esselink <willesselink@gmail.com> wrote:
I am using the default init script at starup ( /etc/init.d/kdm-kde3 )

I thought i got around the problem by putting the .dmrc in the users home but it actually does not help. When i created a new user i seen problem come back even though i had put a custom .dmrc file in the /etc/skel  the contains:

[Desktop]
Session=kde3

So to recreate the problem

1. Login as a new user (no home directory exists yet)
2. user is presented with kpersonalizer where you can choose make customizations (doesn't matter if you skip)
3 kde 3 panel loads at the bottom
4 approx 5 secs later kde4 panel loads underneath the kde3 panel

To fix the problem (this is did not work for kevin though. LTSP does some different things with the display manger though if i remember correctly)

1. logout using the kde3 k menu
2. select session type = kde3 from the kdm drop down menu
3. login
4. kde3 loads properly as expected.

--Will


On Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 9:23 AM, <kb9vqf@pearsoncomputing.net> wrote:
Kevin and Will,

I assume that the terminal server is running /opt/kde3/bin/startkde
directly in order to load the new session?  If so, you need to export
DESKTOP_SESSION=kde3 before running that script--I have modified and
diverted KDE4 files so that they detect that variable, and if set to kde3,
prohibit Plasma from launching at all.

In Karmic, I will set this variable automagically to permanently fix this
bug.

Timothy Pearson
KDE3.5 Maintainer

> Dear Will,
>
> Thanks for responding. I tried what you said but the user already had a
> .dmrc
> file with the exact contents you described!
>
> I'll keep thinking about it!
>
> Cheers,
>
> Kevin
> On Wednesday 12 August 2009, Will Esselink wrote:
>> I would also like to say thank you for the kde3 version of Kubuntu. Last
>> year we migrated 1000 workstations to Linux in our elementary schools
>> and
>> all of our recently created screenshots and documentation are all using
>> kde3 and we did not want to rework at this time. In addition we have
>> many
>> users who are resistant to change ;-)
>>
>>
>> I have experienced the same problem Kevin has at our site as well. When
>> the
>> user first logs on both kde3 and kde4
>>
>> We are using DRBL fat clients at our site rather that LTSP but I am not
>> sure the problem is related to LTSP. I have a standalone test machine
>> that
>> has the same behaviour.
>>
>> A temporary solution is to logout (using the kde3 menu because the kde4
>> kmenu doesn't seen to respond) Then at the kdm screen select kde session
>> from the drop down list. The next login should be kde3 only. Another
>> thing
>> you can do is create a file called .dmrc and put this the users home
>> directory with the following two lines:
>>
>> [Desktop]
>> Session=kde3
>>
>>
>>
>> --Will Esselink
>> School District 33
>> Chilliwack, BC
>> Canada
>>
>> On Wed, Aug 12, 2009 at 1:12 AM, Kevin Colyer <kevin@ywambrussels.be>
>> wrote:
>> > Dear All,
>> >
>> > Thanks for making KDE3 available for Kubuntu users. I have been
>> running
>> > an LTSP network with KDE3 for several happy users. Anyway as I was
>> > restricted to
>> > running Hardy I have taken the plunge and now have Jaunty with KDE3
>> and
>> > KDE installed. (I have decided 4.3 is OK for me)
>> >
>> > So I have the LTSP terminals working OK. But when I boot them into
>> KDE3
>> > Plasma
>> > starts too, as well as a number of duplicated KDE 4 services (or
>> because
>> > of probably).
>> >
>> > I added:
>> > export KDEDIRS=/opt/kde3/:/usr/
>> > export XDG_DATA_DIRS=/opt/kde3/share/:/usr/share/
>> >
>> > to /opt/kde3/bin/startkde but that makes no difference.
>> >
>> > KDE4 performance is poor on LTSP so I can't migrate the users. I call
>> > kill off
>> > the KDE4 processes and will train users to do this.
>> >
>> > Any ideas how I can stop KDE4 processes starting? Where are they being
>> > started
>> > from?
>> >
>> > Cheers,
>> >
>> > Kevin
>> >
>> > --
>> > Kevin Colyer
>> > YWAM National Director (interim)
>> > YWAM Brussels Team leader/Responsable de JEM Bruxelles
>> >
>> > Avenue Des Celtes, 19
>> > 1040 Bruxelles
>> > Belgium
>> >
>> > Tel:   +32 (0) 2 736 33 63
>> > Fax:  +32 (0) 2 738 02 40
>> > GSM: +32 (0) 484 683 003
>> > GSM: +44 (0) 7967 105 273 (only outside Belgium)
>> > http://www.ywambrussels.be
>> > skype: kevincolyerwork
>
>
> --
> Kevin Colyer
> YWAM National Director (interim)
> YWAM Brussels Team leader/Responsable de JEM Bruxelles
>
> Avenue Des Celtes, 19
> 1040 Bruxelles
> Belgium
>
> Tel:   +32 (0) 2 736 33 63
> Fax:  +32 (0) 2 738 02 40
> GSM: +32 (0) 484 683 003
> GSM: +44 (0) 7967 105 273 (only outside Belgium)
> http://www.ywambrussels.be
> skype: kevincolyerwork
>