Wallpaper is not changing and right click does not work on desktop in Ubuntu 14.04

Question

Sorry if this question is already answered, but I have already searched and could not find a solution to my problem.

Recently I installed gnome-shell and ubuntu-gnome-desktop to try gnome. I then removed it using

sudo apt-get remove gnome-shell ubuntu-gnome-desktop.

From that moment I couldn't change my desktop wallpaper. Also, when I right click on my desktop it doesn't work.

I read in some links to check if xfdesktop is running... In my ubuntu, that process is not running. When I run xfdesktop from terminal, it gives me the following error:

SESSION_MANAGER environment variable is not defined. Failed to connect to session manager.

I don't know if it has any relation to my problem.

Another thing I observed is that gnome-system-monitor and gnome-session are still running on my ubuntu... why are they running if I want Unity only?

Is there any way to reset my ubuntu to as it was initially. But I have also installed some useful applications and packages in this, can I keep them even after resetting?

Thank you in advance!

Solution 1

I had the exact same problem.
Tried everything in the book!
This is what worked for me.
Hope your problem is solved soon.

gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.background active true

Solution 2

After installing or removing of ubuntu-gnome-desktop a bug of Desktop not responding to clicks/icons can occur, You may reactivate:

Active Desktop Background:

gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.background active true

Active Desktop Icons:

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.background show-desktop-icons true

Solution 3

Use the gnome-tweak-tool. Click the Desktop button (left side) Set:

Mode = Scaled
Background Location = ...image path

Comments

[jvriesem]

@Karan: I agree--what's the rationale here?

[The Unknown Dev]

This solution gave me back my changing wallpapers, but didn't allow me to click. This fixed the clicking problem for anyone that needs it: askubuntu.com/questions/142247/…

[Pupper]

Worked for me on Ubuntu 16.04.2. It's bizarre how something basic like this could be broken out of the box...

[Nelson]

also worked! I had variety installed, and it wasn't working. I am very curious how this isn't a default setting. Still no context menu on a right click, but I never really used it anyway.

[Christopher Kuttruff]

Worked nicely for me as well! I suspect this might have happened when I used the gnome-tweak tool to disable desktop icons. Anyone else who had this issue disable desktop icons via command line?