[kwlug-disc] Why does Gnome gets slow over time?

Khalid Baheyeldin kb at 2bits.com
Sun Oct 4 18:24:03 EDT 2009


Thanks for the tip.

I use KDE (Kubuntu 9.04), and have always assumed that it is Firefox that is
slow, perhaps because of flash ads (I used NoScript to disable them by
default), or because I have 200+ tabs open (yes, a bad habit). KDE
applications are normally snappy and fast even when Firefox is lagging
except when the latter eats up too much CPU.

But it never occurred to me that it is a Gnome/Gtk issue rather than a
Firefox issue.

I have found this to work on Kubuntu 9.04, which still has some Gnome parts
in it because of Gtk applicatiosn (.e.g FireFox).

1. Log off all users.

2. Ssh into the machine, or press Alt-F2 and login from a shell

3. Run this command:

# sudo bash
# cd /home/YOURNAME
# mkdir .gconf-backup
#mv .gnome2 .gconf .gconfd .gconf-backup

4. Reboot
# shutdown -r now

It is embarrassing in a way, since we always criticize Windows for needing a
reinstall every now and then otherwise it becomes too slow. At least the
solution is a simple command to run, and not a reinstall.

On Sun, Oct 4, 2009 at 12:00 PM, Raul Suarez <rarsa at yahoo.com> wrote:

> While I was searching for something completelly unrelated I came across
> this blog post that showed how to speed up Gnome by reseting the gnome
> settings folders
>
> http://dt.in.th/2008-12-12.fasterrrr.html
>
> As I was feeling that Gnome was getting slugish and I haven't customized my
> desktop too much, I decided to try it.
>
> The result was a way faster and responsive desktop but with the same
> functionality as before (i.e. everything that was running before is still
> running now)
>
> The difference is particularly obvious when browsing with Firefox or
> Epiphany but in general all the applications seem to open faster and be more
> responsive. Unfortunatelly I do not have benchmarks, just gut feeling,
> although my kids have also commented on the improvement.
>
> Why would this be? Is it necessary to remove all those folders or is the
> slugishness related to justa few files and we are killing a fly with a
> shotgun?
>
>  Raul Suarez
>
>
> Technology consultant
> Software, Hardware and Practices
> _________________
> http://rarsa.blogspot.com/
> An eclectic collection of random thoughts
>
>
>
>      __________________________________________________________________
> The new Internet Explorer® 8 - Faster, safer, easier.  Optimized for Yahoo!
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-- 
Khalid M. Baheyeldin
2bits.com, Inc.
http://2bits.com
Drupal optimization, development, customization and consulting.
Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. --  Edsger W.Dijkstra
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. --   Leonardo da Vinci
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