Member Avatar for steven woodman

Hey peoples, I have a little problem that i cant figure out on my own. Ive been running kubuntu with compiz effects basically all on and enjoy booting into linux every now and then for a little learning experience. Anyways i wanted to trry a new windows manager so i installed enlightenment. well, it was alright but kde was more my style so i logged out and when i changed my session type to kde it said that another windows manager was still running and asked me if i wanted to edit the file or some crap. so i just used the apt-get remove enlightenment command and rebooted. unfortunately when i logged back in my compiz had been turned off and i cant get effects back on.

ps - when im in the compiz settings it says everthing is still enabled.

so if anyone has experienced this problem or knows a solution please let me know.

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Dani AI

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A common side-effect of trying a different window manager is that KDE’s startup/session settings or autostart entries get left in a state where the original compositor doesn’t relaunch automatically. As discovered, forcing Compiz to replace the current window manager restores effects for that session — useful as an immediate fix, but not persistent across logins unless you make a startup change.

Why this happens: KDE normally runs KWin (its compositor/window manager). Alternate WMs (Enlightenment, Compiz, etc.) replace or disable KWin when launched. Installing or removing another WM can leave autostart files or session-save data that prevents Compiz from being started again at login. Check for leftover startup entries and session settings before assuming Compiz is broken.

Practical checklist to make the fix permanent and troubleshoot:

  • Inspect autostart locations and remove leftover Enlightenment entries: ~/.kde/Autostart, ~/.config/autostart, and /etc/xdg/autostart.
  • Use KDE System Settings -> Startup and Shutdown -> Autostart to add the compositor you want to run at login (or drop a small executable in your Autostart folder).
  • If KDE is set to “restore previous session,” clear or disable that so the correct window manager is started fresh.
  • If the compositor still won’t start, run it from a terminal to capture errors and review ~/.xsession-errors. Confirm which WM/process is active with a process check, for example:
    ps aux | egrep 'compiz|kwin|enlightenment|e16'

Final notes: avoid running two compositors at once (KWin and Compiz will conflict). If config files look mangled after experimenting, back them up and recreate a clean autostart entry or reinstall the compositor packages. This approach preserves the quick recovery you had and makes the change survive future logins.

Member Avatar for steven woodman

Sorry guys, i figured out already.

what i needed to do is just run the
compiz --replace
command. and that worked.

Thanks, even if you only read the thread.

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