I use ubuntu netbook edition on a Samnsung N150. Used to work fine.

* But network manager does not appear at startup anymorw.
* Under preferences > I have the following enabled ...
nm-applet --sm-enable

Because this is ubuntu netbook edition I don't have the standard menu to access > system etc ....

What else can I try ???

Advance thanks,
- Jey

Dani AI

Generated

A few safe checks to try before doing a full GNOME reset (as suggested). Missing Network Manager icon usually means the applet never started, the panel/indicator area crashed, or the service itself is stopped. The steps below try the least-destructive fixes first, then escalate.

Check whether the applet and service are running, try restarting them, and start the applet by hand so you can see any error messages:

pgrep -a nm-applet || ps aux | grep -i nm-applet
nmcli device status
sudo service network-manager restart        # works on older Ubuntu/Upstart systems
sudo systemctl restart NetworkManager       # works on systemd systems
nm-applet                                   # run in a terminal so you can read errors

If the applet starts manually but does not appear after login, look for a disabled autostart entry or an absent notification area. Inspect /etc/xdg/autostart and ~/.config/autostart for an nm-applet .desktop file (or a file that hides it). Also check logs for clues:

ls -l /etc/xdg/autostart ~/.config/autostart | grep -i nm
sudo grep -i nm-applet /var/log/syslog* 2>/dev/null
grep -i nm-applet ~/.xsession-errors 2>/dev/null
journalctl -b | grep -i NetworkManager   # if journalctl is available

If those checks show nothing or nm-applet crashes, try reinstalling the Network Manager packages and back up your desktop settings before any wholesale reset:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install --reinstall network-manager network-manager-gnome
tar czf ~/gnome-config-backup.tgz ~/.config ~/.gconf* ~/.gnome* 2>/dev/null || true

A full reset of GNOME/user dotfiles can fix the issue but is destructive and will lose panel/layout/custom settings, so keep a backup and use it only as a last resort.

Hi,
If the network manager icon is not appearing, but it has been, than it can be fixed using the following commands typed into a terminal:[just copy & paste the lines in green to a terminal :)]
(Change current directory to the home directory):
cd
(Backup in case anything goes wrong!):
mv .gnome .gnome-bak && mv .gnome2 .gnome2-bak && mv .gconf .gconf-bak && mv .gconfd .gconfd-bak && mv .metacity .metacity-bak
Remove the current config files:
rm -rv .gnome .gnome2 .gconf .gconfd .metacity
Now reboot your system(or just simply log out and log back in),when you are done with it you should have the default setup back!

Andrew

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.