what file, or files am I looking for to fix my video card settings?
 

I have been using Ubuntu for many years. the problem is that when I installed Ubuntu I had a much worse video card, and Unity has never worked. I could never use anything but the GTK interface. I now have a new video card, but unity still won't work. I had considered reinstalling, or moving to a different distro, but just out of curiosity I created a new user account, and it works fine with Unity. my question is, what file or files am I looking for in my current user account to correct my video settings?
I'm currently using 14.04

the first thing to try: log out from the current user, and see if you can change the session type (not the user) in the login window.
iirc, you have to click on the ubuntu logo to get some sort of menu. it is probably set to "gnome fallback" or some such.

The files will likely be in one of the hidden directories so I would be tempted to move the hidden directories not related to a specific application out of your home then move the others back one by one. Mind you, something like this regarding deleting settings may help?
I would be tempted to rename the directories you think may be the problem rather than delete them.

if I log out and switch to Unity or the Gnome Flashback Compiz, it goes to a jacked up version of Unity with half of the features missing including the upper task bar stuff.
I'm pretty sure there is at least one file in the .config folder which is to blame. as a test, I copied that folder to the new profile and came up with the same error, I deleted it and the problem went away.
what files configure the video drivers in the .config folder?

It don't think it configures the video drivers, as such, but I'm guessing that the directory named "unity" may have something to do with Unity and the "gnome-session" and "gtk-3.0" could also potentially affect things.
Why not just try renaming things until it works?

I was afraid of crashing it permanently.

You cannot "crash it permanently" -- look at pressing Ctrl+Alt+F2 to gain a terminal then pressing something like Ctrl+Alt+F7 or Ctrl+Alt+F6 to get back to the GUI.

Edit: Then crash it! You need to crash any OS at least once to learn how to run it.

37fleetwood, you're on the right track with your investigations! don't get cold feet, you will find it soon.

ok, I moved the .config folder to the new profile and logged in. as predicted, there is no menu or taskbars. it also won't let me start a terminal so I can't log out. it's sitting there running until I completely log out of everything else I was doing and restart the computer. this is what I was hoping to avoid. I was hoping someone familiar could point me specifically to the correct file or files to delete. I have experimented before and know that if you delete the .config folder Ubuntu will re-write it, I just don't want to lose all of the other settings I have made over the years.

does anyone know how to log out of the other profile without a taskbar, or terminal?

ok, some screenshots.

here's what I get when I log in to the flashback with Compiz. remember it's supposed to have the gnome two looking taskbar. also notice the controls in the upper right are missing. the only way to log out is through the terminal, (which is why I have the text document with the terminal command for logging out)+

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psabev41iz.jpg

so far, all I've managed to do by tampering with it is get this, which as you can see, is not an improvement.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psbinb8zz3.jpg

ok, through the process of elimination I've gotten it to work, though I still don't understand why.
here's what I did:
step one, I created a new profile
step two, I copied my existing .config folder to the new profile
step three, I moved every folder that wasn't specific to a known program out of the .config folder
step four I logged in, and if nothing worked I restarted and replaced folders one at a time until everything worked.

findings:
I found there were only two folders left when everything worked. the one named compiz-1, and the one named unity. I'm baffled as to which one is the problem, because I could likely put the other one back and only one folder would be missing.
another option would be, if I could figure out the offending file, I could edit it until it worked properly.

here's the confusing part, the unity folder has only one file in it. it's named first_run.stamp. when opened in gedit it's blank, so it can't be that one can it?
in the Compiz-1 folder there is a folder named compizconfig. inside that folder there are three files. one named config which simply has this text in it:

[gnome_session]
profile = unity

[general]
profile =
integration = true

doesn't seem like it should interfere.
the next file is a file named Default.ini when opened in a text editor it has the following text:

[core]
s0_active_plugins = core;composite;opengl;compiztoolbox;decor;workarounds;resize;wobbly;staticswitcher;place;text;extraw m;vpswitch;regex;move;winrules;shift;cube;rotate;switcher;workspacenames;td;

[staticswitcher]
s0_prev_key = Disabled

not sure if any of that would cause the compiz stuff not to work, but it seems to be a list of installed plugins.
the last file is named done_upgrades and has the text:

com.canonical.unity.unity.01.upgrade
com.canonical.unity.unity.02.upgrade
com.canonical.unity.unity.03.upgrade
com.canonical.unity.unity.04.upgrade
com.canonical.unity.unity.05.upgrade
com.canonical.unity.unity.06.upgrade
com.canonical.unity.unity.07.upgrade

which also seems innocuous enough.
any ideas? that's all that's in these two folders, one of which is screwing up everything.

moved the unity folder back in with no adverse effect.
also moved the compiz-1 folder with all but the Default.ini file, also with no adverse effect. so, apparently that's the offending file.
anyone have any idea why?

I was a bit premature.
the above corrected problems with unity, but the gnome flashback compiz was still problematic. I had to also delete the config file in the Compiz-1\compizconfig folder.

have you tried what 273 suggested a few posts back?
once you get to a text console, you can do the logging out from there, then switch back to the graphical tty.

apart from that; it will be easier to start with a fresh profile, and add your favorite app's options back in.

also, the offending configuration files could be elsewhere than under .config.

thanks, but I already figured it out. I just ended up deleting the whole compiz-1 folder, and everything works now