The problem is that it takes 45 secs or longer to launch a program (e.g., OpenOffice, qpdfview, gedit, etc.).

I've noticed that if I launch a program using Nautilus:
(1) Double click on an icon
(2) Using open with

In both cases the launch is delayed for a long time.

If I use the programs "recently used" list, the file launches in the application immediately. However, this "recently used" feature is not available in all applications and is not convenient nor are all files I need to access in the list.

Sometimes launching programs (e.g., OpenOffice, gEdit, etc.), for awhile will launch quickly. For no apparent reason, the launch then takes a long, long time. I tried to launch OpenOffice from the command line (i.e., soffice File.odt), but it still takes forever. I tried opening files from the "Recent Documents" menu and they always seem to launch quickly.

It does not seem to be file dependent, every file I try to access with, for example, OpenOffice takes forever.

This problem is making the use of Ubuntu a major problem.

Can anyone help?

------------------------- (( System Details )) -------------------------
AOO:
Apache OpenOffice 4.1.6
AOO416m1(Build:9790) - Rev. 1844436
2018-10-23 07:03 - Linux x86_64

OS:
64-bit Ubuntu 18.04.2 LTS
Gnome: 3.28.2

Laptop:
Acer A515-51-50RR
Mem: 7.7 GiB ram; Proc: Intel Core i5-7200U CPU @ 2.50GHz × 4;
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 620 (Kaby Lake GT2); HDD: 1 TB
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't know if they are related, but here are some error messages:

8:24:34 AM systemd-udevd: Invalid rule /etc/udev/rules.d/60-brother-libsane-type1.rules:17: unknown key 'SYSFS{idVendor}'
6:30:22 AM anacron: Can't find sendmail at /usr/sbin/sendmail, not mailing output
6:25:58 AM gnome-session-b: GLib-CRITICAL: g_child_watch_add_full: assertion 'pid > 0' failed
6:25:55 AM spice-vdagent: Cannot access vdagent virtio channel /dev/virtio-ports/com.redhat.spice.0
6:25:51 AM pulseaudio: [pulseaudio] backend-ofono.c: Failed to register as a handsfree audio agent with ofono: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown: The name org.ofono was not provided by any .service files
6:24:45 AM spice-vdagent: Cannot access vdagent virtio channel /dev/virtio-ports/com.redhat.spice.0
6:24:35 AM gnome-session-b: CRITICAL: Unable to create a DBus proxy for GnomeScreensaver: Error calling StartServiceByName for org.gnome.ScreenSaver: GDBus.Errorrg.freedesktop.DBus.Error.Spawn.ChildExited: Process org.gnome.ScreenSaver exited with status 1
6:24:32 AM wpa_supplicant: dbus: Failed to construct signal
6:24:31 AM kernel: Error calling EVIOCSKEYCODE on device node '/dev/input/event6' (scan code 0x90008, key code 150): Invalid argument
6:24:31 AM kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.5: [12] Replay Timer Timeout
6:24:30 AM systemd-udevd: Invalid rule /etc/udev/rules.d/60-brother-libsane-type1.rules:17: unknown key 'SYSFS{idVendor}'
6:24:20 AM kernel: dell_smbios: Unable to run on non-Dell system
6:24:19 AM kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.5: [12] Replay Timer Timeout
6:23:23 AM kernel: Couldn't get size: 0x800000000000000e
6:23:23 AM kernel: Problem loading UEFI:db X.509 certificate (-65)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jul 26 12:45:24 tarsus org.gnome.Nautilus[2591]: RuntimeError: object at 0x7f78646da500 of type CopyPasteImagesMenuProvider is not initialized
Jul 26 12:45:24 tarsus org.gnome.Nautilus[2591]: NameError: global name EXTENSIONS is not defined
Jul 26 12:45:24 tarsus org.gnome.Nautilus[2591]: RuntimeError: object at 0x7f78646da500 of type CopyPasteImagesMenuProvider is not initialized
Jul 26 12:45:24 tarsus org.gnome.Nautilus[2591]: NameError: global name EXTENSIONS is not defined
Jul 26 12:45:24 tarsus org.gnome.Nautilus[2591]: RuntimeError: object at 0x7f78646da500 of type CopyPasteImagesMenuProvider is not initialized
Jul 26 12:45:24 tarsus org.gnome.Nautilus[2591]: NameError: global name EXTENSIONS is not defined
Jul 26 12:45:24 tarsus org.gnome.Nautilus[2591]: RuntimeError: object at 0x7f78646da500 of type CopyPasteImagesMenuProvider is not initialized
Jul 26 12:45:24 tarsus org.gnome.Nautilus[2591]: NameError: global name SEPARATOR is not defined
Jul 26 12:45:24 tarsus org.gnome.Nautilus[2591]: RuntimeError: object at 0x7f78646da500 of type CopyPasteImagesMenuProvider is not initialized
Jul 26 12:45:24 tarsus org.gnome.Nautilus[2591]: NameError: global name EXTENSIONS is not defined
Jul 26 12:45:24 tarsus org.gnome.Nautilus[2591]: RuntimeError: object at 0x7f78646da500 of type CopyPasteImagesMenuProvider is not initialized
Jul 26 12:45:24 tarsus org.gnome.Nautilus[2591]: NameError: global name EXTENSIONS is not defined
Jul 26 12:45:24 tarsus org.gnome.Nautilus[2591]: RuntimeError: object at 0x7f78646da500 of type CopyPasteImagesMenuProvider is not initialized
Jul 26 12:45:24 tarsus org.gnome.Nautilus[2591]: NameError: global name EXTENSIONS is not defined
Jul 26 12:45:24 tarsus org.gnome.Nautilus[2591]: RuntimeError: object at 0x7f78646da500 of type CopyPasteImagesMenuProvider is not initialized
Jul 26 12:45:24 tarsus org.gnome.Nautilus[2591]: NameError: global name SEPARATOR is not defined
Jul 26 12:45:24 tarsus nautilus-autostart.desktop[3012]: RuntimeError: object at 0x7f883a4964b0 of type CopyPasteImagesMenuProvider is not initialized
Jul 26 12:45:24 tarsus nautilus-autostart.desktop[3012]: NameError: global name EXTENSIONS is not defined
Jul 26 12:45:24 tarsus nautilus-autostart.desktop[3012]: RuntimeError: object at 0x7f883a4964b0 of type CopyPasteImagesMenuProvider is not initialized
Jul 26 12:45:24 tarsus nautilus-autostart.desktop[3012]: NameError: global name EXTENSIONS is not defined
Jul 26 12:43:47 tarsus nautilus-autostart.desktop[3012]: RuntimeError: object at 0x7f883a4964b0 of type CopyPasteImagesMenuProvider is not initialized
Jul 26 12:43:47 tarsus nautilus-autostart.desktop[3012]: NameError: global name EXTENSIONS is not defined
Jul 26 12:43:47 tarsus org.gnome.Nautilus[2591]: RuntimeError: object at 0x7f78646da500 of type CopyPasteImagesMenuProvider is not initialized
Jul 26 12:43:47 tarsus org.gnome.Nautilus[2591]: NameError: global name EXTENSIONS is not defined
Jul 26 12:43:47 tarsus org.gnome.Nautilus[2591]: RuntimeError: object at 0x7f78646da500 of type CopyPasteImagesMenuProvider is not initialized
Jul 26 12:43:47 tarsus org.gnome.Nautilus[2591]: NameError: global name EXTENSIONS is not defined
Jul 26 12:43:47 tarsus org.gnome.Nautilus[2591]: RuntimeError: object at 0x7f78646da500 of type CopyPasteImagesMenuProvider is not initialized
Jul 26 12:43:47 tarsus org.gnome.Nautilus[2591]: NameError: global name EXTENSIONS is not defined
Jul 26 12:43:47 tarsus org.gnome.Nautilus[2591]: RuntimeError: object at 0x7f78646da500 of type CopyPasteImagesMenuProvider is not initialized
Jul 26 12:43:47 tarsus org.gnome.Nautilus[2591]: NameError: global name SEPARATOR is not defined
Jul 26 12:36:46 tarsus pia-daemon[1081]: [+6:12:18.592][apiclient][apiclient.cpp:212][info] Request for "vpninfo/servers?version=1001&client=x-alpha" - 200 "OK" - error code: QNetworkReply::NoError
Jul 26 12:35:28 tarsus org.gnome.Nautilus[2591]: RuntimeError: object at 0x7f78646da500 of type CopyPasteImagesMenuProvider is not initialized
Jul 26 12:35:28 tarsus org.gnome.Nautilus[2591]: NameError: global name EXTENSIONS is not defined
Jul 26 12:35:28 tarsus org.gnome.Nautilus[2591]: RuntimeError: object at 0x7f78646da500 of type CopyPasteImagesMenuProvider is not initialized

Hi EigenFunctions,

There are 2 things I would try:

• It looks like you have a udev rule set up for a Brother scanner and the error message mentions a problem with the vendor ID ... You might want to check this or competely disable (rename the file) the rule should you no longer need the device ...
  
  
• The last time I had issues with launch delay, it had to do with a corrupted ~/.config directory. I would suggest renaming this (ex. to ~/.config.RENAMED .. or somehting) and then trying your apps. If it makes no difference, we'll have to look at another line of troubleshooting ...
  
  

Let us know how you make out ....

Rick

I don't know how how to disable the Brother scanner. There is no problem disabling it because I never made it work anyway.

I tried your second suggestion (folder renaming) and it came up with some panel about the setup of Ubuntu. Then the AOO file I click on came up, but much later. I will rename it back to the original because that didn't seem to help.

In any event thanks for the suggestions.

... try this:

... and try your stuff again ... Also see my post in your other thread specifically concerning the Brother device ...

Let us know ...

Rick

I renamed (mv) the new .config to .config_new and renamed the .config_Disable back to .config before I did the rename (mv) you suggested.

No that didn't seem to do anything. Just pressing the print button takes a long time for it to respond.

The problem still exists and is very bad at times. Sometimes, launching works well and then, for no apparent reason, it slows down again. It never gets better until the next reboot. This has been going on for weeks and the machine is nearly unusable at this point.

I don't know if the following error messages are relevant and I don't have any idea what they mean:
The error messages appear many times. I notice many errors where shows Can anyone help?

The problem persists and, I think, is getting worse. Now when I try to launch Firefox, it sometimes takes more than 45secs to start.
When I first bootup, everything seems to work well. Then, no matter the activity (even if the PC is idle), the launch times start to get longer and longer.

I'm hoping against hope that the solution doesn't end up like the standard windoz solution... wipe the disk clean and reload Ubuntu.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Can anyone help?

have a task manager or resource monitor open at all times.
I suggest htop, but top will also do.
Try to see what is eating resources (CPU, RAM).

Thank-you. I'll try that and report my findings.

Here are results (see attached). There is a small burst of activity, nothing much happens, then ~45secs later another burst and the file is open.

BTW- That's opening an open office writer file.

Attached Thumbnails

   

That CPU% isn't an issue. What about if you start the programs from a terminal session ?. Say just enter firefox and see what happens, any error messages.

That's not much.
Look at disk i/o also.
Make sure you see all users (I'm sure htop/top can do that).
And why the network activity? Where are those files stored?

I backup application-files every day and backup more significant numbers of files weekly.

The network I/O and disk I/O that show up in the graph are just incidental and don't always appear. The AOO file is located on a local HDD (I have no network storage and the file is not on a USB thumb drive).

I tried changing to "All Tasks" and "All Active Tasks", but it doesn't seem to give any additional information.

Thanks for the help. I'm really hoping for a solution soon.

I tried from a terminal:

Same here:
In both cases, they stills take forever to launch.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Aren't you way too patient?

Considering the many errors and not being able to find the culprit(s) I certainly would wipe the disc and install latest iso...

It's not logging running nuts? Surely there must be some clues in the log files??