Last night I used the Mandrake Software Update to search for bug fixes. One was the harddrake app. I installed it and a few others that Mandrake Software Update listed. Now, no matter what user I log in as, Under the KDE->Configuration menu, I don't have Mandrake Software Update or most of the other stuff. I think there's only the user manager and change your password app. There's still the KDE config stuff, but not the package management or other stuff you need to add or update software.

di11rod

Sounds like the menu bug strikes again. There's an RPM database update that will make this problem go away once and for all. Anyway, open konsole and run "update-menus -v". When command looks like its hung, just hit enter.

Crito,

Thank you very much for telling me about that menu bug. I am really not a very good troubleshooter, I guess. I assumed the culprit was the harddrake package. Didn't know there was a problem with the KDE menus in general. Should have searched the forums for that.

I ran that command as root and it seems to have restored my KDE menu options. Hooray!

I really appreciate the guidance given on these linuxquestions forums. Wherever possible, i'll try to answer people's questions to contribute back to the resource here.

Appreciatively,

di11rod

My menu's dissapeered only after I update XFree86 packages. updating KDE didn't do it.
Someone said this was an old problem related to having a desktop running at the time XFree was updated.

It's a bug in the way the RPM database locks records. Only a problem with MDK 9.2 and affects gnome menus as well:
http://archives.mandrakelinux.com/an...2/msg00004.php

As to updating XFree, to quote the install instructions:
"If you run the installer from within an X session (the installer checks if $DISPLAY is set), you will be warned that doing so is not a good idea. Unless you have a good reason for knowing that this won't be a problem, you should exit your X session, including stopping xdm or equivalent if it is running, before continuing. If you ignore this warning and run into problems, well, you were warned!"

When I urpmi'd the thing I never got the warning. You only get it if your running the MCC rpm update.