How to Restore GNOME Default Panels

If you use GNOME on Ubuntu or other Linux distributions, you've probably encountered panel problems. Maybe you accidentally deleted a panel while right-clicking, removed an applet you can't figure out how to restore, or woke up to find your panels mysteriously scrambled. Don't worry—these issues are fixable.

What Are GNOME Panels?

GNOME panels are the bars at the top and bottom of your desktop (by default) that contain your application menu, system tray, window list, and various applets. They're central to the GNOME desktop experience, so when they break, your desktop becomes difficult to use.

Problem 1: You Accidentally Broke Your Panels

This is the most common scenario. You were experimenting with panel settings, deleted something important, or somehow ended up with panels that don't work like they should.

The Full Reset Solution

Open a terminal and run these commands:

gconftool-2 --shutdown
gconftool-2 --recursive-unset /apps/panel
rm -rf ~/.gconf/apps/panel
pkill gnome-panel

What each command does:

gconftool-2 --shutdown – Shuts down the GNOME configuration daemon so changes can be made safely
gconftool-2 --recursive-unset /apps/panel – Removes all panel configuration from GConf (GNOME's configuration system)
rm -rf ~/.gconf/apps/panel – Deletes your local panel configuration files
pkill gnome-panel – Kills the panel process, forcing it to restart with default settings

Warning: This completely resets your panels to factory defaults. Any customizations you've made—custom launchers, added applets, panel positions—will be lost. Make sure you actually want to start fresh before running these commands.

Before You Reset: Backup Option

If you want to be able to restore your current setup (broken as it may be), you can backup your panel configuration first:

cp -r ~/.gconf/apps/panel ~/.gconf/apps/panel.backup

If you later decide you want your old settings back (or need to recover something), you can restore from this backup.

Problem 2: Ubuntu 10.04 Panel Scrambling Bug

If you're running Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx (just released last week), you may have noticed a different problem: panels that randomly scramble themselves. Applets move around, icons disappear, or the panel layout just looks wrong when you log in.

This appears to be a bug in Ubuntu 10.04 where panel layouts occasionally get corrupted. The good news is you don't need the full nuclear option above. Instead, simply restart the panel process:

killall gnome-panel

This kills and restarts the panel process without deleting any configuration. Your customizations remain intact, and in most cases, this fixes the scrambling issue.

If the scrambling keeps happening, you might need to use the full reset above, but try the simple killall first.

When to Use Which Solution

Use the full reset (gconftool-2 commands) when:

You've deleted panels or applets you can't restore
Panel configuration is completely broken
You want to start completely fresh

Use the simple restart (killall gnome-panel) when:

Panels are scrambled but not broken
Applets are in wrong positions but still present
You're experiencing the Ubuntu 10.04 bug
You want to keep your customizations

Verifying It Worked

After running the commands, your panels should immediately reappear with default settings. You should see:

Top panel with Applications, Places, System menus
System tray, clock, and user menu on top-right
Bottom panel with window list and workspace switcher

If panels don't reappear, try logging out and back in.

Final Thoughts

GNOME panel problems are frustrating but usually easy to fix. The commands above have saved me multiple times when experimentation went wrong. Just remember: the full reset deletes your customizations, so use it only when necessary.

For Ubuntu 10.04 users experiencing the scrambling bug, hopefully a fix will come in updates soon. Until then, killall gnome-panel is your friend. Last modified: 2010-05-03 WordPress ID: 603