Lost my Zorin Desktop

Hi,
This is my first post and I already need your help.

I have been using Zorin Lite OS 6 32 bit for a couple months and enjoy it. I was using Windows XP and got tired of it crashing. Now I have messed up Zorin. I was playing around trying to utilize different looks and I lost my Desktop tool bars and stuff that usually show up on the desktop due to the start menu.

When I go into Applications and find Panel, it all returns but it will not start up with the computer so I have been using "Open with File Manager" via a desktop file. (Thanks to the Zorin Community).
Any idea how to get this back? Please remember that I am new to this so speak very plainly.

Oh yeah, when I try to use Zorin Look Changer, everything disappears again, and I an off looking for Panel in Applications. This is hardly a good solution.

I actually got so frustrated that I tried a new live disk which didn't work due to the SMB/CIFS failed, or something that I really am too new to understand.
So please help me get my default settings back and I will leave the changes to Zorin. Thanks in advance.

Some system Information:
Compaq-Presario
Product Name: KY821AA-ABA CQ5110Y
Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard
Desktop 32-bit
Socket Designation: Socket AM2
Central Processor
Athlon X2
AMD 7550 Dual-Core Processor
VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation C61 [GeForce 6150SE nForce 430] (rev a2)
Thanks again

Hi, try opening a terminal (not sure if Ctrl+ Alt+ T works in Lite) and enter:

Code:

lxpanel

and see if it brings it back?

Thanks, Swarfendor437.
It was NOT loaded, so I loaded lxpanel as terminal suggested.
It ran and was beautiful to see, but went away as soon as I closed the terminal.
I rebooted and it is not up.
It does come up when I enter it again in terminal.
I guess my next question is how do I get it to load on Start up and stay loaded.
I looked at Start up items but couldn't get it to load.
Thanks a million, we are getting closer!

I think I might have figured it out.
After trying to get as much back to Default as possible, I went to Zorin Look Changer again.
Changing to Windows 7 or XP did nothing.
But changing to Gnome2 did the trick!
The Desktop is back.
Thank you so much.

Hi, I am just a bit puzzled by the look changer as the desktop/menus you quoted are for Core not Lite?

You are right, it is Lite.
I'm really sorry if this wasted any of your time.
I had been researching the different versions to see if there was an answer anywhere and made a mistake in typing.
I do value any help as I get going with exploring Zorin.
I started with Lite as this is an old computer and wasn't sure if larger Linux operating systems would be too large for me.
So far Lite is great...when I don't goof things up!

But I do have a question about why would this "fix" the problem now, and not prior?
Was it adding the lxpanel to Lite that got Zorin Look Changer working?
Before adding them, Zorin Look Changer wouldn't do the trick.

I am intrigued by the possibilities of Zorin vs. Windows, and will tread softly.
Thanks again.

I think most forks of Lubuntu (of which Zorin Lite is just one of several) tend to use the LX Panel due to the fact that it uses the LX (Light X Desktop Environment) - X being the 'graphical interface' used by GNU/Linux historically.

Your question got me thinking.
So I looked on the Zorin Forum and found this:
"Run this command.
Code: Select all
cat /etc/*release

Here's what I got.

DISTRIB_ID=Zorin
DISTRIB_RELEASE=6
DISTRIB_CODENAME=precise
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Zorin OS 6"
NAME="Ubuntu"
VERSION="12.04.5 LTS, Precise Pangolin"
ID=ubuntu
ID_LIKE=debian
PRETTY_NAME="Ubuntu precise (12.04.5 LTS)"
VERSION_ID="12.04"

Hi, that means it was a short-release version - the first LTS version of Lubuntu was based on Ubuntu 14.04 but only for 3 years not 5 like core versions of Ubuntu. You should backup your data and install Zorin 9 Lite or better still, wait for Zorin 12 Lite whcih will be supported like Lubuntu 16.04 to April 2019.