Desktop crashes when accessing Other Locations

My Zorin 12 is running fine, but in recent times I've experienced the Desktop section crashing on me when I try to access the "other Locations" link in the lefthand menu.
For me, "Other Locations" is a 1Tb Toshiba external drive; a 300 gigabyte internal disk which has Windows 7 on it (now unused); and the Computer. I don't use it that often, but occasionally want to look at files on the external drive, or maybe move some files to it. When I click on the 'Other Locations' link, the cursor just spins around and nothing happens; this is soon followed by a "desktop is not responding" message.
It doesn't happen all the time, however. My system is quite old and maybe there is something it is not handling well. I do not have much on the desktop section, just a few shortcut icons and maybe half a dozen or so images, so it's not overloaded.

newzedder wrote:My Zorin 12 is running fine, but in recent times I've experienced the Desktop section crashing on me when I try to access the "other Locations" link in the lefthand menu.
For me, "Other Locations" is a 1Tb Toshiba external drive; a 300 gigabyte internal disk which has Windows 7 on it (now unused); and the Computer. I don't use it that often, but occasionally want to look at files on the external drive, or maybe move some files to it. When I click on the 'Other Locations' link, the cursor just spins around and nothing happens; this is soon followed by a "desktop is not responding" message.
It doesn't happen all the time, however. My system is quite old and maybe there is something it is not handling well. I do not have much on the desktop section, just a few shortcut icons and maybe half a dozen or so images, so it's not overloaded.

Have you tried opening nautilus through Terminal command to see if it shows an errors? It is possible that may help narrow down the issue.

On my version of 12.4 core, I had that happen a bit at first. I removed and then re-installed Nautilus to resolve the issue. Which turned out to be a useless effort anyway since I stopped using Nautilus as my File Manager not even a week later and have been using Nemo ever since (recently, I switched to using Thunar.)
You may consider trying out Nemo or another File Manager to see if it suits your needs and works better for you than Nautilus does (Which for me, is always true.)

EDIT:
I just read this line in your sig

Linux knowledge; approx zero.

So I am going to add detail; just in case.

To run Nautilus (Your current default file manager) from the terminal, hit ctrl+alt+t and in the terminal window that opens type

Code:

nautilus

Your file manager window will open but move back to the Terminal Window and watch for any GTK Errors that pop up in that window.

Re-installing Nautilus may correct an old bug by replacing the libnautilus file in question.
Doing so from Terminal is your standard "sudo apt-get remove nautilus, sudo apt autoclean, sudo apt-get install nautilus" commands.

To install Nemo or Thunar or another Applicable File Manager, I recommend using Synaptic Package manager. Open Synaptic, then use the Search Function for your file manager of choice. Select (mark for installation) the files you need and then hit apply.
If you choose to install a different File Manger, you may want to set it as your default and remove Nautilus as your default. IF so, please let me know because I do not remember how to do that off the top of my head... If you want to go that route, I will look it up.

Thanks for your answer, Aravisian....just picked it up this morning. Yes my Linux knowledge is quite low, although I am now getting the hang of unzipping archives and installing programs, so progress is at least forward I didnt realise there were other file managers; what I will do is tackle this later today, as per your instructions; Saturday mornings tend to be rather too hectic to sit quietly and problem-solve; so I will see how things go later on and post back.

newzedder wrote:Thanks for your answer, Aravisian....just picked it up this morning. Yes my Linux knowledge is quite low, although I am now getting the hang of unzipping archives and installing programs, so progress is at least forward I didnt realise there were other file managers; what I will do is tackle this later today, as per your instructions; Saturday mornings tend to be rather too hectic to sit quietly and problem-solve; so I will see how things go later on and post back.

My Linux Knowledge ain't exactly guru level. I am learning how to be a novice.
There is a nice variety on file managers allowing many different pros and cons of each. I would recommend exploring other FM's before really attempting to do anything with Nautilus. The reason why has to do with how Nautilus plays with others. Since you are on 12.4, you are still sitting pretty. If you were using Zorin 15, you would have more problems since Nautilus is even more integrated into Bionic Beaver.
Fortunately, though, you have more control over Nautilus in 12.4.
This list is a good showing on file managers:
https://www.ubuntupit.com/linux-file-ma ... nux-users/
Personally, I lean toward Nemo, Thunar, SpaceFM on that list for GUI FM's. SpaceFM is utilitarian but powerful with easy access to options. Nemo is very strong and versatile and employs Gnome3 whereas thunar is simple and functional, uses Gnome2/3 and both take well to most Themes you apply.
I am using Thunar now, even though it gives a slightly poorer performance than Nemo. The reason why is merely aesthetics- it handles my custom theme perfectly. Nemo has some glitches with it.

Hi
Thanks for that info. I've just called up nautilus via the terminal, as you suggested, and got the following:
(nautilus:4517): GLib-GIO-CRITICAL **: g_dbus_interface_skeleton_unexport: assertion 'interface_->priv->connections != NULL' failed
The desktop panel loads up ok, but the terminal gave the above message. I just happened to stick it into a search engine but couldnt find anything I understood, so perhaps you might let me know. I shall not do anything with nautilus for the time being; things aren't desperate, but I'll read up the File manager stuff.

newzedder wrote:Hi
Thanks for that info. I've just called up nautilus via the terminal, as you suggested, and got the following:
(nautilus:4517): GLib-GIO-CRITICAL **: g_dbus_interface_skeleton_unexport: assertion 'interface_->priv->connections != NULL' failed
The desktop panel loads up ok, but the terminal gave the above message. I just happened to stick it into a search engine but couldnt find anything I understood, so perhaps you might let me know. I shall not do anything with nautilus for the time being; things aren't desperate, but I'll read up the File manager stuff.

Yes, that is a known bug with Nautilus.
The suggestion above of doing a removal of Nautilus, then reinstallation of Nautilus should resolve it as the reinstallation candidate will have the patched libnautilus file.

Many thanks. I'll give it a go tomorrow and have noted all the info on other file managers. All useful stuff and thanks again for your help.