Zorin OS 6 (64-bit) in Windows 7 mode "START menu" problems

The one feature I particularly like about Zorin OS is the “Look Changer”. Being a Windows 7 user, the transition between using Windows 7 and Zorin OS seemed to be easy. However, since using Zorin OS 5.2 back in March 2012 and upgrading to Zorin OS 6 in early July, I still find that there are some bugs/quirks/flaws in using the start menu in Zorin OS when setting the operating system to look like Windows 7.

Problem #1
If you repeatedly left click the blue globe with the “Z” in the lower left hand corner of the screen (or I call this the start menu), the GnoMenu will freeze, thus you are unable to left click the blue globe producing no results. However, the user can right click the blue globe, select Preferences, click OK, click Yes to restart (then a message pops up saying “Whoops! The applet crashed. Click to restart it.), click the sad smiley face – and you have the menu working again.

My YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Hr_cJMLlLE

Another user also experiencing the same problem:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCza9p2K8ac


Problem #2
The search feature in the start menu does not seem to work properly sometimes. If you type a key word to look for an item, it will display the results; but if you backspace the results disappear and/or does not update the results correctly. Another issue is when I type a keyword it states it finds 7 results; however, only 6 results are displaying.

My YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmxPFd6Slk4

Problem #3
I have not been able to replicate it but sometimes if you add a new program or perform an update and then select a program the wrong application will run. I suppose the system menu was not informed that there was an update or a new program was added. Should I have rebooted before using the start menu?? When I was using Zorin OS 5.2 and performed an update or added a new program, sometimes the menu would start showing double items.

I know Zorin OS 6 Core was just released about three weeks ago and with all new operating systems there are bound to be bugs/quirks/flaws. I hope the Zorin team is able to fix the bugs in the start menu in the Windows 7 mode as this is one of the main reasons that I use Zorin OS in the first place.

Hi spavila,

I think that the graphics might be causing the problem with the searchbar!. Are you using the open source drivers?.

There is an update for Nvidia cards should you have one:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2299&p=9560#p9560

I don't really have an answer for you apart from the drivers!. I use Gnome 2 look myself and there is no searchbar!.

You can try running the following in a terminal to see if it helps:

sudo dpkg --configure -a

Regards Wolfman

I am experiencing the same issue with the start menu in Zorin OS 6 Premium (64 Bit). This issue occurs with every look except Gnome 2. It's frustrating because I would like to use the a different look, but can't do to this intermittent reliability issue with the start menu.

MarkAlan wrote:I am experiencing the same issue with the start menu in Zorin OS 6 Premium (64 Bit). This issue occurs with every look except Gnome 2. It's frustrating because I would like to use the a different look, but can't do to this intermittent reliability issue with the start menu.

To clarify, the issue I am having is no response when clicking on the blue Z globe to access the start menu. There is simply no response from the start menu when the icon is clicked. My workaround is to use the Gnome 2 look, becase it's the only look that doesn't have this reliability issue.

Does anyone know how to fix this? I would love to use another look. The ability to change the look was one big feature that attracted me to the Zorin OS in the first place.

Have you tried running the win7 look but in 2d mode? This usually makes things work with the awn panel.

Log out and in the login screen press the Zorin round icon and select "zorin fallback mode".
Write your password and login and test if the start menu in the awn panel works.

madvinegar wrote:Have you tried running the win7 look but in 2d mode? This usually makes things work with the awn panel.

Log out and in the login screen press the Zorin round icon and select "zorin fallback mode".
Write your password and login and test if the start menu in the awn panel works.

I've made the change, but I need to head off to work now. So far, it behaved the same way as before.

One thing that happens (that also happened in fallback mode) is that the start menu initially will not respond when I click it, but if I click the desktop and then go back to the menu,it will respond. This happened in the 2D fallback mode also.

Even though this trick works right now, in the regular mode it eventually stops working. I need some time to see if this 2D version will not do the same thing after repeated use.

Thanks for your tips and I will keep you posted.

Hi mark,

you should have this problem solved with updating, if it is still not working, right click the bottom panel and "Dock Preferences" > "Applets" > "Available Applets" > "Cairo Main Menu" then on the little green arow to add it to the panel, this will add another menu button to your bottom panel just in case!!.

Regards Wolfman

Wolfman wrote:Hi mark,

you should have this problem solved with updating, if it is still not working, right click the bottom panel and "Dock Preferences" > "Applets" > "Available Applets" > "Cairo Main Menu" then on the little green arow to add it to the panel, this will add another menu button to your bottom panel just in case!!.

Regards Wolfman

Hi Wolfman,

I just did an update, and I don't have Cairo Main Menu listed as an available applet. Why is that and how can I get it?

Hi Mark,

in a terminal.

sudo apt-get install awn-applets-all

See also:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2054

Regards Wolfman

Wolfman wrote:Hi Mark,

in a terminal.

sudo apt-get install awn-applets-all

See also:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2054

Regards Wolfman

Hi Wolfman.

I downloaded the Cairo Menu. I don't like it as much as I like GnoMenu. I'd really like to see the non-responsive issue with GnoMenu fixed. The frustrating thing is that it works half the time, and then can just stop working without warning. Did this issue also happen with Zorin 5.2?

swarfendor437 wrote:Hi spavila, did your issues ever get resolved on this post?

I have 4 computers with Zorin OS 6 (64 bit and 32 bit) and I am still have an issue with the Start or (Z) button. All computers have different graphic cards and different configs, but all computers will have this "glitch" in that when you left click the Z-globe button that it does not respond.

My only solution to this problem is:
1. Right click Z-globe.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Click OK.
4. Click YES to restart.
5. The Z-globe turns into a sad smiley face to restart the menu.

The Windows 7 Look is my favorite look in Zorin OS 6. I have tried Cairo dock for a couple of weeks and it was okay. I have also tried Xfce4 which was very stable but it looks to cluttered in my opinion. Now I am back to the Windows 7 Look and tolerating this glitch.

Multiple left clicking the blue Z-globe seems to cause this glitch.
Multiple right clicking the blue Z-globe seems to be stable.

I've been reading other posts in the forum and it seems I see other users are experiencing this problem also.

To answer your question; I do not think this is resolved.

Hi,

I will let the devs know about this problem, like you say, others are having the same problem.

Regards Wolfman

swarfendor437 wrote:I'm not doubting any posters here, but I find this instance strange. I am running Zorin 6 Ultimate and the only time I get a crash is if I attempt to change the standard 'Z' button for something else, but if I click on the unhappy smiley, things go back to normal. My only menu issues have occurred in 6.1 Lite if I have Cairo Dock plus the standard one showing when I change to 'switch' open-gl mode to get rid of the black border - the menu automatically opens and stays there until I click on an application! I do think there are some issues with Gnomenu and Zorin - not tried to install Gnomenu on other distros - will have to try and install under Gnome3 on another distro once I have sorted the new rig out!

I was not reporting a crash with my comments, however, like you, I have experienced that the menu applet will indeed crash if I change the button to a different logo.

The issue I and the other users reported is the fact that when using the Windows 7 mode, the GnoMenu button randomly becomes non-responsive, i.e., nothing happens when the user clicks it. That's what is so frustrating.

Hi Mark,

I sent the devs a message so hopefully they will get on it!!.

Regards Wolfman

Wolfman wrote:Hi Mark,

I sent the devs a message so hopefully they will get on it!!.

Regards Wolfman

Thank you, Wolfman. You rock!

swarfendor437 wrote:Update: I cannot see why someone would double-click a start menu button, that said I just tried it to see what happens and it no longer appears if double-clicked - had to log out and back in again but as a rule I do not double-click on any menu shortcut in a Task Bar on any system!

Running 6 Ulitmate 32-bit on a 64-bit powered machine.

True, normally a typical user would not double-click a start menu button. When I use the mouse, there are times when pointing to the Z-globe and clicking it only once the menu will work perfectly. However, about 5-10% of the time I'll use the mouse and accidentally double-click it and this action causes the glitch of the Z-globe not responding to any left click at all; but the right click ALWAYS works.

Just wondering, if you use Windows 7 mode and tried to reproduce this glitch yourself. If you multiple click the left Z-globe on your machine, does it eventually stop responding to left mouse clicks??

BTW, I am using Zorin OS 6 Core (Free) and you stated you are using Zorin OS 6 Ultimate (Donation). Is there a difference between the two??

MarkAlan wrote:

Wolfman wrote:Hi Mark,

I sent the devs a message so hopefully they will get on it!!.

Regards Wolfman

Thank you, Wolfman. You rock!

Thankyou Mark,

YOU ROCK TOO

I had a reply and the devs have said they will look into the problem so I hope it will be resolved soon!!.

Regards Wolfman

This is probably the best solution I could come up with for my menu problems in the Windows 7 look mode. If I make my Double-Click Timeout longer, the menu seems to be behaving more appropriately and not crashing as much. Therefore, I have changed the mouse settings for all 4 computers that I have Zorin OS installed on it and I seem to be getting better results with the menu. However, repeatedly left clicking the start button (blue Z-globe) will still cause the start menu to become unresponsive.

The Windows 7 look is still my favorite which is what made me want to use Zorin OS in the first place. Hopefully, in the future, the developers can fix this glitch and make the start menu a bit more resilient.

This can be marked as SOLVED.

spavila wrote:This is probably the best solution I could come up with for my menu problems in the Windows 7 look mode. If I make my Double-Click Timeout longer, the menu seems to be behaving more appropriately and not crashing as much. Therefore, I have changed the mouse settings for all 4 computers that I have Zorin OS installed on it and I seem to be getting better results with the menu. However, repeatedly left clicking the start button (blue Z-globe) will still cause the start menu to become unresponsive.

The Windows 7 look is still my favorite which is what made me want to use Zorin OS in the first place. Hopefully, in the future, the developers can fix this glitch and make the start menu a bit more resilient.

This can be marked as SOLVED.

I wouldn't be so quick to mark this as solved, because it's not a double click issue.

This issue occurs with single clicking or double clicking. The start button does not crash. It just fails to respond to the click. This can happen without repeated clicking.

Since it's not isolated to only double clicking, how can a double click adjustment fix a single click issue?

MarkAlan wrote:

spavila wrote:This is probably the best solution I could come up with for my menu problems in the Windows 7 look mode. If I make my Double-Click Timeout longer, the menu seems to be behaving more appropriately and not crashing as much. Therefore, I have changed the mouse settings for all 4 computers that I have Zorin OS installed on it and I seem to be getting better results with the menu. However, repeatedly left clicking the start button (blue Z-globe) will still cause the start menu to become unresponsive.

The Windows 7 look is still my favorite which is what made me want to use Zorin OS in the first place. Hopefully, in the future, the developers can fix this glitch and make the start menu a bit more resilient.

This can be marked as SOLVED.

I wouldn't be so quick to mark this as solved, because it's not a double click issue.

This issue occurs with single clicking or double clicking. The start button does not crash. It just fails to respond to the click. This can happen without repeated clicking.

Since it's not isolated to only double clicking, how can a double click adjustment fix a single click issue?

At this time, the solution I suggested seems to work for me. Yes, I agree that the start menu is still a bit buggy. I too have just single clicked the start menu and had a no response issue. Maybe Zorin is thinking a single click is a double click (just speculating here). By adjusting the mouse settings, I have had better luck with the menu.

Have you looked at the mouse settings on your machine? Why not give it a try for a couple of days and see how this works for you.

Whether this gets marked as SOLVED is up to the admins.

Hi all,

@Mark, have you tried running "dpkg" in recovery mode??, I am also using W7 look and don't have the same problem as you, I have an Nvidia GT430 GPU and also have the occassional white out but I only click once on the Zorin icon and it works fine.

Do the "dpkg" thing and let us know if it helps, see the section about broken packages and the 3rd option here:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2247

Regards Wolfman

I just registered to report a possible semi-solution to the OP's problem, which I was also having until a few minutes ago.
With my look set to Win 7, my dock set to Bottom and Intellihide, and my panel expanded, I logged out. On a lark, I hit the little "Zorin Z" button on the login dialog. I selected "Zorin Desktop (Fallback Mode)" and logged in, and my Gnomenu is now appearing above the dock like it's supposed to.
The Gnomenu button doesn't seem to be responding to the very first left click after login, so my troubles may not be over, but it'll do for now.

DuhIdiot wrote:I just registered to report a possible semi-solution to the OP's problem, which I was also having until a few minutes ago.
With my look set to Win 7, my dock set to Bottom and Intellihide, and my panel expanded, I logged out. On a lark, I hit the little "Zorin Z" button on the login dialog. I selected "Zorin Desktop (Fallback Mode)" and logged in, and my Gnomenu is now appearing above the dock like it's supposed to.
The Gnomenu button doesn't seem to be responding to the very first left click after login, so my troubles may not be over, but it'll do for now.

Hi,

in fallback mode (Gnome 2 look), the icon is dormant, it doesn't do anything and that is why it is not responding.

Regards Wolfman

With the release of Zorin 6.2, the problem of the START Menu has been resolved. Multiple left clicking the blue Z globe in the lower left-hand corner seems to be very stable now and does not freeze. The programmers/developers of Zorin Menu 1.0 deserve a pat on the back for getting this fixed.

The can finally be marked as SOLVED!!!!