Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions for MATE Desktop.

Display Issues

Screen resolution not detected correctly

If your monitor resolution isn’t detected properly:

1. Open System → Preferences → Hardware → Displays
2. Select your monitor and choose the correct resolution
3. Click Apply to test the settings

For persistent issues, you may need to create an Xorg configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/10-monitor.conf

Compositing issues

If you experience screen tearing or visual glitches:

1. Open System → Preferences → Look and Feel → Windows
2. Try toggling the compositor on/off
3. Experiment with different compositing backends

To disable compositing via command line:

gsettings set org.mate.Marco.general compositing-manager false

Panel Problems

Panel disappeared

To reset panels to default:

mate-panel --reset

Or delete the panel settings and log out:

dconf reset -f /org/mate/panel/

Applets not loading

Try removing and re-adding the applet:

1. Right-click on the panel
2. Select Add to Panel
3. Find and add the desired applet

Caja Issues

Caja crashes or freezes

Clear the Caja cache:

rm -rf ~/.cache/caja/

Reset Caja settings:

dconf reset -f /org/mate/caja/

Thumbnails not generating

Install thumbnail generators:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install tumbler ffmpegthumbnailer

# Fedora
sudo dnf install tumbler ffmpegthumbnailer

Clear thumbnail cache:

rm -rf ~/.cache/thumbnails/

Audio Problems

No sound

1. Check that MATE Volume Control shows the correct output device
2. Ensure the volume isn’t muted
3. Check PulseAudio/PipeWire is running:

# For PulseAudio
pulseaudio --check && echo "Running" || pulseaudio --start

# For PipeWire
systemctl --user status pipewire

Session Issues

MATE won’t start

If MATE fails to start from your display manager:

1. Try starting from a TTY (Ctrl+Alt+F2):

export XDG_SESSION_TYPE=x11
dbus-launch mate-session

2. Check for errors in logs:

journalctl --user -b | grep -i mate
cat ~/.xsession-errors

Reset all MATE settings

To completely reset MATE to defaults:

dconf reset -f /org/mate/

Warning: This will reset ALL MATE settings. Log out and back in for changes to take effect.

Performance Issues

Desktop feels slow

1. Disable compositing if not needed:

   • System → Preferences → Windows → disable compositor

2. Reduce animations:

   • Some themes have animation effects that can slow things down

3. Check system resources:

   • Open MATE System Monitor to check CPU/memory usage

4. Disable unused startup applications:

   • System → Preferences → Startup Applications

Getting Help

If your issue isn’t covered here:

Contact us!