Ubuntu – Can “startup applications” be less cumbersome

cpu loadstartup-applications

With this tip I saw there is a total of about 60 applications being launched by startup applications, and at the moment I have to sit back and wait about 45s while the desktop is unresponsive…

How does startup applications work? can I tweak it in some way to make these apps start more gradually, not all together?

I don't want to disable any of them, just stop them all being loaded simultaneously and freezing the desktop

Best Answer

First I saw this tip, but sleep 20;xscreensaver -nosplash seems not to work anymore on Ubuntu 14.04.

So I coded this script execLater.sh and put it at a place in my $PATH, chowned it root:root and mode permissions rwxr-xr-x, and put it on a fully root:root folder structure like /usr/local/bin.

sleep $1;shift;"$@"

So it sleeps before executing the command.

Show all hidden startup applications by following this tip

Now for each startup application.

If there is, for example, this:

xscreensaver -nosplash

change to this below, where "20" is the delay; I used up to "60" knowing I dont care much for some applications; and a minimum of "5" for the ones I care most.

execLater.sh 20 xscreensaver -nosplash

The tricky part

each of these below must have an exclusive delay of "1" because everything else depends on them

/usr/bin/gnome-keyring-daemon --start --components=secrets
/usr/bin/gnome-keyring-daemon --start --components=pkcs11
/usr/bin/gnome-keyring-daemon --start --components=gpg
/usr/bin/gnome-keyring-daemon --start --components=ssh
/usr/lib/unity-settings-daemon/unity-fallback-mount-helper
/usr/lib/policykit-1-gnome/polkit-gnome-authentication-agent-1
gsettings-data-convert
start-pulseaudio-x11
nautilus -n

My guess is, when all 60 apps startup at same time, these above take longer to complete and so the whole desktop stays unavailable...

If you log when each command was executed, you will understand what applications must have delay of "1", because all others are "actually only executed (?)" or "called?" after these; the above list is not fixed, it is just a tip, just logoff and login (no need to reboot to complete this list) so you can make the tests until you are satisfied with the results - now my desktop is available after only 5 seconds :)

Reverting the changes

Before starting to disable startup applications, keep in mind that all changes can be easily reverted by deleting the files in ~/.config/autostart:

rm ~/.config/autostart/*

Default Ubuntu 14.04 Startup Applications:

Backup Monitor: Déjà Dup's daemon for running scheduled backups. Disable if you don't use Déjà Dup's automatic backup feature.
Certificate and Key Storage: GNOME Keyring: PKCS#11 Component. Don't disable. Probably you'll need the keyring. A lightweight process loads all the keyring components, so disabling this will not noticeably reduce CPU load or memory utilization.
Chat: Desktop service to integrate Telepathy with the messaging menu. Disable if you don't use Telepathy.
Desktop Sharing: GNOME Desktop Sharing Server. Actually you don't have to disable this service as it will not start unless you enable Allow other users to view your desktop in Desktop Sharing (vino-preferences).
Files: Nautilus process to show desktop icons. Don't disable unless you know exactly what you're doing.
GPG Password Agent: GNOME Keyring: GPG Agent. Don't disable. Probably you'll need the keyring. A lightweight process loads all the keyring components, so disabling this will not noticeably reduce CPU load or memory utilization.
GSettings Data Conversion: Migrates user settings from GConf to dconf. GConf is a configuration database system for storing application preferences. Don't disable.
Indicator Application: An indicator to take menus from applications and place them in the panel. Don't disable or you'll probably lose some functionality.
Mount Helper: Automount and autorun plugged devices. If you disable this service you'll have to manually mount removable storage (flash drives, CD-ROM drives, etc.).
Network: NetworkManager applet to manage your network connections. You'll probably need it to connect to a wired/wireless network. Don't disable unless you use the command line to connect to a network or if you put your network configuration in the interfaces file.
Onboard: Simple On-screen Keyboard. Actually you don't have to disable this service as it will not start unless you enable On Screen Keyboard in System Setting -> Universal Access -> Typing tab.
Orca screen reader: Scriptable screen reader. Actually you don't have to disable this service as it will not start unless you enable Screen Reader in System Setting -> Universal Access -> Seeing tab.
Personal File Sharing: User level public file sharing via WebDAV or ObexFTP. Actually you don't have to disable this service as it will not start unless you enable Share public files on network in Personal File Sharing.
PolicyKit Authentication Agent: Provides a D-Bus session bus service that is used to bring up authentication dialogs used for obtaining privileges. You'll need this to perform task that require privilege elevation. Don't disable.
PulseAudio Sound System: You'll need this service unless you don't want any sound coming out of the speakers.
Secret Storage Service: GNOME Keyring: Secret Service. Don't disable. Probably you'll need the keyring. A lightweight process loads all the keyring components, so disabling this will not noticeably reduce CPU load or memory utilization.
SSH Key Agent: GNOME Keyring: SSH Agent. Don't disable. Probably you'll need the keyring. A lightweight process loads all the keyring components, so disabling this will not noticeably reduce CPU load or memory utilization.
Update Notifier: Check for available updates automatically. Disable only if you want to check for updates manually.
User folders update: Update common folders names to match current locale. It doesn't keep running in background, it only checks if the folders names (Documents, Videos, etc.) match the selected language and rename them if they don't. It is not worthy to be disabled.
Zeitgeist Datahub: A daemon which centralizes all passive data sources into a single process, and interfaces between said data sources (also known as loggers) and zeitgeist-daemon (with which it communicates via D-Bus). If you disable this service Dash search will not work. Don't disable unless you know exactly what you're doing.

Ubuntu – “Startup Applications” not working

Commands, especially those related to keyboard, mouse, and touchpad settings, or xrandr commands, often need the desktop to be fully loaded. If you run them simply at login (using Startup Applications), they often run too soon and break.

Therefore, you need to introduce a little time break before your actual command runs. Use the following command instead to add to Startup Applications:

/bin/bash -c "sleep 15 && xmodmap /home/seph/Code/Ubuntu\ Scripts/Xmodmap"

Open the dash → Startup Applications → Add, and add the command.

That should do the trick.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Ubuntu – Which startup applications can I safely disable

Reverting the changes

Default Ubuntu 14.04 Startup Applications:

Ubuntu – “Startup Applications” not working

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