Ubuntu – Some Ubuntu 18.04 pre-installed apps don’t launch

18.04system-installation

Ever since moving from Windows to Ubuntu the experience has been pleasant. I don't miss windows, at all. Ubuntu 18.04 was my first choice.

However some pre-installed apps like Calculator, Characters, System Monitor and System Logs do not start at all and I don't get an error. I usually delete them and install the same app but with a higher rating (stars) in the software centre. Has anyone experienced this and what could be the cause?

I unfortunately do not have logs. But the problem can be replicated by following these steps:

  1. Downloading the official ISO from ubuntu.com

  2. Using mksub to create a persistent live USB

  3. Booting from said USB and attempting to open the apps mentioned above.

Edit: 23 Oct 2019

I used these commands to install mksub.

sudo add-apt-repository universe

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mkusb/ppa

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install mkusb mkusb-nox usb-pack-efi

I did not use a terminal to create the live usb with persistence. I used guidus. This was done from an ubuntu live disk created using Unetbootin on windows.

Best Answer

There is something common about the applications you mentioned, viz. Calculator, Characters, System Monitor and System Logs, they are all pre-installed as snap applications instead of in the traditional way (from .deb packages via dpkg/apt). Snap packages are deployed by a package management system called 'snappy' built by Canonical Ltd.

Since you are having this trouble with these specific applications and the fact that the following fixes the issue

I usually delete them and install the same app but with a higher rating (stars) in the software centre.

("the same app but with a higher rating (stars)" is the almost always, if not always, the traditional counterpart of a snap application in the Software centre, snap applications tend to show various issues due to the way they're deployed and their restrictive security features), it is most likely an issue with snaps on your system. Since there is no technical detail provided, it's hard to say what exactly the problem is. It can be any of various possible reasons, e.g. snapd is not installed or corrupted, your PATH is not set up properly for snaps etc.

Related Question