What to do if Skype refuses to start in 13.04

[seascape]

When I did a fresh install of Kubuntu 13.04, I found that Skype would refuse to start when I clicked on it. Skype would appear briefly in the task manager with a spinning/loading icon, then it would disappear from the taskbar and fail to start altogether.

This was very frustrating. However, a bit of searching led me to a fix - or rather a workaround that was originally posted on Launchpad.

To apply this fix on Kubuntu, you'll want to right click on Kickoff (that's the big K icon in the lower right corner of the screen for newbies, where the Windows Start menu *used to be*) and click Edit Applications. It's the first choice (or at least it is for me



Skype is usually listed under Internet. Click the carrot (looks like ^ only pointing in the other direction) and look for the Skype icon. Click on the Skype icon. The Skype entry should open in the menu editor.

Look for the Command field. It should read:

skype %U

Change this to:

env LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/mesa/libGL.so.1 skype %U

Click SAVE. The Save button is right under the File dropdown.

Now attempt to run Skype. It should load!

The bug has, by the way, been reported on Launchpad.

[nukedathlonman]

This works, but depending on which driver you have the path you specified may or may not be correct.

Try "env LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib32/nvidia-313-updates/libGL.so.1" if you have an nVidia card, or "env LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib32/fglrx/libGL.so.1" if you have an AMD card.

And this issue affects other programs as well - all my full screen Wine games I have to specify, and even native applications. And both my computers are totaly dissimular from each other (ones a 1 year old desktop with an AMD processor and AMD video card, the other is a 5 year old notebook with Intel processor and nVidia video card).

[nukedathlonman]

Oh, just a note - you don't have to specify the file name or env when adding those to the command line. Just adding LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/mesa/ or LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib32/nvidia-313-updates/ (or what ever nVidia driver your using) or LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib32/fglrx/ work just as well (and it's less typing). ;-)

(Edited for typo)

[nukedathlonman]

Another fix and fixes other issues (so you don't have to edit the command line):

Open i386-linux-gnu_GL.conf with your favorite editor as root.

Ensure that the path for the 32-bit GL libraries are in there, and if it's not, add it:

So for AMD Catalyst drivers: /usr/lib32/fglrx
So for nVidia (313 series drivers at least): /usr/lib32/nvidia-313-updates

Save file. From command prompt run ldconfig as root. Restore the command line to normal and start Skype - problem solved (and other problems may suddenly be fixed)!

[seascape]

Another fix and fixes other issues (so you don't have to edit the command line):

Open i386-linux-gnu_GL.conf with your favorite editor as root.

Ensure that the path for the 32-bit GL libraries are in there, and if it's not, add it:

So for AMD Catalyst drivers: /usr/lib32/fglrx
So for nVidia (313 series drivers at least): /usr/lib32/nvidia-313-updates

Save file. From command prompt run ldconfig as root. Restore the command line to normal and start Skype - problem solved (and other problems may suddenly be fixed)!

Good suggestions.