Re-enable Ctrl-Alt-Backspace to restart X in Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope
24 April 2009
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23 Comments
The Ctrl-Alt-Backspace key combination which was used to restart X was disabled by default in Ubuntu 9.04. In order to re-enable this key combo, run the following command in your terminal windowCanada:
sudo aptitude install dontzap && sudo dontzap –d
Please note: I had to install the program “dontzap” prior to this command working, so I have added that to the line of code above to make life easier for you!
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two dashes on disable…posted today and google already indexed…nice!
@a – hmm.. It was showing up with two dashes for me, so I pulled it up on another system, and saw what you were talking about.. It is fixed now. Thanks for the heads up!
Really helpful, thanks.
I’m a little upset, TBH, that Ubuntu decided to disable this by default. I always think that the more control given to the user, the better 😀
Why did they disable CtrlAltBkspace in the first place… Thank a lot, Chris, much appreciated!!
@Nenad I believe I remember reading something that people who are new to Ubuntu would hit this key combo by mistake.. I do agree that I don’t like the fact that it was changed, but atleast there is a quick and easy fix.
[…] The Ctrl-Alt-Backspace key combination which was used to restart X was disabled by default in Ubuntu 9.04. In order to re-enable this key combo… More here […]
Thanks a lot – very useful!
I’ll integrate it in the Ubuntu “Jaunty” guide I’m writing 🙂
I don’t think it was changed by Ubuntu. It was a change made by Xorg. Not for sure though, just what I heard.
Any one knows what is the reason for Ubuntu 9.04 to disable such a well known key stroke?
Actually it is not a decision of Ubuntu but a change in the X server.
Hi, I followed your instructions and it acted like it was working. I had to type exit to get out of terminal (another bug). The key combo doesn’t work still.
If you copy+paste the command, there’s a bug with the dashes in –disable. Just run sudo dontzap -d in the terminal after the installation.
This just adds the following to your /etc/X11/xorg.conf which you can just copy-paste:
Section “ServerFlags”
Option “DontZap” “False”
EndSection
Then just logout and log back into desktop (causes restart) and CTL-ALT-BACKSPACE should immediately kill X, no questions asked.
[…] tip from Chris Johnston Share and Enjoy: […]
Instead of using don’t zap, try using Alt GR – SysRq – K instead. It does things a little more kindly than Ctrl-Alt-Backspace 🙂
THANK YOU for this.
Whoever made the decision to remove this feature needs to have their head examined. (for thinking nothing can go TU with your X-Server)
NM, I found the culprit:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xorg-server/+bug/90434
How the hell do you do a three finger salute by accident?
Thanks so much, Chris! This was exactly what I was looking for.
I wish Ubuntu would stop messing with age-old defaults like this one.
worked great, thanks. Though it’s beyond me why they disable this feature in the first place.
The real problem I see in disabling this command is that some software hangs the user interface, and the only way to get back is a cold start of the system — a VERY BAD way to recover from a user interface hang. Thanks for this fix.
thanks thanks! had to restart my primary system because x failed. tried all the keyboard shortcuts that i could, but nothing worked. i’ll give this a shot when it’s back up. 🙂
I _want_ X to stop when I press ctrl-alt-backspace in my ubuntu 8.04.
How do I make it stop rebooting automatically.
thanks
sincerely,
Hey, have a look a https://wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Config/DontZap !
Thanks
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