I too have this problem, and sometimes (not reliably) after increasing from 1 to 4 workspaces clicking on the second workspace clears the desktop, menubar and task bar leaving only the desktop image. The mouse moves at this point but I can't do anything except switch to command line via ctrl-alt-Fx and kill Xorg.
I'm running Ubuntu 12.04 in gnome classic mode on a Dell Inspiron 1545 laptop and just recently upgraded from 11.10. $uname -a Linux woodchuck 3.2.0-24-generic-pae #39-Ubuntu SMP Mon May 21 18:54:21 UTC 2012 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Desktop Packages, which is subscribed to gnome-panel in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/982616 Title: gnome classic workspace switcher settings not sticky Status in “gnome-panel” package in Ubuntu: Confirmed Bug description: By default, the setting is to show 1 workspace. Increase to 4. Result is 4 workspaces side by side. Logout and login. You are back to the default 1 workspace setting. Note that this default is poorly displayed as 4 mini workspaces. See attached screenshot for example. ProblemType: Bug DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.04 Package: gnome-panel 1:3.4.0-0ubuntu1 ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.2.0-23.36-generic-pae 3.2.14 Uname: Linux 3.2.0-23-generic-pae i686 ApportVersion: 2.0.1-0ubuntu2 Architecture: i386 Date: Sun Apr 15 17:29:24 2012 EcryptfsInUse: Yes InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS "Precise Pangolin" - Beta i386 (20120414) ProcEnviron: TERM=xterm PATH=(custom, no user) LANG=en_US.UTF-8 SHELL=/bin/bash SourcePackage: gnome-panel UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install) To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-panel/+bug/982616/+subscriptions -- Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~desktop-packages Post to : desktop-packages@lists.launchpad.net Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~desktop-packages More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
