On ubuntu fork I am having the error: "Error parsing gtk-icon-sizes string: ''"

I am running the latest version of armbian, which is a fork of ubuntu that is meant to be run on single-board computers.

When launching the arduino from the terminal by simply typing in "arduino," I see this error (Error parsing gtk-icon-sizes string: ''). The window seems perfectly fine once it has loaded up, but I would still like to get this fixed if poossible.

Chat gpt says the following about it:

The error message "Error parsing gtk-icon-sizes string: ''" can occur when the Arduino IDE is launched in Ubuntu due to a problem with the GTK+ library. GTK+ is a cross-platform graphical user interface (GUI) library that is used by the Arduino IDE to display its user interface.

There are a few possible causes of this error:

  1. An invalid value for the gtk-icon-sizes option in the GTK+ configuration file. This option specifies the sizes of the icons that are used in the GTK+ interface. If the value of this option is invalid, the error can occur.
  2. A missing or corrupt configuration file. The gtk-icon-sizes option is usually stored in a configuration file, such as gtkrc or .gtkrc-2.0. If this file is missing or corrupt, the error can occur.
  3. A problem with the GTK+ library itself. There may be an issue with the GTK+ library that is causing the error to occur.

To resolve the error, you will need to identify the cause of the problem and take appropriate action. This may involve modifying the value of the gtk-icon-sizes option, restoring a missing or corrupt configuration file, or reinstalling the GTK+ library.

If you are unable to resolve the error on your own, you may want to seek help from an experienced Linux user or a professional system administrator. You can also try asking for help on the Arduino forums or in a Linux support forum.

Welcome to the forum.

The ChatGPT gives an answer in good English text. However, the information might not be right. It is just a copy and combination what it found when scanning the internet 1 or 2 years ago.

Its answer is not completely wrong though.
Sometimes a GTK session file can be corrupted. Perhaps you can delete that. Or you can try to re-install the GTK environment. Or try another icon set. Perhaps it is a bug in the Arduino files which can not be solved.

Which Arduino do you run ? From the file arduino-1.8.19-linuxaarch64.tar.xz ?
It is not a big deal.
In linux, not everything needs to be fixed. Sometimes a program or script falls back to older or slower solution, when something is wrong. Sometimes a option for a program is no longer used and gives a warning.

Thank you for the quick response!

I originally had an arduino plugged in when booting up the IDE, but it is my friend's and he had to get going pretty soon. I am not quite sure about what arduino it was, I will get back to you on that.

We were having even worse issues, with the UI being completely messed up, which prompted me to try to delete every arduino related folder and install the program again (did no official reinstall, could not find how to within several minutes of google search). I am also doing this on a le potato by libre computers, which requires the ARM version of the software. I must also note that I am very new to linux, I am doing this project partially to get better at it.

Where can I see the GTX files and icon sets?

And it's good to know that not everything in linux needs fixing lol.

I'm afraid that I can not help any further. Maybe someone else knows more. You could also try the Libre Computer forum.

If you go to your home folder and show the hidden files, then there might be a ".xsession-errors" file. My file is full of warnings and even a few "Gtk-CRITICAL", but that is no problem.
In the hidden folder ".config" are the folders "gtk-2.0" and "gtk-3.0". There might be configuration files in there, with specific settings. My computer has a small file in each of those folders, but there is no "gtk-icon-sizes" in those files.

The app that you use to install software should have an option to re-install a package. You can try that to re-install the gtk and icons. In the settings for the desktop, there are probably a number of icon sets to choose from.

Starting with linux is easier with Ubuntu on a desktop or laptop with a dual install, so you can run both Windows and linux. Armbian is harder to start with. Do you have enough SD cards ? You could make a fresh install, then make a binary copy to another SD card and then try to install Arduino on that.

Could you check if the power supply gives enough voltage on the board ? Maybe there is some loss in the cable.

I tried Armbian 3 years ago on a similar computer as your "Le Potato", but it could not detect all the hardware. I have Raspbian on a Raspberry Pi, but I have not used that for a while.

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