Hrmmm so apport-collect didn't attach the compiz crash, that happened 30 or 40 minutes after I initially reported this bug.
This seems to be hybrid graphics related. I should be using intel ivy bridge graphics but there is also nvidia graphics in the machine. Uninstalling and reinstalling bumblebee seems to have fixed the problem. So marking the bug as invalid ** Changed in: unity (Ubuntu) Status: New => Invalid -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Desktop Packages, which is subscribed to unity in Ubuntu. Matching subscriptions: dp-unity https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1075248 Title: unity window manager, dash, panel, dock fail to start Status in “unity” package in Ubuntu: Invalid Bug description: After doing a dist-upgrade this morning (Nov 5), unity fails to start. The desktop background comes up, and compiz appears to be running but there is no window manager (window decoration, etc are missing), no dock, dash, or panel. ProblemType: Bug DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.10 Package: unity 6.8.0-0ubuntu2 ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.5.0-17.28-generic 3.5.5 Uname: Linux 3.5.0-17-generic x86_64 ApportVersion: 2.6.1-0ubuntu6 Architecture: amd64 CheckboxSubmission: 634e340822dbba19cfc2dc121e877bff CheckboxSystem: bb422ca46d02494cdbc459927a98bc2f CompizPlugins: [core,composite,opengl,compiztoolbox,decor,mousepoll,vpswitch,regex,imgpng,unitymtgrabhandles,move,wall,place,grid,snap,gnomecompat,resize,session,animation,workarounds,expo,fade,scale,ezoom,switcher,unityshell] Date: Mon Nov 5 09:20:44 2012 EcryptfsInUse: Yes InstallationDate: Installed on 2012-07-18 (110 days ago) InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS "Precise Pangolin" - Release amd64 (20120425) MarkForUpload: True ProcEnviron: TERM=xterm PATH=(custom, no user) XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set> LANG=en_US.UTF-8 SHELL=/bin/bash SourcePackage: unity UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install) --- ApportVersion: 2.6.1-0ubuntu6 Architecture: amd64 CheckboxSubmission: 634e340822dbba19cfc2dc121e877bff CheckboxSystem: bb422ca46d02494cdbc459927a98bc2f CompizPlugins: [core,composite,opengl,compiztoolbox,decor,mousepoll,vpswitch,regex,imgpng,unitymtgrabhandles,move,wall,place,grid,snap,gnomecompat,resize,session,animation,workarounds,expo,fade,scale,ezoom,switcher,unityshell] DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.10 EcryptfsInUse: Yes InstallationDate: Installed on 2012-07-18 (111 days ago) InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS "Precise Pangolin" - Release amd64 (20120425) MarkForUpload: True Package: unity 6.8.0-0ubuntu2 PackageArchitecture: amd64 ProcEnviron: TERM=xterm PATH=(custom, no user) XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set> LANG=en_US.UTF-8 SHELL=/bin/bash ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.5.0-17.28-generic 3.5.5 Tags: quantal Uname: Linux 3.5.0-17-generic x86_64 UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install) UserGroups: adm cdrom dip lpadmin plugdev sambashare sudo To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/unity/+bug/1075248/+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