How to fix the scroll bars in Ubuntu 11.4 Gnome

Ubuntu 11.4 replaces Gnome with Unity as the default user interface. Most people switch back to Gnome if their computer is anything larger than the tiniest netbook. Gnome, unfortunately, is also modified to be annoying for anyone using a screen larger than a small netbook. Here is an easy way to switch Gnome back to the easier faster normal scroll bars.

If you have not yet upgraded to Ubuntu 11.4, what do those annoying scroll bars look like? The following screen shot shows the top right corner of the Ubuntu Software Centre with the vertical scroll bar selected. Find the cursor arrow. Underneath the cursor are two grey tabs with up and down arrows. There is a thin green line to the left of the grey tabs. The thin line and pop out grey tabs replace the normal scroll bar.

Firefox 4

Firefox ignores the Gnome scrollbar setting and retains normal scrollbars. You can compare the scrollbars in Firefox to the Ubuntu 11.4 Gnome scrollbars before you change Ubuntu.

Remove the problem

Select Applications then the Ubuntu Software Centre. If you have this problem in a different version of Linux, select the Synaptic package manager.

Search for overlay. The first list contains nothing of use. Go down to the bottom of the list and select the Display 64 technical items link. Now you have three Scrollbar overlay entries at the top of the list.

The first result is titled Scrollbar overlayed widget with a package name of overlay-scrollbar. Select the Remove button. This will remove the first two entries.

The third result is titled Scrollbar overlayed widget - shared lib. Select the Remove button. When this step is complete, your scrollbars should return to normal. You may have to reboot to remove the scrollbar code already loaded into Linux.