How to Fix Compiz Missing Title Bar

The following explains how to fix the Compiz missing title bar problem in Ubuntu. If you've been toying around with Ubuntu and have enabled Desktop Effects "Compiz", you might notice that the title bar or window decorations have disappeared. This is a fairly common problem amongst systems using ATI or Nvidia video cards and commonly occurs after switching to a higher resolution.

Ubuntu once used a Compiz window manager, which provided a range of desktop effects, including window animations, desktop cube rotations, wobbly windows, and more. However, starting with Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, the default desktop environment switched back to GNOME Shell, and Compiz was no longer included by default. This fix is left in place for those who, for whatever reason, might still be using an old Ubuntu build.

Fixing Compiz Missing Title Bar

The Compiz missing title bar fix is fairly simple. Here's How:

  1. Open a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T).
  2. To open the xorg.conf file, type:
    sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf
  3. From the file, find the section called Section "Device" and just before EndSection, add the following to the file and then save the file:

    Option "AddARGBVisuals" "True"
    Option "AddARGBGLXVisuals" "True"

  4. Here is an example of an edited Section (your Section may differ):

    Section "Device"
    Identifier "Videocard0"
    Driver "nvidia"
    VendorName "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName "GeForce 6150"
    Option "AddARGBVisuals" "True"
    Option "AddARGBGLXVisuals" "True"

    EndSection

  5. Restart Ubuntu or logout and then log back in. If all went well, the once missing title bar with related window decorations should now reappear.