Blank Screen, Gnome Config Problem?

["Jeff Boyce" <jboyce meridianenv com>]

I am a relatively new, novice Linux user looking for assistance with a
problem that I am sure I created as a result of my inexperience.  I am
pretty good at diagnosing problems, but am not familiar with Linux enough to
know where to look.

System:  Dell PE2600, RHEL3, configured as file server with Samba

Problem:  A blank (i.e., black) desktop without any icons when starting X
manually as root user.  Can not open a file manager window.  Also a long
delay occurs (1-2 minutes) when logging out of X.

Events Leading Up to Problem:  The only unique actions that occurred on the
system the previous day included the
installation of the NUT (network ups tools) software from source, and the
subsequent uninstallation of NUT.  I had never installed from source before
and the installation went fine without errors.  There was not a *make
uninstall* for the program so I followed some instructions to review the
*makefile* to see where all the files where installed and delete the
files/directories manually.  The following directories were removed
(actually moved to Trash).  The install and uninstall both occurred as the
root user.

/opt/NUT/nut-2.0.1    (contained the unzipped source files)
/usr/local/ups/man
/usr/local/ups/share
/usr/local/ups/bin
/usr/local/ups/sbin

Diagnostic tests/actions tried:  These problems do not occur when starting X
from a non-root user.  As suggested by someone I have checked the
permissions on the /root/.gconf directory (700) and they are the same as the
permissions on a normal users directory /home/jeffb/.gconf directory (700)
that has a normal desktop.  I am unable to see if there are any error
messages sent to screen when X starts (a recommendation on how to capture
this information would be appreciated), but when X finally shuts down the
list below includes some of the information on the screen.  The AUDIT
statement is also listed in the /var/log/Xfree86.0.log file.

Session_Manager=local/bison:/tmp/.ICE-unix/2422
AUDIT: Thu Apr  7 09:00:58 2005: 2418 X: client 4 rejected from local host
Option given which is no longer supported in this version of Gnome-terminal;
you might want to create a profile with the desired setting, and use the
new --window-with-profile option
Unable to open desktop file applications:
///Office/redhat-word-processor.desktop for panel launcher: Error reading
file 'applications:///office/redhat-word-processor.desktop' : file not found
  <snip>
Saving Session:
gnome-terminal --use-factory --window-with-profile-internal-ID=Default --show-member
--role=gnome-terminal-14721 --1476088167-1090439518  --title
root bison:~ --working-directory /root --zoom 1
Waiting for X server to shut down

I would appreciate any suggestions on what to look for, where to look, other
diagnostic steps, etc. that will assist me in returning my root user desktop
back to normal.  Could a solution be a simple as copying a set of
configuration files from a user that is working normally?  If so what files?
Thanks for any assistance.

Jeff Boyce
www.meridianenv.com