In Jaunty, it's System, Preferences, Main Menu.

The 176 upgrades are certainly worth working away at, since quite a few will be
related to security, but I wouldn't sweat 9.04. I just moved from 7.10 to 9.04
and hardly noticed the difference.

(I did a fresh install on a virgin hard drive, so I arranged the drive properly.
I'm struggling with recording from the microphone, but Cool Math Games "shisen"
works now...)

Thank you for the reply. I did the upgrade install but not the 9.04. And
yes, I did find some video problems with 9.04 on my previous install.
With respect to the suggestion to try "system, preferences, main menu";
when I try that I can hear the drive do some searching but nothing
happens on the screen so I obviously did something to screw it up. I'm
going to try Roy's suggestions before I do a re-install. The version
I'm using is done by F0FAK a ham operator from France who has made an
Amateur Radio Ubuntu Live DVD which has all the programs available to
eventually run my ham station completely microsoft free.

If you are a new user, then you need to be extra cautious about upgrades. I
am not saying not to, but you need to know the inherent risks.

If your old installation works well then you need to ask yourself why would
you want to upgrade? If there are problems already then an upgrade could fix
the problem... or make it worse. It all depends on your situation, hardware,
etc. Experienced users can usually troubleshoot these without a problem, but
new users need help and it can be frustrating for the new users and for the
one helping at a distance.

The biggest problem with 9.04 is the graphics drivers. If you have an Intel
graphics chip, expect to have no desktop effects. If you have ATI then maybe
you could have problems. If you have Nvidia, it will likely work without a
hitch.

The problem is not with 9.04 itself, but the kernel that it uses. The newer
kernel handles some of the graphics chores and makes older drivers obsolete.
Intel knew about this but dragged its feet and users were left in a lurch.
People blame Canonical, but they had little choice in the matter. Everyone
knew the change was coming and there was no problem until it became certain
that Intel would not be forthcoming. They could have put off the release,
but it still is not known when Intel drivers will be available.

People do not realise how complicated a new release can be. You are working
with hardware developers, Xorg, Gnome, KDE and many different projects,
anyone of which can pose a problem for end users.

It is your decision. Just know the risks and be prepared for the
consequences. Back up everything regradless.

As for you menu situation, I would try deleting Menu button and then
re-installing it. Right click, Remove from panel. Then Right-click on empty
panel space, Add to panel.

If that does not work then I would remove all Gnome settings by deleting the
.gnome2 folder in your home folder. Make sure hidden files are enabled under
View.

If that does not work then I would consider re-installing ubuntu-desktop
from synaptic. You can do that by pressing Alt+F2 and typing sudo synaptic
in the box. You do not need to re-install from scratch!

Thank you for the excellent advice. I'm not a new user having used some
distro of Linux since 2004 and OS2/warp since 1994 but I don't know
enough about it to really understand Linux. I'm an old hardware tech
type (back in IBM 360/System3 days) and never had much to do with using
or understanding the programs that would run on these systems. And I did
find a problem with 9.04 with respect to the video but it was working OK
until I decided to add a second HD and install Ubuntu in it and turn the
original install into a data drive for the Microsoft install on HD1 Your
1st and 3rd suggestions were tried and I must have somehow managed to
really screw up some things as they did not do what I was expecting. The
Ubuntu version 8.10 is on a DVD I made from a site from France by F0FAK.
He is a ham radio operator and has put together a live dvd containing
all the interesting ham radio programs I am interested in and once I get
it working to my satisfaction I will be using Linux for my ham radio
activities.

When I suggested re-installing ubuntu-desktop, I meant *without* the DVD/CD.
Re-installing it should not affect any applications already installed as
there is no formatting. You use Synaptic (System, Adminstration), the
package manager.

Ubuntu-desktop is just a desktop environment that sits on top of the rest of
the installation. You can have as many desktop environments installed as you
want. Ubuntu uses Gnome, but you could install KDE or XFCE as well or even
replace Gnome. The applications for all desktop environments will be
available in the menu for each one. I only point this out to show that you
can remove ubuntu-desktop and re-install it without any damage.

Since you don't have a menu, you can use Alt+F2 and type sudo synaptic. Then
give your password and you can add or remove to your heart's content. Once
in Synaptic Search (not quick search) for ubuntu-desktop. It should have a
green box. Right click on it and choose Mark for Reinstallation. Then Click
on Apply and when done, it should re-build your menu.