Okay, here is what's bugging me...
1. KDE pretty dependably takes 20+ seconds to start, and longer from a cold boot. There's a lot of disk activity when starting after a cold boot, but subsequent startups still take a long time, despite showing little disk activity.
2. The slower the computer, the slower the start time. Startup takes over a minute on an 800 MHz single-core machine.
3. Disabling most services does not help; nor does disabling Nepomuk, Akonadi, and Strigi. Disabling power management and mounting services makes a difference on some versions of KDE, but not others. Disabling debug output and logging does nothing either. Pulseaudio is not involved at all (I'm not using it).

I figure something must be wrong, because not everyone who uses KDE (even on low-end hardware) seems to be bothered by this... Either that or most users have much more patience than me when dealing with slow login times.

The following is my .xsession-errors file. Most services were disabled during the session when this was created, as were Nepomuk and Strigi:

Code: Select all

xset:  bad font path element (#9), possible causes are:
    Directory does not exist or has wrong permissions
    Directory missing fonts.dir
    Incorrect font server address or syntax
startkde: Starting up...
Connecting to deprecated signal QDBusConnectionInterface::serviceOwnerChanged(QString,QString,QString)
QMetaObject::invokeMethod: No such method KUniqueApplication::loadCommandLineOptionsForNewInstance()
kbuildsycoca4 running...
Invalid D-BUS member name 'idle-hint' found in interface 'org.freedesktop.ConsoleKit.Session' while parsing introspection
Invalid D-BUS member name 'is-local' found in interface 'org.freedesktop.ConsoleKit.Session' while parsing introspection
Invalid D-BUS member name 'x11-display-device' found in interface 'org.freedesktop.ConsoleKit.Session' while parsing introspection
Invalid D-BUS member name 'x11-display' found in interface 'org.freedesktop.ConsoleKit.Session' while parsing introspection
Invalid D-BUS member name 'display-device' found in interface 'org.freedesktop.ConsoleKit.Session' while parsing introspection
Invalid D-BUS member name 'remote-host-name' found in interface 'org.freedesktop.ConsoleKit.Session' while parsing introspection
Invalid D-BUS member name 'session-type' found in interface 'org.freedesktop.ConsoleKit.Session' while parsing introspection
Invalid D-BUS member name 'unix-user' found in interface 'org.freedesktop.ConsoleKit.Session' while parsing introspection
ATTENTION: default value of option vblank_mode overridden by environment.
ATTENTION: default value of option vblank_mode overridden by environment.
kwin(5200) KWin::CompositingPrefs::detectDriverAndVersion: GL vendor is "Tungsten Graphics, Inc"
kwin(5200) KWin::CompositingPrefs::detectDriverAndVersion: GL renderer is "Mesa DRI Intel(R) 945GME  x86/MMX/SSE2"
kwin(5200) KWin::CompositingPrefs::detectDriverAndVersion: GL version is "1.4 Mesa 7.9.2"
kwin(5200) KWin::CompositingPrefs::detectDriverAndVersion: Detected driver "intel" , version "945.GME"
QMetaObject::invokeMethod: No such method KUniqueApplication::loadCommandLineOptionsForNewInstance()
kded(5167)/kdecore (KConfigSkeleton) KCoreConfigSkeleton::writeConfig:
QDBusConnection: name 'org.kde.kglobalaccel' had owner '' but we thought it was ':1.8'
QMetaObject::invokeMethod: No such method KUniqueApplication::loadCommandLineOptionsForNewInstance()
QDBusObjectPath: invalid path ""
"/usr/bin/kdeinit4(5229)" Soprano: "org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown - The name org.kde.nepomuk.services.nepomukstorage was not provided by any .service files"
"/usr/bin/kdeinit4(5229)" Soprano: "QLocalSocket::connectToServer: Invalid name"
"/usr/bin/kdeinit4(5229)" Soprano: "org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown - The name org.kde.nepomuk.services.nepomukstorage was not provided by any .service files"
"/usr/bin/kdeinit4(5229)" Soprano: "QLocalSocket::connectToServer: Invalid name"
"/usr/bin/kdeinit4(5229)" Soprano: "org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown - The name org.kde.nepomuk.services.nepomukstorage was not provided by any .service files"
"/usr/bin/kdeinit4(5229)" Soprano: "QLocalSocket::connectToServer: Invalid name"
link XMLID_34_ hasn't been detected!
link XMLID_34_ hasn't been detected!
link XMLID_36_ hasn't been detected!
QFont::setPointSize: Point size <= 0 (0), must be greater than 0
QFont::setPointSize: Point size <= 0 (0), must be greater than 0
QFont::setPointSize: Point size <= 0 (0), must be greater than 0
QFont::setPointSize: Point size <= 0 (0), must be greater than 0
QMetaObject::invokeMethod: No such method KRunnerApp::loadCommandLineOptionsForNewInstance()
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
Couldn't find node center. Skipping rendering.
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
Couldn't find node center. Skipping rendering.
Connecting to deprecated signal QDBusConnectionInterface::serviceOwnerChanged(QString,QString,QString)
[akonadiserver] search paths:  ("/usr/local/bin", "/usr/bin", "/bin", "/usr/games", "/usr/lib/java/bin", "/usr/lib/kde4/libexec", "/usr/lib/qt/bin", ".", "/usr/sbin", "/usr/local/sbin", "/usr/local/libexec", "/usr/libexec", "/opt/mysql/libexec", "/opt/local/lib/mysql5/bin", "/opt/mysql/sbin")
[akonadiserver] Found mysql_install_db:  "/usr/bin/mysql_install_db"
[akonadiserver] Found mysqlcheck:  "/usr/bin/mysqlcheck"
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
Invalid D-BUS interface name 'org.kde.plasma-desktop.PlasmaApp' found while parsing introspection
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
"akonadiserver" [out] "akonadi.collectionattributetable                   OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "akonadi.collectionmimetyperelation                 OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "akonadi.collectionpimitemrelation                  OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "akonadi.collectiontable                            OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "akonadi.flagtable                                  OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "akonadi.mimetypetable                              OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "akonadi.parttable                                  OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "akonadi.pimitemflagrelation                        OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "akonadi.pimitemtable                               OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "akonadi.resourcetable                              OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "akonadi.schemaversiontable                         OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "mysql.columns_priv                                 OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "mysql.db                                           OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "mysql.event                                        OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "mysql.func                                         OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "mysql.general_log
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "Error    : You can't use locks with log tables.
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "status   : OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "mysql.help_category                                OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "mysql.help_keyword                                 OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "mysql.help_relation                                OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "mysql.help_topic                                   OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "mysql.host                                         OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "mysql.ndb_binlog_index                             OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "mysql.plugin                                       OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "mysql.proc                                         OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "mysql.procs_priv                                   OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "mysql.servers                                      OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "mysql.slow_log
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "Error    : You can't use locks with log tables.
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "status   : OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "mysql.tables_priv                                  OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "mysql.time_zone                                    OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "mysql.time_zone_leap_second                        OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "mysql.time_zone_name                               OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "mysql.time_zone_transition                         OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "mysql.time_zone_transition_type                    OK
"
"akonadiserver" [out] "mysql.user                                         OK
"
[akonadiserver] Database "akonadi" opened using driver "QMYSQL"
[akonadiserver] DbInitializer::run()
[akonadiserver] checking table  "SchemaVersionTable"
[akonadiserver] checking table  "ResourceTable"
[akonadiserver] checking table  "CollectionTable"
[akonadiserver] checking table  "MimeTypeTable"
[akonadiserver] checking table  "PimItemTable"
[akonadiserver] checking table  "FlagTable"
[akonadiserver] checking table  "PartTable"
[akonadiserver] checking table  "CollectionAttributeTable"
[akonadiserver] checking relation  "PimItemFlagRelation"
[akonadiserver] checking relation  "CollectionMimeTypeRelation"
[akonadiserver] checking relation  "CollectionPimItemRelation"
[akonadiserver] DbInitializer::run() done
[akonadiserver] skipping update 2
[akonadiserver] skipping update 3
[akonadiserver] skipping update 4
[akonadiserver] skipping update 8
[akonadiserver] skipping update 10
[akonadiserver] skipping update 12
[akonadiserver] skipping update 13
[akonadiserver] skipping update 14
[akonadiserver] skipping update 15
[akonadiserver] skipping update 16
[akonadiserver] skipping update 17
[akonadiserver] skipping update 18
[akonadiserver] skipping update 19
[akonadiserver] Nepomuk Query Server not available
[akonadiserver] DataStore::unhideAllPimItems()
PLUGINS:  "/usr/share/akonadi/agents"
PLUGINS:  ("birthdaysresource.desktop", "contactsresource.desktop", "icalresource.desktop", "imapresource.desktop", "kabcresource.desktop", "kcalresource.desktop", "knutresource.desktop", "kolabproxyresource.desktop", "localbookmarksresource.desktop", "maildirresource.desktop", "maildispatcheragent.desktop", "mboxresource.desktop", "microblog.desktop", "mtdummyresource.desktop", "nepomukcalendarfeeder.desktop", "nepomukcontactfeeder.desktop", "nepomuktagresource.desktop", "nntpresource.desktop", "notesresource.desktop", "pop3resource.desktop", "vcarddirresource.desktop", "vcardresource.desktop")
search paths:  ("/usr/local/bin", "/usr/bin", "/bin", "/usr/games", "/usr/lib/java/bin", "/usr/lib/kde4/libexec", "/usr/lib/qt/bin", ".")
PLUGINS inserting:  "akonadi_birthdays_resource" 0 ("Resource")
PLUGINS inserting:  "akonadi_contacts_resource" 0 ("Resource")
PLUGINS inserting:  "akonadi_ical_resource" 0 ("Resource")
PLUGINS inserting:  "akonadi_imap_resource" 0 ("Resource")
PLUGINS inserting:  "akonadi_kabc_resource" 0 ("Resource")
PLUGINS inserting:  "akonadi_kcal_resource" 0 ("Resource")
PLUGINS inserting:  "akonadi_knut_resource" 0 ("Resource")
PLUGINS inserting:  "akonadi_kolabproxy_resource" 0 ("Resource", "Unique", "NoConfig")
PLUGINS inserting:  "akonadi_localbookmarks_resource" 0 ("Resource")
PLUGINS inserting:  "akonadi_maildir_resource" 1 ("Resource")
PLUGINS inserting:  "akonadi_maildispatcher_agent" 0 ("Unique", "Autostart", "NoConfig")
PLUGINS inserting:  "akonadi_mbox_resource" 0 ("Resource")
PLUGINS inserting:  "akonadi_microblog_resource" 0 ("Resource")
PLUGINS inserting:  "akonadi_mailtransport_dummy_resource" 0 ("Resource", "MailTransport")
PLUGINS inserting:  "akonadi_nepomuk_calendar_feeder" 0 ("Unique", "NoConfig")
PLUGINS inserting:  "akonadi_nepomuk_contact_feeder" 0 ("Unique", "Autostart", "NoConfig")
link XMLID_34_ hasn't been detected!
link XMLID_34_ hasn't been detected!
link XMLID_36_ hasn't been detected!
PLUGINS inserting:  "akonadi_nepomuktag_resource" 0 ("Resource", "Virtual", "Unique", "NoConfig")
PLUGINS inserting:  "akonadi_nntp_resource" 0 ("Resource")
PLUGINS inserting:  "akonadi_notes_resource" 0 ("Resource")
PLUGINS inserting:  "akonadi_pop3_resource" 0 ("Resource")
PLUGINS inserting:  "akonadi_vcarddir_resource" 0 ("Resource")
PLUGINS inserting:  "akonadi_vcard_resource" 0 ("Resource")
QFont::setPointSize: Point size <= 0 (0), must be greater than 0
QFont::setPointSize: Point size <= 0 (0), must be greater than 0
QFont::setPointSize: Point size <= 0 (0), must be greater than 0
PLUGINS:  "/usr/share/akonadi/agents"
PLUGINS:  ("birthdaysresource.desktop", "contactsresource.desktop", "icalresource.desktop", "imapresource.desktop", "kabcresource.desktop", "kcalresource.desktop", "knutresource.desktop", "kolabproxyresource.desktop", "localbookmarksresource.desktop", "maildirresource.desktop", "maildispatcheragent.desktop", "mboxresource.desktop", "microblog.desktop", "mtdummyresource.desktop", "nepomukcalendarfeeder.desktop", "nepomukcontactfeeder.desktop", "nepomuktagresource.desktop", "nntpresource.desktop", "notesresource.desktop", "pop3resource.desktop", "vcarddirresource.desktop", "vcardresource.desktop")
QFont::setPointSize: Point size <= 0 (0), must be greater than 0
Couldn't find node center. Skipping rendering.
Akonadi server is now operational.
[akonadiserver] Connecting to deprecated signal QDBusConnectionInterface::serviceOwnerChanged(QString,QString,QString)
[akonadiserver] Database "akonadi" opened using driver "QMYSQL"
[akonadiserver] Database "akonadi" opened using driver "QMYSQL"
QMetaObject::invokeMethod: No such method PlasmaApp::loadCommandLineOptionsForNewInstance()
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
kcminit(5171)/kdecore (KLibrary) findLibraryInternal: plugins should not have a 'lib' prefix: "libkcm_hotkeys.so"
kcminit(5171)/kdecore (KLibrary) findLibraryInternal: plugins should not have a 'lib' prefix: "libkcm_keys.so"
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
[akonadiserver] Database "akonadi" opened using driver "QMYSQL"
[akonadiserver] Database "akonadi" opened using driver "QMYSQL"
kcminit(5171)/kdecore (KLibrary) findLibraryInternal: plugins should not have a 'lib' prefix: "libkcminit_nsplugins.so"
[/usr/bin/akonadi_nepomuk_contact_feeder] "/usr/bin/akonadi_nepomuk_contact_feeder(5275)" Soprano: "org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown - The name org.kde.nepomuk.services.nepomukstorage was not provided by any .service files"
[/usr/bin/akonadi_nepomuk_contact_feeder] "/usr/bin/akonadi_nepomuk_contact_feeder(5275)" Soprano: "QLocalSocket::connectToServer: Invalid name"
[/usr/bin/akonadi_nepomuk_contact_feeder] "/usr/bin/akonadi_nepomuk_contact_feeder(5275)" Soprano: "org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown - The name org.kde.nepomuk.services.nepomukstorage was not provided by any .service files"
[/usr/bin/akonadi_nepomuk_contact_feeder] "/usr/bin/akonadi_nepomuk_contact_feeder(5275)" Soprano: "QLocalSocket::connectToServer: Invalid name"
[/usr/bin/akonadi_nepomuk_contact_feeder] "/usr/bin/akonadi_nepomuk_contact_feeder(5275)" Soprano: "org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown - The name org.kde.nepomuk.services.nepomukstorage was not provided by any .service files"
[/usr/bin/akonadi_nepomuk_contact_feeder] "/usr/bin/akonadi_nepomuk_contact_feeder(5275)" Soprano: "QLocalSocket::connectToServer: Invalid name"
[/usr/bin/akonadi_nepomuk_contact_feeder] "/usr/bin/akonadi_nepomuk_contact_feeder(5275)" Soprano: "org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown - The name org.kde.nepomuk.services.nepomukstorage was not provided by any .service files"
[/usr/bin/akonadi_nepomuk_contact_feeder] "/usr/bin/akonadi_nepomuk_contact_feeder(5275)" Soprano: "QLocalSocket::connectToServer: Invalid name"
[/usr/bin/akonadi_nepomuk_contact_feeder] Connecting to deprecated signal QDBusConnectionInterface::serviceOwnerChanged(QString,QString,QString)
kcminit(5171)/kdecore (KLibrary) findLibraryInternal: plugins should not have a 'lib' prefix: "libkcm_emoticons.so"
[akonadiserver] Database "akonadi" opened using driver "QMYSQL"
[akonadiserver] Database "akonadi" opened using driver "QMYSQL"
QMetaObject::invokeMethod: No such method KAccessApp::loadCommandLineOptionsForNewInstance()
[akonadiserver] Database "akonadi" opened using driver "QMYSQL"
ksmserver(5176)/kdecore (services) KMimeTypeFactory::parseMagic: Now parsing  "/usr/share/mime/magic"
ksmserver(5176)/kdecore (services) KMimeTypeFactory::parseMagic: Now parsing  "/home/proteus/.local/share/mime/magic"
[/usr/bin/akonadi_nepomuk_contact_feeder] QMetaObject::invokeMethod: No such method KUniqueApplication::loadCommandLineOptionsForNewInstance()
nspluginscan(5325)/kdecore (KLibrary) findLibraryInternal: plugins should not have a 'lib' prefix: "/usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/libflashplayer.so"
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/bin/printer-applet", line 42, in <module>
    from PyQt4.QtCore import *
ImportError: No module named PyQt4.QtCore
QMetaObject::invokeMethod: No such method KMixApp::loadCommandLineOptionsForNewInstance()
nspluginscan(5327)/kdecore (KLibrary) findLibraryInternal: plugins should not have a 'lib' prefix: "/usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/libnpjp2.so"
New PolkitAgentListener  0x8092f30
Adding new listener  PolkitQt1::Agent::Listener(0x8114770) for  0x8092f30
QMetaObject::invokeMethod: No such method PolicyKitKDE::loadCommandLineOptionsForNewInstance()
QMetaObject::invokeMethod: No such method KUniqueApplication::loadCommandLineOptionsForNewInstance()
QSystemTrayIcon::setVisible: No Icon set
kmix(5323)/: _refcount already 0
QSystemTrayIcon::setVisible: No Icon set
Couldn't find node center. Skipping rendering.
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
Couldn't find node center. Skipping rendering.
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
Couldn't find node center. Skipping rendering.
QMetaObject::invokeMethod: No such method Konsole::Application::loadCommandLineOptionsForNewInstance()
kbuildsycoca4 running...
(5354)/kdecore (services) KServicePrivate::init: The desktop entry file  "/usr/share/applications/kde4/koffice.desktop"  has Type= "Application"  but no Exec line

plasma-desktop(5231)/ KConfigGroup::readXdgListEntry: List entry MimeType in "/usr/share/applications/mozilla-firefox.desktop" is not compliant with XDG standard (missing trailing semicolon).
klauncher(5165) KConfigGroup::readXdgListEntry: List entry MimeType in "/usr/share/applications/mozilla-firefox.desktop" is not compliant with XDG standard (missing trailing semicolon).
ATTENTION: default value of option vblank_mode overridden by environment.
ATTENTION: default value of option vblank_mode overridden by environment.
QMetaObject::invokeMethod: No such method Konsole::Application::loadCommandLineOptionsForNewInstance()
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
klauncher(5165)/kio (KLauncher): SlavePool: No communication with slave.

klauncher(5165)/kio (KLauncher): SlavePool: No communication with slave.

QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
kbuildsycoca4 running...
(5518)/kdecore (services) KServicePrivate::init: The desktop entry file  "/usr/share/applications/kde4/koffice.desktop"  has Type= "Application"  but no Exec line

kbuildsycoca4 running...
(5534)/kdecore (services) KServicePrivate::init: The desktop entry file  "/usr/share/applications/kde4/koffice.desktop"  has Type= "Application"  but no Exec line

KDirWatch: "/usr/share/wallpapers/Aghi" is a directory. Use addDir!
KDirWatch: "/usr/share/wallpapers/Air" is a directory. Use addDir!
KDirWatch: "/usr/share/wallpapers/Autumn" is a directory. Use addDir!
KDirWatch: "/usr/share/wallpapers/Blue_Wood" is a directory. Use addDir!
KDirWatch: "/usr/share/wallpapers/Ethais" is a directory. Use addDir!
KDirWatch: "/usr/share/wallpapers/Evening" is a directory. Use addDir!
KDirWatch: "/usr/share/wallpapers/Fields_of_Peace" is a directory. Use addDir!
KDirWatch: "/usr/share/wallpapers/Finally_Summer_in_Germany" is a directory. Use addDir!
KDirWatch: "/usr/share/wallpapers/Fresh_Morning" is a directory. Use addDir!
KDirWatch: "/usr/share/wallpapers/Grass" is a directory. Use addDir!
KDirWatch: "/usr/share/wallpapers/Hanami" is a directory. Use addDir!
KDirWatch: "/usr/share/wallpapers/Media_Life" is a directory. Use addDir!
KDirWatch: "/usr/share/wallpapers/Plasmalicious" is a directory. Use addDir!
KDirWatch: "/usr/share/wallpapers/Quadros" is a directory. Use addDir!
KDirWatch: "/usr/share/wallpapers/Red_Leaf" is a directory. Use addDir!
KDirWatch: "/usr/share/xfce4/backdrops" is a directory. Use addDir!
KDirWatch: "/usr/share/wallpapers" is a directory. Use addDir!
plasma-desktop(5231)/ Plasma::PackageStructurePrivate::createPackageMetadata: No metadata file in the package, expected it at: ""
plasma-desktop(5231)/ Plasma::PackageStructurePrivate::createPackageMetadata: No metadata file in the package, expected it at: ""
plasma-desktop(5231)/ Plasma::PackageStructurePrivate::createPackageMetadata: No metadata file in the package, expected it at: ""
'' is not a UTF8 or latin1 string
could not skip chunk size 8192
could not reset stream of /usr/share/xfce4/backdrops/sheytanbv36.png from pos 65536 to 0 after reading with PngEndAnalyzer:
could not skip chunk size 8192
could not reset stream of /usr/share/xfce4/backdrops/StairWay.png from pos 65536 to 0 after reading with PngEndAnalyzer:
could not skip chunk size 249007
could not reset stream of /usr/share/wallpapers/stripes.png from pos 65536 to 0 after reading with PngEndAnalyzer:
Error: Directory NikonPreview with 8224 entries considered invalid; not read.
Error: Directory NikonPreview with 8224 entries considered invalid; not read.
QWidget::setMinimumSize: (/Plasma::Dialog) Negative sizes (-1,-1) are not possible
Passing the event to the search view QKeyEvent(KeyPress, 1000004, 0, ""
"", false, 1)
Enchant dict for "en_US" 0x856b7c0
kwrite(5750)/kdecore (KPluginInfo) KPluginInfo::kcmServices: found  0  offers for  "ktexteditorexporter"
kwrite(5750)/kdecore (KPluginInfo) KPluginInfo::kcmServices: found  0  offers for  "ktexteditorinsanehtml_le"
kwrite(5750)/kdecore (KPluginInfo) KPluginInfo::kcmServices: found  0  offers for  "kdeviconinserter"
kwrite(5750)/kdecore (KPluginInfo) KPluginInfo::kcmServices: found  1  offers for  "ktexteditorautobrace"
kwrite(5750)/kdecore (KPluginInfo) KPluginInfo::kcmServices: found  0  offers for  "ktexteditorkdatatool"
kwrite(5750)/kdecore (KPluginInfo) KPluginInfo::kcmServices: found  0  offers for  "ktexteditorinsertfile"
kwrite(5750)/ EventListener::eventFilter: User of KWidgetItemDelegate should not delete widgets created by createWidgets!
kwrite(5750)/ EventListener::eventFilter: User of KWidgetItemDelegate should not delete widgets created by createWidgets!
kwrite(5750)/ EventListener::eventFilter: User of KWidgetItemDelegate should not delete widgets created by createWidgets!
kwrite(5750)/ EventListener::eventFilter: User of KWidgetItemDelegate should not delete widgets created by createWidgets!
kwrite(5750)/ EventListener::eventFilter: User of KWidgetItemDelegate should not delete widgets created by createWidgets!
kwrite(5750)/ EventListener::eventFilter: User of KWidgetItemDelegate should not delete widgets created by createWidgets!
kwrite(5750)/ EventListener::eventFilter: User of KWidgetItemDelegate should not delete widgets created by createWidgets!
kwrite(5750)/ EventListener::eventFilter: User of KWidgetItemDelegate should not delete widgets created by createWidgets!
kwrite(5750)/ EventListener::eventFilter: User of KWidgetItemDelegate should not delete widgets created by createWidgets!
kwrite(5750)/ EventListener::eventFilter: User of KWidgetItemDelegate should not delete widgets created by createWidgets!
kwrite(5750)/ EventListener::eventFilter: User of KWidgetItemDelegate should not delete widgets created by createWidgets!
kwrite(5750)/ EventListener::eventFilter: User of KWidgetItemDelegate should not delete widgets created by createWidgets!
kwrite(5750)/ EventListener::eventFilter: User of KWidgetItemDelegate should not delete widgets created by createWidgets!
kwrite(5750)/ EventListener::eventFilter: User of KWidgetItemDelegate should not delete widgets created by createWidgets!
kwrite(5750)/ EventListener::eventFilter: User of KWidgetItemDelegate should not delete widgets created by createWidgets!
kwrite(5750)/ EventListener::eventFilter: User of KWidgetItemDelegate should not delete widgets created by createWidgets!
kwrite(5750)/ EventListener::eventFilter: User of KWidgetItemDelegate should not delete widgets created by createWidgets!
kwrite(5750)/ EventListener::eventFilter: User of KWidgetItemDelegate should not delete widgets created by createWidgets!
X Error: BadWindow (invalid Window parameter) 3
  Major opcode: 20 (X_GetProperty)
  Resource id:  0x3200a12
kwrite(5750)/kdecore (services) KMimeTypeFactory::parseMagic: Now parsing  "/usr/share/mime/magic"
kwrite(5750)/kdecore (services) KMimeTypeFactory::parseMagic: Now parsing  "/home/proteus/.local/share/mime/magic"


The only thing that seems odd to me here is that kbuildsycoca4 seems to run four times, but I'm no expert on KDE... Does anything look odd here? (FWIW, the vblank_mode thing is because I have manually overridden sync-to-vblank, as it doesn't work right with the Intel driver.)

TIA!

Edit: No, I hadn't tried disabling Plasma yet. My bad.

kbuildsycoca4 should only be being run once - not 4 times. kbuildsycoca4 is a very disk intensive process, which may explain why it takes so long.

Can you reproduce this observation?

Unfortunately I'm having some trouble reproducing this, not sure why. Even without kbuildsycoca4 being called repeatedly, KDE is very slow to start.

OTOH, I will say that I have yet to see any computer on which KDE starts in 10 seconds or less, and that includes a Core 2 Duo workstation with 4 GB of RAM.

Also, I should mention that (by my wall clock) I get comparable 20+ second start times from Unity (both 2D and 3D) and Gnome 3, so I'm beginning to think that (again) newer desktop environments in general are nonviable for low-end computers. Maybe it's just a question of too many lines of code being executed.