vim in 14.04 (Trusty) starts up in Replace mode

Question

I just deployed a handful of 14.04 systems and I'm noticing that whenever I vim something, vim is already in replace mode.

As I'm used to being in command mode on starting, this is rather disorienting.

Any idea why? I don't see any obvious culprits in /etc/vim/vimrc, but this happens with every user on the system.

Installed relevant packages:

$ aptitude search vim | grep ^i
i   vim                             - Vi IMproved - enhanced vi editor
i   vim-common                      - Vi IMproved - Common files
i   vim-nox                         - Vi IMproved - enhanced vi editor - with sc
i   vim-runtime                     - Vi IMproved - Runtime files
i   vim-tiny                        - Vi IMproved - enhanced vi editor - compact

vim -V output:

# vim -V
chdir(/usr/share/vim)
fchdir() to previous dir
sourcing "$VIM/vimrc"
Searching for "debian.vim" in "/root/.vim,/usr/share/vim/vimfiles,/usr/share/vim/vim74,/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/after,/root/.vim/after"
Searching for "/root/.vim/debian.vim"
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/debian.vim"
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vim74/debian.vim"
chdir(/usr/share/vim/vim74)
fchdir() to previous dir
line 10: sourcing "/usr/share/vim/vim74/debian.vim"
finished sourcing /usr/share/vim/vim74/debian.vim
continuing in /usr/share/vim/vimrc
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/after/debian.vim"
Searching for "/root/.vim/after/debian.vim"
chdir(/usr/share/vim/vim74/syntax)
fchdir() to previous dir
line 20: sourcing "/usr/share/vim/vim74/syntax/syntax.vim"
Searching for "syntax/synload.vim" in "/root/.vim,/var/lib/vim/addons,/usr/share/vim/vimfiles,/usr/share/vim/vim74,/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/after,/var/lib/vim/addons/after,/root/.vim/after"
Searching for "/root/.vim/syntax/synload.vim"
Searching for "/var/lib/vim/addons/syntax/synload.vim"
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/syntax/synload.vim"
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vim74/syntax/synload.vim"
chdir(/usr/share/vim/vim74/syntax)
fchdir() to previous dir
line 19: sourcing "/usr/share/vim/vim74/syntax/synload.vim"
Searching for "syntax/syncolor.vim" in "/root/.vim,/var/lib/vim/addons,/usr/share/vim/vimfiles,/usr/share/vim/vim74,/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/after,/var/lib/vim/addons/after,/root/.vim/after"
Searching for "/root/.vim/syntax/syncolor.vim"
Searching for "/var/lib/vim/addons/syntax/syncolor.vim"
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/syntax/syncolor.vim"
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vim74/syntax/syncolor.vim"
chdir(/usr/share/vim/vim74/syntax)
fchdir() to previous dir
line 21: sourcing "/usr/share/vim/vim74/syntax/syncolor.vim"
finished sourcing /usr/share/vim/vim74/syntax/syncolor.vim
continuing in /usr/share/vim/vim74/syntax/synload.vim
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/after/syntax/syncolor.vim"
Searching for "/var/lib/vim/addons/after/syntax/syncolor.vim"
Searching for "/root/.vim/after/syntax/syncolor.vim"
finished sourcing /usr/share/vim/vim74/syntax/synload.vim
continuing in /usr/share/vim/vim74/syntax/syntax.vim
Searching for "filetype.vim" in "/root/.vim,/var/lib/vim/addons,/usr/share/vim/vimfiles,/usr/share/vim/vim74,/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/after,/var/lib/vim/addons/after,/root/.vim/after"
Searching for "/root/.vim/filetype.vim"
Searching for "/var/lib/vim/addons/filetype.vim"
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/filetype.vim"
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vim74/filetype.vim"
chdir(/usr/share/vim/vim74)
fchdir() to previous dir
line 25: sourcing "/usr/share/vim/vim74/filetype.vim"
Searching for "ftdetect/*.vim" in "/root/.vim,/var/lib/vim/addons,/usr/share/vim/vimfiles,/usr/share/vim/vim74,/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/after,/var/lib/vim/addons/after,/root/.vim/after"
Searching for "/root/.vim/ftdetect/*.vim"
Searching for "/var/lib/vim/addons/ftdetect/*.vim"
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/ftdetect/*.vim"
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vim74/ftdetect/*.vim"
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/after/ftdetect/*.vim"
Searching for "/var/lib/vim/addons/after/ftdetect/*.vim"
Searching for "/root/.vim/after/ftdetect/*.vim"
not found in 'runtimepath': "ftdetect/*.vim"
finished sourcing /usr/share/vim/vim74/filetype.vim
continuing in /usr/share/vim/vim74/syntax/syntax.vim
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/after/filetype.vim"
Searching for "/var/lib/vim/addons/after/filetype.vim"
Searching for "/root/.vim/after/filetype.vim"
finished sourcing /usr/share/vim/vim74/syntax/syntax.vim
continuing in /usr/share/vim/vimrc
Searching for "syntax/syncolor.vim" in "/root/.vim,/var/lib/vim/addons,/usr/share/vim/vimfiles,/usr/share/vim/vim74,/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/after,/var/lib/vim/addons/after,/root/.vim/after"
Searching for "/root/.vim/syntax/syncolor.vim"
Searching for "/var/lib/vim/addons/syntax/syncolor.vim"
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/syntax/syncolor.vim"
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vim74/syntax/syncolor.vim"
chdir(/usr/share/vim/vim74/syntax)
fchdir() to previous dir
line 25: sourcing "/usr/share/vim/vim74/syntax/syncolor.vim"
finished sourcing /usr/share/vim/vim74/syntax/syncolor.vim
continuing in /usr/share/vim/vimrc
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/after/syntax/syncolor.vim"
Searching for "/var/lib/vim/addons/after/syntax/syncolor.vim"
Searching for "/root/.vim/after/syntax/syncolor.vim"
Searching for "filetype.vim" in "/root/.vim,/var/lib/vim/addons,/usr/share/vim/vimfiles,/usr/share/vim/vim74,/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/after,/var/lib/vim/addons/after,/root/.vim/after"
Searching for "/root/.vim/filetype.vim"
Searching for "/var/lib/vim/addons/filetype.vim"
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/filetype.vim"
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vim74/filetype.vim"
chdir(/usr/share/vim/vim74)
fchdir() to previous dir
line 36: sourcing "/usr/share/vim/vim74/filetype.vim"
finished sourcing /usr/share/vim/vim74/filetype.vim
continuing in /usr/share/vim/vimrc
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/after/filetype.vim"
Searching for "/var/lib/vim/addons/after/filetype.vim"
Searching for "/root/.vim/after/filetype.vim"
Searching for "ftplugin.vim" in "/root/.vim,/var/lib/vim/addons,/usr/share/vim/vimfiles,/usr/share/vim/vim74,/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/after,/var/lib/vim/addons/after,/root/.vim/after"
Searching for "/root/.vim/ftplugin.vim"
Searching for "/var/lib/vim/addons/ftplugin.vim"
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/ftplugin.vim"
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vim74/ftplugin.vim"
chdir(/usr/share/vim/vim74)
fchdir() to previous dir
line 36: sourcing "/usr/share/vim/vim74/ftplugin.vim"
finished sourcing /usr/share/vim/vim74/ftplugin.vim
continuing in /usr/share/vim/vimrc
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/after/ftplugin.vim"
Searching for "/var/lib/vim/addons/after/ftplugin.vim"
Searching for "/root/.vim/after/ftplugin.vim"
Searching for "indent.vim" in "/root/.vim,/var/lib/vim/addons,/usr/share/vim/vimfiles,/usr/share/vim/vim74,/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/after,/var/lib/vim/addons/after,/root/.vim/after"
Searching for "/root/.vim/indent.vim"
Searching for "/var/lib/vim/addons/indent.vim"
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/indent.vim"
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vim74/indent.vim"
chdir(/usr/share/vim/vim74)
fchdir() to previous dir
line 36: sourcing "/usr/share/vim/vim74/indent.vim"
finished sourcing /usr/share/vim/vim74/indent.vim
continuing in /usr/share/vim/vimrc
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/after/indent.vim"
Searching for "/var/lib/vim/addons/after/indent.vim"
Searching for "/root/.vim/after/indent.vim"
finished sourcing $VIM/vimrc
chdir(/root)
fchdir() to previous dir
could not source "$HOME/.vimrc"
chdir(/root/.vim)
fchdir() to previous dir
could not source "~/.vim/vimrc"
chdir(/root)
fchdir() to previous dir
could not source "$HOME/.exrc"
Searching for "plugin/**/*.vim" in "/root/.vim,/var/lib/vim/addons,/usr/share/vim/vimfiles,/usr/share/vim/vim74,/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/after,/var/lib/vim/addons/after,/root/.vim/after"
Searching for "/root/.vim/plugin/**/*.vim"
Searching for "/var/lib/vim/addons/plugin/**/*.vim"
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/plugin/**/*.vim"
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin/**/*.vim"
chdir(/usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin)
fchdir() to previous dir
sourcing "/usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin/getscriptPlugin.vim"
finished sourcing /usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin/getscriptPlugin.vim
chdir(/usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin)
fchdir() to previous dir
sourcing "/usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin/gzip.vim"
finished sourcing /usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin/gzip.vim
chdir(/usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin)
fchdir() to previous dir
sourcing "/usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin/matchparen.vim"
finished sourcing /usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin/matchparen.vim
chdir(/usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin)
fchdir() to previous dir
sourcing "/usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin/netrwPlugin.vim"
finished sourcing /usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin/netrwPlugin.vim
chdir(/usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin)
fchdir() to previous dir
sourcing "/usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin/rrhelper.vim"
finished sourcing /usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin/rrhelper.vim
chdir(/usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin)
fchdir() to previous dir
sourcing "/usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin/spellfile.vim"
finished sourcing /usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin/spellfile.vim
chdir(/usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin)
fchdir() to previous dir
sourcing "/usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin/tarPlugin.vim"
finished sourcing /usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin/tarPlugin.vim
chdir(/usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin)
fchdir() to previous dir
sourcing "/usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin/tohtml.vim"
finished sourcing /usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin/tohtml.vim
chdir(/usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin)
fchdir() to previous dir
sourcing "/usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin/vimballPlugin.vim"
finished sourcing /usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin/vimballPlugin.vim
chdir(/usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin)
fchdir() to previous dir
sourcing "/usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin/zipPlugin.vim"
finished sourcing /usr/share/vim/vim74/plugin/zipPlugin.vim
Searching for "/usr/share/vim/vimfiles/after/plugin/**/*.vim"
Searching for "/var/lib/vim/addons/after/plugin/**/*.vim"
Searching for "/root/.vim/after/plugin/**/*.vim"
Reading viminfo file "/root/.viminfo" info oldfiles
Press ENTER or type command to continue

Do you get the same behavior when you `vim` a file or run `vim` with no file? Can you escape from insert mode back to command mode? Does running `vim -u none` change anything? Is `vim` a shell alias or function, does running `/usr/bin/vim` do the same thing? — Michael Miller, May 13 '14 at 17:02
Same behavior with or without a file. ESC does work to exit replace mode. `vim -u none` generates a "can't read from none" error, but it comes up in command mode like it should! `/usr/bin/vim`, problem still happens. — Mikey T.K., May 13 '14 at 17:04
Sorry, that should have been `vim -u NONE` to skip reading all initialization vimrc files. But if `vim -u none` made it work, that points to it being something in either `~/.vimrc` or in the system `/etc/vim/vimrc` or `/etc/vim/vimrc.local`. — Michael Miller, May 14 '14 at 15:17

score 4 · Accepted Answer · edited Aug 10 '14 at 16:34

4

Is your locale set correctly?

I was having this problem until a few minutes ago, I eventually traced it to misconfigured locales.

Fixed the config files and ran locale-gen, then source /etc/profile (or better, reboot) and vim behaved properly. No more starting up in replace mode.

I'm on Arch linux so I won't post the exact steps, but maybe you have a variation on the same problem.

edited Aug 10 '14 at 16:34

Alaa Ali

31,075
11
94
105

answered Aug 10 '14 at 16:02

smiley83

56
3

That was it! Something during my autoinstall process left the system locale as EN-GB rather than EN-US, which was causing some rather interesting problems elsewhere in the system as well. – Mikey T.K. Aug 12 '14 at 14:29
1

"Fixed the config files", huh? – Jul 07 '15 at 22:43

score -1 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 10 '14 at 16:49

-1

Try using this command

$ sudo apt-get remove vim
$ sudo apt-get install vim-gnome

even if you are using a different version of ubunutu, this version of vim is the best for ubuntu

answered Aug 10 '14 at 16:49

Viraj Shah

133
4

1

I've tested running vim (the command line version) after switching to vim-gnome, and it definitely does not fix this problem. – William Stein Jan 04 '15 at 13:23

vim in 14.04 (Trusty) starts up in Replace mode

2 Answers2