diff --git a/bin/z13-recover-desktop b/bin/z13-recover-desktop
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..db1ac4a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/z13-recover-desktop
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Emergency recovery when desktop shows wallpaper but no panels/UI after a profile change.
+# Run from TTY: Ctrl+Alt+F3, log in, then:
+#   sudo /path/to/z13Profiler/bin/z13-recover-desktop
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+INSTALL_ROOT="$(cd "${SCRIPT_DIR}/.." && pwd)"
+export INSTALL_ROOT CONFIG_FILE="${INSTALL_ROOT}/config/profiles.conf"
+
+# shellcheck source=../lib/memory-profiles.sh
+source "${INSTALL_ROOT}/lib/memory-profiles.sh"
+
+if [[ "${EUID}" -ne 0 ]]; then
+    echo "Run with sudo." >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "=== z13Profiler desktop recovery ==="
+echo ""
+echo "Memory now:"
+free -h | sed 's/^/  /'
+echo ""
+if uma_base="$(find_uma_base 2>/dev/null)"; then
+    echo "UMA carveout index: $(cat "${uma_base}/carveout")"
+    sed 's/^/  /' "${uma_base}/carveout_options"
+fi
+echo ""
+
+echo "Step 1: Reset memory profile to safe defaults (4 GB carveout, no custom TTM)..."
+apply_profile reset
+
+echo ""
+echo "Step 2: Try restarting Plasma for logged-in user(s)..."
+for udir in /run/user/*; do
+    [[ -d "${udir}" ]] || continue
+    uid="${udir##*/}"
+    user="$(id -nu "${uid}" 2>/dev/null)" || continue
+    [[ "${user}" == "root" ]] && continue
+    echo "  Restarting plasmashell for ${user} (uid ${uid})..."
+    sudo -u "${user}" DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS="unix:path=${udir}/bus" \
+        systemctl --user restart plasma-plasmashell 2>/dev/null \
+        || sudo -u "${user}" kstart plasmashell 2>/dev/null \
+        || true
+done
+
+echo ""
+echo "If the panel still missing, reboot once more:"
+echo "  sudo reboot"
+echo ""
+echo "After reboot, verify:"
+echo "  z13-memory-profiles --status"
+echo "  free -h"
diff --git a/install.sh b/install.sh
index 9d8aa41..f86d3a8 100755
--- a/install.sh
+++ b/install.sh
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ rsync -a --delete \
     "${SRC_DIR}/" "${INSTALL_DIR}/"
 
 chmod +x "${INSTALL_DIR}/bin/z13-memory-profiles"
+chmod +x "${INSTALL_DIR}/bin/z13-recover-desktop" 2>/dev/null || true
 chmod +x "${INSTALL_DIR}/install.sh" 2>/dev/null || true
 
 ln -sf "${INSTALL_DIR}/bin/z13-memory-profiles" "${BIN_DIR}/z13-memory-profiles"
diff --git a/lib/memory-profiles.sh b/lib/memory-profiles.sh
index e9d8dbd..1492c87 100644
--- a/lib/memory-profiles.sh
+++ b/lib/memory-profiles.sh
@@ -191,20 +191,33 @@ clear_ttm_config() {
 }
 
 regenerate_initramfs() {
+    # Only needed when /etc/modprobe.d/ttm.conf changes. Carveout (UMA) is firmware
+    # staged via sysfs and must NOT trigger a full initramfs rebuild — that has caused
+    # broken sessions on Nobara (wallpaper only, no plasmashell).
+    if [[ "${REGEN_INITRAMFS:-0}" != "1" ]]; then
+        log "Skipping initramfs regen (not required for this change)."
+        return
+    fi
+
+    local running_kernel
+    running_kernel="$(uname -r)"
+
     if command -v dracut >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-        log "Regenerating initramfs (dracut)..."
-        dracut --force --regenerate-all 2>/dev/null || dracut --force
+        log "Regenerating initramfs for ${running_kernel} only..."
+        dracut --force -k "${running_kernel}" || {
+            log "WARN: dracut failed; try: sudo dracut --force -k ${running_kernel}"
+        }
         return
     fi
     if command -v update-initramfs >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-        update-initramfs -u -k all
+        update-initramfs -u -k "${running_kernel}"
         return
     fi
     if command -v mkinitcpio >/dev/null 2>&1; then
         mkinitcpio -P
         return
     fi
-    log "No initramfs tool found; reboot may still apply modprobe.d on next boot."
+    log "No initramfs tool found; modprobe.d applies on next boot without regen."
 }
 
 set_carveout_index() {
@@ -245,13 +258,17 @@ apply_profile() {
     fi
 
     if [[ "${ttm_action}" == "clear" ]]; then
-        clear_ttm_config
+        if [[ -f "${TTM_CONF}" ]]; then
+            clear_ttm_config
+            REGEN_INITRAMFS=1 regenerate_initramfs
+        else
+            clear_ttm_config
+        fi
     elif [[ -n "${ttm_gb}" ]]; then
         write_ttm_config "${ttm_gb}"
+        REGEN_INITRAMFS=1 regenerate_initramfs
     fi
 
-    regenerate_initramfs
-
     cat <<EOF
 Profile "${label}" staged successfully.