The file /usr/lib/python2.5/site-packages/gtk-2.0/gnome/gconf.so exists. I've done an apt-get remove python2.5-gnome and apt-get install python2.5-gnome with no change in behavior. When I do apt-get purge python2.5-gnome it says "invalid operation purge" even though purge is listed in one of the commands in the help package.