Linux Mint 17 synoptic package manager crashes ...

[joe at actionline.com]

Found a further (still partial) solution to the problem
that I reported here a few minutes ago.

https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=221151#p1161682

However, the problem with the top window in the synaptic
"Update Manager" (as shown in the screen shot link below)
has gotten even worse (the window gets smaller and smaller
every time I open synaptic), to the point that this top
window is now so small that nothing that might be in that
window can even be seen.

http://upquick.com/temp/synaptic1.jpg

What can I do to fix this problem?