How do I switch my desktop environment to XFCE or another?

[princerameses]

I want something closer to windows. I would just get the XFCE version, but I want the latest release (10) and only 9 is available.

So could someone please give me step by step instructions on how to do this? Thanks.

[Beardedragon]

I want something closer to windows. I would just get the XFCE version, but I want the latest release (10) and only 9 is available.

So could someone please give me step by step instructions on how to do this? Thanks.

Install Linux Mint 10
Setup your networking.
Update everything in Mint first.
Open Synaptic Pkg Mgr then install xfce4 and xfce4-goodies
Reboot and change Sessions to XFCE at login after choosing your username but before putting in your password and hitting Enter.
XFCE will be your default as long as you do not change Sessions again.

Or, if you want what Merlwiz79 was working on before his accident, start with Xubuntu 10.10 and follow the instructions in this Thread:
viewtopic.php?f=110&t=59450&start=20

[grimdestripador]

There are ubuntu instructions for installing a "Desktop Environment"
The key is this, when you first turn on your comptuer, you are most likely presented with the Gnome-Login screen. On the bottom bar of the screen where you can shutdown/ change your language / or switch your default Desktop Environment.

To install install more than one Desktop Environment. Try

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sudo apt-get install lxde

or

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sudo apt-get install kdebase

or

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sudo apt-get install openbox

or

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sudo apt-get install xfce4

Consider this quote

Mixing and matching *buntus is possible and often encouraged by the community. If you choose Ubuntu, you are not stuck with Ubuntu. If you choose Kubuntu, you are not stuck with Kubuntu. You can use Gnome-native applications in KDE and vice versa. You can use Gnome- and KDE-native applications in Xfce. You can install education-related programs in any desktop environment. You can install kubuntu-desktop on top of Ubuntu and choose which one you want to log into at the login screen. All four versions of Ubuntu (Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, and Edubuntu) share the same software repositories and available applications. You are not locked into using one version just because it is the first version you installed. From now on, I'll be referring to all or any of the above versions as simply Ubuntu.

http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/whichbuntu

[princerameses]

Thank you for your reply. How do I change sessions? Will I be prompted?
I actually don't have it installed yet.

[vrkalak]

Open the Synaptic Package Manager, in the 'search' bar ... type "xfce"

Click on the Xfce Meta Package to 'install'

After the installation is compete ... re-boot your computer.

After the Grub screen, comes the Log-in screen ... at the Log-in screen, at the bottom, click on "sessions", choose "Xfce" ... finish logging in.

This will not change anything in your Gnome desktop, and all files/documents and bookmarks will show up in Xfce.

[Beardedragon]

Thank you for your reply. How do I change sessions? Will I be prompted?
I actually don't have it installed yet.

When the login screen comes up hit Enter once, so it asks for your password. The Sessions menu is at the bottom of the page, there is no prompt, it is always there.

[mikhou]

From what I have seen (and I've asked a lot of questions as well), vrkalak and merlwiz79 are the local XFCE experts so I can't add anymore to what has already been said. What I WILL say is that you won't really experience XFCE until you use a distro that is tweaked for it. To add XFCE on top of LM10 Main is nice, but it's not the best. Either load up LM 9 XFCE, load up Saline OS (which I haven't tried yet but is completely based on XFCE), or load up a minimum Debian XFCE install and just watch how fast your machine is! This does not take anything away from LM10. It's just my opinion that you won't fully experience XFCE until you go to an XFCE-based distro.

That being said, if all that you want is a different look, then go ahead and add the XFCE meta-package. I'm sure that you'll like it. I did. (That's what I did for awhile before I went with a straight-up Debian XFCE install.)

mikhou

[vrkalak]

From what I have seen (and I've asked a lot of questions as well), vrkalak and merlwiz79 are the local XFCE experts.

What I WILL say is that you won't really experience XFCE until you use a distro that is tweaked for it.

@mikhou ... thanks for the vote of confidence.

Correct, if you load the Xfce desktop over Gnome in MInt you will essentially have the same desktop as Xubuntu.
The official released version of Mint-7 Xfce CE is one of the best, in this regards ... Mint-9 Xfce comes in next.

But, Xfce was made to be a 'stand-alone' desktop environment, and not over another, larger more bloated, desktop.

If you want to use a good and super fast Xfce desktop not loaded over anything else, I say go with Crunchbang OS (Statler Edition/Xfce)

http://crunchbanglinux.org/ ... http://salineos.com/index.php

Crunchbang/Linux makes two versions ... one is with Openbox Window Manager and NO desktop environment.
The other is with Xfce as a 'stand-alone' desktop . . . both a super fast and easy to configure.

Both SalineOS and Crunchbang Statler are based on Debian Squeeze and use a Xfce as the default desktop environment.

[mikhou]

My HUGE apologies. I absolutely should have mentioned Crunchbang. It is by far one of my favorites. In fact, if I wasn't running straight-up Debian XFCE, I would be running Crunchbang Statler XFCE. As much as I love LM and LMDE, I don't think that I can go back from XFCE to Gnome or anything else now. In fact, just recently, I began experimenting with E17 via Bodhi, but I really don't see anyway that E17 will replace my beloved XFCE.

@vrkalak, thanks for mentioning Crunchbang. Not to hijack the thread, but have you had a chance to try Saline? Any thoughts?

mikhou

[vrkalak]

Same here ... when I went with LMDE (Gnome) ... I did my best to 'like' Gnome but I had to give in and switch my LMDE to using the Xfce desktop.

I have every Linux OS distro that uses Xfce as default.

So, yes. I downloaded SalineOS and tried it when it was first released.
SalineOS is based on Debian Squeeze and not testing, thus it will be stable very soon.
The only problem, for me, is that SalineOS uses Wicd and not Network Manager.
Wicd does not support any USB Modems and Network-Manager does.

Otherwise, SalineOS seems like a good, simple and fast version of Debian Squeeze and Xfce.

I love Debian and Xfce ... a win/win OS package.