LMDE Homebrew: Mintified Debian with KDE Desktop

[Schoelje]

[Edit]
29-07-2012
I've just announced my Unofficial LMDE KDE: viewtopic.php?f=190&t=106426
[Edit]
==============================================================

If you, like me, love LMDE but prefer the KDE desktop environmont, you could simply apt-get install kde-standard.
But then you're left with a bloated system...MATE, Cinnamon and everything else you don't need is still there.
So, I started with KDE on a Debian Install and tried to Mintify that.

==============================================================

1. Download and install Debian Squeeze and install KDE
You have several options here:

a) Download the netintaller
http://www.debian.org/distrib

This will download everything: Debian Squeeze and KDE.

Installation:
In the Debian GNU/Linux installer boot menu:
– Advanced options
– Alternative desktop environments
– KDE
– Install

b) Download the live install iso with KDE (I used this for the purpose of this tutorial)
http://www.debian.org/CD/live
Simply follow installation.

c) Get the live install iso, “standard” install (gives more flexibility installing KDE – thanks to squeezy)
http://www.debian.org/CD/live
For this you need to know what you're doing.

After installation, reboot, login, open a konsole and su.

2. Prepare your system
To make things easier, start with adding your user to the sudo group.

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usermod -G sudo your_user_name

Some packages are not in the LMDE repositories:

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apt-get install debian-handbook ktorrent

Some packages are safe to remove:

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apt-get purge debian-installer-launcher xterm iceweasel kexec-tools update-notifier*

Point to the LMDE repositories (commenting or replacing the existing repositories)
Check for available mirrors: http://www.linuxmint.com/mirrors.php

Edit sources.list

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nano /etc/apt/sources.list

Replace (or comment with #) the existing references with the following lines

deb http://packages.linuxmint.com/ debian main upstream import
deb http://debian.linuxmint.com/latest testing main contrib non-free
deb http://debian.linuxmint.com/latest/security testing/updates main contrib non-free
deb http://debian.linuxmint.com/latest/multimedia testing main non-free

Fix error "E: Release file expired, ignoring http://debian.linuxmint.com/latest/dist ... ng/Release (invalid since xh xmin xs)"

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echo "Acquire::Check-Valid-Until \"false\";" > /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/80mintupdate-debian

Update repositories

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apt-get update

Install the keyrings

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apt-get install debian-multimedia-keyring linuxmint-keyring

Install mintsystem

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apt-get install mintsystem

3. Get the Linux Mint KDE artwork
Now the next step is a bit dirty, but we need the mint-artwork from the Linux Mint repositories.

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nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/lisa.list

Copy the following lines:

deb http://packages.linuxmint.com/ lisa main upstream import
deb http://packages.linuxmint.com/ lisa-kde main upstream import

Install the packages

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apt-get update
apt-get install mint-artwork-common mint-artwork-kde mint-artwork-kde-extra mint-configuration-kde ksplash-theme-mint-kde mint-md5sum-kde rootactions-servicemenu
rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/lisa.list

Copy the kde4rc file to /etc.
This will actually start plasma with the mint kde configuration

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cp /usr/lib/linuxmint/mintSystem/adjustments/kde/kde4rc /etc/

After this point, KDM will not start when you reboot. When you do, don't worry. Login and type “startx”. Now you can change the KDM theme or resume the tutorial.

4. Upgrade and install packages
Upgrade your system

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apt-get update
apt-get upgrade
apt-get dist-upgrade
apt-get autoremove

Install packages

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apt-get install flashplayer-mozilla gecko-mediaplayer ffmpeg kde-config-gtk-style apt-xapian-index synaptic gdebi-kde gtk2-engines-oxygen xdg-user-dirs amarok minitube kscd krdc bluedevil kppp kuser ksystemlog kdf kcharselect winbind kvkbd kgpg partitionmanager xinit ndisgtk openprinting-ppds bluez-cups cups-pdf deborphan python-smbc kdenetwork-filesharing fusesmb unetbootin kde-config-touchpad samba ksaneplugin kid3 soundkonverter k9copy inkscape quassel

5. Mintify
Install Linux Mint packages

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apt-get install mintinstall mintnanny mintupdate-debian mintupload mintbackup mintwifi grub2-theme-mint mint-search-addon virtuoso-minimal firefox thunderbird

Create preferences file (thanks to zerozero)
Only implement the preferences file when using the standard latest/incoming UP-policy. Delete this file when tracking Debian repositories instead of LMDE repositories.

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nano /etc/apt/preferences

It should look like this:

Package: *
Pin: release o=linuxmint
Pin-Priority: 700

Package: *
Pin: origin packages.linuxmint.com
Pin-Priority: 700

Package: *
Pin: release o=Debian
Pin-Priority: 500

Change grub

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rm /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme

Edit grub file:

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nano /etc/default/grub

Replace by:

RUB_GFXPAYLOAD_LINUX=keep
GRUB_COLOR_HIGHLIGHT=light-blue/light-blue
GRUB_COLOR_NORMAL=black/black
GRUB_TIMEOUT=5
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET=true
GRUB_DEFAULT=saved
GRUB_GFXMODE=1024x768
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""

In konsole:

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update-grub

Change default kdm theme: Caledonia
The next two changes (kdm and splash) I used the Caledonia theme. This is just a matter of taste, so change to your favorite theme.
KDM: http://kde-look.org/content/show.php/Ca ... ent=143130

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wget -c http://kde-look.org/CONTENT/content-files/143130-Caledonia-KDM.tar.gz
tar -C /usr/share/kde4/apps/kdm/themes -zxvf 143130-Caledonia-KDM.tar.gz

Now, configure your theme through the KDM manager: System Settings / System Administration / Login Screen

Change default splash theme: Caledonia
http://kde-look.org/content/show.php/Ca ... ent=143576

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wget -c http://kde-look.org/CONTENT/content-files/143576-Caledonia-KSplash.tar.gz
tar -C /usr/share/kde4/apps/ksplash/Themes -zxvf 143576-Caledonia-KSplash.tar.gz
nano /usr/share/desktop-base/profiles/kde-profile/share/config/ksplashrc

Change ksplashrc to make it look like this:

[KSplash]
Engine=KSplashX
Theme=Caledonia-KSplash

Change default cursor theme

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update-alternatives --config x-cursor-theme

Search for oxy-white.theme and type the selection number.

Change default wallpaper
Untar the attached wallpaper theme.

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tar -C /usr/share/wallpapers -zxvf LMDE_KDE.tar.gz

Change files coming with package mint-configuration-kde:
Replace string "Mint_Lisa" by "LMDE_KDE" in the following files:

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nano /usr/share/mintkde-default-settings/kde4-profile/default/share/apps/plasma-desktop/init/00-defaultLayout.js
nano /usr/share/mintkde-default-settings/kde4-profile/default/share/apps/desktoptheme/default/metadata.desktop
nano /usr/lib/linuxmint/mintSystem/adjustments/kde/kde_ui.py

Prevent package from being upgraded:

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sudo -s
echo "mint-configuration-kde hold" | dpkg --set-selections

Check if the package is on hold:

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sudo -s
dpkg –set-selections  mint-configuration-kde

If you ever want to reset the hold on the package:

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sudo -s
echo "mint-configuration-kde install" | dpkg --set-selections

Change icons for Wicd
If you prefer Wicd on you laptop, but don't care much about the icons, follow these steps:
http://kde-look.org/content/show.php/Al ... ent=125921

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wget -c http://kde-look.org/CONTENT/content-files/125921-wicd.tar.gz
tar -C /usr/share/pixmaps -zxvf 125921-wicd.tar.gz
mv /usr/share/pixmaps/wicd /usr/share/pixmaps/wicd-org
cp /usr/share/pixmaps/wicd-pale /usr/share/pixmaps/wicd

6. Finishing off
Delete the user's .kde directory
Now we need to delete the user's .kde directory. The .kde directory will be re-generated with the new Linux Mint KDE configuration on next login.

CTRL-ALT-F1

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rm -r /home/your_user_name/.kde

And now the exciting part: reboot your system.
If all went well, you are now the proud owner of a LMDE KDE system!

[craigevil]

1) Do not install Java from Stable, either use Openjdk or follow my Howto to install Oracle Java 7
2) to have directories like Downloads, Music etc, just install xdg-user-dirs
3) To install KDE : apt-get install kde-standard or apt-get install kde-full
that will give you everything.
4) Use the deb-multimedia.org repo
apt-get install mplayer smplayer vlc flashplayer-mozilla gecko-mediaplayer ffmpeg libreoffice kde-config-gtk-style kde-style-oxygen libreoffice-style-oxygen synaptic update-notifier gdebi debian-handbook qt4-qtconfig


Then use the LMDE repo and add the Minty packages

[Schoelje]

Thanks, craigevil.

I followed up on your suggestions and that made the install a lot simpler.
Just tested it and it works like a charm.

Could you verify the steps in the tutorial?

I also added some questions at the end so if you can help me out there, I'd be much obliged.

[craigevil]

Do not need mint-flashplugin mint-flashplugin-11 or mint-meta-codecs

As we already install flashplayer-mozilla along with mplayer ffmpeg

You can go ahead and install the various gstreamer plugins, and use the phonon-backend-gstreamer rather than the vlc one.

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dpkg -l |grep gstreamer
ii  gstreamer0.10-alsa:i386              0.10.36-1                          GStreamer plugin for ALSA
ii  gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg                 1:0.10.13-0.2                      FFmpeg plugin for GStreamer
ii  gstreamer0.10-gconf:i386             0.10.31-3                          GStreamer plugin for getting the sink/source information from GConf
ii  gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad:i386       0.10.23-4                          GStreamer plugins from the "bad" set
ii  gstreamer0.10-plugins-base:i386      0.10.36-1                          GStreamer plugins from the "base" set
ii  gstreamer0.10-plugins-good:i386      0.10.31-3                          GStreamer plugins from the "good" set
ii  gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly:i386      0.10.19-2+b1                       GStreamer plugins from the "ugly" set
ii  gstreamer0.10-x:i386                 0.10.36-1                          GStreamer plugins for X11 and Pango
ii  libgstreamer-plugins-bad0.10-0:i386  0.10.23-4                          GStreamer development files for libraries from the "bad" set
ii  libgstreamer-plugins-base0.10-0:i386 0.10.36-1                          GStreamer libraries from the "base" set
ii  libgstreamer0.10-0:i386              0.10.36-1                          Core GStreamer libraries and elements
ii  phonon-backend-gstreamer:i386        4:4.6.0.0-2                        Phonon GStreamer 0.10.x backend


Personally I wouldn't install:
quassel transmission, amarok simple-scan, avahi-utils avahi-autoipd

kde already has konversation and ktorrent, the avahi stuff is useless cruft
in place of simple-scan I use ksaneplugin - KScan plugin for scanning through libksane
for samba, just install smb4k
printer-applet isnt needed

Its all about personal choice.
either wicd or network-manager
For multimedia I would also add kid3 and soundkonverter.,k9copy

I like kde but I have no use for neopumk/strigi, or akonadi so I disable them all. makes it so kde will run on my ancient laptop.

[zerozero]

1- if you want to fully mintify this setup:
/etc/apt/preferences

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Package: *
Pin: release o=linuxmint
Pin-Priority: 700

Package: *
Pin: origin packages.linuxmint.com
Pin-Priority: 700

Package: *
Pin: release o=Debian
Pin-Priority: 500

note: i only recommend the use of this preferences file with the default latest repo setup

2- there's a general issue with this howto:
- you start with a wheezy netinstall and later point the sources.list to packages.linuxmint/latest;
- the wheezy netinstall will give you a full updated system; latest is frozen as from march/20th; there's a possibility that you gonna see later on some lib mismatches (that will be solved with UP5)

[Schoelje]

@craigevil
Thanks, I added your suggestions to the tutorial.

@zerozero
I'm in a steep learning curve here...
Could you explain what the preferences file is used for?
Would you recommend using the sqeeze netinstall instead?

Now I'm left with just two issues:
* Change the gtk theme for all users
* Change the Kickoff Application Launcher icon for all users

Can you help me with those, and did I miss anything else?

[squeezy]

I'm in a steep learning curve here...
Could you explain what the preferences file is used for?
Would you recommend using the sqeeze netinstall instead?

I'm not zerozero (no one could pretend to be ) but I've done this type of thing many tmes. In fact, most of my installs are built from the ground up.

The preferences file is used to give weight to Mint's packages if they are replacing the same files in Debian's repository. Mint's version might be a bit older but because of the weighting in the preferences file the Mint version will be installed instead of the Debian version.

That works well in the Mint UP/repo scenario but I've found that if you're tracking Debian repos the preferences file can get you into dependency problems. I eliminate it when switching to direct Debian repo tracking.

I suggest starting with a squeeze install since even the oldest Mi repos will be newer than squeeze. Also, you might as well start with the squeeze LiveCD since you'll be upgrading all the packages anyway when switching to Debian testing or Mint repos. This avoids having to download the initial squeeze install. They offer an ISO called the "standard" install which installs just a command line environment, from which you can add your choice of DE and apps. Makes for a very clean install.

http://www.debian.org/CD/live/

Hope this helps.

[Schoelje]

@squeezy
Thanks for your input.
I'm running the standard install right now and I'll try your suggestions.
I saw that, together with the standard install, you can download a Debian KDE install.
Granted, it's 1G instead of 235MB, but apt-get kde-standard needs to download about 1G as well.
Is there some difference?

[zerozero]

- about the preferences file, squeezy said it all (and again i say, i only recommend the use of this apt-pinning if you're using the standard latest/incoming UP-policy);

- i would use squeeze as well (even if it sounds haunting such a big upgrade, debian and apt can handle it ) the latest build where you can find the standard install is 6.0.4 http://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current-live/

[squeezy]

I saw that, together with the standard install, you can download a Debian KDE install.
Granted, it's 1G instead of 235MB, but apt-get kde-standard needs to download about 1G as well.
Is there some difference?

It's been a long time since I installed a full Debian system, and have never done KDE. I don't recall all the things Debian includes in their full DE installs. I'm of a very minimalist mindset. My computer is pretty old and is a desktop with only an ethernet line so I don't like to have wireless, bluetooth, modem managers, network managers, et al installed. That's why I build my own systems from a command line base.

That's the long way of saying, "I don't know what the difference is."

I just like the freedom of choice you get with apt.

[hellfire695]

feel I should post here that I am creating a lmde kde iso so you can run kde by defualt with installing other DE's. basically put it will be a unofficial release of LMDE KDE edition

original announcement here
viewtopic.php?f=198&t=104111
I will keep upto date

[Schoelje]

First of all, I'd like to thank everybody for your input.
It's nice to see that there are more people interested in LMDE with KDE (I hope Clem is reading this as well).

I'd like to keep the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid!) in mind with this tutorial, so that people without expert skills can follow it. Obviously, you need to know where to find the konsole

This said, I adapted the tutorial according to your input.
Can you verify that all is correct?

There are still some minor issues left:
1. debian-handbook and ktorrent are not in the LMDE latest (any reason for that?) and is installed through the Debian Squeeze repositories.
2. I still didn't figure out how to change the gtk theme for all users.
3. Nor did I find out how to change the Kickoff Application Launcher icon for all users.
4. I removed mintwelcome: it would disappear when you click it and had to kill the process.
5. I changed the symlink /usr/share/wallpapers/kde-default.png to point to /usr/share/backgrounds/linuxmint-debian/gelsan_debian.png, but that doesn't do a thing.

Any suggestions?

[Schoelje]

To change the default icon for the Kickoff Application Launcher I created this file:
/usr/share/kde4/apps/plasma-desktop/init/02-mintkde-menu-icon.js

With this code:

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for (var i = 0; i < panelIds.length; ++i) {
    var panel = panelById(panelIds[i]);
    var widgetIds = panel.widgetIds;

    for (var j = 0; j < widgetIds.length; ++j) {
        var widget = panel.widgetById(widgetIds[j]);

        if (widget && (widget.type == 'quickaccess') &&
            (widget.readConfig("icon", "") != "user-home")) {
                widget.writeConfig("icon", "user-home");
        } // if quickaccess

        if (widget && (widget.type == 'lancelot_launcher') &&
            (widget.readConfig("icon", "") != "/usr/share/linuxmint/logo.png")) {
                widget.writeConfig("icon", "/usr/share/linuxmint/logo.png");
        } // if lancelot_launcher


        if (widget && (widget.type == 'launcher') &&
            (widget.readConfig("icon", "") != "/usr/share/linuxmint/logo.png")) {
                widget.writeConfig("icon", "/usr/share/linuxmint/logo.png");
        } // if launcher
    } // for widgets in panel
} // for panel

At least it sets the icon for new users (not for any existing users though).
Is this the way to go?

[EDIT]
Well, as it turns out, it was not even close...I ended up installing the Linux Mint KDE artwork from the repositories to overcome this problem.

[KBD47]

You are doing this the hard way I took a LMDE 201204 Xfce install, added kde-standard, everything worked when I logged into the kde desktop except tap on my touchpad, so I added kde-config-touchpad and it works fine now. Took me very little time and I have a nice KDE LMDE
http://s1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh5 ... 4831PM.png
kbd47
PS--I also have a nice Xfce4 Mint desktop to log into. One thing to note is that installing kde-standard on LMDE Xfce will remove mate-notifier, you will need to install xfce4-notifyd if you still want notifications for the Xfce install.

[zerozero]

the hard way or the right way? when we see in the featured screenshoot Rhythmbox as the music-player it says a lot.

[KBD47]

What have you got against Rhythmbox? I keep both Banshee and Rhythmbox on my computers, can't stand Amarok.

[zerozero]

well, it's better than banshee, no doubt about it (at least we are safe from the mono-disease) but in a kde-desktop makes no sense (i think): amarok, clementine, tomahawk are players integrated in the ecosystem (as rhythmbox is within gnome) that's all, as for the rest, surely it will work. it's your option (like others have the option to run native app)

[Schoelje]

@kbd47
At first I did what you did but was not at all satisfied with the result: I just wanted to know if I could make a pure LMDE install with KDE only. I suppose it was just curiosity that made me spend days to solve the puzzle. Eventually, I wanted it to look exactly like Linux Mint, so with the plasma panel looking exactly like Linux Mint KDE for each new user you create, etc.

Your way is certainly a valid solution if you want to use the KDE desktop and don't want to spend as much time on it as I did (well, just following the tutorial will not take that long).

If anybody could point me to a tutorial/manual on how to make a live install DVD for this solution, I'd be a very happy camper.

[KBD47]

well, it's better than banshee, no doubt about it (at least we are safe from the mono-disease) but in a kde-desktop makes no sense (i think): amarok, clementine, tomahawk are players integrated in the ecosystem (as rhythmbox is within gnome) that's all, as for the rest, surely it will work. it's your option (like others have the option to run native app)

I'm not too "religious" on the subject, if k3b works well for me in Gnome, I use it, same with whatever app works best for me in KDE

[KBD47]

@kbd47
At first I did what you did but was not at all satisfied with the result: I just wanted to know if I could make a pure LMDE install with KDE only. I suppose it was just curiosity that made me spend days to solve the puzzle. Eventually, I wanted it to look exactly like Linux Mint, so with the plasma panel looking exactly like Linux Mint KDE for each new user you create, etc.

Your way is certainly a valid solution if you want to use the KDE desktop and don't want to spend as much time on it as I did (well, just following the tutorial will not take that long).

If anybody could point me to a tutorial/manual on how to make a live install DVD for this solution, I'd be a very happy camper.

I wonder if you could use remastersys or something to copy your setup? I know there are many people who want a Mintified KDE LMDE. Don't know if it could become official or not, but I think there is much interest in it.