Debian XFCE?

Chat about Linux in general
Forum rules
Do not post support questions here. Before you post read the forum rules. Topics in this forum are automatically closed 6 months after creation.
Locked
eric12

Debian XFCE?

Post by eric12 »

Hi,

I'm looking for a small Linux Mint Debian edition.
I have an older computer with 2Gigs of ram, and the cpu is about 2400 Mhz.

Mate and Cinnamon are working, but to slow.
CPU is working at 95%, so it can't use it.

So i have looked under Downloads > Debian, but i don't see a XFCE version.

Is there somewhere a XFCE version that i can use, and that i can use for some years?
I believe you call this Long Time Supported.


Thanks,

Eric
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
User avatar
xenopeek
Level 25
Level 25
Posts: 29507
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2011 3:58 am

Re: Debian XFCE?

Post by xenopeek »

Moved here as this is about LMDE. LMDE only comes preloaded with MATE or Cinnamon, but of course you can easily install Xfce on either if you so prefer (package: xfce4). There is no concept of LTS on LMDE, as it is a semi-rolling release. The only purpose of new releases for LMDE is so that for a new install you don't install completely outdated packages. After installing LMDE and adding Xfce to it, both will be kept up to date indefinitely by the periodic update packs that LMDE uses.
Image
Makoto

Re: Debian XFCE?

Post by Makoto »

An alternative method may also be to download LMDE from 2011, when XFCE could be packaged from the start. There would be a lot of old packages that need updating, and that could take a night. It may however be easier than installing Mate/Cinnamon and replacing it with XFCE.

64 bit: http://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=91
32 bit: http://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=90

Run apt-get update && apt-get upgrade -y and leave it going overnight and you will have LMDE-XFCE up to date.
User avatar
xenopeek
Level 25
Level 25
Posts: 29507
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2011 3:58 am

Re: Debian XFCE?

Post by xenopeek »

Makoto, that is really terrible advice :( For one because you will be installing with the installer from 2011, so missing out on the fixes, improvements and new features as available in the current installer. But also because this will install LMDE from 2011, and the current LMDE works quite differently--so you'd have to know what all changes have been made to how LMDE works since 2011 and manually apply all those changes to your system. Again, really terrible advice however well meant.
Image
passerby

Re: Debian XFCE?

Post by passerby »

You could try out the unofficial LMDE XFCE UP6: http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=122592&f=61
Makoto

Re: Debian XFCE?

Post by Makoto »

@xenopeek

hmm that's a bit unfortunate you feel that way. You have me curious. At the moment I have 2 machines running LMDE XFCE. One of them (installed earlier this year) was installed using the 2011 edition, then updated. More recently I migrated my desktop from Nadia to LMDE by doing a fresh install of 2013 LMDE-mate, then from tty removing mate and installing XFCE. It felt a lot more tedious, but was ultimately faster :) .

To date, the first install has never really given me trouble (ok, I had to update the /etc/apt/sources.list because of the debian multimedia thing...) , but your saying that its "terrible advice" has got me wondering what sort of trouble I have set myself up for :? . Part of my decision to migrate to LMDE was because it removes the need to re-install the system every couple of months.

To make my question clearer, what major things would I be missing out on? What bugs should one expect? Does LMDE need to be re-installed with every release?
-Thanks in advance.
User avatar
xenopeek
Level 25
Level 25
Posts: 29507
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2011 3:58 am

Re: Debian XFCE?

Post by xenopeek »

Makoto wrote:Does LMDE need to be re-installed with every release?
No, of course not. That's the whole point of LMDE, as long as you keep up to date that is :) If it worked fine for you, good for you. I understand transforming MATE into Xfce isn't trivial, but in my opinion it is better to ask for support with that than to limit your LMDE experience by using the old installer.

Given, I tripped on you linking to the 2011 release of LMDE Xfce as the LMDE releases done in 2012 and 2013 diverge quite a bit from that--specifically on the hardware support front, not only in what all the installer can now do for you that it couldn't do in 2011. However, the last release of LMDE Xfce was I believe in April 2012: http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=1979. Using that one, the hardware support is less of an issue though you will still be stuck with the old installer.
Image
Monsta
Level 10
Level 10
Posts: 3071
Joined: Fri Aug 19, 2011 3:46 am

Re: Debian XFCE?

Post by Monsta »

That one is tricky to find without the direct link to the blog: for some reason it's been removed from [url=http://www.linuxmint.com/release.php?id=14]the download page[/url].
User avatar
xenopeek
Level 25
Level 25
Posts: 29507
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2011 3:58 am

Re: Debian XFCE?

Post by xenopeek »

I found it through the changelog: http://www.linuxmint.com/rel_debian_whatsnew.php. But good point Monsta. First one to catch Clem on the IRC should probably get the link for 2012.04 LMDE Xfce on the downloads page. Though I stand by that using the 2013.03 LMDE release as a base to add Xfce to is in my opinion the better path.
Image
Makoto

Re: Debian XFCE?

Post by Makoto »

That's a relief. By terrible, I expected some catastrophic failure :) . I will keep my eye on the newer versions if there is any hardware trouble. I actually find the newer releases crash on my atom. -- But that's a deep complicated issue for another thread.
zerozero

Re: Debian XFCE?

Post by zerozero »

sorry to interfere (if i may :D )
i see 2 issues here

1-
Makoto wrote:Run apt-get update && apt-get upgrade -y and leave it going overnight and you will have LMDE-XFCE up to date.
you'll never have lmde-xfce (or any other lmde for that matter) up to date this way; you are updating "in circles" (if i might use the image) keeping old debris around, not getting the new libraries;
let's face it: you have an above average linux experience; in other hands this adventure would have crash and burn long time ago.

2-
there's a design flaw with lmde-xfce (from ground up): it was supposed to be mainstream and some core xfce app were replaced with gnome counter-parts; all's fine, it's a design option, we are fine with that.
but because of the way the gnome ecosystem is designed this meant that by mid 2012 we were getting gnome-shell co-installed when trying to update the systems.
now, there's nothing wrong with gnome-shell (i won't go here into any rant against GNOME, enough of that) but by that time mint had already decided that gnome-shell wasn't one of the sponsored DE's and furthermore the typical xfce user was in most cases running way from gnome-shell; an awkward situation that one was;
solving it was not just a matter of releasing another iso but rebasing all the concept of the initial lmde-xfce; when faced with this decision and looking at the userbase lmde-xfce had, Clem's decision was what we know: the xfce version of lmde was discontinued.

and we should leave it to rest
cpatrick08

Re: Debian XFCE?

Post by cpatrick08 »

passerby wrote:You could try out the unofficial LMDE XFCE UP6: http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=122592&f=61
LMDE unofficial has been made into an new distro [url]http://solydxk.com/products/solydx/[/url]
Locked

Return to “Chat about Linux”