Replace Cinnamon with MATE

[Al-Gear]

Hey folks,there's another thread but it's dead. Anyway, I’ve just installed MATE by running the following code:

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sudo apt install mate-session-manager marco mate-control-center --no-install-recommends

I’ve also run the following code to remove Cinnamon:

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sudo apt-get remove --purge cinnamon* -s

…and used Deborphan to supposedly get rid of the leftover packages:

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deborphan | xargs apt purge -y

But guess what? Cinnamon is still listed as default under DEs at login, and it still works. And MATE is using over 500 MB of RAM + over 600 MB of cache according to System Monitor. Furthermore, Desktop is not clickable, and won't show any items unless Marco is started manually. I also cannot delete the Cinnamon packages from Synaptic because they are 'broken'. Where do I go from here?

[Schultz]

Best way to do this is to do a clean install of Mint Mate. Adding a desktop to an already existing desktop is a recipe for a potential disaster. Especially if deleting the original desktop.

[MLED4]

If you're getting mate running at 500 MB, you haven't discovered how to turn off stuff you don't need.

Yesterday I installed LMDE 5. Today, I have LMDE 5 with non-frankendesktop mate desktop still with all the lovely gnome apps, and it's using 93 MB idling at desktop.

Sure, to make it useful, I'd need to maybe run pulseaudio and deadbeef, taking the memory usage up to less than 115 MB

Also, system-monitor takes so much ram. Use the free command or top for a better reading. To get that extra 400 of reserved ram down, adjust vm cache pressure.

[Pjotr]

Best way to do this is to do a clean install of Mint Mate. Adding a desktop to an already existing desktop is a recipe for a potential disaster. Especially if deleting the original desktop.

Correct.

A fresh clean install of Mint Mate is the best option.

[Loquebantur]

The real problem with installing mate on Elsie is that it is so stable... that nothing ever breaks.
Where is the fun in that ?

Loquebantur

[Al-Gear]

Best way to do this is to do a clean install of Mint Mate. Adding a desktop to an already existing desktop is a recipe for a potential disaster. Especially if deleting the original desktop.

Does current Mint MATE have a 32-bit build? If not, it ain’t an option, alas

[Al-Gear]

If you're getting mate running at 500 MB, you haven't discovered how to turn off stuff you don't need.

Yesterday I installed LMDE 5. Today, I have LMDE 5 with non-frankendesktop mate desktop still with all the lovely gnome apps, and it's using 93 MB idling at desktop.

Sure, to make it useful, I'd need to maybe run pulseaudio and deadbeef, taking the memory usage up to less than 115 MB

Also, system-monitor takes so much ram. Use the free command or top for a better reading. To get that extra 400 of reserved ram down, adjust vm cache pressure.

What I did was what you had suggested in another thread.

[vimes666]

Iirc I only installed mate-desktop-extras on LMDE5 some 4 months ago. Only had some minor hickups in the theming department. Runs fine here and I didnt remove cinnamon so I can choose desktops at the login window.
System: Kernel: 5.10.0-19-amd64 x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 10.2.1 Desktop: MATE 1.24.1
info: mate-panel wm: marco 1.24.1 dm: LightDM 1.26.0 Distro: LMDE 5 Elsie
base: Debian 11.2 bullseye

[MLED4]

Okay, further detail:

1) Startup applications. You only need mate-settings-daemon.
2) Systemd-analyze blame can help you see things starting that you don't need
3) Htop can help you find running programs you don't need, and invisible taskbar components
4) Remove network-manager, use ifupdown
5) Ask mintmenu to not search the internet or apps

Optional, saves another 10MB, use sysv not systemd (after step 2)

[all41]

Replace Cinnamon with MATE??
Mixing desktops is best done by experts, and the real experts
don't do it.

[Al-Gear]

The real problem with installing mate on Elsie is that it is so stable... that nothing ever breaks.
Where is the fun in that ?

Loquebantur

[MLED4]

This is not really mixing desktops.

This is adding desktop session capability to a gnome base, and removing cinnamon, leaving the mate-compatible gnome-base. Mate is gnome. Cinnamon is gnome. All are gtk and all play nicely together.

The mistake people make is to install meta-packages for additional desktops, which is very messy. I don't like mate apps because they shout on my menu.

Yes I know its mate. I don't need MATE this and MATE than on the menu, so never install mate-utils.

[linux-rox]

Out of curiosity, I did a trial installing the Mate desktop over LMDE5 in a virtual machine.* This is 64 bit, so the numbers will be a bit different. When logged into the Mate desktop on LMDE, I get baseline memory use of 730 MB (of which 520 MB is cache) (pretty sure you're not supposed to add those). When I boot a dedicated Mate VM (20.1) I get the same of 730 MB. In each case, by the way, the total RAM available to the VM is 3.5 GB.

* FWIW, I used a much simpler method: install mate-desktop-environment (and dependencies). That's all. Runs fine as far as I can tell.

How much memory does your machine have, anyway? If 500 MB is taking it to the wall, you probably need a lighter distro (or a newer computer). If you're not RAM starved, a simple way to reduce Cinnamon's memory use is to disable Effects (an app on Menu).

[rbeltz48]

I do much testing of various distros just to see who writes good code and who doesn't. Ever since Ubuntu 5.10 I have used the Gnome 2 and MATE desktops because of their simplicity and familiarity. Cinnamon, KDE and other desktops would involve a learning curve which I simply don't have time for at this point in life. I have never had any problems adding the MATE desktop to a distro that came with a different desktop. That includes MATE on LMDE5 which runs just fine!

[all41]

That includes MATE on LMDE5 which runs just fine!

ha ha, me too for lmde-it comes in one flavor only.
Cinnamon is perfect for most, but my workflow prefers MATE