Had to do it - Mint 13 XFCE

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squeezy

Had to do it - Mint 13 XFCE

Post by squeezy »

Thought I'd give it a try and see what the upcoming Mint 13 XFCE edition might look like.

Used a Precise mini.iso file to make a bare install, swapped sources and preferences from a previous Mint 13 install then installed Xfce4, Xfce4 Goodies, MDM w/Mint theme, multimedia codecs, Firefox, some of the other Mint stuff and voila!

Not the "Real Thing" but it looks good and runs great! Very speedy.

A little bored today, maybe? :lol:

EDIT: Attached scaled down screen shot. Sorry for the screen-stretcher at first!
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.
crborga

Re: Had to do it - Mint 13 XFCE

Post by crborga »

nice :-)
squeezy

Re: Had to do it - Mint 13 XFCE

Post by squeezy »

dalcde wrote:Nice one! Can you post what precisely you did/installed so some of us can really go out there and make an installable iso?
OK, here's a mini How-To for building a custom Mint base that you can add your own preferred applications to. I won't go into detail about using the mini.iso installer. It's pretty straightforward although it is a text-based installer.

You'll need a sources.list file and preferences file from a Mint 13 installation. I saved those from a prior install to another disk for future use 8)

1. Obtain either a mini.iso or Alternate Install CD image from Ubuntu. Either of these will let you install a command line only system. That's a very stripped base, no GUI, no apps, nothing but a good old command line prompt.
  • I use the mini.iso since it's only a 27 MB download. Alternate Install is a full 650+ MB image that offers an option to install a command line system. The command line install option is the exact same installer as the mini.iso. Unebootin puts it on a USB stick very nicely. Get the Precise image to build Mint 13.

    The installer downloads all the files you need for the installation so you end up with an up-to-date Precise command line installation.

    https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Insta ... /MinimalCD
2. Reboot your new install and log in as the user you created during the install.

3. Copy the Mint sources.list and preferences files to /etc/apt/ on the new install.

4. Do sudo apt-get update.
  • You'll get an error about a missing keyring file. That's for the extra Mint repo that's added to the default Ubuntu repos in the new sources.list file.
5. Do sudo apt-get install linuxmint-keyring to install the Mint keyring, then sudo apt-get update again to refresh the package lists without errors.

6. Install your desktop environment of choice. For my Xfce build I did sudo apt-get install xfce4 xfce4-goodies.
  • For a Cinnamon DE do sudo apt-get install cinnamon

    For a MATE DE do sudo apt-get install mate-desktop-environment

    This gets you a pure desktop with no apps installed. These meta pacakges pull in all required dependencies.
7. Install a login manager so you get a nice GUI login prompt. Do sudo apt-get install mdm mint-mdm-themes to install MDM like Mint 13 uses. This will also install all the Xorg files you need.

8. You could reboot at this point and be able to log into a bare desktop enviroment, but I like to add Synaptic first to make it easier to install apps and other things. Do sudo apt-get install synaptic gksu. I can't recall if gksu is required or not but some DE installs do not pull it in so I add it just to be sure.

9. Now reboot and you should come to the MDM login screen. It won't look like Mint yet, but you can change that later.

10. Convert the system from Ubuntu to Mint. Open Synaptic, change to the Origin view. Under the maya/main section find and install ubuntu-system-adjustments. This installs some Mint utilities that change the distro name and other things to make it a Mint system.
  • Note here that by default a package called mint-info-xfce is pulled in. That's fine if you're building an Xfce system. If not, find the mint-info-xxxx package that corresponds to your build and mark it for installation, then unmark the mint-info-xfce package.
11. While Synaptic is open install the approriate artwork for your system. This will give you all the backgrounds, Mint themes, icons, etc. Done with Synaptic for now.

12. Find the Login Window app. It's in the Administration section of whichever DE you installed. That section is called different things in different DEs. Change the MDM theme to the Mint theme.

13. Reboot your system and you'll log into a new bare Mint desktop, ready for you to customize and add the apps of your choice. You can add all or none of the Mint tools, codec package, etc that you desire. Depends entirely on your own preferences.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is a quick and dirty How-To to get you a bare Ubuntu-based Mint desktop. You can apply the same idea to LMDE to build a custom setup there. There's a couple more steps you need to build LMDE so don't follow this How-To exactly if you're after an LMDE setup. If anyone is interested I can do a mini How-To for LMDE as well.
MattyC157

Re: Had to do it - Mint 13 XFCE

Post by MattyC157 »

Trying to do this now and just wandering how you would go about doing step 3. Copying the sources and preferences file.
I have saved them onto a flash drive and i was wondering how to copy them to /etc/apt/
I have tried to boot from a fedora 16 bootable disc in hope to easily mount the drives and copy over but i cannot do so as i need to have higher priveleges e.g Root.
How would you do step 3?
squeezy

Re: Had to do it - Mint 13 XFCE

Post by squeezy »

Hi MattyC157,

I have two hard drives in my computer, one is my Win7 install (/dev/sda) and the other I use for Linux (/dev/sdb). When I'm working on my Linux installs I just mount the Win7 hard drive and copy stuff over from there. If you don't have that luxury, I imagine you could do the same thing with a USB stick.

The command I use to mount my Win7 drive is:

Code: Select all

sudo mount /dev/sda2 /mnt
This makes it accessible through the /mnt directory on the Linux filesystem. In your case you would substitute /dev/sda2 with the drive designation of your USB flash drive.
crborga

Re: Had to do it - Mint 13 XFCE

Post by crborga »

I tried doing this with KDE instead but not sure if I did it right. I grabbed the mini.iso, swapped sources, preferences, and apt-get update. Then, I installed the keyrings and install kde-full, kubuntu-desktop along with the few mint meta packages I did come across. The system is very snappy but not sure how much Mint it actually is.
squeezy

Re: Had to do it - Mint 13 XFCE

Post by squeezy »

Yeah, a lot of my installs are more "Mint-inspired" than being actual Mint copies. I purposely tried to make this one as Minty as I could to get an idea what the Xfce spin might look like. :D

If your machine is running nicely and you like what you've got, then you did it right!
crborga

Re: Had to do it - Mint 13 XFCE

Post by crborga »

squeezy wrote:Yeah, a lot of my installs are more "Mint-inspired" than being actual Mint copies. I purposely tried to make this one as Minty as I could to get an idea what the Xfce spin might look like. :D

If your machine is running nicely and you like what you've got, then you did it right!
Seems like LM 12 KDE wasn't really all thay Minty anyway. Just downloaded a regular Kubuntu iso and it's almost the same as what I did except it was already updated.
Berkah

Re: Had to do it - Mint 13 XFCE

Post by Berkah »

Great!
Tx for the detailed "how-to"!
Will try that to get my "LM 13 XFCE" :D
trialpha

Re: Had to do it - Mint 13 XFCE

Post by trialpha »

Would it work to put...

Code: Select all

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:xubuntu-dev/xfce-4.10
...in there somewhere between steps 3 and 6 to get an XFCE 4.10 desktop?

I installed XFCE 4.10 into Maya MATE, and I really like it. Looking forward to the official Maya XFCE, and hoping for XFCE 4.10.

References:
http://it-diary.com/tutorials/install-x ... -pangolin/
https://launchpad.net/~xubuntu-dev/+archive/xfce-4.10
squeezy

Re: Had to do it - Mint 13 XFCE

Post by squeezy »

trialpha wrote:Would it work to put...

Code: Select all

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:xubuntu-dev/xfce-4.10
...in there somewhere between steps 3 and 6 to get an XFCE 4.10 desktop?

I installed XFCE 4.10 into Maya MATE, and I really like it. Looking forward to the official Maya XFCE, and hoping for XFCE 4.10.

References:
http://it-diary.com/tutorials/install-x ... -pangolin/
https://launchpad.net/~xubuntu-dev/+archive/xfce-4.10
That's an interesting idea. I don't see why that wouldn't work though. It's just another repo with updated packages in it :D I would do it during step 3 when you're changing your sources.list file.

To be honest, this was one of my first experiences with Ubuntu. I'm not sure if add-apt-repository is available when doing the minimal install. I believe that is an Ubuntu-specific command, not a built-in apt function. It might be a package you need to install to be able to use. I could be entirely wrong about that, so give it a try. If it works, great. If not, you can add the repo directly by editing the sources.list file and adding the following:

Code: Select all

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/xubuntu-dev/xfce-4.10/ubuntu precise main
I use nano for my command line editing needs.

Code: Select all

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list
Add the line above, use ctrl-o to save the file and ctrl-x to exit nano, the sudo apt-get update to update the package lists.
trialpha

Re: Had to do it - Mint 13 XFCE

Post by trialpha »

Squeezy,

You are correct. The command: apt-add-repository is not part of the minimal install. It is a python script installed in /usr/bin/ with the command:

Code: Select all

sudo apt-get install python-software-properties
...but I didn't install the python script, I added the deb code to my sources.list as you recommended above:

Code: Select all

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/xubuntu-dev/xfce-4.10/ubuntu precise main
When I reached step #4, I got more errors. I needed the GPG key for the Launchpad PPA, and also for the Medibuntu repository that was in my imported sources.list. The apt-add-repository would have automatically installed the PPA key, but since I didn't do it that way, I had to use...

Code: Select all

sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 142986CE
...which imported the keys for the XFCE 4.10 PPA.

To fix Medibuntu, I used:

Code: Select all

sudo apt-get install medibuntu-keyring
Then I worked my way through the rest of the how-to.

System is up and running XFCE 4.10 now. Not particularly pretty (minty) on first boot, but much better now.
Thanks for this down and dirty minimal install method for a mint inspired desktop, and I hope my comments are helpful to someone.
squeezy

Re: Had to do it - Mint 13 XFCE

Post by squeezy »

Good to know it worked, trialpha! That's good info re: adding the repo keys for the PPA and added Ubuntu repo.

How is 4.10 working out? You have me interested in doing an install of it.
trialpha

Re: Had to do it - Mint 13 XFCE

Post by trialpha »

squeezy wrote:How is 4.10 working out? You have me interested in doing an install of it.
I'm learning to like XFCE 4.10. I guess you could say I'm a Gnome 2 refugee. My hardware is too old to run Gnome Shell, Unity 3D, and Cinnamon. Unity 2D works, but it is painfully slow, and fallback modes are... frustrating. MATE works, but since it looks like Gnome, I'm constantly trying to open Gedit, and Nautilus instead of Pluma and Caja. The naming conventions of the fork didn't make sense to me until someone told me they were derived from Spanish. Also with MATE, I keep running into the MDM not running issue. http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.p ... 6&t=102318

Sorry, this is why I seldom post on forums, I ramble too much... back on topic now...

The elements of XFCE 4.10 that caught my attention were... the "Single-Click" Desktop icons - my whole desktop can be a quick-launch bar. The recoded Application Finder - xfce4-appfinder - which makes the search function like the search field on the MintMenu an "ALT-F2" keystroke away, and works both to run commands and launch applications. And I also like the organization of the settings manager and the XFCE window compositing with window and menu shadows to add a little depth to my non 3D accelerated desktop. The compositing also lets me set partial transparency for inactive windows and windows I'm moving or resizing, so I can see what may be hiding behind them. I also love the default settings for the mouse wheel - it allows me to roll-up and roll-down windows from the title bar and roll on the desktop to switch workspaces.

That stuff may be doable in XFCE 4.8, but I don't know - I haven't tried it. When I read the features of XFCE 4.10 I wanted to try it, and so far I like it. Also, though I haven't actually attempted to 'time' anything, the desktop feels faster than anything I've used before, while being user friendly enough that my wife doesn't have trouble using it.

My goal at this point is to find a desktop that works on my old hardware on an LTS release, while meeting my needs and not confusing my wife in the process. Hopefully such a configuration will remain stable until the computer hardware fails. See my signature for details. I originally built the system in late 2000 and upgraded it as I could for a couple of years while I was working in a computer store and could do the upgrades at wholesale cost with my boss's approval. It has served me well thus far, and I think an XFCE 4.10 version of Linux Mint 13 will be my desktop of choice while the hardware lasts.
Berkah

Re: Had to do it - Mint 13 XFCE

Post by Berkah »

Good idea - and good advice!
Thanks :D
gosa
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Re: Had to do it - Mint 13 XFCE

Post by gosa »

When you first tried this, did you do it in Virtulbox or did you do it the "hardcore" way with a "real" computer?

The reason I'm asking is that yesterday I downloaded the mini.iso with the intention of trying to create a system with LXDE, but since I prefer to "try before I buy" I went ahead and installed the mini.iso in virtualbox. The install itself went well, but after a couple of reboots all I get is a black screen. (The first reboot let me log in, but the second time it all went black)

Did that ever appen to you?

/gosa
squeezy

Re: Had to do it - Mint 13 XFCE

Post by squeezy »

gosa wrote:When you first tried this, did you do it in Virtulbox or did you do it the "hardcore" way with a "real" computer?
Hi gosa, sorry for the late reply. I just came across your post for making a Mint 13 LXDE and saw this post in my old thread.

I'm hardcore I guess :mrgreen: I do almost all my experimenting on my actual computer. I have two hard drives in it, one that I dedicate to Linux play. If I mess up I just start over.

Sorry I couldn't help with your VirtualBox question but it sounds like you were able to proceed and complete your LXDE installation. Kudos!
jjaythomas

Re: Had to do it - Mint 13 XFCE

Post by jjaythomas »

Cool...Even now that LMint13-XFCE is released

I prefer a lighter XFCE with alot of different prrefered apps. I still like access to the 'Mint tools' thou!

I chang the source list to Mint's and add (Python script 1st) XFCE 4.10 and Peppermint OS3 PPA's also :mrgreen: We all use Skype4, Frostwire and Google Earth from web (installed with Gedebi). :roll:

I then and remastersys (per web site) and make a Bckup to install I then use on son's, wife's, and mine (desktop and tablet) :wink:
Then add specific stuff for each (seprately) and do a remastersys/bckup for each again

Can do a remastery on one computer and 'Live ISO' can be ran on another! :wink:

Thank You
J.Jay
P.S. Tablet non-PAE runs 12.04 (Peppermint, I cheat alittle :lol: ) and Jupiter runs great.

Edit. Can also copy files (source.list and prefereces) using 'Parted Magic' (Linux distro) runs live from memory (if enough) can mount and cut/paste or drag/drop from mounted USB stick and Installed partitions (using PM's File manager) was Rox Filer now pcmanfm I Believe.
longtom

Re: Had to do it - Mint 13 XFCE

Post by longtom »

Struggling with the mini install on VirtualBox. You reckon this would work with the server edition as well?

Great 'How To". Hope I get it to work to get an LXDE install going.
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