(solved) considering switch to Mint 4.0 KDE from Gnome

[Zwopper]

I've been using Gnome myself for three years, and just recently switced to KDE, I like it, the adjustments are small, such as the text editor is called kate instead of gedit and minor stuff like that.
My advice is that if you have a seperate home partition - DON'T format it!
By not formatting it you will keep all your settings, and not only that, but if there comes a time when you want to go back to the Gnome enviroment, it will be a breeze as well.

Good luck, and welcome to the KDE-side of Linux Mint!

[Fred]

huntwell,

Zwopper, had a very good suggestion. I would add to that by suggesting that you use different user names for the two installs. That way you will keep your Gnome configurations completely separate from your KDE configurations. It is almost always better to use different user names when sharing the /home directory. You will have fewer problems switching back and forth between the two distros.

Fred

[Fred]

huntwell,

I certainly would not attempt to speak for Zwopper, but I think what he was saying was if you already have a separate /home partition, not to reformat it on the KDE install.

Lets say you have a swap partition, a / partition, and a /home partition on your current Gnome install. When you install the KDE version mount the three partitions as part of the install, but don't chose to format the /home partition. Then if you use a different user name for that install you will show two user names in your /home. The old user name will contain all the settings for your old Gnome desk top. If you choose to go back to Gnome, you won't have lost all you old settings.

Hope that helps a bit.

Fred

[Fred]

huntwell,

The default install puts the entire file system in / (root). You could have chosen to break the file system up. Creating a separate /home would be an example. Below is a link to a thread where I talk a bit about the file system.

http://www.linuxmint.com/forum/viewtopi ... 90&t=10696

All of this might not interest you but it will give you a feel for some of the issues and choices involved in partitioning a general desktop system.

Fred

[MALsPa]

How much different would things be to simply add KDE as an option to log into on your existing GNOME version of Mint? I know that the KDE version is a "Minty" version, but is it any better than downloading and installing KDE into what you already have? I have Xfce4 added to the GNOME version of Daryna and it seems to be nice enough. It seems to me that the GNOME version is sort of the "official" Mint version and that you could add any desktop environment to it. I've also added E16, which is fun. I'm not sure why there is a need to switch to another version when you can have all of these desktop environments installed under the same version, but perhaps someone could point out to me why there would be an advantage to using the KDE version instead of adding KDE to the GNOME version (???). Also I guess I'll install KDE to my GNOME version of Daryna and see how things look.

[Fred]

MALsPa,

Well... in the first place there is no Mint KDE to add to the Mint Gnome release. The Kubuntu KDE desktop isn't compatible with Mint. I am not saying you couldn't do it, or that you can't load vanilla KDE onto Mint Gnome.... but it won't be a quick, easy task. Almost anything can be done. The question is, is it worth the effort for what you will wind up with. It certainly won't be Mint Gnome or Mint KDE.

Fred

[MALsPa]

Fred, that's interesting. Here's where I'm coming from: I've added KDE to Ubuntu Dapper. I've added GNOME to the KDE version of Etch. And I've added GNOME to the KDE version of PCLOS 2007. Also I've added Xfce and Enlightenment to various distros, including to Mint Daryna. All of those have worked out well. So, I'm wondering, why not add KDE to the Daryna? Well, you said "It certainly won't be ... Mint KDE," and I understand that, but other than appearances, how would it be all that different from the Mint KDE? (And, why?) Seems nice to me to have a choice of desktops to log into although it takes a while to download and install the bigger ones like KDE or GNOME. Is adding KDE to Daryna so much different than adding another desktop in another distro? (Is it because of having to pull it from the Ubuntu repos?)

[Fred]

MALsPa,

You hit the nail on the head right there at the end.

KDE desk top in the Ubuntu repositories is a modified version of the Vanilla KDE specially modified to run on Ubuntu. Even though Mint is based on Ubuntu there have been enough changes that the KDE desk top is not compatible anymore. I am guessing here, but my guess is that you would have at least as good a luck with vanilla KDE as with the version in the Ubuntu repos.

I understand that Clem and Boo are working or at least planning a Mint KDE desktop add-on. But it won't be ready for this next release.

Fred

[Cubby]

One of the things I have learned while using the KDE top is found here:

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

so when I bring up a graphical page via terminal I use the command kdesu kate or kdesu kwrite

Regards

[Fred]

Cubby,

When you call a GUI program with kdesu you are running it in root mode. This is usually not a good idea since there is no limit to the damage you can do to your system in root mode. I would suggest that you not run in root, ie use kdesu, unless you need to to perform a certain task that requires it. Then close the program and reopen it in user mode if you are going to continue to use it.

Fred

[Cubby]

Thanks for the safe use tip, Fred. I appreciate it and will do as you suggested from now on!

[Husse]

I had a little time over so I looked at topics I have not been involved in (and that's still about 90% of all posts )
About home on a separate partition
http://www.linuxmint.com/wiki/index.php ... _partition
Perhaps make a large area in home for common files like photos, MP3s movies and whatever
About partitioning
http://www.linuxmint.com/wiki/index.php ... _partition
About the difference between Ubuntu or vanilla KDE and Mint KDE
In one sense there is not much of a difference - the basics is the same, but all Mint "goodies" have been ported to KDE in Mint KDE and that's significant

[Fred]

Husse,

Very nice. I don't know where you find the time and motivation to do all that you do.

Thanks,

Fred

[Fred]

huntwell,

The only reason I can think of for anyone to change from Gnome to KDE would be.... "you like KDE better."

And the same goes for changing from KDE to Gnome.

Fred

[MALsPa]

The only reason I can think of for anyone to change from Gnome to KDE would be.... "you like KDE better."

And the same goes for changing from KDE to Gnome.

Or to see what the other side is like. I was very KDE-centric and didn't think I'd like GNOME at all because of things I'd read. But I knew a lot of people liked it so I wanted to get a feel for it and find out why. Now I like using GNOME very much, as well as other desktop environments and window managers! One of the things I like most about Linux is that I can log into different environments on different days.

[Fred]

MALsPa,

All quite true.

Fred

[Husse]

With 25 GB for Mint I'd say swap so that your memory and swap becomes 3 GB (that's the most you can use) about 8 GB for / (root) and the rest for home
Fred has some really good idea for home in a recent thread - check it out
@Fred
Well I kinda like the forum, and when the TV programs are what they are, what can you do?

[Zwopper]

I checked out Fred's thread for partitioning and also appreciate your advice. I should probably reinstall with a better partitioning configuration. I don't think I will be installing the KDE version however, since Mint KDE does not recognize any wireless signals, nor does it detect my wireless card. I have had this problem with other distros in the past and have found it to be a major pain to remedy. It's nice to have a distro automatically pick up the wireless signals.

Maybe when I have more time on my hands and can more easily find how to configure the restricted drivers manager, etc. on KDE I will try it out, but for now I think I will stick with Gnome.

Thanks all,
Huntwell

That is wierd, I use the KDE version and it found my card and WLAN automagically!