I am a new Endevour user. When I installed the system I chose XFCE as my desktop.
Now I want to try Mate. I installed it and when I log in I am able to chose Mate to boot. The problem is that it doesn’t boot Mate. It still boots XFCE.
Any ideas on how to make this work? BTW this disto totally rocks!
You can either log off and go to your Display manager’s WM picker(on lightdm it is a icon on the right top, left from the time and date)
Then choose cinnamon/or any other Desktop Environment.
Or use startx NAME_OF_THE_DE
replace NAME_OF_THE_DE for the desktop environment you wanna start.
It will start on XORG
for XFCE4 you can use:
“startx xfce4”
This could work for cinnamon:
“startx cinnamon”
Plasma:
“kstart5 plasmashell”
Tip: normally the way you can start on XORG is:
Press CTRL+ALT+F3 >> Login on your user
Use: startx [package name/name of your de]
Hope this helps, sorry if I got to sound redundant or if the method doesn’t works for you.
Have a great day!
PD: after logging into another DE, if you decided to do auto login, it will automatically start the last used DE on auto login, which means you’ll have to log off and back in if you want to use another DE.
I would only recommend having 1 DE at a time. If you wanna try out MATE, you should uninstall XFCE from your system.
There is a guide for this on the endeavour wiki, right here: https://discovery.endeavouros.com/desktop-environments/removing-a-desktop-environment/2021/03/
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Or run a virtual machine for each desktop edition you would like to try out. Having more than one DE at a time can cause issues.
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Well I tried lxdm and it still opened XFCE. Then I tried sddm. That opened mate but there was only a wallpaper and an icon with a terminal in it.
I’m taking the advise to only run one DE. Right now I’m back up and running but I may try again later by doing a fresh install. It’s not that hard.
No, it’s actually about 10 minutes work at most 
You get better at it if you do it a lot.
Reinstalling on bare metal (real hardware) is not the answer, as you risk clicking the wrong thing and wiping your device. It is better to use a VM (virtual machine) instead. As you seem new to Linux (not just EndeavourOS), I’d recommend VirtualBox, since it’s more straight-forward and easier to understand.
virtualbox → https://archlinux.org/packages/extra/x86_64/virtualbox/
The other option, which is better but more advanced, is virt-manager. EndeavourOS has created a neat wiki on how to install it.
virt-manager → https://discovery.endeavouros.com/applications/how-to-install-virt-manager-complete-edition/2021/09/
By using a VM, you limit the possibility of making huge mistakes while also being able to test out the many features of a distro/DE/WM.
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I’m no where near new to Linux. It’s highly unlikely that I’m going to click on a bad selection and wipe out my data. I’ve been using Linux as my desktop since about 1997. The problem I’m having here shouldn’t happen. Period.
Like I said I’m up and running so all is well. I still LOVE this distro. I’ve spent the past year distro hopping after having a 15 + year stint on Slackware. Nothing comes close to this for me. I can’t believe how fast things install. I’m won over.
I hope you don’t take this as an insult… Maybe I shouldn’t even type it, but… Your questions and resolution to reinstall do not correlate with the number of years you say you’ve been using Linux for.
For instance:
You don’t “boot” a DE/WM → You log into one or even launch one. You boot an OS/LiveUSB/etc. That being said, maybe English is not your first language and you just used the wrong word. Easy mistake.
Anyway, the recommended way to test DEs, WMS, and distros is by using a VM first. If you decide to reinstall, it is all your choice.
Again. No offence intended.
Yes. I did use the wrong word. English is my first language BTW. I don’t know why you would make such a comment if you weren’t trying to offend me. Time to move on from this.
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This forum is actually multilingual. So often times I see grammar/vocabulary mistakes as a user not having English as their first language. “Boot” in another language may mean the same thing as “log in”, “start”, “open”, etc.
If I was trying to offend you, I wouldn’t say I wasn’t and my words would not have been the same.
Anyway, I’m glad you are here and that you are enjoying the distro.
Thank you ddnn. I am enjoying this distro.
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How do you start a new DE
I was literally at this point a few hours ago 
It took several logoffs, and logons for me, but a small gear icon appears on bottom right of screen after you click the password box of the logon screen. Click the gear, and there are your de choices.
Thanks sempterobit. I had done that but it didn’t work.