I know having more than 1 DE is strongly discouraged because it can result in issues.
However, it is my intention to install XFCE and then get rid of Cinnamon, I don’t want to use it anymore.
What are the main issues I need to take care of before installing XFCE and then uninstalling Cinnamon? E.g. are there likely to be shared libraries/dependencies that should remain when Cinnamon is uninstalled? Or there other system-critical issues?
I haven’t done something like that in years, because of the reason you state… it can result in issues.
Personal opinion here: The time and effort it will take to truly become “pure XFCE” will take longer than a fresh install of EOS XFCE.
But, if you insist on installing 2 DEs and then try to purge the other, I’m sure someone will be able to assist far better than I can.
I would work from a tty and first uninstall Cinnamon and then install Xfce. This is not without its own risks.
Thanks for your input, @UncleSpellbinder and @MyNameIsRichard, I will desist because it is not worth the risk.
If you decide to go forward, be sure to back up important files first.
Pudge
If you’re still considering to do the switch this might help:
Removing a Desktop Environment
I had EOS xfce on one of my laptops. I removed it and install plasma instead. Everything went smoothly. But as others have said, there are always some risks.
While others have given there inputs, I’ll give you mine and my example.
I started with XFCE and then moved to Cinnamon. They co-exist nicely, at least on my system.
I also have some KDE apps installed, from prior usage of KDE and some of those apps. Those too run nicely on my system.
I am not an expert, in fact I am still learning every day, however, in my experience, both Cinnamon and XFCE run under the GTK libraries, where KDE runs under the QT6 libraries. With the exceptions I mentioned earlier, I would not run GTK and QT6 DE’s at the same time, but having two different GTK DE’s, on my system, has not been an issue. YMMV.
So there it is, another opinion and what I hope some insightful info on the coexistence of both Cinnamon and XFCE.
Apart from personal files (Word, Excel, etc.) what other files are important to back up?
I had a family computer with 5 users and some used XFCE and others cinnamon. Both DE were installed in parallel. No issue with that. This is what Linux is made for: Multiuser Operations. Not everybody on a linux PC wants to use the same DE. You can install both in parallel. Package conflicts are taken care of by the package manager.
Issues can only arise if a user switches between different desktops back and forth. This can cause issues with the default apps for that user, mime types etc.
That said, I suggest you just install XFCE and start using it. There is no immediate need to remove cinnamon.
Wow, this is quite a statement. It goes against the current, and what dalto stated in his point 3.
OTOH, Bryanpwo, EndeavourOS’s top man, shows how to install extra DEs, but does not mention risks, which suggests to me your statement may well be valid.
EDIT: after reading your comment and composing this reply, I read @Transitman50’s comment. Between your and their comments I now feel more relaxed and confident and not having to feel obsessed with problems and having to remove Cinnamon immediately.
I will mark Transitman50’s comment as the solution because it appears earlier in the thread, but AFAICT your comments are part of the solution.
Thanks for this input. What you write makes a lot of sense and gives me the confidence to make the step.
You can do it, and it’ll probably work mostly correctly. I think the major impetus so you/we are sure problems aren’t being caused by spaghetti in version mismatches (far less likely on Arch), shared config files (ameliorated by using separate userids), and any system services running outside the general DE. Also the fact that with DE’s there are numerous libraries involved and you are going to be wasting tons of memory space by having all the associated baggage if you mix and match DE applications in one session.
So…if you’re having problems, expect that unless you can replicate them in a pure clean environment, don’t ask for help, just assume you have shot yourself in the foot. And please don’t expect that the problems are bugs in the given software (that more than anything).
My statement is based on many years of experience with XFCE and cinnamon and KDE installed on the same machine. As long as all the DE you install use the same login manager (sddm or lightdm or …) it is fine. Having gnome installed in parallel is not very practical because it wants to have gdm as the login manager.
Think about it. How would it be possible to run a true multiuser environment if only one DE can be installed on the machine? Multiuser operation is the nature of Linux. The parallel installation is not the problem. This is taken care of by the package manager.
Problems can arise if you are using multiple DEs with the same user account. This can sometimes cause settings to conflict or override each other, potentially resulting in visual glitches or unexpected behavior. But this can easily be sorted out when it happens.
If you want to prevent these glitches, you can start using a new DE with a new HOME directory.
This will give you a clean config in your new home directory for the new DE. You can then start moving all your personal stuff and other settings from your old home directory.
I hope that with 32 GB DDR5 memory my laptop will be able to handle it. The things is I don’t intend to mix and match DE applications in one session.
I am well aware that other people’s comments here are opinions/advice only, whereas the decision to install XFCE is mine only, and is therefore my responsibility.
However, if I were to install XFCE and uninstall Cinnamon, are you saying I may not use the forum anymore for any issues regarding XFCE?
It depends upon how well you are able to perform this surgery (removing the proper components and installing the proper components). I would recommend using the packagelist that the ISO packagers use to get everything (or just reinstalling).
My point is..don’t waste people’s time to trouble-shoot a Franken-environment. Obviously, we all serve voluntarily at our whim, but try to respect other people’s time. We only have so much of it to give after all.
Do you see the point? It’s not about being hateful and selfish, it’s about known and consistent environments.
Oh, and I’ve done this stuff, so I know all about unintended ‘side effects’. I carry many war wounds from shooting myself in the foot ;0
Are they installed with the same user account?
Doesn’t that amount to deleting the current home directory? If so, then why rename it and not just delete it?
Presumably the new one should be empty? If so, all current settings of my apps will have to be reset while using XFCE: correct?
Another aspect you have not mentioned is what happens to settings Cinnamon change in file system folders like /usr or /opt etc.?
We hope that isn’t the case and doesn’t affect anything, but if it is…then umm see comments about unintended side-effects.
I dont think that this was the intention. Don’t worry. This forum will help you in any case.
By the way, this discussion about multiple DE installed in parallel is coming up every now and then. Not only for endeavouros, but also Ubuntu, Fedora, etc.
Debian officially supports the parallel installation of multiple DE: https://wiki.debian.org/DesktopEnvironment
Fedora also: https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/quick-docs/switching-desktop-environments/
Irrespective of what installation media you used to install Fedora Linux, you can easily try and switch to any of the many other desktop environments that are available without affecting your current desktop environment.
All the discussion coming up now and then are more FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) than anything else.
No, you can copy the app settings from your old home from .config / .local. Applications like gimp, darktable,firefox, libreoffice, etc. are not affected by a DE change.
But again, I would just go for it without any preparation. Make a backup of your home so that you can still have your unchanged configs. But that would be it for me.