Can I change desktop environments, 15.3 Ultimate?

General Help
#1

I purchased Ultimate several months ago. I am very happy with it. However, the machine on which I’ve installed it is an older machine. I have questionable performance, especially when using a browser. I would like to change my DE from GNOME to Xfce. A few months back, “AZorin” responded to a similar forum post and recommended that, to get Xfce, one’s best option is to do a full OS reinstall with Ultimate Lite. I loath this idea. I’m deep into Ultimate and a full OS reinstall will require a lot of reinstallations, configurations, and application and library rebuilding. It seems somewhat antithetical (to the UN*X/Linux philosophy) that one cannot pick and choose a desktop environment.

Is there any way that I can install Xfce without compromising Zorin’s stability, as noted in the post by “AZorin” … ?

#2

While installing the copy of Ultimate Lite that came with your purchase is Ideal, it is not required. You also have the option of dual booting Zorin Lite alongside- though I suspect that does not apply well in your case.
But yes, you can install just about any Desktop Environment you want and I do it all the time. Sometimes for testing, for theme making and sometimes just out of being exploratory.
You can install with

sudo apt install xfce4

And you may want to

sudo apt install zorin-os-desktop-lite

On my own list of D.E.'s I have installed onto Zorin OS, includes
cinnamon
enlightenment
mate
budgie
kde

on Zorin with no problems.

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#3

How do you like running Cinnamon? I ran Linux Mint Cinnamon for the longest and really like it. I am tempted to install Cinnamon onto my ZorinOS Ultimate

#4

I will be blunt - mostly because I have had a long day and am not feeling up to diplomacy…
I fully support the Linux Mint development team. They are a great crew that speaks out loudly in support of FOSS. We need that.
That being said… I have always found Mint to be a bit clunky. It bogs down with usage pretty quickly. Mint 20 is a stark improvement, mind you.
When I was experimenting and installed Cinnamon Desktop on Zorin OS, I did so with low expectations.
But I was beyond pleasantly surprised. It runs fast and stays fast. The only way I can bog it down is if I install it on Zorin 32bit on a 20 year old computer. That will finally slow it down.
Now, I only use Cinnamon, installed on Zorin OS Lite.
I prefer to use the embrosyn repo, in order to get the later version of Cinnamon. The Ubuntu Repo is still offering 3pointsomething.

If you would like to try it out,

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:embrosyn/cinnamon

sudo apt install cinnamon-desktop-environment

If you prefer a more minimalist installation, without all the Desktop Environment apps;

sudo apt install cinnamon

sudo apt install cinnamon-core

I started out minimalist, but now just install the full D.E. as it does not come with much in the way of clutter, but does include a lot of things I end up installing anyway.

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#5

Thanks for the reply. I haven’t really ever noticed my Mint machine bogging down but nothing too hardcore goes on other than some rendering in graphic design app and browsers with a bunch of tabs open. I will try out Cinnamon on Ultimate and see how it runs. My machine is pretty beefy so I don’t expect it to run bad. 16GB Ram and 10th Gen i7 so it should bench decently.

Appreciate the repo links as well.

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#6

When installing XFCE4 on Zorin Ultimate, will it be Zorin Ultimate Lite or is it still the same?
Does unistall use sudo dpkg -r xfce4?

#7

It would be Zorin Ultimate, running on XFCE. To get a more similar experience to Zorin Ultimate Lite, you can install the XFCE related apps. Zorin app menu lite, for example.

You do not need to add the repository, as it is included in your installation of Zorin Ultimate. The above repo lists all pacakges, not just ones for Zorin Lite.
You may want:

zorin-appearance-layouts-xfce-core

Or

xfce4-zorinmenulite-plugin

To uninstall the desktop environment, you can use ‘remove’

sudo apt remove --purge xfce

and the same for the Zorin Lite specific packages.

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#8

I don’t know if this is what you’re looking for but Zorin Ultimate comes in Core and Lite versions.

#9

okay, I’ll try it. thank you :grin:

#10

I think when installing XFCE on zorin ultimate based on GNOME it can affect from ultimate to ultimate lite or still the same (doesn’t change anything). I don’t really understand.

#11

@Carmar, Der Panzer wanted to test Zorin Lite, but did not want to install Zorin Lite or Overwrite Zorin Core.
So the next closest option is to install XFCE Desktop on his installed Zorin Core.

It changes your Desktop Environment to XFCE, which is the same Desktop Environment that Zorin Lite and Zorin Ultimate Lite use.
You can log in to the XFCE Session by logging out, then selecting “xfce” from the Gear Icon on the login screen.
Once logged in, you can open the App menu > Settings > Appearance and apply Zorin Lite Themes, as they are included.
You can right click the panel, hover over “Panel” with the menu arrow to the right, move to that arrow, then “Preferences”. In the Popup Menu for Panel Preferences, you can move to the third tab over, “Items” Tab and add the Zorin Menu Lite once you install it, if you would like to use it.

#12

Ah. Never mind then.

#13

Have you tried using Deepin DE on zorin? Is it running normally and stable? please share your experience :slightly_smiling_face:.

#14

Speaking for myself; I have not. Deepin DE (DDK) is written in C++ and QT and would be a pretty heavy installation. In that case, (and with KDE) it probably would perform better on a Distro that is geared more toward QT and less toward GTK.

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