fc17 would like to use kde desktop - get rid of gnome
 

Hi all,

I have just installed fc17 which has the gnome desktop.

I would really like to have KDE, with a taskbar, fedora start button etc.

Also minimize, maximize, close buttons on the all the windows. I managed to find the configuration for these in KDE, but they had no effect, I think because gnome was still running.

I managed to get KDE going over the top of gnome, but I would like to get rid of gnome altogether.

While I am here, during installation I didn't seem to get a wizard to select which packages I wanted eg C++, Kdevelop, Qt, Office programs etc. Did I manage to miss this in the installation, or has it gone?

Thanks for your help in advance.

Wouldn't it have been easier to just install the KDE F17 ?.

syg00 wrote:
Well yes, if I had of known. I could just reinstall the whole thing again, but might it easier to alter the configuration?

Thanks for your reply.

Definitely easier to install a distro that defaults to the DE that you want----or install something like Arch which has no default DE, but has ALL of them available in their repositories.

Also, you might like Fedora, but NOT like how they configure KDE.

AND---you might like a DE, but add someone elses file manager (I use XFCE with Nautilus)

Finally, the definitive answer to the great KDE vs Gnome debate is.......(drumroll).....XFCE!---unless of course it is openbox, fluxbox, blackbox, windowmaker, lxde, or some other obscure thing

If you mispell his name, was he still wrong---or do 2 wrongs make a right?....;)

Hi pixellany, thanks for your reply.

Is it possible to change the spin for a DE, easily? Maybe I can acheive my goal by doing this, if it works over the top of the DE?

If I go down the road of reinstalling fc17, does it ask to select a DE during insatllation?

Also, what about the package selection wizard? Did I miss this some how? It worked really well in fc12.

With fc17 I found myself manually installing Kdevelop & Qt, using yum. But this didn't install g++ (probably because KDevelop is a multi language IDE). So I installed g++, then I had trouble with Qt, and finished up installing Qt SDK as well. I also had to install all the other things that I wanted using Add Software.

In fc12 it was relatively easy, selecting packages eg Programming, Kdevelop, Qt, C++, PostgreSQL, Office, games etc.

I am hoping that the wizard is still there for installation, just that I missed it.

I have a separate partition for testing other distros, so I might try ubuntoo.

As far as Einstein (good spotting) goes, I am wrong with the spelling. Maybe I was subconsciously hoping there was only one person that had invented time relativity. German names are not one of my strong points, obivously.

Thanks for your help, I look forward to further replies.

I hope the latin is correct? :D

You dont get 'KDE running over gnome'. You can have gnome and KDE installed, but they dont really 'run over the top of each other'. You are either running gnome, or you are running KDE. ;)

Sounds to me like you may have installed KDE, but your system is still logging into gnome. You can normally change the DE/WM you are logging into from the log in screen.

If you take a gnome install and add KDE to it, you normally get all the gnome programs + the KDE programs. It can also on occasion cause odd issues when you have multipule DEs/WMs installed.

It should be possible to remove gnome totally, and install KDE. I dont where any guide for how to do that with Fedora 17 is though, and I'm just not experienced enough with fedora to figure it out myself...sorry

The easiest thing to do IMO, and the way to see how KDE is meant to run with Fedora 17 is to d/l and install the KDE version. Being in australia though, you might have some awful ISP (helstra), and pretty much everybody has d/l limits. Not everybody wants or has the bandwidth/download limits 'waste' anther 700MB on a .iso....

Hi Cascade9, Thanks for your reply , it was absolute gold !!:D:D:D More rep coming your way !!:hattip:

I did this, and it works perfectly - much better than a full reinstall !!!!

Am really pleased to be away from the gnome - just seemed to be way too simplistic - No minimize, maximize buttons, whose crazy idea was that?

I am lucky d/l limit is 500GB /month -- can't wait to move to Brunswick, Melbourne where the NBN is already up & running. ( I don't care what Tony Abbott thinks !!) 100MB/sec here we come !!

Thanks again, if I was in Brizzy, I'd buy you a case of beer/wine/other.:hattip::hattip:

You can read the offical reasons here-

https://mail.gnome.org/archives/gnom.../msg00192.html

It is possible to get the maximise and minimise buttons back, with gnome-tweak or dconf.

If you are a former gnome user, I'd give Xfce a go. Its more like the old gnome 2 than gnome 3 is.

Its also a lot lighter than KDE 4.X. KDE 4.X runs fine on my main machine (fast dual core, decent video card, 4GB RAM). On most of my other machines KDE runs like crap, boggy and slow. Xfce runs a lot faster on those older machines.

Thats a bigger d/l limit than I have, nice.

I agree on the NBN.....if only the government hadnt sold of telstra it would have been a lot simpler.

Wow, I'm happy enough to get a rep point. :D

You may also give MATE desktop a try. If you were at home with GNOME 2.x, you will be at home with MATE. It was one of the. Ain reasons I began using Linux Mint vs Fedora when I recently came back to Linux (in addition and thhe preinstalled codecs).

Thanks for the further replies,

KDE is fine, no issues - I have 8GB ram & i7 chip, so no worries.

My next problems are:

1: Installing drivers for nvidia GeForce GTS 250M. It's on the HCL, but I am not sure exactly how to get / install the drivers. I saw some stuff on the net, not sure if it was up to date, & can spend hours looking for stuff, so it's easier to ask - someone probably knows the answer straight up.

2: Getting my mobile Telstra ( BigPond) usb Modem to work. There is a problem with it mode switching between modem / usb memory stick. Have found a modeswitch package - will have to investigate that further.

Maybe I should start a new thread as have marked this one solved, & they are different questions.

Appreciate your help.

GTS 250'M', laptop right?

I'd be checking the video status of the laptop...while its probably not going to have the horror that is nvidia 'optimus', it could be a 'switchable graphics' model.

The only time I've tried this I found the info I needed on the 'whirlpool' forums.

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/

Good idea.

Hi Cascade9,

Yes, it's a Toshiba Qosimo.

Ok, just wondering how I might go about doing that?

I will have a look at the link for the modem - Cheers.

I have stated a new thread.

Thanks

The easiest way IMO is to know or find out the full model number (eg Toshiba Qosmio X770-11C) and then try to find the full spec sheet. If the full spec sheet is hard to find, or incomplete, a decent review on that model laptop should tell you if its a 'switchable graphics' or 'optimus' model.