Score:0

Accidentally install ubuntu-desktop, how to get MATE back?

mc flag

I'm using Ubuntu MATE 22.04.1 and I had a problem where my login screen disappeared so I tried to get it back by installing ubuntu-desktop. This brought the GUI back but also replaced MATE with Gnome which I definitely don't want. I reinstalled mate-desktop-environment and typed sudo update-alternatives --config x-session-manager which game me

There are 2 choices for the alternative x-session-manager (providing /usr/bin/x-session-manager).

  Selection    Path                    Priority   Status
---------------------------------------------
* 0            /usr/bin/mate-session    50        auto mode
  1            /usr/bin/gnome-session   50        manual mode
  2            /usr/bin/mate-session    50        manual mode

I then tried typing 2 as the option and restarted with no joy.

What must I do to return to MATE?

in flag
You can select the window manager on the login screen. When you select Mate, does the system not boot?
osilverstone96 avatar
mc flag
Where on the Gnome login screen can you choose the DE? I've looked and I can't see it
guiverc avatar
cn flag
You can have multiple DEsktops (DEs) installed (*I do and love them*), and have multiple WMs (*some DEs are WM agnostic, eg. LXDE & LXQt, others have a default - but allow it to be changed, some make it very difficult to change WM*), but the greeter is the DM being used. If you want the GNOME login, use `gdm3` as your DM, and select the desktop you want to use at login (*be it MATE, GNOME or something else that you have installed*)
osilverstone96 avatar
mc flag
I'm trying to get back to MATE at the moment and I can't find an option to change DEs anywhere on the Gnome login screen.
us flag
Try `sudo apt install ubuntu-mate-desktop`
guiverc avatar
cn flag
GDM3 is the GNOME Display Manager, which handles login. After selecting my username, I see a GEAR icon at the bottom of the display which will let me change the session, be it *Ubuntu*, *Ubuntu on Xorg* or whatever else you have installed. This is me doing it on a Ubuntu Desktop 22.04.(2) LTS [QA-test] install... *This new install doesn't have any other options, but I'd expect them if I had added them, being a Quality Assurance install this install is default*
osilverstone96 avatar
mc flag
I can't install ubuntu-mate-desktop; cannot locate package. I tried adding ppa:ubuntu-mate-dev/fresh-mate to my repo list but it still wouldn't work. I also uninstalled ubuntu-desktop and ubuntu-desktop-minimal which did nothing. Finding the right packages is going to be a real pain so I think I'll be better off reinstalling.
guiverc avatar
cn flag
If you can't re-install `ubuntu-mate-desktop`, as it's available for all *supported* releases of Ubuntu (see https://packages.ubuntu.com/search?keywords=ubuntu-mate-desktop&searchon=names&suite=all&section=all) which include *jammy* or 22.04(.1), your last comment makes no sense, unless you've corrupted your sources. I'd suggest returning to basics; ie. `sudo apt update` & read the output, any warnings, errors, or missing lines? An `apt-cache policy ubuntu-mate-desktop` should show details without any PPAs required if using Ubuntu. We're limited to what you tell or show us.
Score:0
um flag

You have to uninstall Gnome and install Mate. Then it should switch automatically.

us flag
How to do that? Please add more details.
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