Arch Linux

Alexbit

Member

From: Italy

Registered: 2010-06-02

Posts: 60

[SOLVED] Change DE without format

Hi All,
I'm so new of Arch but my loving it!
Now I've installed Arch with gnome but now i whant to move to kde (I've use it with another distro and i prefer it than gnome)
To let arch work i've read and follow the beginner guide.
I want to ask you if there's a way to roll-back the "pc-status" at the point of the guide where I've to chose what DE I want to use.
In other words i want to get back a fresh installation without DE and withou format the pc.
Is it possible?

I don't think that a pacman R gnome gnome-extra is sufficient.... isn't it?

Thank you in advance and sorry for my bad english!
Ale

Last edited by Alexbit (2010-06-14 10:20:42)

FaN_OnLy1

Member

From: Montpellier, France

Registered: 2008-09-22

Posts: 126

Re: [SOLVED] Change DE without format

Well, you should read the wiki before posting such quesitons but anyways:

pacman -Rncs gnome gnome-extra
pacman -Sc
pacman -Sy kde

will do the job. -Rncs removes gnome and its depencies, -Sc cleans the package cache , -Sy will update the database and install kde. to install kdemod refer to the wiki.

edit: Also if you use gdm you should remove it from the deamons() array in /etc/rc.conf or /etc/inittab if you've put it here and use kdm instead.

Last edited by FaN_OnLy1 (2010-06-02 09:58:17)

tomk

Forum Fellow

From: Ireland

Registered: 2004-07-21

Posts: 9,839

Re: [SOLVED] Change DE without format

Better to do

pacman -Syu
pacman -S kde

instead of

pacman -Sy kde

mythus

Member

From: MS Gulf Coast

Registered: 2008-05-15

Posts: 509

Website

Re: [SOLVED] Change DE without format

Please, do not do pacman -Sy kde. That can mess up your system.

Instead, do pacman -Syu and then pacman -S kde..

Lets all please stop advising pacman -Sy anything.

EDIT: tomk types faster than I. His type-fu is greater.

Last edited by mythus (2010-06-02 10:45:21)

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FaN_OnLy1

Member

From: Montpellier, France

Registered: 2008-09-22

Posts: 126

Re: [SOLVED] Change DE without format

Well, then what's the purpose of Sy

kazuo

Member

From: São Paulo/Brazil

Registered: 2008-03-18

Posts: 413

Website

Re: [SOLVED] Change DE without format

To recognize noobs

ijanos

Member

From: Budapest, Hungary

Registered: 2008-03-30

Posts: 443

Re: [SOLVED] Change DE without format

Well, then what's the purpose of Sy

To sync without upgrading anything.

I want to ask you if there's a way to roll-back the "pc-status" at the point of the guide where I've to chose what DE I want to use.

You misinterpret the guide. You can choose something else anytime you want. Gnome/KDE and other DEs are just a bunch of programs which can coexists on the same system. You can choose at login with a DM (KDM,GDM,etc consult the wiki) you can even run them at the same time on the same machine

ewigkeit

Member

Registered: 2009-01-06

Posts: 53

Re: [SOLVED] Change DE without format

pacman -Sy is soley to synchronise the repository databases, so that your system is actual and in sync with the official mirrors that the binary packages host. But it doesn't install any updates. Therefore you have the switch -u.

So, if you want to install a new package on your system, it's reasonable and recommended, that you first update your databases and after that, install your package(s), so that all dependencies are actual, too.

If you have experience with Debian, it's the same there:

apt-get (or aptitude) update    (for the package-lists to sync)
apt-get (or aptitude) safe-upgrade (for the new packages to install).

Sorry, ijanos was a little faster

@kazuo - bad, bad attitude (but it made me smile nevertheless)

Alexbit

Member

From: Italy

Registered: 2010-06-02

Posts: 60

Re: [SOLVED] Change DE without format

@ijanos
I know that but I think that more DE on the same machine can degrade performace so I prefer to maintain only a DE on my laptop.Isn't it?

@all
Thank you!
I've done:
pacman -Rncs gnome gnome-extra
pacman -Sc
pacman -Syu
pacman -S kde

I've also removed sono gnome-app that I've previously installed

Now I've my lovely kde env!
;-)

Last question...
Is there a way to list any gnome dependencies?

Thank you again for your precious help!
Ale

stqn

Member

Registered: 2010-03-19

Posts: 1,191

Website

Re: [SOLVED] Change DE without format

"pacman -Rncs gnome" should have removed gnome *and* anything that was required by gnome *and* anything that needed gnome. Have a look at pacman's man page.

ijanos

Member

From: Budapest, Hungary

Registered: 2008-03-30

Posts: 443

Re: [SOLVED] Change DE without format

@ijanos
I know that but I think that more DE on the same machine can degrade performace so I prefer to maintain only a DE on my laptop.Isn't it?

Nope. Unless you are really running the two at the same time
The only resource an installed but not used gnome using is your hard disk space and nothing else. It won't slow down anyting.

Is there a way to list any gnome dependencies?

You uninstalled them. Thats what the s switch do in -Rncs

Last edited by ijanos (2010-06-02 15:30:21)

Runiq

Member

From: Germany

Registered: 2008-10-29

Posts: 1,053

Re: [SOLVED] Change DE without format

In case you haven't heard of them, the manpages of any given program are usually a good source of information. Pacman has one too, you invoke it with man pacman.

Welcome to Arch.

---

Dotfiles

Alexbit

Member

From: Italy

Registered: 2010-06-02

Posts: 60

Re: [SOLVED] Change DE without format

OK. I understand that there's a man and a wiki.
I put the question about dependencies because when I remove Transmission I also found a dep named *gnome*.

So I think that when I remove gnome and installed kde something else where remain...
Sorry for my insistence and my clear noob!
Ale

JackH79

Member

From: Australia

Registered: 2009-06-18

Posts: 663

Website

Re: [SOLVED] Change DE without format

-s Remove each target specified including all of their dependencies, provided that (A) they are not required by other packages; and (B) they were not explicitly installed by the user. This operation is recursive and analogous to a backwards --sync operation, and helps keep a clean system without orphans. If you want to omit condition (B), pass this option twice.

That's what's probably going on on your system. If you've gat an app that's relying on some part of gnome (and believe me, there are many), pacman won't uninstall it.

That's the buty edit: "beauty" of dependency management. Otherwise it would be easy to break pretty much everything.

EDIT: Oh well, it's early morning over here. Need some coffee!

Last edited by JackH79 (2010-06-03 00:39:51)