Comments on: 10 or 20 things to do after installing Ubuntu Mate (14.10)

By: NewtoMate

NewtoMate — Wed, 06 Apr 2016 22:38:08 +0000

Great tips Greg all the terminal stuff ran fine…I had Ubuntu 15.10 and some blank ext4 partitions set up and selected the option to replace the Ubuntu install, expecting to over write it and hoping my so-so backup regime would not fail me…I hated to see all the apps get overwritten but bit the bullet because I had messed up my encrypted home file and locked myself out…well to my surprise the Ubuntu 15.10 is still there and the Mate installed alongside…have not checked yet which partitions but it is a pleasant surprise….assuming it did not overwrite my Mint OS …

By: NewtoMate

NewtoMate — Wed, 06 Apr 2016 22:36:27 +0000

I nhad Ubuntu 15.10 and some blank ext4 partitions set up and selected the option to replace the Ubuntu install, expecting tolove it and hoping my so-so backup regime would not fail me…I hated to see all the apps get overwritten but bit the bullet becauseI had messed up my encrypted home file and locked myself out…well to my surprise the Ubuntu 15.10 is still there and the Mate installed alongside…have not checked yet which partitions but it is a pleasant surprise….assuming it did not overwrite my Mint OS …

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 14:32:11 +0000

My suggestion is to not install unity at all, install a different flavor, then add non unity desktop to that.

By: Brainstorms

Brainstorms — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 03:59:47 +0000

Buddha, consider a re-install to avoid the ‘system error’ issues that Greg alluded to. You’ll want to separate your ‘/home’ directory into its own partition first (to save all your customizations, settings, and data files).

Then re-install using the Ubuntu Server Edition. This will install Ubuntu without a GUI; it will boot to a command line prompt when done. THEN you can install ‘mate’ as per the above, without any ‘system error’ issues — because Unity will never be installed and won’t cause any conflicts.

Of course, afterwards you’ll need to re-install any packages you added after you did your original 14.10 installation. If you get in the habit of keeping ‘/home’ in a separate partition, this will make it easy to preserve (and separately back up) your personal data files, etc.

This will also make it easy to multi-boot, which is another (even preferred, perhaps) method of changing your Ubuntu install: You create an additional OS partition (12 GB is a good size), then leave your original 14.10 install alone and install a second Ubuntu (such as Server edition, followed by Mate). On rebooting, you’ll get your choice: 14.10 with Unity or 14.10 with Mate… or Windows, or anything else you’re multi-booting.

By: Buddha Buck

Buddha Buck — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 00:44:17 +0000

Thanks. I was concerned that since Unity under 14.10 does not play nice with others it would be more complicated, similar to your discussion of installing Gnome3 on Ubuntu14.10 (requiring TaskSel to remove Unity first).

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Sat, 08 Nov 2014 23:48:22 +0000

Buddha, you can install mate on Ubuntu using one of the following commands; the first will be the minimal install, the last with extra packages, the middle one in between.

The problem is you may get frequent notificaitons of “system error” and the installation may not be clean.

sudo apt-get install mate-desktop-environment-core

sudo apt-get install mate-desktop-environment-extras

(Just do one of those.)

A restart will probably be needed.

By: Buddha Buck

Buddha Buck — Sat, 08 Nov 2014 23:02:22 +0000

Do you have any suggestions for upgrading from Ubuntu (Unity) 14.10 to Ubuntu Mate 14.10? I’ve got two machines that I don’t want to do a fresh install on, but want to get to Mate.

By: Peter Smith

Peter Smith — Sat, 08 Nov 2014 20:00:06 +0000

Install partclone and immediately make a backup image of your installation.
Install your favourite tools and then install Customizer.
Now create a customized boot image and install it on a flash drive.