Cinnamon 22.1 does not create a live bootable USB.

[DiaNobb]

My PC is running Cinnamon 22.1
Downloaded LXDE and had a 2gb USB stick inserted into the PC.
Open USB Image Writer.
There is no downloaded LXDE
There is no inserted USB stick
What is wrong or the issue?
Thanks.
DiaNobb

 

[Brickwizard]

Further info please, did you download the LXDE desktop which is found as an option in many distributions and is usually a zip file, or did you download a distribution which has LXDE as its main desktop such as LXLE ? The 2gb pen drive is not big enough for most distributions

 

[bob466]

When you download the Mint ISO, it will be in the Downloads Folder.

When you open the USB Writer, you need to select the ISO and then your Flash Drive.

The Mint ISO is about 3GB, so trying to burn a 3GB ISO onto a 2GB Flash Drive is like trying to put a 20kg sausage in a 10kg bag.

 

[DiaNobb]

Further info please, did you download the LXDE desktop which is found as an option in many distributions and is usually a zip file, or did you download a distribution which has LXDE as its main desktop such as LXLE ? The 2gb pen drive is not big enough for most distributions

Thanks.
Downloaded LXDE from SourceForge.
Tried an 8gb USB, USB Image Writer did not detect it, then tried a 2gb one.
Strange:
1. Downloaded LXDE was in Download Folder, but USB Image Writer did not see it.
2. Both 2gb and 8gb USB sticks were on Desktop, but USB Image Writer did not see them.
What wrong with the operating system?
Thanks.
DiaNobb

 

[DiaNobb]

When you download the Mint ISO, it will be in the Downloads Folder.

When you open the USB Writer, you need to select the ISO and then your Flash Drive.

The Mint ISO is about 3GB, so trying to burn a 3GB ISO onto a 2GB Flash Drive is like trying to put a 20kg sausage in a 10kg bag. View attachment 28835

Thanks.
The downloaded XDCE was in the Download Folder.
"When you open the USB Writer, you need to select the ISO and then your Flash Drive." Used USB Image Writer before. The downloaded ISO and USB stick were both appeared in USB Image Writer.
Again, thanks.
DiaNobb

 

[CaffeineAddict]

Downloaded LXDE from SourceForge.

1. Downloaded LXDE was in Download Folder, but USB Image Writer did not see it.

In your other thread related to this one I told you to this:

Which ever distro you choose they'll usually come with multiple DE flavors to choose from, therefore look for ISO that ships with XFCE.

What you downloaded is probably source code.

You need Mint ISO that already has XFCE in the ISO, therefor on the link below choose "Xfce Edition":

Download Linux Mint 22.3 - Linux Mint

Linux Mint is an elegant, easy to use, up to date and comfortable desktop operating system.

www.linuxmint.com

 

[Brickwizard]

OK so now we have established your USB is not big enough to install your ISO, and you download from Surge force is probably just the generic desktop package

Download the Mint iso making sure you get the correct one for your CPU [it will not matter if you go for Mint 22 or the slightly lighter Mint LMDE], and install it [see my how to guide, link in blue under this post] when it is installed go to the software manager, in the search box select put lxed, and the first item should be the LXDE desktop suitable for Mint. Click on it and install, once installed go back to the software manager this time search Cinnamon find and open it click on uninstall [long winded yes, but its the safe way for newbies]

 

[DiaNobb]

In your other thread related to this one I told you to this:


What you downloaded is probably source code.

You need Mint ISO that already has XFCE in the ISO, therefor on the link below choose "Xfce Edition":

Download Linux Mint 22.3 - Linux Mint

Linux Mint is an elegant, easy to use, up to date and comfortable desktop operating system.

www.linuxmint.com

Thanks.
"What you downloaded is probably source code."
Have no idea what it was. Its Properties said:
Name: lxde-common-0.99.2.tar.xz
Size:m889.9kB
What do you think it is?
Again, thanks.
DiaNobb

 

[Brickwizard]

Name: lxde-common-0.99.2.tar.xz
Size:m889.9kB
What do you think it is

at 889 kb that is the LXDE desktop NOT an operating system

 

[Brickwizard]

if you are running any mint, then use the approved LXDE desktop, click on menu [green icon bottom lett], open software manger [in left-hand Column icon with green dots in it,] in search bar type lxde and enter, it should be the first box, click on and install

NOTE it is always best to install the repository edition as it will have been tested for compatibility with your distribution

 

[CaffeineAddict]

Name: lxde-common-0.99.2.tar.xz
Size:m889.9kB
What do you think it is?

It's "default config" for LXDE according to sourceforge, therefore totally useless piece of download that will get you to nowhere.

Other packages from sourceforge will also get you to nowhere unless somebody is going to guide you how to build from source which I don't think anyone is willing or that you can follow.

You need to know there is no Mint + LXDE ISO, that's why you should download XFCE edition as suggested.

If you insist on LXDE see link below:

How to change XFCE to LXDE?

I've just installed LinuxMint XFCE, which seems to be still a bit to heavy for my hardware. Thus, I'm thinking about LXDE installation and wonder if a new Linux installation is necessary/advised in...

superuser.com

Therefore you still need to install XFCE edition but after install switch to LXDE.
This means you'll bloat your system, certainly not something I'd do or recommend.

If you want Linux with lxde fresh installed then find some other distro that ships with it out of the box.
I suggested you Debian but you choose what ever you want.

I also told you xfce is better option than lxde, here is why:

LXDE is not actively maintained as its original development team has shifted focus to LXQt, which is a more modern version. However, some community members continue to update LXDE components, but overall, it is considered outdated compared to other desktop environments like XFCE or LXQt

LXDE - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

So think twice before you install and use it.

 

[Brickwizard]

You need to know there is no Mint + LXDE ISO

But it is an acceptable desktop in the Mint repository

 

[CaffeineAddict]

But it is an acceptable desktop in the Mint repository

That's fine if bloating your system is acceptable as well, getting rid of previously installed desktop is not as simple as apt purge,
from my XP there is always some leftover so switching desktops is not what I'd recommend.

It's better to clean install with desired desktop right away.

 

[MzQ1NjExN2]

There is a unofficial Mint LXDE. See second post of the following link.

https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=371462

LXDE does get some small updates still. I see last updates were from 04/2025.

LXDE

The LXDE desktop repositories. LXDE has 22 repositories available. Follow their code on GitHub.

github.com

Hope they can keep it alive for as long as possible.

 

[CaffeineAddict]

If the OP really badly wants lightweight desktop then no desktop at all is an option too.
Instead use window manager alone, e.g. i3:

i3 — i3: improved tiling X11 window manager

i3 is a tiling window manager with clean, readable and documented code, featuring extended Xinerama support, usage of libxcb instead of xlib and several improvements over wmii

i3wm.org

But that's again problem with Mint since Mint flavors force you to choose one of the 3 desktops.

 

[Condobloke]

Linux mint XFCE ...>>>> HERE

Installation Instructions....>>> HERE

You are new to Linux. Keep your life simple to begin with.

When you have some experience with xfce, move on from there.

 

[MzQ1NjExN2]

Linux mint XFCE ...>>>> HERE

Installation Instructions....>>> HERE

You are new to Linux. Keep your life simple to begin with.

When you have some experience with xfce, move on from there.

Linux Mint XFCE is good and you will notice a big improvement going from the Cinnamon desktop to XFCE if your computer is on the older side. If you want an "official" LXDE try Debian LXDE or Fedora LXDE. I installed Fedora LXDE and LXQT on a spare laptop this past week and hit a record high in battery life with both. It pretty much almost doubled (from 4-7 hours to 9-11 hours on idle). On Windows 11 this laptop was getting around 2-4 hours.

The newest LXQT is much more user friendly than LXDE so you probably want to go with that if you are new.

Fedora LXDE Spin

LXDE, the "Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment", is an extremely fast, performant, and energy-saving desktop environment. It is maintained by an international community of developers and comes with a beautiful interface, multi-language support, standard keyboard shortcuts and additional features...

www.fedoraproject.org

Fedora LXQt Spin

Fedora LXQt provides a lightweight, well-integrated LXQt desktop environment. In addition to LXQt itself it provides a small, well selected collection of applications like the Falkon browser, which combines Chromium's rendering engine with a nice Qt experience. Other applications include the...

www.fedoraproject.org

 

[MzQ1NjExN2]

Screenshot of Fedora 43 LXQT spin with battery life showing (using tlp power manager program):

One con is that dark mode does not seem to consistently apply to all programs/windows with both LXDE and LXQT (more so with LXDE). Another con so far with LXQT is that certain programs like the default file manager and terminal don't have a window bar where you can grab and move the window and they are also missing the minimize/maximize buttons. Haven't figured out how to resolve that yet.

Again I think you would be better off going with XFCE its easier to set up and will give you less problems like the things stated above.

 

[bob466]

LXDE isn't Mint, if you want Linux Mint you should go here...https://www.linuxmint.com

 

[MzQ1NjExN2]

Another con so far with LXQT is that certain programs like the default file manager and terminal don't have a window bar where you can grab and move the window and they are also missing the minimize/maximize buttons. Haven't figured out how to resolve that yet.

Found a fix for this issue. Install the xfce window manager:

sudo dnf install xfwm4

Change the window manager from openbox to xfwm4:

Log out and log back in and all the windows will have a title bar:

I wanted to see the differences between openbox and xfwm4 regarding system resource usage and they were both same regarding RAM, CPU usage, and battery life. After I switched back to openbox some of the programs that were missing a title bar before now had it but others were still missing the title bar. I'll stick with xfwm4. Anyway this is for the OP if he/she goes this route.