Multiple DEs on one install~ Plasma-Gnome(Zorin's version hopefully)-Unity? ~Sddm Desktop switching not appearing.

Rocketing-warp9

Rocketing-warp9

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2025
Messages
337
Reaction score
421
Credits
2,421
Hi all!

I am extremely interested on getting multiple DEs installed on my Kubuntu Installation. I only have a 256GB SSD on my Surface, so I would just like to see if I can get these all installed- and all partitioned. ( I have installed Unity with enough bugs for a day ) And it seems to blend the plasma-style with Unity(Also Buggy).

As I have limited onboard storage- I would like to install these DEs for experimenting without overfilling my system with distros. Is it also possible to separate all of these- like not having elements of plasma bleeding into Gnome- or Unity into plasma?

As for SDDM-Tab twice and space just blanks out screen.
Sorry if this is a boatload!

~Here are specs if needed
11th Gen Intel Core I7 G6~16GB Ram~256GBssd (Don't want to overfill with distros.).

Also Any tips for good backup/restore software?

Thank you all here!
 
Last edited:


Rocketing-warp9 said:
Also Any tips for good backup/restore software?
Click to expand...
MzQ1NjExN2

Thread 'Timeshift Backup/Recovery Program'

In the past I've ignored backup programs as I've read mixed reviews on them. I've always had a second or third computer running and would back up my files onto them. Recently I've used a encrypted (veracrypt) flash drive to store my home directory and use that as my main drive and I just create copies of it onto other encrypted flash drives. Works well, however, just in case my system ever goes bad I would like to create a backup image to save me time from setting up a system from scratch. Currently I'm using the latest version of Linux Mint (Ubuntu Cinnamon version) and it comes with...

Rocketing-warp9 said:
I would like to install these DEs for experimenting without overfilling my system with distros.
Click to expand...
A DE (desktop environment) is not a distro. Your distro is Kubuntu but the DE is KDE unless you changed it.

"Kubuntu is an operating system that combines the power of Ubuntu together with the elegant KDE Plasma desktop. It is ready to use right away, with all the tools you need to work, create and play."

From:

Kubuntu

26.04 LTS Resolute Raccoon - The Elegant Linux Distribution
kubuntu.org kubuntu.org

Installing some other desktop environments on Ubuntu:
ubuntushell.com

How to Install Different Desktop Environments on Ubuntu

Discover a step-by-step guide to install different DEs, such as KDE, Xfce, LXQt, etc., on the Ubuntu system with practical examples.
ubuntushell.com ubuntushell.com
 
Last edited:
I'll advise you against multiple DE's, and here are reasons:

1. You'll bloat your system with extra packages
2. It will be virtually impossible to return to previous clean state
3. Possible glitches on display manager

If you want to experiment the safest way is to test DE's in VM's, your hardware is perfectly able to run a VM.

edit:
And like @MzQ1NjExN2 said, your system Kubuntu is geared toward KDE, it's not a distro suitable to experiment with DE's
 
Thank you both! I will see if I can get Vbox installed. Gnome and plasma are stable-thankfully.
I will see what I can do DE wise on the Vbox-Maybe Put vista on for the fun of it.
Try Cosmic- and a few others in there too!
Thanks again!
 
CaffeineAddict said:
I'll advise you against multiple DE's, and here are reasons:
Click to expand...
I do normally as well but if someone is going to do it I would say to have a separate user account for each DE.
CaffeineAddict said:
And like @MzQ1NjExN2 said, your system Kubuntu is geared toward KDE, it's not a distro suitable to experiment with DE's
Click to expand...
And if you are going to do so I would choose a more bare-bones distribution like Debian or Arch (or any Arch-based distribution).
 
CaffeineAddict said:
gnome is pretty much lacking a lot of features even though it's major DE like KDE.
Click to expand...
From what I've read Gnome is meant for a functional out of the box experience and not meant to be customized much. Its design philosophy is different.

thenewstack.io

What Makes GNOME So Appealing?

Highly efficient, with a minimalist workflow that gets out of the way so you can focus on your work, GNOME is fast, stable and can be expanded with extensions.
thenewstack.io thenewstack.io
askubuntu.com

GNOME / Unity not meant to be customized?

I was originally planning to ask if there was an easy GUI-friendly way of installing new themes on GNOME/Unity, but ... I've been reading some blogs recently that seem to indicate that GNOME and U...
askubuntu.com askubuntu.com
 
I've have played with this in the past. (I think I wrote an article on this here a couple of years ago?) I can't remember, in any case.
You can do this up to a point. Some desktops play well with each other, some don't. I have gotten as many as 3 or 4 to work, after that things get..umm... confusing. Also, dome work well with Wayland, some ONLY work with Wayland, and some only work with X11. It seems to be a dirty word when I say this, but it's true. A lot depends on your distro. Some ONLY offer one options, some only offer 2 options, some offer a dozen or more. You can usually get a specific "spin" (as Fedora calls them) but very few support all spins. I currently run MATE, LXQt and KDE, (Gnome runs fine alone, but doesn't play well with others). But ow I wonder why I went thru the trouble, I spend 99% of time in KDE.
 
MzQ1NjExN2 said:
From what I've read Gnome is meant for a functional out of the box experience and not meant to be customized much.
Click to expand...
gnome is a major sucker DE, they can take their "philosophy" and sell it to someone else, I'm not buying it.

f33dm3bits said:
You can still customize Gnome with extensions.
Click to expand...
Yep, more extensions you install greater the instability of gnome.
And on top of that, you should pick only extensions that target your gnome version.
 
CaffeineAddict said:
And on top of that, you should pick only extensions that target your gnome version.
Click to expand...
It's not like you can install deb packages that were compiled for Debian 5 on Debian 10. It's more than normal with software that certain versions need to be compatible with each other, that's not just a Gnome only thing.
 
f33dm3bits said:
It's not like you can install deb packages that were compiled for Debian 5 on Debian 10. It's more than normal with software that certain versions need to be compatible with each other, that's not just a Gnome only thing.
Click to expand...
Problem is, you're at mercy of gnome extension devs, who are community people like you and me rather than gnome devs who update everything together with desktop.

It's annoying when people start on something and then abandon it or don't update soon enough.
 
CaffeineAddict said:
It's annoying when people start on something and then abandon it or don't update soon enough.
Click to expand...
Well that's how opensource software works. You have new projects that start and old ones that die, it doesn't happen to Gnome extensions only. Example: Plenty of Linux distributions that died and new ones that came after that.
 
f33dm3bits said:
Example: Plenty of Linux distributions that died and new ones that came after that.
Click to expand...
No it's not same, when you upgrade GIMP or any similar software that comes with extensions, this new update doesn't break the software.

But we can't say this for gnome, every update breaks some extensions, at least that was my experience..
 
CaffeineAddict said:
But we can't say this for gnome, every update breaks some extensions, at least that was my experience..
Click to expand...
When you update to a new major version of Gnome all the extensions that don't have the new major Gnome version defined in them are disabled, it's not the same thing as breaking. It's up to the extension developers to update their extension on time during the beta releases and test them so that they are ready for the next major Gnome version. Gnome developers don't want to be responsible incompatible extensions causing an unstable Gnome-shell. Same way that Arch Linux developers don't support the AUR and say to use it at your own risk.

CaffeineAddict said:
No it's not same, when you upgrade GIMP or any similar software that comes with extensions, this new update doesn't break the software.
Click to expand...
Are those third-party or official extensions, from what I can see those are official plugins.

GIMP Plugins - Extend Your Image Editor

Enhance GIMP with powerful plugins. Browse our collection of free plugins for photo editing, digital art, and more.
gimp.cc gimp.cc
 
CaffeineAddict said:
No it's not same, when you upgrade GIMP or any similar software that comes with extensions, this new update doesn't break the software.
Click to expand...
You can't compare a full DE to something like image editor. If you want to make a fair comparison than it should be Gnome and KDE Plasma comparison since they are both DE's. Isn't KDE Plasma 5 built on QT5 and KDE Plasma 6 built on QT6. So it seems that when the KDE Plasma version went from 5 to 6 widgets needed to be updated as well, I would think that's similar.
itsfoss.com

KDE Plasma 6 Will Not Support Older Desktop Widgets

KDE Plasma 6 comes with modifications that need widget authors to adapt to. Developers, time to port!
itsfoss.com itsfoss.com

I guess we should get back on topic cause this might be confusing for OP as we've strayed off a bit ;)
 
Surprisingly- Ubuntu's gnome and Kubuntu's Plasma work well together!

it is all good-I understand most of it.
:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


Follow Linux.org

Members online

Total: 5,110 (members: 1, guests: 5,109)

Latest posts

Top