Installing Gnome on Kubuntu

Kubuntu's default desktop environment is KDE. Sometimes people using Kubuntu want to try out Gnome as well, though. If you're not sure what the differences are, read this comparison of KDE and Gnome.

Warning: having KDE and Gnome together means you'll have cluttered application menus full of KDE applications and Gnome applications. You may also run into some other cosmetic problems (the KDE QT look taking over some of your Gnome themes, a hidden file on your desktop that keeps appearing in Gnome after you've just logged out of KDE). One of the most common problems is the new desktop environment "taking over" the boot splash screen. Here are some instructions to fix that problem.

Even though these instructions are for Gnome, the same principle applies for adding KDE to Ubuntu or XFCE to Kubuntu or Ubuntu. Basically, you install the desktop environment, log out, and choose the desktop environment.

The screenshots are from Ubuntu 5.10 (Breezy Badger), but the same instructions apply to Ubuntu 7.10 (Feisty Fawn) as well.

So in KDE, go to KMenu > System > Konsole. This will open a terminal where you can type commands.

Then, in the terminal, paste sudo aptitude update.

Please note that some people may tell you to install Gnome using Adept or apt-get.

Use aptitude instead, because it'll make Gnome easier to remove later should you wish to do so.

Once you've updated, go ahead and install Gnome with the command sudo aptitude install ubuntu-desktop.

The ubuntu-desktop metapackage will install the standard Ubuntu version of Gnome with the appropriate artwork and defaults favored by Ubuntu.

During the installation process, you should be asked whether you want to use KDM or GDM as your default display manager. If you think you'll use Gnome more frequently, make GDM your default. If you think you'll use KDE more frequently, keep KDM as your default.

The default can always be changed later by modifying the /etc/X11/default-display-manager file. For KDM, the file should read /usr/bin/kdm; for GDM, the file should read /usr/sbin/gdm

When Gnome is done installing, type exit to get out of the terminal.

Then go to KMenu and Log Out.

To confirm the logout, click End Current Session in the next dialogue box.

Click the Session button and select Gnome. Then log in again.

Now you're in Gnome!

To switch back to KDE, just log out and select KDE from the session menu.

If you later decide you don't want Gnome any more, go back to the Gnome terminal and type sudo aptitude remove ubuntu-desktop.