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New to Linux which OS to use?
(lemdro.id)
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this post was submitted on 29 Nov 2025
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I like KDE Plasma, too. Thankfully, most desktop distros have it in their repositories, so even if they use GNOME or some other desktop by default, you can install and switch to KDE after the initial OS install. I'm pretty sure this includes Linux Mint.
Switching desktop environments can be tricky, it's better to do a clean install - especially for dotfiles which can cause bugs, and get the distro spin that you want from the get-go.
I've never had logging in with a different desktop environment cause problems. (And I wouldn't expect to. The desktop session selector on the login screen is there for a reason, after all.) Your comment makes me wonder what desktops you tried that stepped on each other, and what bugs you're referring to.
In any case, if I had an experience like what you describe, I would simply re-create my user account and its home directory. Going through a whole OS install as you suggest would burn a lot more time with no advantage, which doesn't seem "better" to me. To each their own, I guess.
Remember as well that your "distro spin" approach is only possible if such a spin exists. Example: If someone wants Linux Mint for its beginner-friendly community support, but also wants to try KDE Plasma, they can. But they're going to have to install Plasma after the base OS, and switch.
https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=297558. this is just the first thing that came up, i'm sure there are hundreds of similar bugs. bottom line is when you install two things next to each other that aren't being actively tested together, you're bound to run into issues.
My recommendation is that if there are no spin with your favorite DE, you simply do not use that distribution as it's not being tested against.
Sorry you had bad luck there.
I guess that's one way to be sure, but to me it seems excessively limiting. I have switched desktops on Debian-based distros, and the only tidying up I remember being needed was removal of the old desktop's packages (to de-clutter my application menus) and a reboot (to launch the new display manager).
My recommendation to a new user would be to try whatever distro/desktop combo is appealing, and if it doesn't work out, either do some troubleshooting or just move on to another one. It might not be a path as well tread as the distro's default, but it might work fine. You'll never know if you don't try.
That's untrue in at least some cases. Of course, different distros have different policies and people maintaining their desktop packages, so YMMV.
Downstream distros are a bit of a special case, as they don't really test these packages so much as inherit them from upstream, so what you're actually getting is ubuntu's and debian's version of GNOME in Mint for example. If you're going to do that, I'd just cut out the middleman and go upstream here as Mint isn't bringing anything of value, worse it's just another vector for untested bugs.
@imecth @TheMilk @salacious_coaster @who This #linux bot which boosts everything linux is its own worst enemy, isn't it?
I have no idea what you're talking about.