How do I get Xfce back?!

[m8akk]

Hey, Linux.org community, I hope you're having an amazing morning, evening, night, or whatever part of the day it is in your timezone. With all of that aside, I have a big problem: Xfce is gone.

So basically, earlier today, I tried to install GNOME on my own like the stubborn know-it-all wannabe I am, and got myself into a rather sticky situation. I purged all of the Xfce files and rebooted my PC to install GNOME, but to my surprise, booted in a tty terminal. I tried reinstalling Xfce back with the command to do so; but ran into multiple errors telling me to run $sudo apt-get update or another command. I ran apt search on Xfce and it came back positive, which means I'm definitely connected to the internet. I'll leave screenshots for reference. Thanks in advance. I'm praying this isn't gonna be like the other forums where they just shame me for not knowing something and being a Kali user.

 

[arochester]

Try the command: tasksel

 

[kc1di]

Hello @m8akk,
Welcome to the linux.org froum.
Kali can be a tough one but it should not be too difficult to reinstall xfce. since it's based on ubuntu.
from the terminal try this

sudo apt install xfce4
or if you want everything included
sudo apt install xubuntu-desktop

 

[Brickwizard]

Kali is not for beginners, so we expect most wanabies/newbies to break it, the best solution save any files and folder you need and do a reinstallation, then install Timeshift or similar recovery application [you will be glad you did] or better still, install an everyday desktop Linux and learn how to use it before you go back to Kali,
Kali is not Kool, Kali is a tool for professional pen-testers

 

[osprey]

I purged all of the Xfce files and rebooted my PC to install GNOME, but to my surprise, booted in a tty terminal. I tried reinstalling Xfce back with the command to do so; but ran into multiple errors telling me to run $sudo apt-get update or another command.

There is no need to remove xfce to install gnome. Multiple desktops can be installed on the computer with the user selecting which one they prefer to use for any session from the display manager.

The dependencies of many desktop environment programs are such that when trying to remove a single whole desktop environment, so many programs get implicated that the user reduces the installation's resources and are left with the situation of having to rebuild the GUI software base again, which could all be avoided by simply not removing programs needlessly.

If the minimalist impulse is operating, then the whole installation is best approached by installing a minimal distro and then building up upon that, rather than installing a distro which is moderately or fully featured from its first installation.

 

[m8akk]

Kali is not for beginners, so we expect most wanabies/newbies to break it, the best solution save any files and folder you need and do a reinstallation, then install Timeshift or similar recovery application [you will be glad you did] or better still, install an everyday desktop Linux and learn how to use it before you go back to Kali,
Kali is not Kool, Kali is a tool for professional pen-testers

I stated above that I couldn't download anything, so this wouldn't have helped anyways. With that all out of the way, I fixed my DNS by editing it in vim and it made it work. I appreciate your help, but I don't appreciate you calling me a newbie at all, it feels like you're belittling me in some type of way.

 

[wendy-lebaron]

Welcome to the forums.

Nobody here is insulting you, however Brickwizard was only saying what time it is.

Why did you choose Kali Linux? Why did you choose that, when there are a few hundred other distros to choose from, and at least 20 of them are quite good? Have you tried any others? Have you tried Debian or Fedora or Linux Mint? (Because most of the members of this forum-site use those operating systems.) Or maybe even Slackware or Void?

Another thing is that you decided to do something that few users do, which is one of the most horrible mistakes which has a high chance to cause a reinstallation of the Linux OS, or a change to a different one. That's to go from one desktop environment to another. You didn't like XFCE, but wanted to switch to GNOME... on Kali Linux. Are we permitted to ask you why?

No need to become defensive.

 

[wizardfromoz]

G'day @m8akk and welcome to linux.org

It's good to break things and learn how to fix them, but I run 80 distros so I am never stuck for an alternative option.

If you are going to do it with Kali, then you are better served with having 3 - 5 years Linux experience under your belt, and have tried a dozen or more distros and learned from them.

1. Thanks for the screenshots, from the first one I am inclined to ask if you could give us the following output, my comments have a # in front of them

# if it exists

cat /etc/apt/sources.list

# or if not

cat /etc/apt/sources.list.d/sources.list

I live in Australia, so allow for timezones.

OBSERVATION -

...I don't appreciate you calling me a newbie at all, it feels like you're belittling me in some type of way.

No, he is not. You said

I tried to install GNOME on my own like the stubborn know-it-all wannabe I am,

He was covering the bases.

CORRECTION -

Dave @kc1di

from the terminal try this

sudo apt install xfce4
or if you want everything included
sudo apt install xubuntu-desktop

Correct command for Kali is

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y kali-desktop-xfce

Friend @osprey is right on the money when he says

There is no need to remove xfce to install gnome. Multiple desktops can be installed on the computer with the user selecting which one they prefer to use for any session from the display manager.

By "display manager" that means at the Login Screen you can choose which one to run under, so

2. Do you want to have just GNOME or Xfce, or both?

So if you can answer those questions, that would help.

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz

 

[f33dm3bits]

I stated above that I couldn't download anything, so this wouldn't have helped anyways. With that all out of the way, I fixed my DNS by editing it in vim and it made it work.

You could have seen this from you first screenshot where it says: "Temporary failure resolving http,kali.org".

I appreciate your help, but I don't appreciate you calling me a newbie at all, it feels like you're belittling me in some type of way.

Newbie is a term for someone who is new to something, not used to insult someone. As Kali is a distribution that isn't recommended for beginners, on top of that we get a lot of people who run Kali as their first Linux distribution just because they want to be hacker and yet not want the take the time to learn the basics of Linux. That's why most people that reply here generally dislike Kali and mention that it is not for Linux newbies/beginners/rookie so don't they it personally.

Newbie - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[kc1di]

@m8akk,
Brickwizzard was only saying what Kali themselves say

Is Kali Linux Right For You?
As the distribution’s developers, you might expect us to recommend that everyone should be using Kali Linux. The fact of the matter is, however, that Kali is a Linux distribution specifically geared towards professional penetration testers and security specialists, and given its unique nature, it is NOT a recommended distribution if you’re unfamiliar with Linux or are looking for a general-purpose Linux desktop distribution for development, web design, gaming, etc. -- from the Kali documentation found here https://www.kali.org/docs/introduction/should-i-use-kali-linux/

We are here to help and sometimes help means pointing out the obvious. We were all newbies at some point and are all still learning everyday. So do not take offence but learn as you go.
Follow Wizards command for the xfce desktop. Or backup and reinstall you have choices.