Ubuntu – How to fully convert Ubuntu to Ubuntu Gnome (not just installing Gnome)

gnomeppaunityupgrade

I've been using Ubuntu since 7.10 on a number of different computers. I'm currently using 13.10 on my home computer and 13.04 on my work computer. I prefer the Gnome 3 desktop experience and it's working great on my 13.04 computer. I recently switched to Gnome 3 from Unity back in 12.04 and have been upgrading with each official release. I did not upgrade my work computer due to a number of complications with Gnome 3 after upgrading to 13.10. I've tried the official Gnome PPA's and also completely purging Gnome and re-installing it (with and without PPA's, tried both ways). Still having issues.

That being said, I would like to switch to using a pure Ubuntu Gnome rather than Ubuntu with Gnome installed. I am hoping to avoid the conflicts I've been experiencing and wonder if there was a way to convert my existing Ubuntu install to be recognized as a Ubuntu Gnome install so that when I upgrade to 14.04 it will follow the full Ubuntu Gnome upgrade process rather than the regular Ubuntu process.

I realize I could "simply" (not really that simple) install Ubuntu Gnome on a freshly formatted computer, but I really would rather not have to go through that process if I can help it.

So, is it possible to modify my Ubuntu install in some way (PPA's, config files, something else?) to have it recognized as Ubuntu Gnome? Does anyone know?

Thanks!

Best Answer

sudo apt-get install gdm
sudo apt-get install gnome-shell
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-gnome-desktop

And when PC asks which display to use, select "gdm".

Installing Ubuntu GNOME Applications: Type these commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3-staging
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
sudo apt-get install gnome-weather gnome-music gnome-maps cheese gnome-documents

This should do the trick. This does not install GNOME on your desktop-it gives you the full Ubuntu GNOME Experience without installing a fresh OS.

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