Mate desktop not starting

[rsal]

I have installed salix14-xfce and it works very well. I also installed mate desktop from gslapt. However, when I choose mate session at the time of login, it does not run. Instead, xfce starts. How can I correct this and have a running mate desktop environment? Thanks for your help.

[gapan]

I also installed mate desktop from gslapt.

What exactly do you mean?

[rsal]

What exactly do you mean?

I selected mate-desktop in gslapt and installed it. The command 'slapt-get -s --install-set mate' shows:

Code: Select all

# slapt-get -s --install-set mate
Reading Package Lists...Done
ffmpegthumbnailer-caja is up to date.
libmate is up to date.
libmatecanvas is up to date.
libmatecomponent is up to date.
libmatecomponentui is up to date.
libmatekbd is up to date.
libmatekeyring is up to date.
libmatenotify is up to date.
libmateui is up to date.
libmateweather is up to date.
libmatewnck is up to date.
mate-applets is up to date.
mate-backgrounds is up to date.
mate-colors-icon-theme is up to date.
mate-common is up to date.
mate-conf is up to date.
mate-conf-editor is up to date.
mate-control-center is up to date.
mate-corba is up to date.
mate-desktop is up to date.
mate-dialogs is up to date.
mate-doc-utils is up to date.
mate-document-viewer is up to date.
mate-file-archiver is up to date.
mate-file-manager is up to date.
mate-file-manager-image-converter is up to date.
mate-file-manager-open-terminal is up to date.
mate-icon-theme is up to date.
mate-icon-theme-faenza is up to date.
mate-keyring is up to date.
mate-menus is up to date.
mate-mime-data is up to date.
mate-netspeed is up to date.
mate-notification-daemon is up to date.
mate-panel is up to date.
mate-polkit is up to date.
mate-power-manager is up to date.
mate-sensors-applet is up to date.
mate-session-manager is up to date.
mate-settings-daemon is up to date.
mate-system-monitor is up to date.
mate-terminal is up to date.
mate-utils is up to date.
mate-vfs is up to date.
mate-window-manager is up to date.
whaaw-thumbnailer-caja is up to date.
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  mate-salix-backgrounds 
0 upgraded, 0 reinstalled, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove, 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 1.0kB of archives.
After unpacking 4.0kB of additional disk space will be used.
mate-salix-backgrounds-13.37-noarch-1gv is to be installed
Done

Mate appears as a choice in login menu. Do I need to do some more steps?

[gapan]

For one thing, you certainly need the missing package. Also, create a new user and try to start a mate session with that user. There could be something wrong with your user settings. That behaviour you are describing (selecting mate and having xfce started) doesn't make much sense.

[rsal]

This behavior does not make sense

You are right. I had for some weeks gone to Linux Mint Debian Edition with Mate desktop. There the Mate desktop had a traditional start button at traditional place (left bottom corner). On returning to my Salixos recently, I had this desktop with Applications,Places,System buttons which I mistook for Xfce. I now realize that this is also Mate desktop. How can I have Mate desktop with a traditional start button on Salixos?

[gapan]

I have no idea what you mean by "traditional start button". That menu you're seeing is the default menu for mate, as it was the default menu for gnome2.

[rsal]

I have no idea what you mean by "traditional start button"

I want to have desktop as in these images:
http://distrowatch.com/images/screensho ... 2-mate.png on page: http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20111219
http://www.networkworld.com/community/f ... 0/lmde.png on page: http://www.networkworld.com/community/b ... -rolls-out

And not as in following images:
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6223/6379 ... 742d_b.jpg on page: http://www.noobslab.com/2011/11/install ... op-on.html

[gapan]

That's not a menu provided by the MATE project. That is a menu provided by linux mint. You won't find it in salix.

[rsal]

That is a menu provided by linux mint. You won't find it in salix.

Thanks for clarifying. It would be good if there can be a similar menu for salixos also. Moreover, on the wide screen monitors, it seems ideal to have the menu panel/taskbar vertically along the right margin of the display. This can be managed most easily with LXDE, but not so well with Mate or Xfce.

[knome]

... Moreover, on the wide screen monitors, it seems ideal to have the menu panel/taskbar vertically along the right margin of the display. This can be managed most easily with LXDE, but not so well with Mate or Xfce.

I run Xfce with a vertical right panel and a minimal conky. It was quite easy to set up. Screenshot here...

http://i.imgur.com/7AvBUHI.png

The vertical left panel, containing a Workspace Switcher, autohides.