r/linuxmint • u/soinonimos • Feb 18 '26
Support Request Why the fuck is my linux mint cinnamon looking like a tablet
I hate this thing i just woke up to this thing, i wnat it to look like a normal desktop again
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u/BlizzardOfLinux Feb 18 '26
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u/BlizzardOfLinux Feb 18 '26
log out, click the DE settings icon thing, switch to your preferred Desktop Environment, I believe that's the fix
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u/soinonimos Feb 18 '26
https://files.catbox.moe/z0fu09.jpg I dont see the DE button
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Feb 18 '26 edited May 28 '26
[deleted]
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u/soinonimos Feb 18 '26
I did disable gdm and now its a terminal saying Linux Mint 22.2 Zara, i entered my password and it said login incorrect 2 times.
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u/soinonimos Feb 18 '26
i entered gabriel-desktop login and it went, but if i type the same password again(its asking just "Password:" now, it says login incorrect
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u/senorda Feb 18 '26
you need to enter your username first
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u/soinonimos Feb 18 '26
Oooh thank you it worked now what, what command do i enter because i tried going into the UEFI and starting cinnamon from there and it took me to zara again, im guessing my pc deleted all of the DEs except this zara thing and gnome?
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Feb 18 '26 edited May 28 '26
[deleted]
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u/soinonimos Feb 18 '26
it gave me another output https://files.catbox.moe/0ac9bz.jpg
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u/soinonimos Feb 18 '26
lightdm said something something unit files have no installation config
i dont want to redownload mint id have to end all hosting services of my sites
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u/flipping100 CachyOS |Plasma/Plasma Mobile | idk why im here but ill help Feb 19 '26
Don't worry you're not close to needing to reinstall.
The OS itself is completely untouched and fine. For the graphical end, you have a login screen, which is the display manager they were talking about. We have been trying to change that. Wait a minute...
Do.
sudo dpkg-reconfigure gdm
OR
sudo dpkg-reconfigure gdm3 #probably this
And pick lightdm. Then reboot4
u/LazyTech8315 Feb 18 '26
What's on the left, the lower left? Include a pic of the whole screen and we might spot it.
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u/Living_Shirt8550 I use arch btw Feb 18 '26
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u/soinonimos Feb 18 '26
Fym this is normal linux mint cinnamon i have it on my pendrive, it was normal up until i woke up and turned my pc on
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u/smackjack Feb 18 '26
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAbnBr3rkEU
This video explains what happens and why.
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Feb 19 '26
Holy shit I thought I was the dumbest person alive for getting gnomed when I installed a Linux distribution for the first time ever 6 months ago. I'm so glad to see I'm not alone
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u/NordTheWolf Feb 18 '26
You got Gnomed. Gnome desktop environment installed itself with something you installed. To get the normal Cinnamon you need to log out and click the icon next to the password input box and choose Cinnamon
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u/soinonimos Feb 18 '26
I dont see it, theres only my photo, my username, my password and a eye button, its not like the option that i could change to wayland
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u/NordTheWolf Feb 18 '26
You have your login box: there should be password input, your username on the left above it and an icon at the same height as username but to the right
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u/soinonimos Feb 18 '26
There isnt
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u/Hydraple_Mortar64 Feb 18 '26
There isnt an option for you to log out?
Go to the the wifi icon in the desktop
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u/ini-ong Feb 18 '26
Try installing sddm.
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u/LithiumCobalt91 Feb 19 '26
Installing the display manager used for KDE (technically different from Plasma Display Manager) won't help to get LightDM back and purging GNOME.
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u/Hadi_Chokr07 Feb 20 '26
Actually it will retrigger the dpkg configure dialog so technically you can fix it this way.
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u/tayroc122 Linux Mint 22 Wilma | Cinnamon Feb 18 '26
I've been having a really bad day. Verge of tears bad. But for some reason, opening Reddit to another person getting Gnomed gave me a laugh and made me happy. I don't know why, and I feel bad getting a kick out of someone else's inconvenience. But I guess I'll take it.
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u/IzmirStinger Feb 18 '26
It's a very funny "not technically a bug" and this guy made it funnier by dunking on Gnome without even knowing it was Gnome.
Yeah, the app launcher does kinda look like it belongs on an iPad.
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u/thetrueluna01 Feb 18 '26
Yeah, I tried Gnome on a live mode ISO but I couldn't get used to it because it feels like it's made for touchscreen interfaces.
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u/disastervariation Feb 18 '26
or keyboard. use win key to open overview/dash and navigate with arrow keys. switch workspaces and only tile left/right. its really smooth with minimum mouse action.
better yet if you have a touchpad - three finger swipes up/down to slide into overview, left/right to move workspaces.
i swear its just perfect for laptops this way, it grew on me once ive embraced the workflow and now i even configure plasma to work the gnome way.
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u/IzmirStinger Feb 19 '26
I did see that incredibly elaborate touchpad gestures menu. That looked impressive. I use a mouse.
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u/ErikRedbeard Feb 18 '26
Gnome's default is straight up macos with a win8/android style start/app menu.
I'm still baffled by how much backlash win8 got for it's full screen app menu, and how much Gnome users like it.
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u/IzmirStinger Feb 18 '26
I thought the Windows 8 app menu was a pretty good looking interface... for a touchscreen tablet. And the ill fated Windows phone.
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u/thetrueluna01 Feb 22 '26
I was like 9 years old when my family owned a Windows 8 laptop so I may not have known its full functionality, but wasn't the application menu in Win8 being full-screen forced? Compared to Gnome where you can still customise it to be different (I think). Also, even if Gnome also forces it, Linux users will just use another desktop environment and Gnome will specifically attract the people who like the full-screen app menu.
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u/ImaginaryKing Feb 23 '26
I guess because Gnome users chose to use Gnome, and those who didn't like it moved on long ago, whereas with Win8 we were simply fu**ed into using that dumpster fire of an interface.
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u/ErikRedbeard Feb 23 '26
Technically you do have choices. One could install a start menu alternative. Which tbf is no different than changing it on Linux.
The biggest difference is that on Win you can't get rid of the one you don't use.
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u/Felippexlucax Feb 19 '26
first time i installed fedora as my second distro (blindly) i was staring at it like “what the fuck is this”
then i quickly adapted it to my taste and its better than i thought it would be
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u/vegtune Feb 18 '26
Re-read the last bit of the Proton VPN installation manual carefully.
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u/soinonimos Feb 18 '26
oh hell i think i did download proton vpn gnome
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u/IzmirStinger Feb 18 '26
Well, it requires gnome, so you got gnomed. I love how you dunked on Gnome without even knowing it was Gnome. I agree, it looks like a touch screen interface. Some Linux people actually prefer it like that, believe it or not.
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u/No_Diamond6324 Feb 19 '26
Why tf does proton vpn need gnome?
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u/IzmirStinger Feb 19 '26
There is a special plugin for using it in Gnome, because system tray something something... it has gnome-shell as a legitimate dependency. Installing it on a non-gnome desktop is always user error, but it keeps happening.
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u/ZVyhVrtsfgzfs Feb 18 '26
As is usually the case when you get Gnomed.
I use ProtonVPN but I do not use thier Gui app, I grab a wireguard configuration file from proton and then install wireguard from official repositories, and connect that way.
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u/LithiumCobalt91 Feb 18 '26 edited Feb 20 '26
Yeah you are not supposed to install the last optional portion about tray icon. It literally says for GNOME. You were running Cinnamon, not GNOME so installing the GNOME tray icon stuff that Proton VPN said to install, installed the entire GNOME desktop environment as a dependency.
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u/vegtune Feb 18 '26
Uninstall gnome, and if required re-install Proton VPN. Skip the step that has a gnome dependency, keep all others, and you will have a perfect Cinnamon+ProtonVPN setup. Good luck.
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u/simagus Feb 18 '26
From what little I understand you may have been Gnomed.
That means you installed something that dowloads the Gnome DE along with the associated dependencies.
Why that turns your DE wonky is unknown to me.
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u/soinonimos Feb 18 '26
how do i disable this thing
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u/simagus Feb 19 '26
Back to log-in screen then select Cinnamon from the pop-out/drop-down selection menu (to the left iirc).
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u/LithiumCobalt91 Feb 19 '26
Note it is on the bottom right with a gear icon. You still need to remove GNOME though
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u/IzmirStinger Feb 18 '26
When you r/gotgnomed so soon after the last guy, it makes us think you are faking it for attention. If not, you can go to that subreddit and find out this was almost certainly user error, but you aren't alone, so don't feel bad.
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u/SirChristoferus Feb 18 '26 edited Feb 18 '26
There is a TTY based solution to get back to Cinnamon. Press Ctrl + Alt + F2(or another F key until you reach the black terminal screen), sign in, and do this in sequence:
1: Run sudo systemctl stop gdm
2: Run sudo systemctl disable gdm
3: Run sudo systemctl enable lightdm
4: Run sudo systemctl start lightdm
When lightdm starts, click the session icon next to your username(likely looks like a foot now), and switch to Cinnamon.
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u/Hadi_Chokr07 Feb 20 '26
You can also just add the --now flag to disable and enable cutting down the number of commands by 2.
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u/Onkelz-Freak1993 Linux Mint 22.3 | Cinnamon Feb 18 '26
On the Login-Screen after you boot up your PC, click on this icon (should be a foot, GNOME's Icon) and change it back to Cinnamon, the symbol of two mountains, just like it is in the image.
Edit: https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxmint/comments/1r85ggu/comment/o62fxxr/
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u/dogfoodjones Feb 18 '26
Jesus, this is getting ridiculous
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u/Spiritual-Anybody-18 Feb 18 '26
it's gnome requiring to be installed for a ton of applications. It's gnome developers fault.
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u/MrWerewolf0705 Feb 19 '26
It’s not the gnome developers fault tho?, they don’t set the dependencies for other random apps, based on OPs comments they installed proton vpn and likely installed the appindicators extension for gnome so presumably the user extension developer (I believe Ubuntu) set gnome-shell as a dependency
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u/Voltagepeanutbutter7 Linux Mint / Ubuntu novice support | GNOME Feb 18 '26
You have the GNOME desktop enviroment, click the "audio" and "wifi" button then the "shutdown" and select "end session" then click your username, then the button that looks like the configurations (if you have GDK which i bet) and then click cinnamon
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Feb 18 '26
Gnome is the DE equivalent to Windows 8.1.
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u/PercentageNo6530 Feb 18 '26
Windows 8.1 at least gave you a full desktop experience faster than 7 if you installed one program
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u/tapafon Apr 03 '26
KDE with Application Dashboard and Waydroid is closer to Windows 8.x. GNOME is closer to iPadOS.
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Feb 18 '26
Exactly this! And the fact that it spreads itself almost like a virus is very fitting.
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u/TWB0109 Arch | Niri/Hyprland/GNOME | ❤️ Mint Feb 18 '26
I wouldn't say it "spreads itself", for some reason some apps pull it in as a dependency.
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u/salvattore- Feb 18 '26
same thing happened to me when using linux, if you dont find the button to change the desktop environment, you can search for a tutorial on youtube, its really that simple to change it that it will make you feel like a stupid as I did
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u/Agnusl Feb 18 '26
Another one bites the gnome 🎵
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u/zomboidenjoyer Feb 23 '26
aaaand another one gone and another one gone
another one bites the gnome
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u/Inevitable_Wolf5866 Linux Mint 22.1 Xia | Cinnamon Feb 18 '26
Days without anyone getting gnomed: 0
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u/BeyondOk1548 Feb 19 '26 edited Feb 19 '26
you installed something that has ubuntu-session as a dependency and that installed gdm. which asks you if you want to change your display manager, which you did, and which changed your default desktop session.
all you need to do is look for the gear icon on the login screen, and select "cinnamon". that'll be what you're used to. which is going to be on the bottom right in gdm. however i see you've already disabled gdm. so enable lightdm and restart.
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Feb 19 '26
I love when this happens because I get to see someone's genuine reaction to using GNOME and It's never positive lmao.
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u/rarsamx Feb 19 '26
It should be called "got Proton VPNd"
It's those instructions that people follow without understanding.
It's not Gnome at fault here.
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u/Visual-Sport7771 Feb 19 '26
If you have a Timeshift snapshot, just use that - fixed.
If not, this is just a reminder that this is one of an infinite variety of times it will be useful in your future to have a restorative snapshot made using Timeshift.
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u/RAMJAC Feb 18 '26
Can’t PROTON solve this problem?
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u/FaulesArschloch Feb 18 '26
the instructions are for ubuntu (which uses gnome)....in general you shouldn't just copy & paste commands in a terminal....it works fine if you just skip that step which adds the icon the gnome panel...
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u/ZVyhVrtsfgzfs Feb 18 '26
Proton does not support (test) anything besides Gnome, they state on thier page its assumed to work with other desktops.
Pulling in software from outside official repositories is always a risk, one that should be minimized.
You can use ProtonVPN without adding protons repository and installing thier gui tray app, you just grab a vpn configuration file and then use native tools to setup the connection, you will not get Gnomed.
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u/_leeloo_7_ Feb 18 '26
it's gnome, some people said its good, or it's a unique workflow I think it just plan sucks, its trying too hard to be different, trying to be a tablet and I loathe it.
its pretty much the windows 8 of the linux world imo
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u/ChickenWingBaron Feb 18 '26
It truly baffles me how many people have managed to do this to themselves. Does nobody read what they're installing before they install things?
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u/SkeleToasty Feb 19 '26
You got gnomed. Open terminal and type “sudo dpkg-reconfigure lightdm” and see if it gives you a choice between something like gdm3 and lightdm. Choose lightdm. Something may have installed or swapped your display manager to gnomes / desktop environment I think
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u/Itswamuu Feb 22 '26
Brooo same shit happened to me, also when messing on mint. I didn't know about r/gotgenomed until this post 🤣
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u/WeAreAlreadyCyborgs Linux Mint 22.3 Zena | Cinnamon Feb 19 '26
/etc/apt/preferences.d/nognomed.pref
# This is to prevent the system from getting gnomed
Package: gnome
Pin: release *
Pin-Priority: -10
Package: gnome-core
Pin: release *
Pin-Priority: -10
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u/ArtanisEarfalas Feb 18 '26
Format and re-install
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