How can you remove Unity?

In previous versions of Netbook Remix I was able to disable the netbook-launcher and just have a blank desktop. I liked the speed of the Netbook version but not the interface, this worked well for me.

How can I remove Unity?

It would also be useful to have removal instructions for all versions of Ubuntu.

Solution 1:

For 12.04

Remove the following packages:

sudo apt-get remove unity unity-2d unity-2d-panel unity-2d-spread unity-asset-pool unity-services unity-lens-files unity-lens-music unity-lens-applications gir1.2-unity-5.0 unity-common indicator-sound indicator-power indicator-appmenu libindicator7 indicator-application indicator-datetime indicator-messages libnux-2.0-0 nux-tools libunity-misc4 unity-2d-common

syslinux-legacy will be installed, but this can be safely ignored.

Note: After removing Unity using the above described method, provided LightDM hasn't been otherwise removed, you'll still be greeted with the LightDM desktop manager upon rebooting into Ubuntu. But with Unity removed, LightDM won't have any desktops to manage, and so attempting to log in from LightDM will result in an error message. From LightDM, you can use "CTRL+ALT+F1" to exit into a terminal, from which you can install a new desktop environment, if desired. For example, sudo apt-get install gnome-core can be used to install the Gnome Desktop Environment from the terminal, or sudo apt-get install lxde can be used to install LXDE from the terminal, etc. You will be given a choice between "lightdm" and "gdm" desktop managers during the desktop installation process. Selecting "lightdm" works with both the Gnome Desktop Environment and LXDE.

For 11.10

Remove the following packages:

sudo apt-get remove unity unity-2d-places unity-2d unity-2d-panel unity-2d-spread unity-asset-pool unity-services unity-lens-files unity-lens-music unity-lens-applications gir1.2-unity-4.0 unity-common indicator-sound indicator-power indicator-appmenu libindicator6 indicator-application evolution-indicator indicator-datetime indicator-messages libnux-1.0-0 nuxtools

This will remove Transmission and Tomboy, no problem there, just reinstall them after using

sudo apt-get install tomboy transmission

or you can just search for unity in the Software Center and remove it.

For 11.04

The easiest way to not use Unity is to just use the classic desktop:

• How do I switch to the Classic GNOME Desktop?

To actually remove unity you need to remove the following packages, this will just leave the "classic" option on the login screen:

• unity, libnux, unity-place-applications, unity-place-files

or you can just search for unity in the Software Center and remove it.

If you're having performance problems or your video card is blacklisted but you still want to try it you can always check out the 2D interface:

• How do I install and switch to the Unity 2D desktop?

For 10.10:

In addition to removing the unity package search for ubuntu-netbook in the Ubuntu Software Center and remove the packages ubuntu-netbook and ubuntu-netbook-default-settings.

This will revert your installation to a traditional desktop with 2 panels and GNOME.

Similar to: How can I remove "Ubuntu Netbook Edition" option from the GDM session menu?

Solution 2: