How do I remove XFCE from my computer?

Question

My computer is overheating because I got too many desktop environments installed like: MATE, Cinnamon and XFCE. I uninstalled them, but XFCE failed to uninstall. I get this error.

 sudo apt-get purge xfce4
    Reading package lists... Error!
    E: Problem syncing the file - sync (5: Input/output error)
    E: The package lists or status file could not be parsed or opened.

@AvinashRaj you see his answer is different with command i already did for solved this problem — Liso, May 05 '14 at 04:24
It could be an file system error or a corrupted file/disk. Try to run fsck on your root partition. — mdalacu, May 05 '14 at 05:12
Not working, this error always appear when execute sudo apt-get update and sudo apt-get install I have no choice, lemme solved by remove and install ubuntu 14.04 LTS — Liso, May 05 '14 at 06:08
Related: “The package lists or status file could not be parsed or opened”, How do I fix a “Problem with MergeList” or “status file could not be parsed” error when trying to do an update? — Eliah Kagan, Nov 14 '19 at 14:48

score 28 · Answer 1 · edited Sep 18 '20 at 09:26

28

Try this

sudo apt-get purge xfconf xfce4-utils xfwm4 xfce4-session xfdesktop4 exo-utils xfce4-panel xfce4-terminal  thunar

followed by

sudo apt autoremove

edited Sep 18 '20 at 09:26

Zanna

70,465

answered Mar 04 '14 at 03:42

Meow

1,357

Not working, still same problem – Liso Mar 04 '14 at 03:53
4

This worked perfectly on Ubuntu Studio 14.04 LTS. Whereas the accepted answer's sudo apt-get purge xfce4 didn't do the trick. – Mansueli Jan 11 '15 at 22:18
worked on 16.04 LTS (though I ran accepted answer first) – AwokeKnowing Jul 04 '17 at 20:41
It also worked on 16.04 LTS (and I also ran accepted answer first) – Mahmudul Hasan Shohag Apr 25 '21 at 00:51
1

Also worked in Pop!_os 21.04 – Cedric Simon Nov 11 '21 at 14:25

score 11 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 04 '14 at 05:26

11

Try these

sudo apt-get -f install
sudo apt-get clean
sudo apt-get autoclean
sudo apt-get update

Now

sudo apt-get purge xfce4

answered Mar 04 '14 at 05:26

Maythux

84,289

FirstStrike@ubuntu13.04-desktop:~$ sudo apt-get -f install [sudo] password for FirstStrike: Reading package lists... Error! E: Unable to parse package file /var/lib/apt/lists/id.archive.ubuntu.com_ubuntu_dists_raring_main_binary-i386_Packages (1) E: The package lists or status file could not be parsed or opened. Didnt work – Liso Mar 04 '14 at 06:47
I'm trying remove xfce4 on Debian, I did the commands above and sudo apt-get autoremove , yet xfce4 show up in Display Manager and I still can get in xfce4 DE How to fix this? – AGT Feb 18 '20 at 02:43

score 8 · Answer 3 · edited Mar 22 '17 at 07:06

8

In my case (Mint with cinnamon and XFCE) I did:

sudo apt-get -f install
sudo apt-get clean
sudo apt-get autoclean
sudo apt-get update

THEN:

sudo apt-get purge xfce4  # failed

THEN:

sudo apt-get purge xfconf
sudo apt-get autoremove
sudo apt-get -f install
sudo apt-get clean
sudo apt-get autoclean
sudo apt-get update

edited Mar 22 '17 at 07:06

Zanna

70,465

answered Mar 22 '17 at 06:20

Wayne Henderson Philip

81

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 14 '21 at 07:21

1

From this link

You can run the following to remove xfce from your computer, completely:

dpkg -l | grep .xfce. | xargs sudo apt-get purge --auto-remove --yes

answered Jul 14 '21 at 07:21

Hosein Basafa

111

score 1 · Answer 5 · edited Sep 16 '22 at 09:50

1

Try this:

sudo apt purge ^xfce4*

Then:

sudo apt autoremove

edited Sep 16 '22 at 09:50

BeastOfCaerbannog

14,585

answered Sep 09 '22 at 22:47

Onluck

46

Note: you may need to put the pattern in quotes to avoid the shell globing it – cocomac Sep 21 '22 at 18:27

Pran · Answer 6 · 2023-03-24T05:53:09.923

0

First, check what is going to be removed

sudo dpkg -l | grep .xfce.

If you are ok with it, run this command

sudo apt autoremove --purge xfce*

Command explanation

# dpkg -l       lists all installed packages
# grep .xfce.   filters, so that only packages with keyword xfce within their names, listed
# purge         removes mentioned package
# autoremove    tries to remove dependency packages

edited Mar 24 '23 at 05:53

answered Mar 24 '23 at 05:43

Pran

129

score -3 · Answer 7 · answered Sep 10 '14 at 13:25

-3

try : sudo apt-get remove xfce4-* this helps in removing all linked packages, after you have executed sudo apt-get purge xfce4, of course.

answered Sep 10 '14 at 13:25

Sam Martini

1

You need to quote the * in casee there are files - like similar packages. – Volker Siegel Sep 10 '14 at 13:49
6

Never remove packages with using * at the end of package name. it will remove another package requirements. – αғsнιη Sep 10 '14 at 13:50
2

As KasiyA says, putting * or \* at the end of a name given to an apt- command doesn't try to match it as a shell-style pattern, but as a regular expression. xfce4- will match every package with xfce4 (not just those with xfce4-, but any with xfce4) anywhere in its name. (See Andrea Corbellini's and Radu Rădeanu's answers to Why does apt removes unwanted packages when giving * as suffix?, for more information.) sudo apt-get remove ^xfce4- would do what this answer likely intends. – Eliah Kagan Sep 11 '14 at 09:45

How do I remove XFCE from my computer?

7 Answers7

First, check what is going to be removed

If you are ok with it, run this command

Command explanation

Linked

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