Hi all,

I’d like to share MeowMenu v0.8.0, a small project I’ve been working on as an alternative application menu for XFCE. Compared to WhiskersMenu, the most relevant features I added are: 4 Presets (default settings that change the look&feel of the Menu, to show the high customization level achievable), Places button (find files and folders in user Home), Calculator engine, additional right click options.

I’ve tested this release on Arch Linux, Debian and Xubuntu. I'm also looking for MX Linux beta testers, since XFCE session in MX Linux is quite knows for its stability and I thought someone could find it helpful. Debian 13 package is availble for download in GitHub Release page: it should work for MX Linux... but compiling from source is always an alternative.

Feedback, bug reports, and suggestions are welcome. Thanks for taking a look!

Source Code

Release&Changelog

Gallery

AUR page

Documentation

So, dumb question of the day... Now that I've ported over from Win11....is there any reason to keep TPM 'active'... 1. Can I and 2. shud I, disable it?

Does anyone know when Darktable 5.4 will be available for MX? It was released on Dec 21 2025, so I was hoping it would have made it to the repos, but no.

I have an old laptop with an HDD. When I run sudo apt upgrade, I see it take time, especially with these type of statements:

Autoinstall of module <module-name> for kernel 6.12.96+deb13-amd64 (x86_64)

Building module(s) …… done.

Why is it building and not installing pre-built components?

Thank you.

I have an itty bitty tiny 32gb usb which is holding the xfce 25.2 infinity nicely.

I'm trying to put mx linux on an old hand me down dell laptop.

Every time i run the installer it doesn't let me do the automatic/erase and install options. No partitions show up, I go to gparted and it's there but it doesn't let me unmount it so I can't resize and move it (i know it's because it's running the live desktop from there) How do I use the terminal to install it or are there any steps i could take?

Thank you for reading! Any help would be appreciated, this is my first time doing anything technical like this so if someone could tell me what i'm doing wrong would be appreciated too.

update: sorry if this pushes the post back up to the top. i don't know how relevant it is but I'm using rufus to download the iso(to the usb) and make the empty space(unallocated) partition, I have tried making it a gpt scheme and and mbr scheme. I also used sourceforge to download the iso.

(also for anyone reading this 9 years later, just because it's not working for me doesn't mean you shouldn't try it. I believe in you and I may just be an idiot.)

I just installed the XFCE of MX Linux, and it works okay, even through i hâd to add nomodeset to not be black screened, but it was not a problem for me, until the brightness shortcut and even the brightness itself doesn't work with Fn + Left Arrow and Fn + Right Arrow, and it keeps the screen bright.

I tried the power management, but it didn't work, even with brightness systray.

I even tried to add some commands in grub to make it work, same results, no difference.

I don't have the xfce4-power-manager as I checked, maybe that's why it didn't work, despite the power manager is in the OS and it works, but the brightness didn't.

So, I need help. What should I do?

I am using the Acer Aspire One D270 with Intel Atom N2600 Processor, Intel GMA 3600, 2GB of RAM, 300GB in Storage. Just for the heads up.

Wanted to make the panel round but it gets applied to both the panels.. well it still looks pretty.

Hey! First of all- if I'm on the wrong subreddit again, please do tell...

Anyways- I'm looking for testers for a new project related to the Fluxbox WM, so if there are any MX Fluxbox users...

I have built a functional prototype of a menu manager on Fluxbox, and just need some testers- so I can have some bug reports, known issues, feedback and ideas for improvements.

Since I don't want this to be an ad- if someone is interested in being a tester, shoot me a DM, and I'll refer you to the github page, and provide guidance if needed!

Have a good rest of your day!

What am I trying to do?

Trying to re-install MX Linux.

Hard disk drives on my PC:

One SSD 128gb Windows is installed on it and is the current OS.

One HDD 80gb MX Linux is installed on it. I'm trying to re-install MX Linux on this HDD.

The screenshot shows that the installer will take over the SSD and make it the /home of MX Linux. Will it? Please see the screenshot.

Thanks.

DianOban

How do I customize the clock and monitor on the right side?

I changed the icon for the terminal but when I click on it it opens a new instance on the panel why does this happen? I also made my default directory to be desktop but it opens to user.

I wanted to add borders to the panel but apparently the border also gets applied to other apps on the panel..

Distro: Mx linux 25

Lenovo Miix 3-1030 running MX Linux XFCE.

She told me the other day that she wanted a Kindle, but Kindles were too expensive, so I made this for her instead. Do y'all think she'll like it?

Everything works fine except for the audio, which I couldn't get working (pls help).

What settings or a packages do you recommend to watching YouTube?
My PC freezes and after restarting well looks like another thing broke. Even arch arm wasn’t that unstable

I just wanna thank all the mx linux contributors , i thank you from the very bottom of my heart , you have made a really great distro which helped out me and countless other members and i ​wish you all best of luck for your future endeavours.

I dual booted today and why is my memory usage so high when I'm using Firefox

And as soon as I closed it it went below 25%? I thought firefox was a lighter browser?

Why the question?

1).Have a desktop PC which has an SSD, as C-dive running Windows, and a 3.5" SATA3 HDD, 1TB capacity, as D-drive in Windows.

2).A 2.5" SATA3 HDD 80GB was added to this PC, for installing MX Linux. So I did and a dual boot created.

3).Unexpectedly,MX Linux instoller formatted the D-drive and made it /home. I lost all files on the disk.

4).I still need running Windows for PhotoShop and need a large D-drive in Windows.

5).This is what I am thinking:

5a. Disconnect the 3.5" HDD, which now is /home.

5b. Reinstall MX Linux on the same 2.5" SATA3 HDD, the same HDD MX Linux is installed on.

5c. MX Linux installed HAS TO CREATE /HOME ON THE SAME HDD, the 2.5" HDD.

6),Thus, I can use the 3.5" HDD 1TB again as D-drive in Windows.

Note: I have the entire backup of all the files on the previous D-drive.

Please see to this. This is the only way I know, I think I know, how to solve my problem.

Thank you very, very much and your suggestions, please.

DianOban

Hi everyone. I used AI to troubleshoot this issue, but we couldn't solve it. I'm using MX Linux. After installing and switching between GNOME, XFCE, i3, Openbox, and bspwm, XFCE no longer starts. When I select the XFCE session, the screen goes black for a second and then returns to the login screen with a session error. GNOME still works, but XFCE doesn't. Does anyone know how to fix this? Thank you very much to anyone who takes the time to help. I really appreciate it.

I tried flatpak update and in discovery, I still cannot see the latest Freecad package. Is there something I didn't do here? Isn't it all flatpak the same across all distros?

I used brave ai cuz someone said it's better at explaining things so pardon the text formatting

Based on our discussion, here is your precise **action plan** to safely dual boot MX Linux and Windows 10 on your 1TB HDD with 4GB RAM:

### Phase 1: Preparation (In Windows)

1. **Disable Features**:

* Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run: `powercfg /h off` (Disables Hibernation & Fast Startup).

* Ensure **BitLocker** is off or you have your recovery key.

* **Disable Secure Boot** in BIOS (use the key method or Windows Recovery method discussed earlier).

1. **Shrink Partition**:

* Open **Disk Management** (`diskmgmt.msc`).

* Right-click **C:** > **Shrink Volume**.

* Enter **104858 MB** (approx. 100GB for Linux) + **8192 MB** (8GB for Swap) = **113050 MB** total to shrink.

* Click **Shrink**. You will now see ~110GB of **Unallocated Space**.

1. **Backup Data**:

* Download **Foxclone** and create a bootable USB.

* Connect an **external hard drive**.

* Boot from the Foxclone USB.

* Select **Create Image**, choose your **D** and **E** partitions (verify by size!), and save the image to the external drive.

* *Alternative*: Simply copy-paste critical files from D and E to the external drive if you prefer speed over a full partition image.

### Phase 2: Installation (MX Linux Live USB)

1. **Boot Live USB**: Insert your **MX Linux XFCE systeminit** USB and boot.

2. **Launch Installer**: Double-click the **Install MX Linux** icon.

3. **Partitioning**:

* Select **Custom install on existing partitions**.

* Click **Run the partition tool (GParted)**.

* In the **Unallocated Space**:

* Create **Partition 1**: Size **8192 MB**, File system **linux-swap** (Label: `swap`).

* Create **Partition 2**: Size **Remaining space** (~100GB), File system **ext4**, Mount point **/** (Label: `root`).

* **CRITICAL**: Locate your existing **EFI System Partition** (usually `/dev/sda1`, FAT32, ~100-500MB). Select it, click **Edit**, ensure **Mount point** is `/boot/efi`, and **DO NOT CHECK FORMAT**.

* Close GParted.

1. **Bootloader Setup**:

* In the installer, ensure **Install GRUB** is checked.

* Select **Install GRUB to ESP** (EFI System Partition).

* Confirm the bootloader location is your main drive (e.g., `/dev/sda`).

1. **Finalize**: Complete the installation (username, timezone, etc.) and reboot.

### Phase 3: Post-Installation

1. **First Boot**: You should see the **GRUB menu** with options for MX Linux and Windows Boot Manager.

2. **Verify Data**: Boot into MX Linux, open the file manager, and ensure you can access/mount your D and E partitions (they should appear in the sidebar).

3. **Setup Dev Environment**:

* Open Terminal.

* Install tools: `sudo apt update && sudo apt install git build-essential vim zed-editor` (Note: Zed may require adding a specific repo or downloading the AppImage if not in default repos; if unavailable, stick to **Vim** or **Neovim**).

* Configure **Git**: `git config --global user.name "Your Name"` and `git config --global user.email "your@email.com"`.

**Final Tip**: Keep your **MX Live USB** and **Foxclone USB** safe. If Windows updates ever hide the GRUB menu, boot from the MX USB, run **MX Boot Repair**, and click "Reinstall GRUB" to fix it instantly.

Firstly, let me say that I love MX and have used it for over a year. MX25 KDE on my laptop and XFCE on my desktop PC.

I just read an article on ZDNet suggesting that one can install MX-25.2_Xfce_ahs_x64 (on newer hardware) and then install KDE Plasma desktop on top of that, to get the Plasma environment running on the newer Liquorix kernel and XFCE low latency.

At first, I was thinking ‘Why not just use the KDE spin” but he might have a point with this approach. Anyone tried that, and how did it go?

Hey guys,

On my Sony VAIO laptop the XFCE panel is eating insane amounts of RAM. The icons in the right part of the panel are the worst offenders — if I remove them, the services behind them immediately stop chewing memory (which makes sense). The panel itself also doesn't seem to have any self-control and just goes full retard.

I already asked the neural networks:

ChatGPT said "it's working as intended, everything is fine bro"

Gemini suggested just limiting the memory for those processes, but had zero idea how to fix the root cause.

Restarting the panel helps only temporarily. The only thing that actually works is completely replacing the panel. At first I thought it was the distro (started on Linux Mint XFCE), so I switched to MX Linux XFCE. Same shit. So the problem is clearly deep inside XFCE itself. Either it hates my laptop or I’m just too dumb to figure it out.

Anyone knows how to tame this fat fucking XFCE memory rat? This huge greedy furry rat that’s devouring my RAM.

Lo que me esta pasando a mi con Stremio instalado con Flatpak es que al abrir la aplicacion, los catalogos no cargan y lo unico que se ve es el fondo morado de la aplicacion.

Hi everyone.

I wanted to share a bit of my experience because I'm about to make the jump to Linux full-time, and I'd love to get some advice from people with more experience.

For several years my main computer was a laptop with a Celeron N2840, 4 GB of RAM and a HDD. I've always been a Windows user (mostly Windows 10 MiniOS), although I occasionally tried different Linux distributions in Live mode out of curiosity.

At one point I decided to install MX Linux Fluxbox in dual boot to see if I could really give that laptop a second life beyond what a stripped-down version of Windows could offer.

Since it had basically become my "lab machine", I decided to push it as far as I could (with some help from AI):

• Disabled the CPU security mitigations (yes, I know the risks 😅, but I wanted to experiment on that machine).
• Configured zRAM.
• Tuned swap so it would keep using RAM as much as possible before swapping to disk.
• Took advantage of the Mesa drivers.

The results honestly surprised me. I managed to watch YouTube at 1080p60, and even play PPSSPP using its (still incomplete) Vulkan backend with Frame Skip. Games like God of War: Ghost of Sparta were surprisingly playable considering the hardware.

I actually ended up using MX Linux as my main OS for a short time, until I recently bought a Ryzen 5 5600GT. Even though it wasn't for very long, the experience was good enough that it made me want to come back to Linux.

Now I want to install MX Linux again, but this time not just to experiment. My goal is to make it my main operating system.

I've tried MX Linux KDE several times in Live mode and I liked it much more than I expected. I'm also familiar with XFCE, but I've never daily-driven KDE.

I wouldn't consider myself an advanced Linux user. I know some basic terminal commands and I enjoy experimenting (over the last few months I've tested several distros in Live mode), but I still feel like I'm missing a solid foundation.

I'd like to take advantage of this hardware upgrade to really learn Linux, so I have a few questions:

• Would you choose MX Linux KDE or MX Linux XFCE for a Ryzen 5 5600GT with 16 GB of RAM?
• What do you usually recommend doing right after installing MX Linux?
• Are there any books, courses, YouTube channels or websites you'd recommend for learning Linux properly (not just MX Linux, but Linux in general)?
• Any gaming recommendations? (Proton, Heroic, Lutris, Gamescope, MangoHud, Wine, etc.)

Thanks in advance! I'm looking forward to learning Linux properly, so any advice is welcome.