Want to run KDE3, unable to get rid of SDDM/KDE5

[LoneCrusader]

Hello everyone, hoping someone can help me out here.

I want to run KDE3 on Leap 42.2. I have used the one-click installer and followed the instructions on the official KDE3 page.
However I cannot get rid of SDDM/KDE5 despite having set "kdm3" as the Display Manager in /etc/sysconfig/displaymanager. SDDM still runs anyway on boot and KDE3 literally attempts to run on top of it. Needless to say this produces a raft of errors and results in neither desktop working properly.



How do I get rid of SDDM + KDE5 and get KDE3 running properly?

(And better yet if someone could tell me how to build an install DVD that uses KDE3 by default; but hey, that's a project for another time.)

[dth2]

when I did this with tumbleweed I installed a light DM (so no plasma, sddm etc) and then installed the kde3 rpm's from this.

[I_A]

add the kde3 repo

zypper ar -f http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/KDE:/KDE3/openSUSE_Leap_42.2/KDE:KDE3.repo

install the kdebase3 packages including kdebase3-kdm

zypper in kdebase3 kdebase3-SuSE kdebase3-kdm kdebase3-session kdebase3-workspace kdebase3-apps

then go in yast->etcsysconfig editor
and type kde3 (it might not be available as a selection as kde3 is ancient)

the above image was found via google search and while it has kdm selected you need to put kdm3

another better option is to use Trinity desktop a kde3 fork see this for more info
https://wiki.trinitydesktop.org/Open..._.28R14.0.4.29
http://trinitydesktop.org/media/scre...large/tde4.png
I've never used Trinity but unlike KDE3 that hasn't been updated in a decade Trinity has active developers (kdm3 might have a different name see Trinity's documentation and packages)
Trinity does not contain any openSUSE themes or branding but you can use the wallpapers that ship with openSUSE
Do not install both kde3 and Trinity as something will probobly go wrong

[I_A]

I was just googling for Trinity info and it seams they have kdm in
/opt/trinity/bin/kdm
if you don't have kde4's kdm and go with trinity you should put kdm or the full path /opt/trinity/bin/kdm in etcsysconfig editor
currently I have plasma 5 and lxqt installed haven't thought about installing the old kde3

[LoneCrusader]

when I did this with tumbleweed I installed a light DM (so no plasma, sddm etc) and then installed the kde3 rpm's from this.

This sounds like a potential workaround... So I assume if you choose to set up initially with say XFCE rather than KDE then SDDM will not be used?

add the kde3 repo

zypper ar -f http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/KDE:/KDE3/openSUSE_Leap_42.2/KDE:KDE3.repo

install the kdebase3 packages including kdebase3-kdm

zypper in kdebase3 kdebase3-SuSE kdebase3-kdm kdebase3-session kdebase3-workspace kdebase3-apps

then go in yast->etcsysconfig editor
and type kde3 (it might not be available as a selection as kde3 is ancient)
...
the above image was found via google search and while it has kdm selected you need to put kdm3

another better option is to use Trinity desktop a kde3 fork see this for more info
https://wiki.trinitydesktop.org/Open..._.28R14.0.4.29
http://trinitydesktop.org/media/scre...large/tde4.png
I've never used Trinity but unlike KDE3 that hasn't been updated in a decade Trinity has active developers (kdm3 might have a different name see Trinity's documentation and packages)
Trinity does not contain any openSUSE themes or branding but you can use the wallpapers that ship with openSUSE
Do not install both kde3 and Trinity as something will probobly go wrong

I was just googling for Trinity info and it seams they have kdm in
/opt/trinity/bin/kdm
if you don't have kde4's kdm and go with trinity you should put kdm or the full path /opt/trinity/bin/kdm in etcsysconfig editor
currently I have plasma 5 and lxqt installed haven't thought about installing the old kde3

Getting KDE3 installed wasn't the issue, I had that part done and I had already manually changed the setting in sysconfig/displaymanager. The problem is that when that setting is changed from "sddm" to "kdm3" sddm still runs anyway and causes neither to work properly.

I just did this same operation on an install of OpenSUSE 13.2 and it worked there exactly as described and expected on the KDE3 page. Apparently the change from kdm to sddm is the problem on Leap.

I've looked at Trinity before; I very much support that project but I think they should solve the problem of not being able to run Trinity on the same machine with KDE3 and should make it possible to use existing KDE3 branding/schemes directly with Trinity. But I know such projects only have so much time and resources so I'm happy they exist and are doing what they're doing. Someone has to stand up and say no to newer, uglier desktops.

[LoneCrusader]

I spent quite a bit of time researching further and found that SDDM seems to cause various issues on other Linux distributions as well. Based on what I read and being at a loss of what to try next, I fully uninstalled SDDM from my test system. This STILL did not solve the problem, and I was still greeted with KDE3 trying to run on top of Plasma as pictured above. So continuing with my experiment I went in and removed some of the main KDE5 Plasma components. Only after doing this am I able to get KDE3 to run by itself, and I still got a popup saying "Plasma cannot load, etc etc." So it looks like SDDM/KDE5 do not play nice when an attempt is made to change display managers or desktop environments.

Obviously I was not happy with this "dirty/buggy" solution so I decided to set up Leap 42.2 using XFCE/LightDM first instead of KDE5/SDDM as suggested above and then install KDE3. This works better as it eliminates the problem pictured above, but there are still several crashes reported by KDE3 as the desktop loads, the login manager does not seem to be "branded" to match the rest of the desktop environment as it should, and there are graphics glitches (everything opened remains "stuck" on the desktop even after it is closed, and I cannot seem to set a desktop background). Some of these glitches may be due to my testing in a VM, but it doesn't look encouraging.

[gogalthorp]

You do understand there is very little KDE3 support about. It is entirely possible that no one but you will have any interest to fix anything, KDE3 became a snakes nest and is one of the reasons of KDE4 simplifications

[LoneCrusader]

You do understand there is very little KDE3 support about. It is entirely possible that no one but you will have any interest to fix anything, KDE3 became a snakes nest and is one of the reasons of KDE4 simplifications

Oh I understand that very well. Story of my life. In the Windows world, I am a Windows 9x diehard. I tolerate XP; beyond that I refuse to go.
I always said that when I could no longer use my Windows of choice online and for everyday tasks I would move to Linux. And I tried that once before, only to find that the "Linux world" in general is even more nutty (IMO) than the "Windows world" about constant updates and change for the sake of change and "this is no longer supported" and "that is no longer supported" ad nauseam. I loved OpenSUSE 11.0 and thought I had found my new home until suddenly it was "unsupported" and I could no longer find the packages I needed to set up a new 11.0 system as I had done with my first.

So here I am again.. trying to get a Linux system set up the way I want it. KDE3 is my desktop of choice. I was pleasantly surprised to find that a one-click installer is provided for it. This one-click installer works fine with 13.2 but wait.. 13.2 is already unsupported. So I try with the current version only to find it doesn't work as expected. I posted here hoping that someone who is involved in maintaining the KDE3 page/repository might see it and could help me out.

I always hear people talking about how Linux is about "choice." But apparently in reality that only extends to choices that are "in the mainstream" - try to use something that is not mainstream anymore and see how far you get. I suppose if I can't get KDE3 working I may have to look at Trinity or move to a different distro.

[deano_ferrari]

I always hear people talking about how Linux is about "choice." But apparently in reality that only extends to choices that are "in the mainstream" - try to use something that is not mainstream anymore and see how far you get. I suppose if I can't get KDE3 working I may have to look at Trinity or move to a different distro.

It's about the expertise/resources available heavily defining what is possible/practical to support, especially in open source environments. That's why most move with the times to use actively maintained software. It's naive to think that it would work any other way.

[LoneCrusader]

It's about the expertise/resources available heavily defining what is possible/practical to support, especially in open source environments.

I understand that; to a point. But only to a point. I honestly don't care whether or not something is "supported" as long as I can get it to work. I don't expect "support" as in having active development here. I originally posted in order to get help getting rid of SDDM/KDE5; and ended up having to figure this out on my own anyway.

That's why most move with the times to use actively maintained software. It's naive to think that it would work any other way.

"Move with the times." Accept change for the sake of change.
Not trying to be rude or anything but I think I'm wasting my time here. If no one has anything constructive to add ("upgrade" is not constructive) to solving the issue at hand then I will move on somewhere else. Thank you all for your time.