The GNU Network Object Model Environment, also known as GNOME, is a powerful and easy-to-use environment consisting primarily of a panel, a desktop, and a set of desktop tools with which program interfaces can be constructed. GNOME is designed to provide a flexible platform for the development of powerful applications.
But sometimes, you may want to remove it and use another desktop environment like KDE. This document illustrates the steps required to remove “GNOME” using Yum on CentOS/RHEL 7.
Before starting the procedure to remove “GNOME”, take a VM snapshot or full system backup. “GNOME” is deeply integrated into the system once it’s installed, it won’t be easy to remove all traces. In order to have a fully clean system, it’s recommended to re-install it without a GUI.
To remove the “GNOME” follow the steps below:
1. Modify /etc/yum.conf and add the line below:
# vi /etc/yum.conf group_command=simple
2. Then run the following commands to remove the GNOME group packages.
# yum groupremove 'X Window System' 'GNOME' yum groupremove "multimedia" "internet-browser" "guest-agents" "guest-desktop-agents" "x11" "print-client" "dial-up" # yum groupinstall 'Minimal Install' 'System administration tools' # yum groupremove 'Server with GUI' # yum groupremove 'Fonts' 'Graphical Administration Tools'
3. Reboot the server:
# shutdown -r