Switching back to stock Fedora

OrielOS is built on Fedora's atomic desktops, so a computer running it can switch to plain Fedora Kinoite, Fedora's own KDE Plasma desktop, without reinstalling. Your files, your apps from the Store and your account stay. You can switch back to OrielOS the same way.

Switch to Fedora Kinoite

  1. Save your work and open Terminal.

  2. Switch to Fedora Kinoite 44:

    sudo bootc switch quay.io/fedora-ostree-desktops/kinoite:44

    It downloads Kinoite in the background, like an update, and asks for your password first.

  3. Restart. The computer starts Fedora Kinoite, with Plasma's own desktop in place of OrielOS's.

Until you remove it, OrielOS stays on the computer as the previous version: if something isn't right, choose it in the boot menu (hold Shift as the computer starts), or run sudo bootc rollback and restart.

What changes and what stays

  • Stays: everything in your home folder, your apps from the Store (Flatpaks), your Wi-Fi networks and your account.
  • Goes: OrielOS's own parts: its desktop shell, Settings app, Run this app, Game Settings, the update tray icon and OrielOS's updates. Fedora Kinoite updates itself in its own way (Discover and rpm-ostree).
  • The NVIDIA driver: Fedora Kinoite doesn't include it. Install it the way Fedora's documentation describes, or use Universal Blue's Kinoite images, which include it.
  • Universal Blue's key, which you told your PC to trust for OrielOS's drivers (see Secure Boot and your drivers), stays trusted. It's harmless, and Universal Blue's Kinoite images use it too. To remove it, copy /etc/pki/akmods/certs/akmods-ublue.der somewhere safe while OrielOS is still running, then after switching run sudo mokutil --delete akmods-ublue.der on that copy, set a one-time password, restart and choose Delete MOK on the blue screen.
  • Programs you added to Start with Run this app stay in your home folder, but need umu-launcher, which Kinoite doesn't have, to start.

Switch back to OrielOS

sudo bootc switch ghcr.io/orielos/orielos:stable

Then restart. OrielOS's first sign-in sets up its desktop again.

This guide is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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