Linux Mint 16 “Petra” Xfce released!

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The team is proud to announce the release of Linux Mint 16 “Petra” Xfce.

Linux Mint 16 Petra Xfce Edition

Xfce is a lightweight desktop environment which aims to be fast and low on system resources, while still being visually appealing and user friendly. This edition features all the improvements from the latest Linux Mint release on top of an Xfce 4.10 desktop.

New features at a glance:

For a complete overview and to see screenshots of the new features, visit: “What’s new in Linux Mint 16 Xfce“.

Important info:

  • Recommended packages and 32-bit libraries
  • DVD playback
  • EFI Support
  • PAE required for 32-bit ISOs
  • mint4win

Make sure to read the “Release Notes” to be aware of important info or known issues related to this release.

System requirements:

  • x86 processor (Linux Mint 64-bit requires a 64-bit processor. Linux Mint 32-bit works on both 32-bit and 64-bit processors).
  • 384 MB RAM (1GB recommended for a comfortable usage).
  • 5 GB of disk space
  • Graphics card capable of 800×600 resolution
  • DVD drive or USB port

Upgrade instructions:

  • To upgrade from a previous version of Linux Mint follow these instructions.
  • To upgrade from the RC release simply apply any level 1 and 2 updates available in the Update Manager.

Download:Md5 sum:

  • 32-bit: cf18e01f38fc81da81076ab902aa2ac6
  • 64-bit: 2629963a2a7413d402ea321f95d5c372

Torrents:

HTTP Mirrors for the 32-bit DVD ISO:

HTTP Mirrors for the 64-bit DVD ISO:

Enjoy!

We look forward to receiving your feedback. Thank you for using Linux Mint and have a lot of fun with this new release!

75 comments

  1. Thank You Linux Mint team! I look forward to using this version of Linux Mint. Happy Holidays and thanks again to clem and the entire dev team for their hard work.

    Reply

  4. Finally! Now I hope the team can find some spare time to respond to the issues on github 🙂

    Edit by Clem: It just never stops does it? We’ve got the 4 editions out, we’ve got the OEMs and magazine ISOs out as well. We got the backports in Maya and everything is ready to start working on UP8 after the holidays. I think we’ll enjoy Christmas and New Year’s day now Monsta 🙂

    Reply

  7. @Clem:

    I just hope that you won’t get bored with this, because you and your team are doing really great job in making out-of-the-box ready and professional-looking distro. It’s really not that strange that Mint is ranked #1 on distrowatch for such a long time. You have clear and simple philosophy, and I wish that creators and developers of other (similar distros) would recognize that, instead of inventing hot water all over again. Freedom of choice is great, but in my opinion, users really don’t need 1000 similar Linux distributions, 10 terminals and file managers, etc.

    It’s just a shame that everything is so tribe-like divided. That’s why I really support your effort to bring unified user experience, no matter what Desktop Environment is behind the scenes. Mint is simply – Mint.

    Once again – great job!

    Reply

  9. Really really great!

    I’m only missing some things in whisker: a keyboard only way to logout (if it isn’t already possible) and to have categories on the left…

    Reply

  12. It’s time to Mint-up holidays 🙂
    Big thanks to Clem and Mint Team on their effort!

    Happy holidays to everyone.

    Reply

  13. Yay! Finally, the wait is over. I have been using LM 14 Nadia Xfce (32-bit) on i3 (3rd gen) desktop. My 50 GB SSD has filled up, so I am going to migrate to a bigger disk, and thus I was holding it off, until the next release came about. I am going to migrate to 64-bit, and hope everything turns out well.

    Well done LM Team. Long live the LM, and long live the XFCE edition!!!

    Reply

  17. Will download today! Really looking forward to it! Merry Xmas and keep up the good work! This xfce editions are my favorites. Thanks again for all your doing. Ill quit bugging the IRC xcommunity about this release now 🙂

    Reply

  18. Thanks, all I can ask for is a lightweight OS that doesn’t primarily use Unity. However, html mdm gives me a black screen. Email to help me please.

    Reply

  19. I just installed this on my nephew’s machine. I run Arch because I want to be bleeding edge, but Mint and Xfce are perfect for his 1GB laptop and look very polished out of the box.

    Great work, guys.

    Reply

  20. Thank You mint Team Really i do like Linux mint more Than Ubuntu even i already knew dat mint is Ubuntu based and currently I’m using Petra mate edition and it’s wow so fast and i wanna give xfce a try really i like open source software and I’m trying to entourage my friends to leave dat windows to be creative so here we go

    Reply

  22. Have been using mint for years now…. was waiting eagerly for 16 XFCE. Thanks for getting this done before Holidays. HAPPY HOLIDAYS 🙂

    Reply

  27. Yesterday I installed Petra Xfce (downloaded final ISO before the announcement) to a brand new Lenovo G480 a coworker bought on ‘cybermonday’. She couldn’t do the first thing with Windows 8 after a week of hair pulling. At first I upgraded to Win 8.1 and after a 3.6 GB download and two hour install the damned thing won’t shut down the laptop no matter what. Ghosted everything, wiped clean the HD and installed Petra in less than 10 minutes from USB stick. Everything worked perfect OOB except screen backlight after reboot (corrected with a script in rc.local). Today I handed it back to her. Won’t see her till January 6. It’s its first linux experience, so I keep my fingers crossed.

    Reply

  33. Juste to say that i’ve encrypted my hard drive with ubiquity. I just had to update ubiquity and during the installation they propose to use a encrypted LVM. It should be directly in the ISO.

    Thank you all! Great job! 🙂

    Reply

  35. Hi,

    I just installed LM 16 XFCE, but have been unable to upload a pic for the User Account. Is there a way, even there is no provision to add pic in User and Groups.

    Also, I’ve been unable to move Panel Items (notification area, clock etc..) to the right of the Screen / Panel.

    Can anyone help?

    Thanks,
    Ramjee

    Reply

  36. Dear Mint-ers everywhere, I ran “16” live and it was not only “legal” but after an hour I completely forgot that this was a live session!
    To 9. Giulio, whisker-menu CAN have categories on the left if the icon is in the middle of your desktop or far right. It changes like a mirror! Enjoy! Thank you Mint!

    Reply

  37. Gooooaaaaal !!!!!!!!
    Thanks for the Linuxmint dev Team.
    Linuxmint 16 Petra XFCE is such a wonderful version.
    Bests regards.

    Reply

  38. I have been using Linux Mint 13 Maya xfce for a while. I upgraded to Mint 16 Petra xfce and there is **NO** SOUND after the upgrade. I am a newbie to please speak in dummies language how to fix it. Thank you in advance.

    Reply

  39. My suggested translation of #24

    Light distribution and very fast so well worth the experience; I loved it so much I’ve become a fan of Linux Mint.

    Reply

  42. Linux Mint has been my distro of choice for years. I use the XFCE version and it is great! Cinnamon is really shaping up too and getting better with every release. You guys deserve an award for what you do. I get so frustrated when people complain about what you haven’t done yet or fixed yet, like you owe them something for that free operating system you have given them. I just want you to know that there are a lot of people in this world that appreciate everything you do for them. Don’t ever forget that.

    Thank you Mint Team

    Reply

  43. My 24 inch lcd tv is detected as a 67 inches tv.
    max resolution of only 1024×768 instead of 1920×1440.
    sad. linux mint 15 did better.

    Reply

  44. startup resolution problem i think every PC user with normal screen will face this problem very small icons and texts etc and after selecting the right resolution or display dat works but after login not i meant login screen wont change hope this will be solve soon and i suggest every xfce bistro must be tested in several ancient pcs and modern pcs laptops before released and finally I’m thankful for The great works You’re doing i appreciated

    Sorry for grammatical mistakes

    Reply

  45. I love linux , i cant do Win. Systems , no more, i got a Dell Inspiron 5010 Aluminium i7,8GB raqm, 1GB 5xxx Ati Radeon M, intel chip set , i just dont know where to get drivers for my lap-top, can u help me pls ! Much love from Serbia/Belgrade

    Reply

  46. I do not understand, Linux Mint 15 is only the last distro that were installed on my Laptop … and only XFCE, hm

    error … file / boot/grub/i386-pc / normal.moéd … not found.
    grub rescue

    SolydXK is great, the only distro that does not have a problem

    Reply

  47. Just upgraded from Mint 14 MATE to Petra MATE the other day. Actually, it was a reformat and reinstall. Works great! Sorry, but I’m not a big fan of XFCE. It’s nice and lightweight, but MATE is easier to customize my way.

    Reply

  48. I’ve installed it 3 days ago. Had many problems with Firefox, because it consumed all available CPU. Replaced it with Chrome. Since then everything is working fine.

    Reply

  50. Most of Sudaneses will not able to check any updates due to

    “ioi@sis ~ $ sudo apt-get update
    [sudo] password for ioi:
    Get:1 http://security.ubuntu.com saucy-security InRelease [213 B]
    97% [1 InRelease gpgv 213 B] [Waiting for headers] [Connecting to packages.linuSplitting up /var/lib/apt/lists/partial/security.ubuntu.com_ubuntu_dists_saucy-seIgn http://security.ubuntu.com saucy-security InRelease
    E: GPG error: http://security.ubuntu.com saucy-security InRelease: Clearsigned file isn’t valid, got ‘NODATA’ (does the network require authentication?)
    ioi@sis ~ $ ”

    i have searched for solutions but i failed i have tried others Internet provider services but the same issue is server issue or just only me ????????? because i faced this problems with any Ubuntu based Version and still facing dat why this happening can anybody tells ?

    Reply

  51. Hi there i would like to give a little suggest is dat xfce hasn’t time settings i meant there’s no way to set my time if I’m living in Sudan and selected New York Time zone after setup complete will not be able to change your time zone or set manual time dat’s it Thank you

    Reply

  52. Run cinnamon on newer computer and XFCE on older one. Both excellent OS. Do add and run LXDE mostly and it’s great as well. Perhaps the Mint crew may consider a LXDE spin,for the next 17 LTS ? 🙂

    Reply

  53. Loving the Xfce edition! The only issue I have is with Xmodmap keyboard bindings not working @ startup. Apparently, this is a known Xfce problem with workarounds, so it’s not too bad. I like the lightweight compositing effects of Xfce, & if you add skippy-XD to a panel button, gives you that exposé effect that we’ve all come to love!

    Using Xfce makes me wonder why we even have a MATE edition for low-powered computers? Seeing as how MATE is using GTK+ 2, won’t it eventually be phased out because it’s based on older technology? Whereas Xfce has plans to move to GTK+ 3, but with the intentions of being fast & lightweight, which is perfect for low-powered machines, which is what most people have been using MATE for… Or is it mainly because there are still probably hundreds (or maybe even thousands) of business users out there who don’t upgrade their computers obsessively & have Gnome 2 business apps that have not yet been ported to Gnome 3/Cinnamon?

    Reply

  54. Whisker menu or MintMenu (that we all like)

    I vote MintMenu. it’s just a missing package to install to get it back.

    Reply

  55. ( answer to 46.) Dear omegan, I quite sure and convinced that you should not blame mint distribution for the problem you faced. The same thing happened to me while installing debian 7.3 CHECK these sights:
    http://askubuntu.com/questions/266429/error-file-grub-i386-pc-normal-mod-not-found
    http://askubuntu.com/questions/169600/fix-grub2-after-installing-ubuntu-12-04
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDLpJqPGh8A
    By the way, solydx being rather easy for newcomers in Linux doesn’t mean better. The “problem” with Debian are the non-free drivers and firmwares, that you can easily find in Linux Mint Debian. So, Linux Mint Debian could be your solution. (or PClinuxOs or SolydX)

    Reply

  56. This thing is very smooth and very fast! Thank you Mint team!

    The only glitches I’ve noticed are for keyboard shortcuts:

    The super_L (left-hand windows key) cannot be unbound from launching the whisker menu, at least as far as I’ve found. This means super_L can’t be used very well as a key modifier when defining shortcuts.

    The window manager keyboard shortcuts tab acts a little strange. When I revise shortcuts, the info in the tab doesn’t update. On closing settings manager and opening it again, the updates are present for some changes I’ve made, but not for others.

    Many thanks. Happy New Year.

    Reply

  57. This should be a primary day one Linux Mint release. I propose we replace MATE with this XFCE spin and call it a day. Headaches alleviated and more resources to focus on a currently maintained desktop environment.

    Reply

  58. I just downloaded via torrent and fired up Petra in a VM. The ESXI console, once it appeared, had a flaming devil face. Assuming flaming devil faces are something bad guys do, it sounds like something bad is going on with your torrent’ed copy. From my end, I hope not too much damage was done. You may want to look into this.
    Stu,

    Edit by Clem: Afaik one of the themes used by Xscreensaver, used in this edition, is a flaming face. You can configure it and remove it from the selection of random themes to be used.

    Reply

  61. Excellent release except for the super_L issue …
    Thank You so much for your great work!
    Have wonderful time in the new 2014 …

    Reply

  63. I brought a new Sony Vaio with Win 8 and UEFI bios ….. I want to duelboot with Petra, I am still finding it isn’t working. Researching I am finding out that duel boot is not a option that works, I still have Win8 and its dominating the field and no matter what I try to do it keeps Petra out/unbootable. And now I am worried that if I format and install just Petra – I loose my computer. Where is the sense in all this.

    Reply

  64. Hi, I have an Acer laptop with AMD A10 APU, broadcom wifi, and Radeon HD 6800. It starts, loads to MATE, but freezes on shutdown. Linux Mint 15 shut down without freezing. Release 16.1 like 14.1. Thanks.

    I had this problem with Linux Mint 12 and it was broadcom wifi making OS freeze.

    Reply

  66. @ Nima Panahi Aram # 62

    I can’t believe people still ask for LXDE! I found an old iso image from LM12 LXDE, installed it and was amazed to see how much LM has improved since then! I used to yearn for that distro too but after that experience, not anymore.
    MATE and Xfce are the options for older, less powerful equipment and LXDE will soon become LxdeQt, who knows what will become of that DE?

    Hang on, did you mean LMDE, Linux Mint Debian Edition? It’s only weeks away, according to what Clem stated here: http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=2524

    Reply

  67. @Raj #49

    Why not try LM 13? It’s LTS so you’ll get updates and backports all the way to 2017 and it’s super stable and reliable, for instance, a few weeks ago you could enjoy Cinnamon 2 in it (read the comments in the appropiate blog entry, many of us had problems with changes in mdm).

    Another option could be Linux Mint Debian Edition, but I recommend reading the release notes first, to make sure you want this: http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=2346

    I think a new update pack (don’t know if a new iso image file) will be released this month.

    Reply

  68. to angel dustless n 36: thank you for the info about Whisker, but i still think it would be nice to have a way to switch apps and categories position even keeping the launcher on the left.

    I think it is also something written in gnome human interface guidelines.

    Reply

  69. Happy new year !

    Dear CLEM-Team 😉

    thank you very much for every LM XFCE-version, now PETRA, 64-bit.
    I love it. It runs on a dual-core CPU D425, on a Foxconn mainboard.
    I like synaptic, terminal, firefox, thunderbird, libreoffice, -LAMP-, filezilla, gedit, dolphin, abrename, phatch, xsane, kino, vlc, rhythmbox, audacity, samba, bleachbit, gwenview, evince, catfish, gdebi, gimp. That’s mostly all i use.

    P.S.: My next 2 christmas wishes: Is it possible to make ISO’s especially for chosen languages? I dont need korean, arabique, thai, or equal asian fonts. Cant you -bake- the ISO’s by language?. So the ISO’s can be small again for a CD? (not necessary for me, i bake my OS by USB, but for download)
    Second wish: If i chose MY language during install process, isnt it possible to load a central database with ONE language-database for all MY language words and make -links- in every used program for translation?

    Only as idea…think about.

    ONCE AGAIN: Thx for the great distros ! ! !

    Reply

  71. I do agree with the idea where xfce should lead the Mint light DE market. Of course it’s the view of a xfce user; Mate users might think differently 😉

    Like Ted#53 also said, the Skyppy-XD expose feature would be great (Voyager – which implements a lot good features on xfce – do use skippy-xd).

    I guess the Whisker search box will tend to subsitute Synapse I currently use.

    I did not use v16 a lot so far but what I’ve seen yet makes me feel it’s really a good “millésime”. I especially appreciate the performance focus which was made here; it is a major point to consider for me (I always want my laptop to run as fast as possible). This a really a good news since 16 could be considered as the last milestone before the so expected 17-LTS (as expected by Mint users as by WinXP users…)

    BTW: beside the the MDM backport issue I experienced (and solved thanks to you guys), it seems to me that my current xfce 13 is running better since this update. Who knows…

    A big thank you to the whole team and my best wishes for this wonderful Linux Mint project in 2014

    Reply

  73. Absolutely love this edition. I don’t see any need for more than the XFCE desktop and Mint is familiar and therefore makes me more productive than the alternatives – including Gnome. Less is more.

    @Clem: Please lets keep maintaining this version of Mint. If you need anyone to help with testing the next version I can spare the disk space.

    Reply

  74. is it possible to blank the screen but with the background light off? cant seem to find any options in the GUI…
    right now all i can do is blanking the screen, but the background light remains on…

    Reply

  75. Had 15 xfce, downloaded 16. Wiped the drive. Installs fine until it asks if I want to replace /etc/gome/defaults.list.

    How am I supposed to know?

    IRC help site says compare and choose the best. The best what?

    I asked “what do I tell new users to choose?” They said “Make the choice for them”.

    So I will tell them to choose something else until this install looks like something other than a second-rate effort.

    Happy New Year.

    Reply

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