On Mon 06 Jan 2020 at 09:42:46 -0500, Kenneth Parker wrote: > On Mon, Jan 6, 2020, 4:18 AM ghe <g...@slsware.net> wrote: > > > > > > > > On Jan 6, 2020, at 01:37 AM, Russell L. Harris <russ...@rlharris.org> > > wrote: > > > > > > I just installed Buster via netinst on an amd desktop. I specified > > > xfce. The system boots but no login screen or GUI appears. Alt-F4 > > > allows me to log in and reboot or shutdown. > > > > XFCE doesn't have a GUI login; you have to install one. I've used slim for > > years, on many computers. > > > > Or you can just log in to the CLI and type 'startx.' > > > That's funny: I installed Buster on a Laptop just last week via netinst, > and selected xfce (Expert Install menu), and got lightdm. What's different > with the Original Poster?
ghe has likely confused the dependencies of task-xfce-desktop with those of xfce4. Hence the incorrect statement that "XFCE doesn't have a GUI login; you have to install one." As for why the OP ended up in his present situation - that is as yet unknown.