I used the Mate DVD (8.4) with the non-free packages for a fresh install on my Dell 6500 laptop. The initial installation went fine. Then I powered down and went to give a presentation and could not get it to boot into the graphical desktop. I reinstalled again and had the same failure.
In a final (and successful, whew!) atttempt I used the regular x64 netinst CD, selected Mate as my only desktop, and all has been well since (fingers still crossed but loosening by the day). Note the Debian website says the special DVDs don't get as much testing, so I suspect my laptop might have found a bug. Unfortunately I don't have ensough data to confirm that. HTH Best regards, -Tom P.S. I love the Mate desktop as it is. Please don't add any more bells and whistles from the pop culture, just maintain it in the choice of desktops for the normal Debian distribution.
