> > ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> > From: Max Pyziur <pyz@brama.com>
> > To: Community support for Fedora users <users@lists.fedoraproject.org>
> > Cc:
> > Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2015 08:43:32 -0500 (EST)
> > Subject: Re: Leaping from F18 -> F21
> > On Fri, 27 Feb 2015, jd1008 wrote:
> >
> >>
> >>
> >> On 02/27/2015 03:15 PM, Max Pyziur wrote:
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>  Greetings,
> >>>
> >>>  I decided to begin making the leap from F18 to F21. My reluctance in
> >>>  upgrading with each new release was due to all of the problems that were
> >>>  reported with upgrades, and not wanting to go through a dependency upgrade
> >>>  ordeal.
> >>>
> >>>  Now with F18 firmly EOL'd and enough packages showing their age and
> >>>  demanding upgrades, I've begun making the switch.
> >>>
> >>>  I have three machines that run Fedora: two laptops, one of which is an
> >>>  i686 and the other a dual-core, and a desktop.
> >>>
> >>>  I've started w/ the i686, the least used, and essentially a backup. The
> >>>  strategy is to simply leave the /home partition alone, and to do a fresh
> >>>  install, reformating the other partitions. (I used the Fedora 21
> >>>  Workstation Live i686 disc). Having a list of those RPMs that were
> >>>  installed under F18, I'll work my way back to something that I was using
> >>>  before.
> >>>
> >>>  I did that, but when the machine responded and rebooted, and then I tried
> >>>  to login through the GUI to a gnome desktop, the result was unusable.
> >>>
> >>>  No problem: <ctrl+alt>+F2 and I have a character-based screen, and I can
> >>>  log in.
> >>>
> >>>  From there, I did a
> >>>  yum groupinstall "Xfce Desktop"
> >>>
> >>>  and then rebooted, selected Xfce as my desktop, login, and I have the
> >>>  beginnings of a functioning gui-based system.
> >>>
> >>>  However, my Gnome problem remains: there is no provision in F21-i686 for a
> >>>  yum groupinstall "GNOME Desktop" so that I have a functioning Gnome or
> >>>  Gnome-Classic desktop (there is one for "MATE Desktop," btw).
> >>>
> >>>  Would anyone have advice on how to install all of the remaining necessary
> >>>  pieces for a functioning F21 i686 Gnome Desktop?
> >>>
> >>>  Much thanks,
> >>>
> >>>  Max Pyziur
> >>>  pyz@brama.com
> >>
> >> Personally, I had absolutely no problems leaping from f18 to f20 using fedup.
> >> It worked flawlessly.
> >
> >
> > I'll consider this as a possible method for upgrading the other two machines.
> >
> > A fresh install is a bit extreme, but on my attempts of moving from F17-> F18 using fedup I recall a machine became unusable. Monitoring subsequent releases (F19, F20, F21) and users using fedup as the upgrade mechanism, there still seemed to be reports of unreliability, as in YMMV.
> >
> > I also have an additional concern, since I'm somewhat reliant on PostgreSQL and PostGIS, which require elevated vigilance across releases, since the newer versions need to have data backuped and specially restored.
> >
> >> That is not to sat that some f18 packages did not have updates in f21.
> >> That is why I still have some f18 packages, which still work without any problems.
> >
> >
> > My experience so far is that I still can't use the Gnome Desktop (Classic, Wayland, or otherwise) in F21 on my i686 Laptop (I can use Xfce and MATE); I keep trying to find the correct  yum group to install; I also keep adding packages, but I still haven't found the correct libraries and/or packages so a typical Gnome Desktop appears correctly.
> >
> > So, I would be grateful for any continuing guidance in this regard.
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> > Max Pyziur
> > pyz@brama.com
> >

From this post:
http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=302035

there may be a hidden yum group called "GNOME".

Try running 'yum grouplist hidden', and see what groups return? GNOME might be listed there.

Ben Blankley
President - WCT, Board Member - WSC