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Installing Debian for the first time. Wish me luck! (lemmy.ml)
submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by ChaoticNeutralCzech@lemmy.ml to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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Edit: It works! Not beautiful and shows a concerning amount of "Error" lines on startup but it will do. I got VSCodium and ESP-IDF running, at least – and CMake isn't awfully slow despite it being a crappy 4GB RAM machine (not easily upgradeable). The first boot took a while and I haven't rebooted since, I guess it will be below 30 seconds next time (Mint on same machine but HDD was about 1 minute).

Edit: I hope I chose the right kernel here, surprisingly not much info online on this! Also, I picked "targeted" because the 10-year-old system does not use any cutting-edge hardware and all drivers should be auto-detected, I think.

After some experience with Linux Mint, I gathered the courage to try another distro. I'd like to turn an old laptop into an IPTV receiver plus FTP/OpenVPN/HomeAssistant server with occasional desktop use. I first installed Windows 11 just in case my family needs to use it (it fucking sucks, the built-in PS/2 keyboard doesn't work half the time but that's an issue for later) but now I'll be turning it into a dual-boot setup with Debian as the primary option. Please give me some encouragement, I'm really afraid of new things.

Old pic: https://lemmy.ml/pictrs/image/d4bf0222-4fc1-42ab-a3e9-464087dec3af.png

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[-] SrMono@feddit.org 39 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I hereby grant the application for luck. May your Debian boot and bring joy.

[-] redlemace@lemmy.world 10 points 7 months ago

You make it sound religious. Did i join a religion deccades ago and not knowing it?

[-] Dojan@pawb.social 13 points 7 months ago

If we say yes, do you think we can get tax exemptions?

[-] SrMono@feddit.org 10 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

The first rule of the church of tux is to talk about the church of tux 🙏

[-] anotherspinelessdem@lemmy.ml 4 points 7 months ago

I use arch btw~not~ ~really~

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[-] banazir@lemmy.ml 29 points 7 months ago

No luck needed, it'll go fine. You pretty obviously have all the experience you need.

[-] ChaoticNeutralCzech@lemmy.ml 15 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Experience? Yes, but I'm also really clumsy and impatient. Lots of things, hardware and software, broke in my hands because I wasn't careful enough. At least there is no personal data on the system right now that I could erase.

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[-] BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world 23 points 7 months ago

You don’t need luck. You chose wisely.

[-] Onsotumenh@discuss.tchncs.de 22 points 7 months ago

Just a little warning if you boot both OS from the same drive. Windows update can and will break your bootloader at one point (if not worse, tho that's rare). Keep a Linux live or rescue stick around in case something breaks.

[-] ChaoticNeutralCzech@lemmy.ml 10 points 7 months ago

Yeah, I know this, what a pain... I eventually had to install rEFInd on one of the PCs with dual boot.

[-] AldinTheMage@ttrpg.network 20 points 7 months ago

I love Debian. Been using it on my laptop for over a year. Some specific drivers are a little fiddly if you have nvidia graphics but it's not too bad, lots of good info on the debian wiki.

[-] eldavi@lemmy.ml 6 points 7 months ago

same here even though i don't use it much anymore.

for me, it was both the distro that i had used the longest at home due to rock solid stability and it's become a signal to me that the shop i'm considering working in has rock solid people working on it.

i'm going to miss working on debian in a professional capacity and watching it due it's thing in real world production capacities for millions of people at a time.

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[-] Sunsofold@lemmings.world 17 points 7 months ago

It's Debian. Let us know when you have your first real issues with it, probably some time in 2037.

[-] ranzispa@mander.xyz 4 points 7 months ago

Don't be too hopeful, it will probably be the upgrade to Debian 14 in 2030. And the issue will probably be: yes, you need to change the repo and then full-upgrade.

[-] NauticalNoodle@lemmy.ml 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I had a fair amount of issues back in the day due to debian having limited support for newer hardware with proprietary drivers. I wouldnt be surprised if that still a thing given Debian's modus operandi.

[-] protogen420 3 points 7 months ago

Debian now prompts users if they want non free drivers in the installer, and the installer it self comes with them so it can boot on platforms that require it, non free drivers and firmware are also in a seperated repository to non-free and enabling them is independent, selecting non free drivers in the installer will enable the non free driver and firmware repository

[-] Frenchgeek@lemmy.ml 3 points 7 months ago

I had some getting it to run on a Chuwi HI8 but the thing is a terrible tablet-PC pretending to be a terrible Android tablet...

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[-] wildflower@lemmy.world 10 points 7 months ago

I recently helped a friend install Debian via sms, it was surprisingly easy, and she had never tried installing Linux before. When installing on a laptop I'd recommend using cable instead of wifi, and then setup wifi when the system is up and running.

Best of luck

[-] BagOfHeavyStones@piefed.social 10 points 7 months ago

Gee! How long did it take to transfer the iso via sms? Did you have to uuencode it?

[-] notagoblin@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago

🤣 🤣 🤣

[-] thingsiplay@beehaw.org 9 points 7 months ago

This shouldn't be a thing of luck, if you are prepared.

[-] ChaoticNeutralCzech@lemmy.ml 7 points 7 months ago

No, I'm absolutely not. What desktop environment should I choose? KDE Plasma is tempting - it would be nice to use it before I install it with Arch on my main system - but I don't need the cutting edge or much personalization. I know XFCE best but GNOME is default... GNOME's big launcher looks great for the TV but it's also more resource-hungry and less customizable...

I guess I'll go with the familiar Windows-style XFCE and maybe add big remote-friendly icons later when I configure an IR receiver.

[-] Hadriscus@jlai.lu 7 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I have been using Gnome for a few weeks (because I have an issue with my tablet and Plasma works badly with it), and it's shit. Very locked in, strange choices regarding how information is presented, waste of screen estate (topbar that sits completely unused)... Plasma was a million times better. If I didn't have this tablet problem... anyway that's my advice. Have fun. Debian is stable, you should be good

[-] Dojan@pawb.social 6 points 7 months ago

I love this, because I feel the complete opposite in some regards. I love the simplicity of GNOME. There are some weird UI decisions; I much prefer to have the dock available on the desktop than to use the application switcher every time, but that's about it. GNOME is very thematically consistent, it's simple, and it works smoothly. It has enough customisation where the sensible defaults fall short, at least for me, but theme-wise I really like Adwaita the way it is.

I use KDE on my laptop though, and I enjoy the tinkering with it. Feel like it's fairly unstable though, Plasma just crashes at times when you tinker with it (though so far it's never happened in normal usage). Design-wise it feels much too cluttered, but there's a lot of options to play with to make things at least almost the way I'd like it.

We're spoiled for choice, and that's awesome. There's something for everyone.

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[-] TrickDacy@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

People who hate gnome so much always confuse me.

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[-] redlemace@lemmy.world 6 points 7 months ago

What desktop environment should I choose

That's the beauty .... You can change any time you want (sudo tasksel) withjout losing your data. or install all of them and choose one each time you login

[-] FalschgeldFurkan@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago

KDE Plasma is very nice if you come from Windows and don't mind an environment that's somewhat heavy on performance - personally, I think it's the closest, modern Windows-like experience. XFCE is very lightweight, but not very modern, as far as I remember.

Don't forget, you can also install multiple environments and then pick one from your login screen; that way you can try them all and see what fits best

[-] thingsiplay@beehaw.org 2 points 7 months ago

Well, you can try a Live CD for first contact. Or even a virtual machine, with a complete install of the operating system and desktop environment, without touching your actual system.

[-] AldinTheMage@ttrpg.network 2 points 7 months ago

I have used gnome, plasma, and xfce and they are all fine. I prefer KDE personally but they're all going to do what you need to do. It's all down to personal aesthetic preference, and picking one won't hinder you in any real way. KDE to me just looks super nice out of the box for my taste, and I like the customization.

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[-] jaybone@lemmy.zip 9 points 7 months ago

If it’s 10 year old hardware, you should be fine.

I’ve only had problems in Debian with brand new hardware where I have to use the backport branch to get drivers (like for wifi.)

Though mainly I use Ubuntu, where I would not have that problem. Not sure why you switched from mint.

[-] Leax@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 7 months ago

I tried Mint on my old MacBook pro and it was really slow, impossible to scroll through a website slow. I then installed Ubuntu and had a wonderful experience

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[-] hendrik@palaver.p3x.de 5 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Good luck! And don't forget to add the non-free-firmware repo and maybe the other additional ones if you need them. A standard Debian comes without. And if you're following an old tutorial, that might not cover the split between non-free and non-free-firmware which happened somewhat recently in Debian terms. Their own documentation is good and up to date, though.

[-] Lemmchen@feddit.org 4 points 7 months ago

Isn't non-free-firmware included by default now?

[-] hendrik@palaver.p3x.de 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Good question. maybe I was wrong, I've used Debian for so long, I'll either just update it or use the advanced installer... It's certainly on the installation media now. Not sure if it copies it over to the system. Would make sense, though if it did...

[-] vandsjov@feddit.dk 3 points 7 months ago

Good question. maybe I was wrong

Yes, from Debian 12, non-free-firmware is default. Makes it even easier to install.

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[-] notagoblin@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago

Mint is solid, if you use it and it works for you why change? Do you need to bother with windows? What do you use that can't be done on Linux I wonder? Perhaps work out how to set a VM and try out Debian and even windows in a test sandbox so you're comfortable with the processes before taking the plunge. Check out KVM, QEMU, and Virt-Manager.

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[-] Decker108@lemmy.ml 3 points 7 months ago

I just made the switch from Win 10 to Bazzite Linux some two weeks ago. It worked so great that I should have done it a long time ago.

[-] azvasKvklenko@sh.itjust.works 3 points 7 months ago

My usual approach when trying Debian on a desktop or workstation: if I have to install a single package from testing or sid, fuck this and just use Arch or Fedora.

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[-] HairyHarry@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago

Is a laptop really a good choice for a home server?

What are the pro/cons vs a mini computer like a raspy or sort of? Is it trivial to keep the laptop always on without closing the lid?

[-] ChaoticNeutralCzech@lemmy.ml 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Raspberry Pi is expensive and does not come with a UPS. I already have this mediocre laptop. The Pi cost may recoup itself on the electricity bill but I'm not happy about booting from an SD card.

The only lid problem is that the BIOS of this laptop does not allow turning on with the lid closed (also, there is no Power-on-AC) but I might hack it with a magnet.

[-] HairyHarry@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago

Thanks. Maybe another pro is, that it also comes with a screen, if ssh fails.

[-] ChaoticNeutralCzech@lemmy.ml 2 points 7 months ago

I mean, the good old dumb 32" LCD TV should be the primary screen. But maybe mom will want to watch in another room sometimes, in which case she can pull out the laptop and use her familiar IPTV client.

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[-] sirico@feddit.uk 3 points 7 months ago

You can disable power of on lid close. I ran a dell laptop with a terramaster as a server for a couple of years when I lived in a small flat no issues with it as a general media home lab has a built in UPS too.

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[-] SapphironZA@sh.itjust.works 3 points 7 months ago

Laptops make excellent low power draw servers. Disabling the laptop lid switch is typically trivial. (Tickbox usually)

Also running x86 is an advantage over SBCs like the raspberry pi. Also, use what you have before you buy anything.

[-] BagOfHeavyStones@piefed.social 2 points 7 months ago

I have an Acer dual core running a backup stream from FM for our community radio station. It's been going 24/7 for 7 years now, hasn't missed a beat.

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[-] djdarren@piefed.social 2 points 7 months ago

Obligatory you should use Arch btw.

(Good luck)

[-] ChaoticNeutralCzech@lemmy.ml 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I'll be installing Arch on my main laptop when I make the disk space and get the motivation (my mental state is almost as messy as the drive). I'll also take the opportunity to reinstall Windows because it's an old copy where I chose my real name as the user directory name (I didn't know better back then), with a space and diacritics, which broke lots of things. But this is a server and I preferred Mint to Manjaro so Debian it is.

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this post was submitted on 23 Dec 2025
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