Debian testing installtion guide

[smit]

I am using Ubuntu mate but I want to switch over the Debian mate or Debian lxde (testing). Thus i need to know following points

- Will my Debian testing will remain testing for all the time?

suppose i had install Debian testing buster.after few years it became the the stable.So will my Debian also become stable?Will i still receive testing updates?

- I want to install Debian mate(or Lxde) testing but i didn't find it on there site.should i download the entire dvd-1 of Debian testing.iso or should i do netinst?Or should I download all 3 dvds of Debian testing?I tried to search live cds but they all were stable(outdated)

- Is debian testing is not good or unstable?does it crash or does it have so many bugs?

- Is it compatible for my latop?here is the output of `lscpu` command

smit@Smit-Aspire-5742:~$ lscpu
Architecture: x86_64
CPU op-mode(s): 32-bit, 64-bit
Byte Order: Little Endian
CPU(s): 4
On-line CPU(s) list: 0-3
Thread(s) per core: 2
Core(s) per socket: 2
Socket(s): 1
NUMA node(s): 1
Vendor ID: GenuineIntel
CPU family: 6
Model: 37
Model name: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU M 370 @ 2.40GHz
Stepping: 5
CPU MHz: 933.000
CPU max MHz: 2399.0000
CPU min MHz: 933.0000
BogoMIPS: 4787.75
Virtualization: VT-x
L1d cache: 32K
L1i cache: 32K
L2 cache: 256K
L3 cache: 3072K
NUMA node0 CPU(s): 0-3
Flags: fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sepmtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx rdtscp lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good noplxtopologynonstop_tsc aperfmperf pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm pcid sse4_1 sse4_2 popcnt lahf_lm tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid dtherm arat

[dilberts_left_nut]

https://wiki.debian.org/DebianTesting

[Lysander]

I am using Ubuntu mate but I want to switch over the Debian mate or Debian lxde (testing). Thus i need to know following points

How long have you been with Ubuntu and why do you want to move? I'm asking because there is a bit of a leap between Ubuntu and Debian. The learning curve is steeper and requires more research and understanding of Linux than Ubuntu. However, if you are interested enough, you will put the time in to learn [in this context 'research' means reading around on your own, a lot of the time].

Is debian testing is not good or unstable?does it crash or does it have so many bugs?

"Not good"? It is part of a long development cycle. It does indeed have many bugs, that is why it is called 'testing'. Its raison d'etre is for bugs to be found and ideally eliminated.

Read this post for more information:

http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?p=531279#p531279

I can't help thinking that if you're asking this many questions you shouldn't be running testing. Stable, maybe.

[Wheelerof4te]

Why do you need to run testing right off the bat? Check if your specs run well on Stretch's 4.9 kernel and install Stable. When you get the hang of Stable, switch over to Testing branch if you really want it.

Check the links in my sig, too. Ubuntu may be a Debian derivative, but it's NOT Debian. If minimal configuration is what you desire, install Debian from the unofficial non-free image:

https://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/unof ... 64/iso-cd/

[dasein]

I can't help thinking that if you're asking this many questions you shouldn't be running testing.

+1

In particular, many of your questions are already answered in Debian docs, the Wiki, etc. Testing users have to be able to do their own triage and first-cut diagnostics, which means sometimes devoting a lot of time to reading, researching, etc. It just isn't suitable for folks who need hand-holding on even the most basic questions.

As kedaha said so eloquently in a recent thread...

Sid and testing really are stages in the ongoing system aiming at successive stable releases and not alternative "cutting-edge distros" for Shiny_New_Stuff.

[GarryRicketson]

In particular, many of your questions are already answered in Debian docs, the Wiki, etc.

Is there some reason the OP did not just do a search ? Maybe just trying to start conversation ???
Not just many, All of these questions are answered in the documentation.
https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/debi ... ng.en.html

Somebody that is not capable of doing a simple search, nor reading any documentation
should not be using Debian testing,...

Also asking multiple questions is really bad form, 1 question at a time PLEASE,

There is even documentation on what hardware is supported by Debian,
Do a search, key words " Does Debian support my hardware ",....
I certainly am not going to do that for some one, they can look at the documentation,
also the technical support of the computer brand, should be able to tell someone if that PC can run a linux OS, and which ones.

As long as you only use "testing in the /etc/apt/sources.list , it all ways will be "testing",...
Use a little bit of logic, if you change the sources, it will try to install different versions,
usually creating more problems, that you won't be able to handle, because you did not read any documentation to start with,...
A important piece of documentation, that should be a READ ME FIRST:
https://wiki.debian.org/DontBreakDebian
After that read the other documentation thoroughly on Debian, and then if you still
really have a specific question, feel free to ask the 1 question, about the specific part
you do not understand.
I really am wondering what the excuse for not even trying to do a search will be ?
===============edited=============
Something else the OP should have done, is read the "Read Me first" here on the forum.
Forum guidelines. Please read before first post!
Please don't take it wrong, it is not just you, there is way to many new members, and
some that have actually made a lot of posts that never bother to read anything, before
they just start posting,... But it is right there, in the beginners section, and very clearly
says "Please read before first post" , in case some people do not understand what before
means : before
Thank you

[dasein]

I really am wondering what the excuse for not even trying to do a search will be ?

It won't be.

Instead, the OP will claim to have searched "for days" and then waste several hours of his/her life complaining about how badly s/he has been mistreated. A couple of notorious help-vampires will chime in, along with a couple of generic fussbudgets, and they'll all have themselves a whine-and-cheese party.

After all, why buck a trend?

[GarryRicketson]

You probably are right, in any event there are a few acceptable excuses, but I am not going
to say at this point what they are, other wise they will say, "Oh yes, that's my excuse",...
I have found on almost any forum, it is good form, to explain why one was unable to do any search, and if it is a reasonable excuse, usually nobody has a problem with it,...at least that has been my experience.
Also, now that we are on the subject, a good way to approach the " I did some searches , but did not find anything ",... yea right, everybody says that, and maybe some times it
is true,... but to make sure people believe you tried doing some searches:
I used these keywords to do a search :

Code: Select all

Debian testing installtion guide 

Debian testing installtion guide
In this case though, it does yield a lot of results, which the OP could have read, before
posting,...In fact each one of the questions get good results if copied/pasted into a search engine.
A little honesty goes a long ways,... If some one really does not know how to do a search, and admits it, then we are happy to explain,... and for the first lesson:

Code: Select all

How to do a search ? 

Simply copy, paste the key words, or type the question in to the "search" option, on your favourite search engine.
How to do a search ?

I do realize in some cases, the results of searches just do not have the answers, or are outdated, etc. or in very rare cases there is not much info available,.... However that is not the case here, There is plenty of good documentation , and it is easy to find it.
Both https://www.debian.org
and the wiki:
https://wiki.debian.org/
Both of these have documentation on all of the questions asked in this topic.
There is nothing wrong with any of the questions, but the "multiple question"
game, all in one topic, is what bothers me the most. Each question could be a topic
and discussed, but after all said and done there is no need to start newtopics on
any of these questions, since every single one has been asked 100s of times on
this forum, there are topics and discussions on each one of these questions , many
are in the :
Docs, Howtos, Tips & Tricks

[GarryRicketson]

Just to clarify, I am not "upset" , if I said anything that gives that impression
my apology.
Everything said is not just directed toward the OP, and I all ready mentioned that,
this is a ongoing, and increasingly thing that occurs several times daily.
Most of the time I do just ignore posts like this, with the "multiple questions" game,
Or just a example of keywords, and suggestion to do a search,... but any way , in
no way am I upset.
I do realize some people just like to make conversation, and one way to do that is
start a topic with several questions, then enjoy the results,.... hope the OP enjoys
the thread they started, and also everyone that has responded as well.
Another thing though, and I do hope some other newcomers maybe do read this topic,
Before, starting a "multiple question" topic, on subjects that all ready have many good
documented information, no problem, feel free to start the topic, and ask as many questions as you want, all in the same topic,... but don't get upset when you get
a bunch of responses telling you to do some searches, and don't get upset when
people tell you , " you shouldn't be using testing", etc.
So any way, enjoy the forum, read some of the other topics and discussions, and if there are questions, by all means ask,...just be prepared, the answers might not all ways be what one is expecting or hoping for.
Don't get upset when other members don't respond the way you had hoped. Generally
it is best to just ignore the responses one does not like.
I notice, some of the responses are actually questions as well , asking the OP why they think they should use "testing",.... so it will be interesting to see if the OP even responds,and reads what has been asked, answers some of the questions as well.
======================================================
In relation to this question:

by smit »- Is debian testing is not good or unstable?does it crash or does it have so many bugs?

https://raphaelhertzog.com/2010/12/20/5 ... -its-name/
This is a excellent article, that goes into details,it is more related to "SID" then "tesing",but has some info on "testing", in a nut shell there is nothing wrong with using "testing" or the "unstable versions of Debian, how ever when the person does not read anything, does not check and keep up-to-date on bug reports , etc. , then they have problems.
For example, it might be working just fine, but if the user does not check the current bug reports, BEFORE doing a update/upgrade, yes it might "crash",..yes it does crash sometimes, yes there are bugs some times, but the wonderful thing is , it is open source and you can modify, repair , etc. , do whatever is needed to restores the system.
If you do not know how to do that, and have to ask on some forum, for every little problem that may occur, you probably won't be very happy with the answers you get,
and probably will end up getting upset , and then blaming me or Dasein, or somebody else, saying " I hate Debian, I am going back to Ubuntu",... bla , bla , bla,,,,, that happens
all to often.
It is not our fault when someone does not like to read documentation, and do any research what so ever.
Guess for now, that is all, again, I do want to say, I am not upset,..... I wouldn't bother writing so much if I was upset,...I imagine more will follow, but for now I am tired and
that is all.

[GarryRicketson]

RE :

Post by smit »- Is it compatible for my latop?--snip---

Is Debian testing compatible for my latop?

From: https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/debi ... ng.en.html3.1.1 You asked me to install stable, but in stable so and so hardware is not detected/working. What should I do?

Try to search the web using a search engine and see if someone else is able to get it working in stable. Most of the hardware should work fine with stable. But if you have some state-of-the-art, cutting edge hardware, it might not work with stable. If this is the case, you might want to install/upgrade to either testing or unstable.

For laptops, http://www.linux-on-laptops.com/ is a very good website to see if someone else is able to get it to work under Linux. The website is not specific to Debian, but is nevertheless a tremendous resource. I am not aware of any such website for desktops.

Another option would be to ask in the debian-user mailing list by sending an email to debian-user@lists.debian.org. Messages can be posted to the list even without subscribing. The archives can be read through http://lists.debian.org/debian-user/. Information regarding subscribing to the list can be found at the location of archives. You are strongly encouraged to post your questions on the mailing-list rather than on irc. The mailing-list messages are archived, so the solution to your problem can help others with the same issue.

As mentioned here, sometimes people with very new hardware, need to use Debian testing instead of Debian stable,..
If Ubuntu works on that laptop, then Debian testing should work, and probably better,
however with Debian, you probably will need to install some firmware, non-free firmwar, or even drivers.
That is the big difference, Ubuntu does that for you, on Debian you probably, but not all ways, need to do that. Again, the documentation is available on how to do that.
If the user is unable or unwilling to read that documentation they probably are better off just staying with Ubuntu....or a Better option MX-16.
For details on what hardware is supported:
What hardware is supported by Debian
The first hits are a good place to start,...
https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/ ... 01.html.en
=====================================
https://wiki.debian.org/Hardware

[luvr]

I am using Ubuntu mate but I want to switch over the Debian mate or Debian lxde (testing).

I came to Debian shortly after Debian 8 (“jessie”) was released, to check it out as a possible alternative for Ubuntu.
I initially installed the stable release, but I soon found its packages too old, so I decided to switch to testing instead.

I have been using Debian testing ever since, and I have not encountered any stability problems. Every now and then, there are a few packages that cannot be upgraded because of some dependency issues or version conflicts or some such, but such issues do not last long, and are automatically resolved as soon as all required and related packages are updated in the software archives.

The Debian documentation recommends doing a minimal install before switching to testing, and completing the install afterwards. However, I had already done a full install, so I didn't follow the recommendation. My first attempt at switching failed, so I restored the backup that I had made right before the attempted switch. I could successfully perform the switch only if I terminated the graphical user interface and ran the process entirely from a character-based terminal session.

Now that Debian 9 (“stretch”) is released, my Debian testing is still testing—it simply switched from the “stretch” to the “buster” archives:

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$ apt-cache policy
Package files:
 100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
     release a=now
 500 http://ftp.be.debian.org/debian testing/non-free amd64 Packages
     release o=Debian,a=testing,n=buster,l=Debian,c=non-free,b=amd64
     origin ftp.be.debian.org
 500 http://ftp.be.debian.org/debian testing/contrib amd64 Packages
     release o=Debian,a=testing,n=buster,l=Debian,c=contrib,b=amd64
     origin ftp.be.debian.org
 500 http://ftp.be.debian.org/debian testing/main amd64 Packages
     release o=Debian,a=testing,n=buster,l=Debian,c=main,b=amd64
     origin ftp.be.debian.org
Pinned packages: