Switching to Debian

[Jon229]

I have an old HP computer, Celeron 3.06 (I presume that is Celeron D).
It currently is running openSuse 13.2 Gnome, kernel 3.16.7-53.
openSuse no longer supports this hardware so I am moving to Debian so I can continue to get updates, especially security updates.

I have downloaded debian-9.0.0-i386-DVD-1
I will be using this computer in a garage/workshop, primarily with Firefox and occasional SMB connection to other LAN devices.

When I run the install will I have an option to keep my current user info (from openSuse) or will I need to wipe everything because it's a different distro?

Thanks,

[Wheelerof4te]

Debian is a good choice for old hardware. Just make sure you install it with minimalistic DE, such as XFCE. There is detailed documentation on installation online.
As for your info and data, it would be best to just make backups and wipe the drive clean. Debian is, as you said, a different distro.

[dasein]

When I run the install will I have an option to keep my current user info (from openSuse) or will I need to wipe everything because it's a different distro?

Depends (mostly on what you mean by "user info").

If you mean personal files in /home, then yes, you can keep those, if (and only if) you have /home on a separate partition. But even then, differences in desktop configuration files might or might not make the transition difficult and potentially frustrating. (But I don't run GNOME, so I'm merely speculating about the latter point.)

OTOH, if you mean system config files, then no, and you should thank your lucky stars for that answer. You'll have to reconfigure system services from scratch, but that's a feature, not a bug.

More to the point, I find myself wanting to challenge the premise of your question. You're basically asking if skipping the step where you back up your personal data is optional. And my answer is this: even if it is, why on Earth would you want to do it? The question itself strongly implies that a backup of your personal data is long overdue.

So yeah, I vote for doing the smart thing and proceeding as if the answer is "no," regardless of the Truth.

(Aside: I remember your fondness for OS/2. Just curious to know if you've seen/tried Blue Lion?)

[HuangLao]

As dasein said if your /home is on a separate partition you should be relatively safe, if you notice problems then rename your .config folder to .config_old then logout and back in, that will generate a new .config the first time you open the programs.

BTW, openSUSE 13.2 has been EOL for more than 6 months....

[Jon229]

Great replies from all:
dasein: The computer is in a garage/workshop with minimal use. There is almost nothing in my existing /home, if I lose files then no matter, would rather keep it if option is available. Files are not significant enough to backup. Anything worth saving is already moved to LAN via SMB. I cannot recall if I set up a separate partition for it or not, I will find out shortly.

Good mem on my os/2 usage. I still have one computer actively running eCS, it supports a mail server, previously was my gateway & firewall but I retired that functionality and am using pfSense now. A few years ago I decided to move to linux because I could not see a 64 bit future in os/2 (license issues between IBM & MS) and Firefox is ancient compared what is available in linux distros. I hated to migrate away but simply could not see a future with it. I am especially concerned about keeping up to date with security as I get sucked further into a rabbit hole with IoT devices. I am not too worried about flaws in os/2 kernel, there is probably no one actively looking for vulnerabilities. I was worried about firefox vulnerabilities with out of date versions.

I am aware of ArcaOS but decided not to sink more time & effort into os/2. I also have 2 more older computers in garage/workshop running Warp4 & eCS but they are rarely booted.

Sorry above drifted so far away from Debian topic.

HuangLao: Yes, openSuse EOL for quite some time now. And Leap 42.1 is soon to be EOL also. My 13.2 kernel is 3.16.7-53 and is the reason I will move to Debian 9.0.

Just dug partway into Release Notes and according to script included in section 5.1.7 regarding cpu flags, my old computer passes.
So I'll give it whirl and get a few more years out of it.
Thanks.

[dasein]

Files are not significant enough to backup.

In that case, the answer to your original question is "what difference does it make?"

[alan stone]

Guide to switching distros.