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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0//EN"> <html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>The Debian GNU/Linux FAQ - Choosing a Debian distribution</title> <link href="index.en.html" rel="start"> <link href="ch-getting.en.html" rel="prev"> <link href="ch-compat.en.html" rel="next"> <link href="index.en.html#contents" rel="contents"> <link href="index.en.html#copyright" rel="copyright"> <link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html" rel="chapter" title="1 Definitions and overview"> <link href="ch-getting.en.html" rel="chapter" title="2 Getting and installing Debian GNU/Linux"> <link href="ch-choosing.en.html" rel="chapter" title="3 Choosing a Debian distribution"> <link href="ch-compat.en.html" rel="chapter" title="4 Compatibility issues"> <link href="ch-software.en.html" rel="chapter" title="5 Software available in the Debian system"> <link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html" rel="chapter" title="6 The Debian FTP archives"> <link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html" rel="chapter" title="7 Basics of the Debian package management system"> <link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html" rel="chapter" title="8 The Debian package management tools"> <link href="ch-uptodate.en.html" rel="chapter" title="9 Keeping your Debian system up-to-date"> <link href="ch-kernel.en.html" rel="chapter" title="10 Debian and the kernel"> <link href="ch-customizing.en.html" rel="chapter" title="11 Customizing your Debian GNU/Linux system"> <link href="ch-support.en.html" rel="chapter" title="12 Getting support for Debian GNU/Linux"> <link href="ch-contributing.en.html" rel="chapter" title="13 Contributing to the Debian Project"> <link href="ch-redistrib.en.html" rel="chapter" title="14 Redistributing Debian GNU/Linux in a commercial product"> <link href="ch-nexttime.en.html" rel="chapter" title="15 Changes expected in the next major release of Debian"> <link href="ch-faqinfo.en.html" rel="chapter" title="16 General information about the FAQ"> <link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-whatisfaq" rel="section" title="1.1 What is this FAQ?"> <link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-whatisdebian" rel="section" title="1.2 What is Debian GNU/Linux?"> <link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-linux" rel="section" title="1.3 OK, now I know what Debian is... what is Linux?!"> <link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-non-linux" rel="section" title="1.4 Does Debian just do GNU/Linux?"> <link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-difference" rel="section" title="1.5 What is the difference between Debian GNU/Linux and other Linux distributions? Why should I choose Debian over some other distribution?"> <link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-gnu" rel="section" title="1.6 How does the Debian project fit in or compare with the Free Software Foundation's GNU project?"> <link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-pronunciation" rel="section" title="1.7 How does one pronounce Debian and what does this word mean?"> <link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-version" rel="section" title="2.1 What is the latest version of Debian?"> <link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-updatestable" rel="section" title="2.2 Are there package upgrades in `stable'?"> <link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-inst-disks" rel="section" title="2.3 Where/how can I get the Debian installation images?"> <link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-cdrom" rel="section" title="2.4 How do I install Debian from CD-ROMs?"> <link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-cdimage-symlinks" rel="section" title="2.5 Why does the official stable released CD-ROM contain symlinks for `frozen' and `unstable'? I thought this CD contains just `stable'!"> <link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-remoteinstall" rel="section" title="2.6 Can I get and install Debian directly from a remote Internet site?"> <link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-alternativebootinstaller" rel="section" title="2.7 Are there any alternative strategies for booting the system installer?"> <link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1" rel="section" title="3.1 Which Debian distribution (stable/testing/unstable) is better for me?"> <link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.2" rel="section" title="3.2 But what about Knoppix, Linux Mint Debian Edition, Ubuntu, and others?"> <link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-arches" rel="section" title="4.1 On what hardware architectures/systems does Debian GNU/Linux run?"> <link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-kernels" rel="section" title="4.2 What kernels does Debian GNU/Linux run?"> <link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-otherdistribs" rel="section" title="4.3 How compatible is Debian with other distributions of Linux?"> <link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-otherunices" rel="section" title="4.4 How source code compatible is Debian with other Unix systems?"> <link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-otherpackages" rel="section" title="4.5 Can I use Debian packages (".deb" files) on my Red Hat/Slackware/... Linux system? Can I use Red Hat packages (".rpm" files) on my Debian GNU/Linux system?"> <link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-non-debian-programs" rel="section" title="4.6 How should I install a non-Debian program?"> <link href="ch-software.en.html#s-apps" rel="section" title="5.1 What types of applications and development software are available for Debian GNU/Linux?"> <link href="ch-software.en.html#s-softwareauthors" rel="section" title="5.2 Who wrote all that software?"> <link href="ch-software.en.html#s-pkglist" rel="section" title="5.3 How can I get a current list of programs that have been packaged for Debian?"> <link href="ch-software.en.html#s-buildenv" rel="section" title="5.4 How can I install a developer's environment to build packages?"> <link href="ch-software.en.html#s-missing" rel="section" title="5.5 What is missing from Debian GNU/Linux?"> <link href="ch-software.en.html#s-no-devs" rel="section" title="5.6 Why do I get "ld: cannot find -lfoo" messages when compiling programs? Why aren't there any libfoo.so files in Debian library packages?"> <link href="ch-software.en.html#s-java" rel="section" title="5.7 (How) Does Debian support Java?"> <link href="ch-software.en.html#s-isitdebian" rel="section" title="5.8 How can I check that I am using a Debian system, and what version it is?"> <link href="ch-software.en.html#s-nonenglish" rel="section" title="5.9 How does Debian support non-English languages?"> <link href="ch-software.en.html#s-qmail" rel="section" title="5.10 Where is ezmlm/djbdns/qmail?"> <link href="ch-software.en.html#s-flash" rel="section" title="5.11 Where is a player for Flash (SWF)?"> <link href="ch-software.en.html#s-googleearth" rel="section" title="5.12 Where is Google Earth?"> <link href="ch-software.en.html#s-voip" rel="section" title="5.13 Where is VoIP software?"> <link href="ch-software.en.html#s-nonfreewireless" rel="section" title="5.14 I have a wireless network card which doesn't work with Linux. What should I do?"> <link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-dists" rel="section" title="6.1 How many Debian distributions are there?"> <link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-codenames" rel="section" title="6.2 What are all those names like etch, lenny, etc.?"> <link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-sid" rel="section" title="6.3 What about "sid"?"> <link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-stable" rel="section" title="6.4 What does the stable directory contain?"> <link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-testing" rel="section" title="6.5 What does the testing distribution contain?"> <link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-unstable" rel="section" title="6.6 What does the unstable distribution contain?"> <link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-dirtree" rel="section" title="6.7 What are all those directories at the Debian FTP archives?"> <link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-archsections" rel="section" title="6.8 What are all those directories inside dists/stable/main?"> <link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-source" rel="section" title="6.9 Where is the source code?"> <link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-pools" rel="section" title="6.10 What's in the pool directory?"> <link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-incoming" rel="section" title="6.11 What is "incoming"?"> <link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-ownrepository" rel="section" title="6.12 How do I set up my own apt-able repository?"> <link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-package" rel="section" title="7.1 What is a Debian package?"> <link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-deb-format" rel="section" title="7.2 What is the format of a Debian binary package?"> <link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-pkgname" rel="section" title="7.3 Why are Debian package file names so long?"> <link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-controlfile" rel="section" title="7.4 What is a Debian control file?"> <link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-conffile" rel="section" title="7.5 What is a Debian conffile?"> <link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-maintscripts" rel="section" title="7.6 What is a Debian preinst, postinst, prerm, and postrm script?"> <link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-priority" rel="section" title="7.7 What is an Essential, Required, Important, Standard, Optional, or Extra package?"> <link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-virtual" rel="section" title="7.8 What is a Virtual Package?"> <link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-depends" rel="section" title="7.9 What is meant by saying that a package Depends, Recommends, Suggests, Conflicts, Replaces, Breaks or Provides another package?"> <link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-pre-depends" rel="section" title="7.10 What is meant by Pre-Depends?"> <link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-pkgstatus" rel="section" title="7.11 What is meant by unknown, install, remove, purge and hold in the package status?"> <link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-puttingonhold" rel="section" title="7.12 How do I put a package on hold?"> <link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-sourcepkgs" rel="section" title="7.13 How do I install a source package?"> <link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-sourcebuild" rel="section" title="7.14 How do I build binary packages from a source package?"> <link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-creatingdebs" rel="section" title="7.15 How do I create Debian packages myself?"> <link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-pkgprogs" rel="section" title="8.1 What programs does Debian provide for managing its packages?"> <link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-updaterunning" rel="section" title="8.2 Debian claims to be able to update a running program; how is this accomplished?"> <link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-whatpackages" rel="section" title="8.3 How can I tell what packages are already installed on a Debian system?"> <link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-listfiles" rel="section" title="8.4 How do I display the files of an installed package?"> <link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-filesearch" rel="section" title="8.5 How can I find out what package produced a particular file?"> <link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-datapackages" rel="section" title="8.6 Why is `foo-data' not removed when I uninstall `foo'? How do I make sure old unused library-packages get purged?"> <link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-howtocurrent" rel="section" title="9.1 How can I keep my Debian system current?"> <link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-upgradesingle" rel="section" title="9.2 Must I go into single user mode in order to upgrade a package?"> <link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-savedebs" rel="section" title="9.3 Do I have to keep all those .deb archive files on my disk?"> <link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-keepingalog" rel="section" title="9.4 How can I keep a log of the packages I added to the system? I'd like to know when upgrades and removals have occurred and on which packages!"> <link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-autoupdate" rel="section" title="9.5 Can I automatically update the system?"> <link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-aptcacher" rel="section" title="9.6 I have several machines; how can I download the updates only one time?"> <link href="ch-kernel.en.html#s-non-debian-kernel" rel="section" title="10.1 Can I install and compile a kernel without some Debian-specific tweaking?"> <link href="ch-kernel.en.html#s-customkernel" rel="section" title="10.2 What tools does Debian provide to build custom kernels?"> <link href="ch-kernel.en.html#s-modules" rel="section" title="10.3 What special provisions does Debian provide to deal with modules?"> <link href="ch-kernel.en.html#s-removeoldkernel" rel="section" title="10.4 Can I safely de-install an old kernel package, and if so, how?"> <link href="ch-kernel.en.html#s-moreinfo" rel="section" title="10.5 Where can I get more information about Linux packages for Debian?"> <link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-papersize" rel="section" title="11.1 How can I ensure that all programs use the same paper size?"> <link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-hardwareaccess" rel="section" title="11.2 How can I provide access to hardware peripherals, without compromising security?"> <link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-consolefont" rel="section" title="11.3 How do I load a console font on startup the Debian way?"> <link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-appdefaults" rel="section" title="11.4 How can I configure an X11 program's application defaults?"> <link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-booting" rel="section" title="11.5 How does a Debian system boot?"> <link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-sysvinit" rel="section" title="11.6 And how about Debian and traditional System V init?"> <link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-altboot" rel="section" title="11.7 And are there yet other ways of booting a Debian system?"> <link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-interconffiles" rel="section" title="11.8 How does the package management system deal with packages that contain configuration files for other packages?"> <link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-divert" rel="section" title="11.9 How do I override a file installed by a package, so that a different version can be used instead?"> <link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-localpackages" rel="section" title="11.10 How can I have my locally-built package included in the list of available packages that the package management system knows about?"> <link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-diverse" rel="section" title="11.11 Some users like mawk, others like gawk; some like vim, others like elvis; some like trn, others like tin; how does Debian support diversity?"> <link href="ch-support.en.html#s-debiandocs" rel="section" title="12.1 What other documentation exists on and for a Debian system?"> <link href="ch-support.en.html#s-onlineresources" rel="section" title="12.2 Are there any on-line resources for discussing Debian?"> <link href="ch-support.en.html#s-searchtools" rel="section" title="12.3 Is there a quick way to search for information on Debian GNU/Linux?"> <link href="ch-support.en.html#s-buglogs" rel="section" title="12.4 Are there logs of known bugs?"> <link href="ch-support.en.html#s-bugreport" rel="section" title="12.5 How do I report a bug in Debian?"> <link href="ch-contributing.en.html#s-contrib" rel="section" title="13.1 How can I become a Debian member/Debian developer?"> <link href="ch-contributing.en.html#s-contribresources" rel="section" title="13.2 How can I contribute resources to the Debian project?"> <link href="ch-contributing.en.html#s-supportingorganizations" rel="section" title="13.3 How can I contribute financially to the Debian project?"> <link href="ch-redistrib.en.html#s-sellcds" rel="section" title="14.1 Can I make and sell Debian CDs?"> <link href="ch-redistrib.en.html#s-packagednonfree" rel="section" title="14.2 Can Debian be packaged with non-free software?"> <link href="ch-redistrib.en.html#s-childistro" rel="section" title="14.3 I am making a special Linux distribution for a "vertical market". Can I use Debian GNU/Linux for the guts of a Linux system and add my own applications on top of it?"> <link href="ch-redistrib.en.html#s-commercialdebs" rel="section" title="14.4 Can I put my commercial program in a Debian "package" so that it installs effortlessly on any Debian system?"> <link href="ch-nexttime.en.html#s-hardening" rel="section" title="15.1 Hardening the system"> <link href="ch-nexttime.en.html#s-i18n" rel="section" title="15.2 Extended support for non-English users"> <link href="ch-nexttime.en.html#s-di" rel="section" title="15.3 Improvements in the Debian Installer"> <link href="ch-nexttime.en.html#s-morearches" rel="section" title="15.4 More architectures"> <link href="ch-nexttime.en.html#s-morekernels" rel="section" title="15.5 More kernels"> <link href="ch-faqinfo.en.html#s-authors" rel="section" title="16.1 Authors"> <link href="ch-faqinfo.en.html#s-feedback" rel="section" title="16.2 Feedback"> <link href="ch-faqinfo.en.html#s-latest" rel="section" title="16.3 Availability"> <link href="ch-faqinfo.en.html#s-docformat" rel="section" title="16.4 Document format"> <link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.1" rel="subsection" title="3.1.1 You asked me to install stable, but in stable so and so hardware is not detected/working. What should I do?"> <link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.2" rel="subsection" title="3.1.2 Will there be different versions of packages in different distributions?"> <link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.3" rel="subsection" title="3.1.3 The stable distributions really contains outdated packages. Just look at Kde, Gnome, Xorg or even the kernel. They are very old. Why is it so?"> <link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.4" rel="subsection" title="3.1.4 If I were to decide to change to another distribution, can I do that?"> <link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.5" rel="subsection" title="3.1.5 Could you tell me whether to install stable, testing or unstable?"> <link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.6" rel="subsection" title="3.1.6 You are talking about testing being broken. What do you mean by that?"> <link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.7" rel="subsection" title="3.1.7 Why is it that testing could be broken for months? Won't the fixes introduced in unstable flow directly down into testing?"> <link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.8" rel="subsection" title="3.1.8 From an administrator's point of view, which distribution requires more attention?"> <link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.9" rel="subsection" title="3.1.9 What happens when a new release is made?"> <link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.10" rel="subsection" title="3.1.10 I have a working Desktop/cluster with Debian installed. How do I know which distribution I am running?"> <link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.11" rel="subsection" title="3.1.11 I am currently tracking stable. Can I change to testing or unstable? If so, how?"> <link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.12" rel="subsection" title="3.1.12 I am currently tracking testing (buster). What will happen when a release is made? Will I still be tracking testing or will my machine be running the new stable distribution?"> <link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.13" rel="subsection" title="3.1.13 I am still confused. What did you say I should install?"> <link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.2.1" rel="subsection" title="3.2.1 I know that Knoppix/Linux Mint Debian Edition/Ubuntu/... is Debian-based. So after installing it on the hard disk, can I use 'apt' package tools on it?"> <link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.2.2" rel="subsection" title="3.2.2 I installed Knoppix/Linux Mint Debian Edition/Ubuntu/... on my hard disk. Now I have a problem. What should I do?"> <link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.2.3" rel="subsection" title="3.2.3 I'm using Knoppix/LMDE/Ubuntu/... and now I want to use Debian. How do I migrate?"> <link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-oldcodenames" rel="subsection" title="6.2.1 Which other codenames have been used in the past?"> <link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-sourceforcodenames" rel="subsection" title="6.2.2 Where do these codenames come from?"> <link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-frozen" rel="subsection" title="6.5.1 What about "testing"? How is it `frozen'?"> <link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-dpkg" rel="subsection" title="8.1.1 dpkg"> <link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-apt-get" rel="subsection" title="8.1.2 APT"> <link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-aptitude" rel="subsection" title="8.1.3 aptitude"> <link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-synaptic" rel="subsection" title="8.1.4 synaptic"> <link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-tasksel" rel="subsection" title="8.1.5 tasksel"> <link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-dpkg-extra" rel="subsection" title="8.1.6 Other package management tools"> <link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-dpkg-deb" rel="subsection" title="8.1.6.1 dpkg-deb"> <link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-aptitude-upgrade" rel="subsection" title="9.1.1 aptitude"> <link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-apt" rel="subsection" title="9.1.2 apt-get and apt-cdrom"> <link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-mirror" rel="subsection" title="9.1.3 mirror"> <link href="ch-support.en.html#s12.2.1" rel="subsection" title="12.2.1 Mailing lists"> <link href="ch-support.en.html#s-mailinglistconduct" rel="subsection" title="12.2.1.1 What is the code of conduct for the mailing lists?"> <link href="ch-support.en.html#s12.2.2" rel="subsection" title="12.2.2 Web forums"> <link href="ch-support.en.html#s12.2.3" rel="subsection" title="12.2.3 Wiki"> <link href="ch-support.en.html#s12.2.4" rel="subsection" title="12.2.4 Maintainers"> <link href="ch-support.en.html#s12.2.5" rel="subsection" title="12.2.5 Usenet newsgroups"> <link href="ch-contributing.en.html#s-SPI" rel="subsection" title="13.3.1 Software in the Public Interest"> <link href="ch-contributing.en.html#s-TrustedOrgs" rel="subsection" title="13.3.2 Other organizations"> </head> <body> <p><a name="ch-choosing"></a></p> <hr> <p> [ <a href="ch-getting.en.html">previous</a> ] [ <a href="index.en.html#contents">Contents</a> ] [ <a href="ch-basic_defs.en.html">1</a> ] [ <a href="ch-getting.en.html">2</a> ] [ 3 ] [ <a href="ch-compat.en.html">4</a> ] [ <a href="ch-software.en.html">5</a> ] [ <a href="ch-ftparchives.en.html">6</a> ] [ <a href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html">7</a> ] [ <a href="ch-pkgtools.en.html">8</a> ] [ <a href="ch-uptodate.en.html">9</a> ] [ <a href="ch-kernel.en.html">10</a> ] [ <a href="ch-customizing.en.html">11</a> ] [ <a href="ch-support.en.html">12</a> ] [ <a href="ch-contributing.en.html">13</a> ] [ <a href="ch-redistrib.en.html">14</a> ] [ <a href="ch-nexttime.en.html">15</a> ] [ <a href="ch-faqinfo.en.html">16</a> ] [ <a href="ch-compat.en.html">next</a> ] </p> <hr> <h1> The Debian GNU/Linux FAQ <br>Chapter 3 - Choosing a Debian distribution </h1> <hr> <p> There are many different Debian distributions. Choosing the proper Debian distribution is an important decision. This section covers some information useful for users that want to make the choice best suited for their system and also answers possible questions that might be arising during the process. It does not deal with "why you should choose Debian" but rather "which distribution of Debian". </p> <p> For more information on the available distributions read <a href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-dists">How many Debian distributions are there?, Section 6.1</a>. </p> <hr> <h2 id="s3.1">3.1 Which Debian distribution (stable/testing/unstable) is better for me?</h2> <p> The answer is a bit complicated. It really depends on what you intend to do. One solution would be to ask a friend who runs Debian. But that does not mean that you cannot make an independent decision. In fact, you should be able to decide once you complete reading this chapter. </p> <ul> <li> <p> If security or stability are at all important for you: install stable. period. This is the most preferred way. </p> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <p> If you are a new user installing to a desktop machine, start with stable. Some of the software is quite old, but it's the least buggy environment to work in. You can easily switch to the more modern unstable (or testing) once you are a little more confident. </p> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <p> If you are a desktop user with a lot of experience in the operating system and do not mind facing the odd bug now and then, or even full system breakage, use unstable. It has all the latest and greatest software, and bugs are usually fixed swiftly. </p> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <p> If you are running a server, especially one that has strong stability requirements or is exposed to the Internet, install stable. This is by far the strongest and safest choice. </p> </li> </ul> <p> The following questions (hopefully) provide more detail on these choices. After reading this whole FAQ, if you still could not make a decision, stick with the stable distribution. </p> <hr> <h3 id="s3.1.1">3.1.1 You asked me to install stable, but in stable so and so hardware is not detected/working. What should I do?</h3> <p> 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. </p> <p> For laptops, <code><a href="http://www.linux-on-laptops.com/">http://www.linux-on-laptops.com/</a></code> 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. </p> <p> 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 <code><a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-user/">http://lists.debian.org/debian-user/</a></code>. 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 <code><a href="http://www.debian.org/support">irc</a></code>. The mailing-list messages are archived, so the solution to your problem can help others with the same issue. </p> <hr> <h3 id="s3.1.2">3.1.2 Will there be different versions of packages in different distributions?</h3> <p> Yes. Unstable has the most recent (latest) versions. But the packages in unstable are not well tested and might have bugs. </p> <p> On the other hand, stable contains old versions of packages. But this package is well tested and is less likely to have any bugs. </p> <p> The packages in testing fall between these two extremes. </p> <hr> <h3 id="s3.1.3">3.1.3 The stable distributions really contains outdated packages. Just look at Kde, Gnome, Xorg or even the kernel. They are very old. Why is it so?</h3> <p> Well, you might be correct. The age of the packages at stable depends on when the last release was made. Since there is typically over 1 year between releases you might find that stable contains old versions of packages. However, they have been tested in and out. One can confidently say that the packages do not have any known severe bugs, security holes etc., in them. The packages in stable integrate seamlessly with other stable packages. These characteristics are very important for production servers which have to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. </p> <p> On the other hand, packages in testing or unstable can have hidden bugs, security holes etc. Moreover, some packages in testing and unstable might not be working as intended. Usually people working on a single desktop prefer having the latest and most modern set of packages. Unstable is the solution for this group of people. </p> <p> As you can see, stability and novelty are two opposing ends of the spectrum. If stability is required: install stable distribution. If you want to work with the latest packages, then install unstable. </p> <hr> <h3 id="s3.1.4">3.1.4 If I were to decide to change to another distribution, can I do that?</h3> <p> Yes, but it is a one way process. You can go from stable --> testing --> unstable. But the reverse direction is not "possible". So better be sure if you are planning to install/upgrade to unstable. </p> <p> Actually, if you are an expert and if you are willing to spend some time and if you are real careful and if you know what you are doing, then it might be possible to go from unstable to testing and then to stable. The installer scripts are not designed to do that. So in the process, your configuration files might be lost and... </p> <hr> <h3 id="s3.1.5">3.1.5 Could you tell me whether to install stable, testing or unstable?</h3> <p> No. This is a rather subjective issue. There is no perfect answer as it depends on your software needs, your willingness to deal with possible breakage, and your experience in system administration. Here are some tips: </p> <ul> <li> <p> Stable is rock solid. It does not break and has full security support. But it not might have support for the latest hardware. </p> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <p> Testing has more up-to-date software than Stable, and it breaks less often than Unstable. But when it breaks, it might take a long time for things to get rectified. Sometimes this could be days and it could be months at times. It also does not have permanent security support. </p> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <p> Unstable has the latest software and changes a lot. Consequently, it can break at any point. However, fixes get rectified in many occasions in a couple of days and it always has the latest releases of software packaged for Debian. </p> </li> </ul> <p> When deciding between testing and unstable bear in mind that there might be times when tracking testing would be beneficial as opposed to unstable. One of this document's authors experienced such situation due to the gcc transition from gcc3 to gcc4. He was trying to install the <code>labplot</code> package on a machine tracking unstable and it could not be installed in unstable as some of its dependencies have undergone gcc4 transition and some have not. But the package in testing was installable on a testing machine as the gcc4 transitioned packages had not "trickled down" to testing. </p> <hr> <h3 id="s3.1.6">3.1.6 You are talking about testing being broken. What do you mean by that?</h3> <p> Sometimes, a package might not be installable through package management tools. Sometimes, a package might not be available at all, maybe it was (temporarily) removed due to bugs or unmet dependencies. Sometimes, a package installs but does not behave in the proper way. </p> <p> When these things happen, the distribution is said to be broken (at least for this package). </p> <hr> <h3 id="s3.1.7">3.1.7 Why is it that testing could be broken for months? Won't the fixes introduced in unstable flow directly down into testing?</h3> <p> The bug fixes and improvements introduced in the unstable distribution trickle down to testing after a certain number of days. Let's say this threshold is 5 days. The packages in unstable go into testing only when there are no RC-bugs reported against them. If there is a RC-bug filed against a package in unstable, it will not go into testing after the 5 days. </p> <p> The idea is that, if the package has any problems, it would be discovered by people using unstable and will be fixed before it enters testing. This keeps testing in a usable state for most of the time. Overall a brilliant concept, if you ask me. But things aren't always that simple. Consider the following situation: </p> <ul> <li> <p> Imagine you are interested in package XYZ. </p> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <p> Let's assume that on June 10, the version in testing is XYZ-3.6 and in unstable it is XYZ-3.7. </p> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <p> After 5 days, XYZ-3.7 from unstable migrates into testing. </p> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <p> So on June 15, both testing and unstable have XYZ-3.7 in their repositories. </p> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <p> Let's say, the user of testing distribution sees that a new XYZ package is available and updates his XYZ-3.6 to XYZ-3.7. </p> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <p> Now on June 25, someone using testing or unstable discovers an RC bug in XYZ-3.7 and files it in the BTS. </p> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <p> The maintainer of XYZ fixes this bug and uploads it to unstable say on June 30. Here it is assumed that it takes 5 days for the maintainer to fix the bug and upload the new version. The number 5 should not be taken literally. It could be less or more, depending upon the severity of the RC-bug at hand. </p> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <p> This new version in unstable, XYZ-3.8 is scheduled to enter testing on July 5th. </p> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <p> But on July 3rd some other person discovers another RC-bug in XYZ-3.8. </p> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <p> Let's say the maintainer of XYZ fixes this new RC-bug and uploads new version of XYZ after 5 days. </p> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <p> So on July 8th, testing has XYZ-3.7 while unstable has XYZ-3.9. </p> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <p> This new version XYZ-3.9 is now rescheduled to enter testing on July 13th. </p> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <p> Now since you are running testing, and since XYZ-3.7 is buggy, you could probably use XYZ only after July 13th. That is you essentially ended up with a broken XYZ for about one month. </p> </li> </ul> <p> The situation can get much more complicated, if say, XYZ depends on 4 other packages. This could in turn lead to an unusable testing distribution for months. While the scenario above is immaginary, similar things can occur in real life, though they are rare. </p> <hr> <h3 id="s3.1.8">3.1.8 From an administrator's point of view, which distribution requires more attention?</h3> <p> One of the main reasons why many people choose Debian over other Linux distributions is that it requires very little administration. People want a system that just works. In general one can say that stable requires very little maintenance, while testing and unstable require constant maintenance from the administrator. If you are running stable, all you need to worry about is keeping track of security updates. If you are running either testing or unstable it is a good idea to be aware of the new bugs discovered in the installed packages, new bugfixes/features introduced etc. </p> <hr> <h3 id="s3.1.9">3.1.9 What happens when a new release is made?</h3> <p> This question will not help you in choosing a Debian distribution. But sooner or later you will face this question. </p> <p> The stable distribution is currently stretch; The next stable distribution will be called buster. Let's consider the particular case of what happens when buster is released as the new stable version. </p> <ul> <li> <p> oldstable = jessie; stable = stretch; testing = buster; unstable = sid </p> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <p> Unstable is always referred to as sid irrespective of whether a release is made or not. </p> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <p> Packages constantly migrate from sid to testing (i.e. buster). But packages in stable (i.e. stretch) remain the same except for security updates. </p> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <p> After some time testing becomes frozen. But it will still be called testing. At this point no new packages from unstable can migrate to testing unless they include release-critical (RC) bug fixes. </p> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <p> When testing is frozen, all the new bugfixes introduced have to be manually checked by the members of the release team. This is done to ensure that there won't be any unknown severe problems in the frozen testing. </p> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <p> RC bugs in 'frozen testing' are reduced to either zero or, if greater than zero, the bugs are either marked as ignored for the release or are deferred for a point release. </p> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <p> The 'frozen testing' with no rc-bugs will be released as the new stable version. In our example, this new stable release will be called buster. </p> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <p> At this stage oldstable = stretch, stable = buster. The contents of stable and 'frozen testing' are same at this point. </p> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <p> A new testing is based on the old testing. </p> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <p> Packages start coming down from sid to testing and the Debian community will be working towards making the next stable release. </p> </li> </ul> <hr> <h3 id="s3.1.10">3.1.10 I have a working Desktop/cluster with Debian installed. How do I know which distribution I am running?</h3> <p> In most situations it is very easy to figure this out. Take a look at the <code>/etc/apt/sources.list</code> file. There will be an entry similar to this: </p> <pre> deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ unstable main contrib </pre> <p> The third field ('unstable' in the above example) indicates the Debian distribution the system is currently tracking. </p> <p> You can also use <code>lsb_release</code> (available in the <code>lsb-release</code> package). If you run this program in an unstable system you will get: </p> <pre> $ lsb_release -a LSB Version: core-2.0-noarch:core-3.0-noarch:core-3.1-noarch:core-2.0-ia32:core-3.0-ia32:core-3.1-ia32 Distributor ID: Debian Description: Debian GNU/Linux unstable (sid) Release: unstable Codename: sid </pre> <p> However, this is not always that easy. Some systems might have <code>sources.list</code> files with multiple entries corresponding to different distributions. This could happen if the administrator is tracking different packages from different Debian distributions. This is frequently referred to as apt-pinning. These systems might run a mixture of distributions. </p> <hr> <h3 id="s3.1.11">3.1.11 I am currently tracking stable. Can I change to testing or unstable? If so, how?</h3> <p> If you are currently running stable, then in the <code>/etc/apt/sources.list</code> file the third field will be either 'stretch' or 'stable'. You need to change this to the distribution you want to run. If you want to run testing, then change the third field of <code>/etc/apt/sources.list</code> to 'testing'. If you want to run unstable, then change the third field to 'unstable'. </p> <p> Currently testing is called buster. So, if you change the third field of <code>/etc/apt/sources.list</code> to 'buster', then also you will be running testing. But even when buster becomes stable, you will still be tracking buster. </p> <p> Unstable is always called Sid. So if you change the third field of <code>/etc/apt/sources.list</code> to 'sid', then you will be tracking unstable. </p> <p> Currently Debian offers security updates for testing but not for unstable, as fixes in unstable are directly made to the main archive. So if you are running unstable make sure that you remove the lines relating to security updates in <code>/etc/apt/sources.list</code>. </p> <p> If there is a release notes document available for the distribution you are upgrading to (even though it has not yet been released) it would be wise to review it, as it might provide information on how you should upgrade to it. </p> <p> Nevertheless, once you make the above changes, you can run <code>aptitude update</code> and then install the packages that you want. Notice that installing a package from a different distribution might automatically upgrade half of your system. If you install individual packages you will end up with a system running mixed distributions. </p> <p> It might be best in some situations to just fully upgrade to the new distribution running <code>apt full-upgrade</code>, <code>aptitude safe-upgrade</code> or <code>aptitude full-upgrade</code>. Read apt's and aptitude's manual pages for more information. </p> <hr> <h3 id="s3.1.12">3.1.12 I am currently tracking testing (buster). What will happen when a release is made? Will I still be tracking testing or will my machine be running the new stable distribution?</h3> <p> It depends on the entries in the <code>/etc/apt/sources.list</code> file. If you are currently tracking testing, these entries are similar to either: </p> <pre> deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ testing main </pre> <p> or </p> <pre> deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ buster main </pre> <p> If the third field in <code>/etc/apt/sources.list</code> is 'testing' then you will be tracking testing even after a release is made. So after buster is released, you will be running a new Debian distribution which will have a different codename. Changes might not be apparent at first but will be evident as soon as new packages from unstable go over to the testing distribution. </p> <p> But if the third field contains 'buster' then you will be tracking stable (since buster will then be the new stable distribution). </p> <hr> <h3 id="s3.1.13">3.1.13 I am still confused. What did you say I should install?</h3> <p> If unsure, the best bet would be the stable distribution. </p> <hr> <h2 id="s3.2">3.2 But what about Knoppix, Linux Mint Debian Edition, Ubuntu, and others?</h2> <p> They are not Debian; they are <em>Debian based</em>. Though there are many similarities and commonalities between them, there are also crucial differences. </p> <p> All these distributions have their own merits and are suited to some specific set of users. For more information, read <code><a href="http://www.debian.org/misc/children-distros">Software distributions based on Debian</a></code> available at the Debian website. </p> <hr> <h3 id="s3.2.1">3.2.1 I know that Knoppix/Linux Mint Debian Edition/Ubuntu/... is Debian-based. So after installing it on the hard disk, can I use 'apt' package tools on it?</h3> <p> These distributions are Debian based. But they are not Debian. You will be still able to use apt package tools by pointing the <code>/etc/apt/sources.list</code> file to these distributions' repositories. But then you are not running Debian, you are running a different distribution. They are not the same. </p> <p> In most situations if you stick with one distribution you should use that and not mix packages from other distributions. Many common breakages arise due to people running a distribution and trying to install Debian packages from other distributions. The fact that they use the same formatting and name (.deb), does not make them immediately compatible. </p> <p> For example, Knoppix is a Linux distribution designed to be booted as a live CD whereas Debian is designed to be installed on the hard-disk. Knoppix is great if you want to know whether a particular piece of hardware works, or if you want to experience how a GNU/Linux system 'feels' etc., Knoppix is good for demonstration purposes while Debian is designed to run 24/7. Moreover the number of packages available, the number of architectures supported by Debian are far more than that of Knoppix. </p> <p> If you want Debian, it is best to install Debian from the get-go. Although it is possible to install Debian through other distributions, such as Knoppix, the procedure calls for expertise. If you are reading this FAQ, I would assume that you are new to both Debian and Knoppix. In that case, save yourself a lot of trouble later and install Debian right at the beginning. </p> <hr> <h3 id="s3.2.2">3.2.2 I installed Knoppix/Linux Mint Debian Edition/Ubuntu/... on my hard disk. Now I have a problem. What should I do?</h3> <p> You are advised not to use the Debian forums (either mailing lists or IRC) for help as people there may base their suggestions on the assumption that you are running a Debian system. These "fixes" might not be suited to what you are running, and might even make your problem worse. </p> <p> Use the forums of the specific distribution you are using first. If you do not get help or the help you get does not fix your problem you might want to try asking in Debian forums, but keep the advice of the previous paragraph in mind. </p> <hr> <h3 id="s3.2.3">3.2.3 I'm using Knoppix/LMDE/Ubuntu/... and now I want to use Debian. How do I migrate?</h3> <p> Consider the change from a Debian-based distribution to Debian just like a change from one operating system to another one. You should make a backup of all your data and reinstall the operating system from scratch. You should not attempt to "upgrade" to Debian using the package management tools as you might end up with an unusable system. </p> <p> If all your user data (i.e. your <code>/home</code>) is under a separate partition migrating to Debian is actually quite simple, you just have to tell the installation system to mount (but not reformat) that partition when reinstalling. Making backups of your data, as well as your previous system's configuration (i.e. <code>/etc/</code> and, maybe, <code>/var/</code>) is still encouraged. </p> <hr> <p> [ <a href="ch-getting.en.html">previous</a> ] [ <a href="index.en.html#contents">Contents</a> ] [ <a href="ch-basic_defs.en.html">1</a> ] [ <a href="ch-getting.en.html">2</a> ] [ 3 ] [ <a href="ch-compat.en.html">4</a> ] [ <a href="ch-software.en.html">5</a> ] [ <a href="ch-ftparchives.en.html">6</a> ] [ <a href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html">7</a> ] [ <a href="ch-pkgtools.en.html">8</a> ] [ <a href="ch-uptodate.en.html">9</a> ] [ <a href="ch-kernel.en.html">10</a> ] [ <a href="ch-customizing.en.html">11</a> ] [ <a href="ch-support.en.html">12</a> ] [ <a href="ch-contributing.en.html">13</a> ] [ <a href="ch-redistrib.en.html">14</a> ] [ <a href="ch-nexttime.en.html">15</a> ] [ <a href="ch-faqinfo.en.html">16</a> ] [ <a href="ch-compat.en.html">next</a> ] </p> <hr> <p> The Debian GNU/Linux FAQ </p> <address> version 9.0, 17 November 2018<br> <br> Authors are listed at <a href="ch-faqinfo.en.html#s-authors">Debian FAQ Authors</a><br> <br> </address> <hr> </body> </html>
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