Question (Debian 11 "bullseye")

[Fymgee]

Hello world!

I have a question regarding debian

I have read that the LTS support for Debian 11 "bullseye" will end on August 2026, so I would like to play with it until the official extended-support ends.

But I can't find an official .iso file from the debian's official website (cuz it only shows you the latest release -- debian 13 trixie, that is --)

I googled the .iso file and came across a website [ https://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/archive/11.11.0/amd64/iso-cd/ ] that looks like it's from debian official repositories but I'm worried if I download it and flash it into my pendrive to then install it on my computer it will ruin it because it might be a .iso netinstall file but with a virus on it (cuz it's unofficial or a pirated version of debian) and I know this thing is free but since it's not that easy to access previous releases of this linux distro I'm suspicious about this, what do you guys think about this? Can I trust this source?

And also I'm not sure if I understand the meaning of "amd64" correctly but my computer is a 'Dell Latitude E5430' w/ i5-3320M , 16GB RAM, 128 SSD, ... and I'm not sure if it will work on my machine.

What does amd64 stands for? will it work on my x86 laptop? Or should I download a different version/type/architecture of this Debian os?

 

[kc1di]

You can get the official .iso from here:

Index of /images/archive/11.11.0/amd64/iso-cd

only the net install iso's are available

 

[deb_user]

The debian.org site is the official site, and if you download from there, it will be clean. If you have doubts, you can verify the hash.

 

[Condobloke]

looking at @kc1di's post above..... Debian dont exactly set things up so the download link can be clearly seen..... no baby steps.

I downloaded : debian-11.11.0-amd64-netinst.iso
which is only a 408.9 MB download. (most iso's I download are between 2 and 3 GB)

I used Linux Mint's 'make bootable usb drive' to 'burn' it to a usb stick

That worked just fine.

The screen I ended up at shows : graphical installation...... I can only assume that this installs directly to the main drive (or is there a choice later? ) and the graphical install wipes whatever is on the drive ?? ......No 'live' install that can be played with, tested out etc etc, and then wiped if it is not what the user wants?

Anybody experienced with Debian care to fill in the gaps ?

 

[osprey]

looking at @kc1di's post above..... Debian dont exactly set things up so the download link can be clearly seen..... no baby steps.

I downloaded : debian-11.11.0-amd64-netinst.iso
which is only a 408.9 MB download. (most iso's I download are between 2 and 3 GB)

I used Linux Mint's 'make bootable usb drive' to 'burn' it to a usb stick

That worked just fine.

The screen I ended up at shows : graphical installation...... I can only assume that this installs directly to the main drive (or is there a choice later? ) and the graphical install wipes whatever is on the drive ?? ......No 'live' install that can be played with, tested out etc etc, and then wiped if it is not what the user wants?

Anybody experienced with Debian care to fill in the gaps ?

There is an archive which includes older live disks here: https://cdimage.debian.org/mirror/cdimage/archive/.

The debian documentation, archives and general information are not all very easily accessed in an orderly and coherent way, as you are suggesting. It's an issue that is known about and has been around for quite a while. I'm not up on the latest on how it's being attended to, but there is movement on the issue I see hinted at from time to time. There is a debian-doc mailing list here: https://lists.debian.org/debian-doc/, that is probably the most appropriate forum for dealing with "Debian Document Project", but it appears that it will take some time for a more user friendly situation to occur. Meanwhile, like a lot of other users, I often use search engines looking for things on the debian wiki if I'm not already familiar with the available pages I'd like to access.

 

[deb_user]

Debian provides live, full install DVD, and netinstall images for current versions. You pays your money and takes your choice. The netinstall version will fit on a CD, or even a 500MB flash drive. That's important to some people. It holds only the bare essentials for installation, and downloads the packages from the internet, that's why it's called a netinstall. There is no possibility of doing anything but installing to a drive, but it can be any drive the computer can access, internal or external. It has a full installer, just like the other versions, no different. The full installation DVD version has all the default packages included, so there is no need for internet access for installation, but it's just an installer for those who are sure they want to install Debian. The live version is just like the live versions from other distros, so you can try before you buy, if you need that. The other versions are for those who just want to install. For older releases, old-old-stable and older, the need to try before installing isn't compelling, and only the netinstall version is still provided. I have no idea why anyone would want to install a version that old, but if they do, the netinstall is what you get. Personally, I keep all three versions on my Ventoy drive, just in case. The need for the live version is very rare, but when it's needed, it's really needed. I don't keep anything older than the current release, though. I also keep the testing .iso on there, because my daily driver is Sid (Unstable). There is no installer for Sid, so I install Testing and immediately upgrade if I have to do a fresh install.

 

[osprey]

For older releases, old-old-stable and older, the need to try before installing isn't compelling, and only the netinstall version is still provided.

The older versions of the debian live disks are available. See the link in post #5 .

 

[Fymgee]

...you can verify the hash.

I apologize for my ignorance but what's a "hash" and how can I verify it?

 

[Fymgee]

Thank you all so much for your help!!!

 

[deb_user]

I apologize for my ignorance but what's a "hash" and how can I verify it?

From the download page:

How can I verify my download is correct and exactly what has been created by Debian?​

There are files here (SHA512SUMS, etc.) which contain checksums of the images. These checksum files are also signed - see the matching .sign files. Once you've downloaded an image, you can check:

• that its checksum matches that expected from the checksum file; and
• that the checksum file has not been tampered with.

For more information about how to do these steps, read the verification guide.

 

[Fymgee]

From the download page:

Thank you @deb_user

 

[wendy-lebaron]

this is something that keeps occupying my mind this year.

i do have at least one "bookworm" base going on. it's debian with mate desktop. it's from where i was typing this message. i also have spirallinux cinnamon with the same base.

but i don't want to abandon a few others i have. where i access internet only to update. occasionally install a few programs.

i read somewhere about a "freexian" site. where it's possible to download packages for "bullseye". but their instructions on how to modify "sources.list" are somewhat confusing. pretty soon i will have to try this. it's not going to be a regular thing to refer to anyway.

i still have the "big" iso for debian 11.7. installer only without non-free firmware. from there i have had examples for every desktop. except gnome (too inflexible) and cinnamon (ugly). i was forced to leave lxde also. because it didn't work with "desktop" files and other problems. besides debian's lxqt desktop is much better. primarily because it uses xfce's window manager. the best one of them imho. is with xfce desktop. on my computer that could start up even faster than porteu(s|x). even if i have to give my username and password. after this xfce 4.16 i don't like this particular desktop anymore.

alternatively there's still spirallinux. with "bullseye" or "bookworm" base. also there's q4os but that only offers kde or trinity desktops. a short time ago i have acquired the iso for q4os "gemini" 4.11 with kde plasma. because i had lost it. previously i installed it with trinity. wanted to see how it was like.

but sourceforge's servers have disliked my slow internet connection this year. i've tried to get cuerdos with "trixie" base and lxqt desktop from there. but my connection kept being reset after 250mib downloaded. i need to get nearly 3gib for lxqt or xfce version.

 

[Brickwizard]

And also I'm not sure if I understand the meaning of "amd64" correctly but my computer is a 'Dell Latitude E5430' w/ i5-3320M , 16GB RAM, 128 SSD, ... and I'm not sure if it will work on my machine.

your 2012 latitude will run any linux distribution, yoy choose
AM64 is the architecture [coding] developed by AMD for 64 bit CPU's, AMD were first to the mass market with a 64-bit CPU and so it became the international standard that Intel and others use [and have to buy a licence to use from AMD]
X86 is Intel's designation for their chip designs it started in the late 70's with the 8086
So asking what is the difference, is like asking what is the difference between a Ford and a Chevy both have similar components both do the same job.

 

[kc1di]

I used Linux Mint's 'make bootable usb drive' to 'burn' it to a usb stick

That worked just fine.

The screen I ended up at shows : graphical installation...... I can only assume that this installs directly to the main drive (or is there a choice later? ) and the graphical install wipes whatever is on the drive ?? ......No 'live' install that can be played with, tested out etc etc, and then wiped if it is not what the user wants?

Anybody experienced with Debian care to fill in the gaps ?

With the net install iso. you get the screen that gives choices to use the graphics installer or CLI latter on in the install process you get to choose the disc and which Desktop you want install and the install will format the disc you choose it gives several choices about how you want to format the disc. Then you can choose which DE you want installed also. Then it will download what ever your choices are and install them. It works fine have used it many times. Only draw back of the net install iso is that you need a fairly good and fast internet connection. In some areas that is not possible yet. Or they charge you for bandwidth so the full install dvd iso is the one to go with in that situation.

OpenSuSE which I'm using at the moment has similar options for installing.

 

[Fymgee]

your 2012 latitude will run any linux distribution, yoy choose
AM64 is the architecture [coding] developed by AMD for 64 bit CPU's, AMD were first to the mass market with a 64-bit CPU and so it became the international standard that Intel and others use [and have to buy a licence to use from AMD]
X86 is Intel's designation for their chip designs it started in the late 70's with the 8086
So asking what is the difference, is like asking what is the difference between a Ford and a Chevy both have similar components both do the same job.

Thank you very much! @Brickwizard