After installing Debian

[Skybear]

I just installed Debian and found a video called “10 Things to do After Installing Debian 13."

Already I’m seeing how it is both different and similar from Mint and Ubuntu. I found it interesting, though, that I had to give myself sudo privileges.

The Debian installer allowed me to simultaneously install different DEs. I just installed it yesterday so I’ve yet to learn how to navigate between them.

 

[gvisoc]

If that video (or any other one) tells you to add random repositories from ubuntu, PPAs, Debian Testing or Mint, etc., do not do it.

Or do it, but read this first: https://wiki.debian.org/DontBreakDebian/

And this applies to all and any other Debian derivatives.

 

[kc1di]

Yes the sudo thing is one of Debian quirks But glad you got it going. Enjoy!

 

[Skybear]

If that video (or any other one) tells you to add random repositories from ubuntu, PPAs, Debian Testing or Mint, etc., do not do it.

Or do it, but read this first: https://wiki.debian.org/DontBreakDebian/

And this applies to all and any other Debian derivatives.

I don’t think I did anything like that. There were some parts of the video I didn’t feel comfortable following.

I appreciate your warning. I posted the video because I knew the people here would see things that I, as a beginner, wouild miss.

 

[CaffeineAddict]

I suggest you explore debian on your own and with the help of debian wiki, wiki is great place to learn, beside wiki there are administrators handbook and others.

 

[NicWelds]

The best 10 things to do after installing a new Linux distro is wherever 10 things you were doing on your previous operating system.

 

[craigevil]

https://debian-beginners-handbook.arpinux.org/index-en.html is a good place to start
followed by Debian Developer's Reference
then https://wiki.debian.org/

 

[Rocketing-warp9]

As For switching DE's around, There should be A Session switcher on the lock/Logon screen In order to switch.
For example, GDM, (Gnome's Logon screen) Has it in the bottom Right. on KDE plasma (SDDM) It should be on the bottom left.
It usually depends on what you have installed on your system. Different combinations might have different results.
If I may ask, What DE's did you install during setup?

Also- as a Side-note, There might be some incompatibility between different desktops that can cause some things to break.
For example, I was playing around with a Plasma-Budgie Mix on Asahi On my Mac, and Budgie has some quirks when you have both on the system at once.

Just be careful, as some combos might break stuff.
Hope this helps!

 

[gvisoc]

I posted the video because I knew the people here would see things that I, as a beginner, wouild miss.

And it is a good post. I am adding my pinch of salt because you wouldn't believe how many times I broke Debian in all these years...

 

[Skybear]

I suggest you explore debian on your own and with the help of debian wiki, wiki is great place to learn, beside wiki there are administrators handbook and others.

Thanks! I also created an account and saved it as a favourite.

 

[Skybear]

And it is a good post. I am adding my pinch of salt because you wouldn't believe how many times I broke Debian in all these years...

I decided to reinstall Debian just to to make sure I didn’t do anything wrong. No biggie. That way I know I’m starting with a clean slate.

 

[wizardfromoz]

...you wouldn't believe how many times I broke Debian in all these years...

I would, Gabe...I have probably done it one more time, lol.

That being said, I have one of the Debian and Debian-based distros in my stable which has as its Terminal prompt

chris@BusterBullseyeBookworm-Trixie-KDE-WD:~$

That is a reflection on its history on my rig, whereby I started with Buster, and have upgraded in situ through to Trixie.

Hard to get more stable than that?

 

[gvisoc]

I am thinking on moving back to Debian my laptop. While Fedora is great for gaming and some fringe cases, its rate of upgrades is a bit overwhelming.

 

[Skybear]

So I downloaded the Debian .iso. But then I remembered that I need to verify the download. Yes, I had forgotten to do that when I downloaded Debian before because I’m still not used to needing to do that. But live and learn.

So, I downloaded:
1) debian-13.6.0-amd64-netinst.iso
2) SHA512SUMS.txt
3) SHA512SUMS.sign.

But I can’t remember what to do now.

 

[wizardfromoz]

sha256sum debian-13.6.0-amd64-netinst.iso

should do the trick, then compare.

Nite all, nite John Boy

 

[ron.alan]

sha256sum debian-13.6.0-amd64-netinst.iso

He got the 512 sum. @Skybear change 256 to 512

 

[Skybear]

Okay, i’ve got the three files. What do I do with them? Sorry, but you’re going to have to be explicit here. lol.

 

[CaffeineAddict]

Okay, i’ve got the three files. What do I do with them? Sorry, but you’re going to have to be explicit here. lol.

Here is procedure from my notes:

# Verify downloaded debian ISO integrity

Procedure to verify authenticity of downloaded Debian ISO image

## Table of Contents

- [Verify downloaded debian ISO integrity](#verify-downloaded-debian-iso-integrity)
  - [Table of Contents](#table-of-contents)
  - [Download debian and checksums](#download-debian-and-checksums)
  - [Verify checksum](#verify-checksum)
  - [Verify authenticity of checksums](#verify-authenticity-of-checksums)
    - [The list of public keys to download](#the-list-of-public-keys-to-download)
    - [Download public key(s) used to sign cheksums](#download-public-keys-used-to-sign-cheksums)
    - [Verify signature of the checksum file](#verify-signature-of-the-checksum-file)
  - [Check the CD-ROM integrity](#check-the-cd-rom-integrity)
  - [Reference](#reference)

## Download debian and checksums

Download debian ISO including checksums for that ISO:

Netinst ISO:

[Debian ISO CD's](https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current/amd64/iso-cd/)

Live ISO:

[Debian ISO hybrid CD's](https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current-live/amd64/iso-hybrid/)

## Verify checksum

Verify checksum of the ISO image is the same as the one in checksums file

```bash
sha512sum -c SHA512SUMS --ignore-missing
```

## Verify authenticity of checksums

Verify the authenticity of the checksum files against public key used to sign the checksum

### The list of public keys to download

On the link below are key ID's, ex: `pub rsa4096/988021A964E6EA7D` and `rsa4096/DA87E80D6294BE9B`

[Verifying authenticity of Debian images](https://www.debian.org/CD/verify)

### Download public key(s) used to sign cheksums

Repeat download for each key that might be relevant

```bash
gpg --keyserver keyring.debian.org --recv 988021A964E6EA7D
gpg --keyserver keyring.debian.org --recv DA87E80D6294BE9B
```

### Verify signature of the checksum file

```bash
gpg --verify SHA512SUMS.sign
```

If you get an error such as:
`gpg: BAD signature from "Debian CD signing key <[email protected]>"`</br>
then this means you need to download checksum files not by copy\pasting their values into text
editor but rather download checksum files themself!

## Check the CD-ROM integrity

Once the installation media is booted from, use option which says `Check the CD-ROM integrity`