[SOLVED]Any way to "sidegrade" to Mint Debian?

[JayMad4]

I have a problem.

Running Mint 12 64-bit right now, and enjoying it. I'd like to give Mint Debian XFCE a try but I do not have a DVD Burner (only CD-r) in my machine..and on top of that, I think I am out of rewritable CDs for the moment. bleh.

Anyhow, is there any feasible way to make this switch, without the use of a LiveCD? Can I do this with a thumbdrive maybe?

or maybe even (ideally) a way to make the switch from within my current install using the terminal?

I'm willing to try whatever right now, I have a LiveCD for Mint12, so I can always go back to it for now, if I need to.

[tdockery97]

Unfortunately you can't "side-grade". But you can use a thumbdrive (USB stick) to put your downloaded LMDE Xfce iso onto. I think the best program to use for that is UNetbootin. Once installed, you can just open it up and select your already downloaded iso to burn to your USB stick, just like you would to a DVD.

[JayMad4]

I see. thanks! guess I gotta go find that spare thumbdrive i got around here somewhere.

anything I should know about Mint Debian before I get started? Is there a newbie guide somewhere? I am only used to Ubuntu and Ubuntu derivatives. never used any Linux that was not a part of the Ubuntu family or built on top of Ubuntu.

whats the big difference?

[tdockery97]

LMDE requires a little more attention to keep running properly than the Ubuntu based versions. The big plus is that it is a bit lighter on the resources and runs faster for many people. Reading through the LMDE section of the forums will be very helpful.

[JayMad4]

If I switch to LMDE, will I still have access to the same types of programs that I do with Mint 12?

or are the repositories vastly different? and assuming that I will still be able to install .deb files, since it is based on debian, yes?

[kbkatz1]

If I switch to LMDE, will I still have access to the same types of programs that I do with Mint 12?
or are the repositories vastly different? and assuming that I will still be able to install .deb files, since it is based on debian, yes?

You will be able to access many of the same programs with LMDE as you would with Mint 12, but you must remember LMDE is not Ubuntu based like Mint 12. Yes you will still be able to install .deb files with gdebi.

[spandey]

You can go thru this guide http://livelinux.altervista.org/Guida_L ... ex_en.html

[JayMad4]

Just to provide an update here.

I manned up and bought a new USB stick, after several unsuccessful attempts at making a LiveDVD.

so now, after trying a few different distros (Ubuntu, Xubuntu, Mint 12, Joli OS), I finally have LMDE 64-Bit XFCE version on my laptop for an extended look.

Having an issue getting DVD Movies to play. Do I need to install Codecs first, or does LMDE come with them? if the former, how and where do I find them? I am in somewhat new territory now, because every other experience with Linux has been on Ubuntu-based distros, and I'm still fuzzy about how to work Debian.

also, I understand that PPAs don't really work with Debian, is there some other version of third-party repositories for programs not found/outdated in the official LMDE repos?

Lastly, if I remove/replace certain programs, like say, replacing Banshee with Clementine, or removing one of the extra movie players(they seem redundant with VLC), will it break the Distro like some programs do in Ubuntu?

thanks!

[spandey]

LMDE comes with codes installed. Just pop-in your DVD and try different players and report any errors!!

[jeffreyC]

As for sources of packages for Debian there is a very large list here;

http://sites.google.com/site/mydebiansourceslist

You do need to be aware that some packages pull in enormous amounts of dependencies, and KDE programs are among those (but if you are running KDE then Gnome would be like that too)
There are fewer programs which will break everything if removed in Debian than with Ubuntu.