Mint Debian

[mmesantos1]

OK I downloaded LMDE ISO which was uploaded on 09-06-2010 and ran install. All ran as it should. Did updates and no freeze on Mint Update refresh. So for those who were waiting to download LMDE it seems to be ready.

[Oscar799]

Yes - that is the final version - due to be announced shortly

[kwisher]

I have just read the last few pages of this post and was wondering where I can download the iso for LMDE?

TIA

[Oscar799]

I expect there is a mirror much nearer to you than this one which is in Ireland,maybe someone will jump in with details

[url]ftp://ftp.heanet.ie/../mirrors/linuxmint.com/debian/[/url]

[mmesantos1]

I expect there is a mirror much nearer to you than this one which is in Ireland,maybe someone will jump in with details

[url]ftp://ftp.heanet.ie/../mirrors/linuxmint.com/debian/[/url]

I used this same link when I downloaded mine oscar799.

[shayney]

Could I ask, does the newer iso solve the problem I highlighted with adding extra partitions messing up fstab?

[kmb42vt]

This has to be the best Debian based distro I've ever used.

Wow! But how can it be, with all the issues mentioned in this thread?

Excuse me while I ramble a bit.

Ever try #!CrunchBang Linux Statler? Or Debian itself? The point being is that Debian and Distros based strictly on Debian (like #! Statler for example) and not a completely different fork like Ubuntu, which is considered it's own unique distro and not compatible with Debian or it's repos for the most part, are not what you would call "user friendly". "User" meaning Linux newbie who comes into a Linux without clue one. As a comparison, Linux Mint Main Edition and the current CEs simply work "out of the box" on the majority of hardware and even someone new to Linux can handle a "start from scratch" install with limited or no supervision. Try that with Windows.

That being said, the majority of the bugs reported on this thread relate to the 09/04/10 .iso which was known to be buggy and somewhat broken. And the experience became worse if installed in a VM rather than actual hardware. Still, most of the problems reported were known or found within the first few hours of user testing. Sure, it needs a more user friendly way to install hardware drivers, enable compiz, install .debs and such but heck, it ain't even been announced yet.

IMHO, Linux Mint specializes in being the most user friendly distro available and, even though Clem, ikey and the rest might be thinking that they bit off more than they could chew about now , LMDE is going to have to follow suit. If successful in pulling this off, it means that LMDE has the potential to become the first 100% Debian based distro that's absolutely user friendly for the new Linux user while being lean and fast as well. So far, no other 100% Debian based distro can say that and I've tried enough of them.

Okay, I'm done rambling now.

[MALsPa]

If successful in pulling this off, it means that LMDE has the potential to become the first 100% Debian based distro that's absolutely user friendly for the new Linux user while being lean and fast as well. So far, no other 100% Debian based distro can say that and I've tried enough of them.

Seems to me that Mepis can say all that. Maybe LMDE will be more user-friendly, and leaner and faster -- we'll see. It kinda seems like LMDE is gonna be pretty much an alternative to Mepis, except with Mint tools instead of Mepis tools, and based on testing instead of on stable.

[kmb42vt]

If successful in pulling this off, it means that LMDE has the potential to become the first 100% Debian based distro that's absolutely user friendly for the new Linux user while being lean and fast as well. So far, no other 100% Debian based distro can say that and I've tried enough of them.

Seems to me that Mepis can say all that. Maybe LMDE will be more user-friendly, and leaner and faster -- we'll see. It kinda seems like LMDE is gonna be pretty much an alternative to Mepis, except with Mint tools instead of Mepis tools, and based on testing instead of on stable.

Just for the sake of conversation on a lazy holiday afternoon (where I am at least)...

True enough but, and correct me if I'm wrong, leaving the fact that they charge for the "official" edition of Mepis aside (and I realized that you can download testing versions without charge but that's an entirely different matter), there's quite a bit of difference between a distro based on Debian stable and one based on Debian testing and strangely enough, OS stability isn't usually one of them. I've found that Debian testing is ridiculously stable and bug free as compared the average Ubuntu release for example.

Either way, I've found the "argument" of using Debian stable vs Debian testing in any distro or even Debian itself to smack somewhat of the argument of Apples vs Windows. But unlike the latter argument, the different reasons (depending on the user in question) for using either stable or testing are both very valid. There are some very good reasons for wanting an OS where the majority of what makes up the OS never changes for 2 or 3 years and is known for it's rock steady stability. On the other hand, there are also some very good reasons for having an OS that is a bit more on the rolling side, especially when it's based on the "testing" side of things that's also known for it's inherent stability.

What it boils down to is use what you like best. I guess one of the things that makes LMDE so special is that currently the Linux Mint Main edition has been the third most popular Linux distro according to Distrowatch (check the sidebar on the main page) over the past 12 months+. So for better or worse, Clem and crew have their own reputation to live up to and that's quite a reputation indeed.

[anticapitalista]

Just to put the record straight:

MEPIS does NOT charge for an 'official' or otherwise, released or testing iso.

http://www.mepis.org/mirrors

[Steely]

Probably best if the topic remains on LMDE and not comparing it to other distributions. Just to clear up some information in the previous post regarding Mepis and there being a charge for the official version. There is no charge for the official version on cd. There is a dvd version that can be purchased which includes some packages not included with the cd version.

As Clem has stated this release will have some rough edges. What Clem and Ikey are trying to achieve has taken a great deal of work and its still very much a work in progress. I am sure as it matures and more Mint tools designed for it make it into the release it will become more user friendly. I have used a lot of distributions and the ones that have always stood out for me were the ones where the developers took their time and focused on getting the base as stable as possible and Mint has followed that route with lmde.

Linux is about choice and as a community we should be happy that Clem and Ikey have given us yet another choice. Lmde does have a steeper learning curve than the ubuntu based releases but for those that make the effort to learn the rewards are there.

Dale

[anticapitalista]

Just to put the record straight:

MEPIS does NOT charge for an 'official' or otherwise, released or testing iso.

http://www.mepis.org/mirrors

Who said that? Didn't see it.. Hi, btw

kmb42vt did in the post above mine:
"True enough but, and correct me if I'm wrong, leaving the fact that they charge for the "official" edition of Mepis aside (and I realized that you can download testing versions without charge but that's an entirely different matter), there's quite a bit of difference between a distro based on Debian stable and one based on Debian testing and strangely enough, OS stability isn't usually one of them. I've found that Debian testing is ridiculously stable and bug free as compared the average Ubuntu release for example."

Anyhow, back on topic.

Well done to all those involved in creating this Mint Debian Testing. I am sure many users will benefit from it and as previously mentioned, best not to compare with even the Ubuntu Mint. Any distro based on Debian Testing will have its rough edges.

[kmb42vt]

Just to put the record straight:

MEPIS does NOT charge for an 'official' or otherwise, released or testing iso.

http://www.mepis.org/mirrors

Ah, my mistake. I hate it when I miss the obvious. Anyway, just conversin' and all that. Sorry to get off topic.

[craig10x]

I downloaded the new iso that was just posted to the mirror, and burnt a copy to a dvd....I just wanted to try it out on the live dvd...Sorry to have to report that for me it was a no-go...It loaded in fine and everything came up...only one problem...it would not respond to my laptop's touchpad mouse at all...i kept trying to click on things (menu, volume, clock. etc) no response at all...so finally gave up and ejected the disc...I have a very recent computer by the way...it is a just 1 year old Toshiba 17" with AMD 64/Ati graphics..and all distros and versions i have ran or tried in Linux have always worked on it...including all versions of mint...except for this one...

Yes, i did check the md5...yes i did burn at the slowest speed possible...still, no go...
I'm glad to hear that many have been able to install and are running with it...no doubt your input to Clem and Ikey will help eventually "hone" this into a first rate edition which the Mint team will be proud (and then hopefully expand into 64 bits and KDE versions as well)...

But for now, i will just have to sit on the side lines, enjoy the updates and watch it mature...once it is "newbie friendly" and smooth and stable, i will give it another go...And as i have mentioned "upteen" times (lol) i hope kde versions will be offered as well (especially since i got hooked on KDE now thanks to boo's great Mint 9)...

[VRP]

Hmmm. Can't get very far with the live dvd:

Normal boot gets to the desktop and then scrambles when I move the mouse.

'Compatability' mode boots to a flashing cursor. And then scrambles.


I have an Intel G43 graphics chip which I haven't been able to use on any Mint since 8 (same issue).

EDIT - fixed. Pass i915.modeset=0 to normal entry on grub.

[mfdemicco]

I downloaded the new iso and have a few problems:

1. How do you install the nvidia driver? There's no tool in the Control Center.

2. My fonts look terrible in, for example, chromium-browser. This may be related to the above.

3. Update download rate is very slow (may be related to the debian repositories). It's going to take ~ 3 hrs. to download the 264 updates! I have a very fast cable modem connection too.

[kmb42vt]

I downloaded the new iso and have a few problems:

1. How do you install the nvidia driver? There's no tool in the Control Center.

2. My fonts look terrible in, for example, chromium-browser. This may be related to the above.

3. Update download rate is very slow (may be related to the debian repositories). It's going to take ~ 3 hrs. to download the 264 updates! I have a very fast cable modem connection too.

In order:

1. There's no tool as yet for hardware driver installation so you need to add the driver(s) via Synaptic. Updating needs to be completed first as it brings a needed Synaptic upgrade. Once that's done, open the Synaptic package manager and do a quick search for "nvidia". Only 2 Nvidia drivers are available; 173 legacy which I found to be incomplete for some reason and 195. I got the 195 driver installed by installing the following (installing the first couple of items listed will install nearly all rest in the list plus dependencies):

nvidia-kernel-source 195.36.24-4
nvidia-vdpau-driver 195.36.24-4
nvidia-kernel-dkms 195.36.24-4
nvidia-glx 195.36.24-4
nvidia-settings 195.36.24-1 (install separately)
nvidia-xconfig 1.0+20080522-2 (install separately)
nvidia-kernel-common 20100522+1
libvdpau1 0.4-5 (should already be installed but check anyway)
xserver-xorg-video-nv 1:2.1.17-3 (should already be installed but check anyway)

That should be everything you need. Let the packages and dependencies install. It should then build the Nvidia driver module and once completed, reboot. Once you're back up, your display may need to be re-set to the correct resolution via the Nvidia Xserver Settings Manager that you'll find in Administration menu. If, for some reason, you find that there's only one resolution available like 800x600, the Nvidia Xserver Settings Manager should tell you what's missing. I know it told me (it was the nvidia-xconfig package I believe).

And since we're on the subject, you'll probably want to enable Compiz which makes things look a whole lot better, including fonts. Luckily, Compiz is already installed so once you've rebooted and everything looks okay, open the terminal and simply type in: "compiz"

This should enable Compiz. (you're screen might flash a second) You can set your Compiz options via the "Control Center" under CompizConfig Settings Manager. The basics will already be set up for you such as window fading, minimizing animation and wobbly windows.

In order for Compiz to be enabled at boot-up, open Startup Applications in the Control Center, "Add" a new item under the Startup Programs tab and in the Command field, simply type in "compiz". Add a Name and Description, close and you're done.

2. See #1. You might play around with the font settings a bit to get the best font appearance you can. I'm not really sure if Chromium, like Firefox, uses it's own settings to render fonts rather than following system settings.

3. Yup, same here. Wait a bit and it will change.

Sorry if that's too much info. I'm used to writing in-depth tech manuals and I can't seem to break the habit.

[deadguy]

I just wanted to add that if you need the older legacy nvidia driver (I needed the 96.43.18 for example)
there is a great script for that called smxi. you can find out more Here



Cheers,

Deadguy

[cudayne]

As a linux newb. I wanted too see what the hubub was all about.

I downloaded the iso poped it on vertual box an was pretty amazed in how fast the live dvd loaded in vertual box setup with 20 gig hd an 512 ram.

It flew, I been really plaing around with a lot of linux versions due to me an a good friend have been looking too see what versions of linux are out there how they differ an what they do an do not offer for the new user.

Right now him an me are at odds he thinks ubuntu is better I believe mint is far better.

He also tride the debian copy an was impresed with the load time an running of this distribution in a vertual box we cant wait till we get a live version too play with as it will be nice.

[Binx]

I've just downloaded mint debian and tried it live, and it runs great, realy fast and snappy, so my question is, is it ok to dual boot it with mint 9, i have a spare drive on this machine and i dont want to wipe my main system just yet.