if you need this howto to help you make the jump into testing or sid you should think twice because, probably, you are not prepared
general warnings:
- if you leave the update-packs, cinnamon might (will) break one day
- if you leave the update-packs nvidia and amd might break anytime
- if you leave the update-packs you should update frequently (daily if possibly)
why should you do it
- update-packs are boring stable
- you want to learn more about your system and how linux works in general
- you think it's fun spending time maintaining your system
- you want the latest&greatest
why shouldn't you do it
- update-packs are rock solid
- you can't afford downtime / that is a production machine
- you hate when something breaks
which one to pick: testing or sid?
- sid is more interesting but a lot more dangerous: you have to realize that it can break badly in the next update
- breakages and bugs are solved a lot faster in sid (sometimes in the same day) than in testing but are more frequent as well
ok if you came this far and are still reading let's start
A- system preparation
1- do a full backup of your system clonezilla is one good option
2- install apt-listbugs
it will save your skin more than once
3- delete the file /etc/apt/preferences
(i still think that this is the safest and easier approach )
B- moving to testing
1- check in the testing breakage topic if there's no problem listed
2- replace all the content of /etc/apt/sources.list with
Code: Select all
deb http://packages.linuxmint.com/ debian main upstream import backport
deb http://ftp.debian.org/debian testing main contrib non-free
deb http://security.debian.org/ testing/updates main contrib non-free
deb http://www.deb-multimedia.org testing main non-free
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sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
once happy and if the plan is sid step 2
C- moving to sid
1- check in the sid's breakage topic if the water is good for the jump
2- replace again all the content of /etc/apt/sources.list with
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deb http://packages.linuxmint.com/ debian main upstream import backport romeo
deb http://ftp.debian.org/debian unstable main contrib non-free
deb http://www.deb-multimedia.org sid main non-free
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sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
D- additional resources
smxi/sgfxi (video drivers script installation)
liquorix kernel (more up-to-date and feature rich debian-compatible kernels)
clonezilla (a backup "lifesaving" app)