Militantly FREE software support.
Militantly FREE software support.
NavigationUser loginSpam?See spam posts on this site? If so, please don't reply to the spam! Instead, just report the URL to the webmaster. |
How to turn a SuSE installation into debianRecommendations please on how to leave SuSE behind. The only thing that's making me think twice is the headache of finding all my data and making sure it doesn't get lost in the process. Bookmark/Search this post with: 
|
• Debian Weekly News - Essential reading for any Debian fan. • Documentation - Debian's own authoritative documentation, including installation docs. • FAQ - Got questions about Debian GNU/Linux? • From Windows to Debian - Tips for converting from Windows to Debian GNU/Linux • Package of the Day. • Security - Security information and alerts! • Bug System - Bug tracking and instructions on reporting bugs. • CD Images - Where/how to get Debian GNU/Linux CD images. • Mailing List Subscription - Dozens of Debian-specific support mailing lists! • Mailing List Archives - Searchable archives of Debian's mailing lists. • Free Software Guidelines - Learn Debian's idea of what "free" software really is. • Package Listings - A very valuable tool: searchable, integrated with bug reports. • Apt-Get Sources - Sources for *.debs which are not official Debian packages. • Backports - Unofficial new software packages that have been "back-ported" to work with the Debian stable/official release. • Developer's Corner - Info about the people behind Debian, policies, and how to package *.deb files.
what needs to change?
Because each distribution uses different kernel patches and does different and strange things to the configuration files and their locations, it is generally not possible to easily switch distributions. The basic things you need to do are:
1. backup your /home/ directories and any configurations which you may need from the /etc/ directories.
2. to attempt a Debian install without overwriting all directories and having to restore your /home/ from backups:
a. boot from a Debian Live CD (like Ubuntu)
b. mount your original /root directory as /target
c. remount /dev to /target/dev, do the same for /proc, and /sys if it exists
d. empty the contents of /target/{etc, var, bin, usr, sbin} and any other system-specific subdirectories in /target
e. use 'debootstrap' or 'cdebootstrap' to install a base Debian system to 'target' -- the Debian Alioth server has instructions on how to do this. I'm on WinDos at the moment so I can't check exactly how.
f. 'chroot /target' should switch your root directory to the one where your new base system is installed. If your live cd is running an appropriate kernel then you should be able to set up the bootloader at this stage and successfully reboot. If the Live CD kernel is not quite compatible with what Debian installed then things are a wee bit trickier but a Grub boot floppy (or boot USB stick) can overcome that problem.
Congratulations!!
About two years ago I also moved from SuSE (used for about three years, two different versions) to Debian 'testing'. I just installed Debian on a separate partition. At the beginning I thought it was just for fun, but after about two weeks (!!) I decided that using Debian was better than continuing with SuSE...
I have now two years of experience and I am very satisfied with Debian 'testing'.
If you keep your 'old' SuSE you can transfer your old stuff very gradually and you can go back to SuSE if necessary.
--
Eeltje de Vries