Debian tips

This note was created on 3/20/2023
This note was last edited on 5/29/2023

=== Make yourself administrator ===
Add user to "sudo" group:
$> su -l
#> adduser *YOURUSER* sudo
#> exit

=== Change language ===
> sudo dpkg-reconfigure locales

=== Upgrade to next major version ===
1. Switch to console tty via Ctrl+Alt+F3 (the upgrade should be done on a text console, because your desktop environment could freeze during post-install/service restarts, leaving the system in a broken state).
2. Check held back packages and unhold, if needed:
   > sudo apt-mark showhold
   > sudo apt-mark unhold *pkg*
3. Install updates for current release:
   > sudo apt update
   > sudo apt upgrade
   > sudo apt full-upgrade
   > sudo apt --purge autoremove
4. Change Debian release name in sources.list, for example to migrate from Bullseye to Bookworm:
   ~~~
   --- deb https://deb.debian.org/debian/ bullseye main contrib non-free
   --- deb https://security.debian.org/debian-security bullseye-security main contrib non-free
   --- deb https://deb.debian.org/debian/ bullseye-updates main contrib non-free
   +++ deb https://deb.debian.org/debian/ bookworm stable main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
   +++ deb https://security.debian.org/debian-security bookworm-security main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
   +++ deb https://deb.debian.org/debian/ bookworm-updates main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
   ~~~
   Alternatively, you can change all accurencies of "bullseye" to "bookworm" using sed:
   > sudo sed -i 's/buster/bullseye/g' /etc/apt/sources.list
5. Clean and update package lists:
   > sudo apt clean
   > sudo apt update
6. Perform the major release upgrade, removing packages if required:
   > sudo apt upgrade
   > sudo apt full-upgrade
   > sudo apt autoremove
7. Reboot your system:
   > sudo systemctl reboot
8. Now check the output of "uname -a ; lsb_release -a" and you should see info about the upgraded system.

=== Install non-free Nvidia driver ===
1. Make sure, that "non-free" and "non-free-firmware" are included in your "/etc/apt/sources.list".
2. Install driver and control panel:
   > sudo apt install nvidia-driver nvidia-settings

=== Install / Reinstall DE ===
> sudo tasksel

=== Update GRUB config ===
If you want to add Windows entry to yout GRUB, first you'll need to install and enable OS Prober:
1. Install "os-prober":
   > sudo apt install os-prober
2. To enable OS Prober: add/uncomment/change the following line in "/etc/default/grub" configuration file:
   ~~~
   GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER=false
   ~~~
3. Update GRUB config:
   > sudo update-grub2