Re: Replace Ubuntu with Debian


I just purchased a Dell laptop with Ubuntu 7.10 preinstalled. What I
like about this setup is that all sorts of nifty things like the
wireless card and hibernate/suspend features are automatically set up.

If they work in Ubuntu, chances are that they will work fine on Debian Sid
also.

Can I take advantage of both worlds? That is, can I safely sync all my
packages with Debian's unstable repository while retaining all the
existing configurations?

Debian and Ubuntu are not binary compatible. They are compatible only at the
source level. So expect some problems if you are going to mix the two.

The obvious thing to do is to change the apt sources and run a
dist-upgrade. However, I'm a little paranoid that this is not entirely
safe and that it may leave my system in a broken state. Does anyone
have experience with this course of action or have better suggestions?

The common wisdom is that, if you want Debian then install Debian from the
get go. Do not mix Debian based distributions and Debian and hope that it
works. This applies to Ubuntu, Knoppix, xandros etc.,

What is more irritating is that people often mix distributions and then they
encounter problems. They go to Ubuntu forums and don't get any help from
there. Then they come to Debian mailing lists and people can't reproduce
the problem as it is something specific to Ubuntu+Debian combination ...

hth
raju
--
Kamaraju S Kusumanchi
http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/kk288/
http://malayamaarutham.blogspot.com/


--
To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-REQUEST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Ubuntu has gone!
    ... Ubuntu and Debian or NOT binary compatible. ... What about binary compatibility between distributions? ... "binary compatibility" means different things to different ...
    (Ubuntu)
  • Re: debian and ubuntu - answer from user not pretending to be guru
    ... are there situations where debian is preferable? ... are there situations where ubuntu is preferable (eg picking up newer ... Before people start criticising that preference, it it my preference, and, it is up to each individual, to choose the person's preference, for whatever reasons that person makes the choice. ... When we initially installed Debian 3.1 on that laptop, which was purchased with Windows XP installed, we had to use Mandriva to repartion it partitioning utility), then install Ubuntu on it, then unistall Ubuntu and install Debian, as the wireless network card had an interrupt conflict with the wired network card, and it was a problem that was automatically resolved with Ubuntu, whereas Debian simply would not work with it. ...
    (Debian-User)
  • Re: Linux & MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum (nForce3 Ultra) questions...
    ... I will try Ubuntu, ... So be prepared to use Mandrake x86_64 ... go with MEPIS instead of Ubuntu, or maybe even just use Debian ... I should have asked Deb vs Rpm I guess? ...
    (alt.linux)
  • AW: AW: configuration center in debian?
    ... knowing all the - heavy - discussions about ubuntu versus debian i really ... want to stay with debian. ... To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-REQUEST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ... Trouble? ...
    (Debian-User)
  • Re: sudo
    ... are there situations where debian is preferable? ... are there situations where ubuntu is preferable (eg picking up newer ... what's better for use on a server? ... With installing Ubuntu on that laptop, having a 10GB partition free, I finally decided to install Ubuntu into that partition, and, installed 8.10, as the latest Ubuntu version. ...
    (Debian-User)