Re: Ubuntu to Debian

[Richard Lyons <richard@the-place.net>]

On Wednesday, 11 January 2006 at 10:03:34 -0600, Kent West wrote:
> Jay Zach wrote:
> >Brooks R. Robinson wrote:
[...]
> >>I recently purchased a new fancy schmancy Dell a couple of months ago,
> >>and I have been delinquent in installing Linux on it.  So, I recently
> >>purchased an additional hard drive and attempted to put Debian on it (as
> >>God intended).  Sarge didn't want to recognize my hardware and Sid just
> >>plain crapped out.  I tried to do a Knoppix install, but I don't like
> >>their one big partition methodology.  I ended up putting the base
> >>"server" install of Ubuntu 5.10 "The Breezy Badger" on it (which was
[...]
> >
> >If you have your /home directory mounted on a separate partition (I HIGHLY
> >recommend this), you can simply install debian, and mount your ubuntu 
> >/home as
> >your /debian home.
> >
> 
> Except that he's already stated that neither Sarge nor Sid have been 
> agreeable to being installed on his hardware.

Or is it just that the installer wouldn't play?  If so, and if I
understand right that the original disk is still there, surely he can
parted the dozey disk to give space for the root partition of a new
debian install, or use spare space on the new disk.  Then use the Ubuntu
system to boot the box, then do a chroot install into the whichever
space. He keeps his /home partition, and has only to decide which way to
play the /usr and /var -- there would be quite a few options.
And he will have the Ubuntu to fall back on if things go wrong.

> As I understand it, Brooks, Ubuntu is close enough to Debian that a 
> conversion is possible. Yes, edit your sources.list and do an 
> update/dist-upgrade; you may have to uninstall some stuff along the way 
> and then reinstall it. Since it's a new install, and you have nothing to 
> lose, just go for it. The worst that can happen is that you'll cause 
> some sort of time-space implosion and destroy the universe as we know 
> it. But it'll probably go a lot smoother than that.

But I agree with that.  I ran two boxes off migrated Knoppix installs
for ages before the new installer (or was it new hardware - I forget) 
allowed me to do a 'clean' debian install.  There may be occasional
snags requiring a package here or there to be removed and reinstalled,
but generally, according to my experience, it is fairly painless.  I've
done the same thing more recently with mepis, too.

Incidentally, Brooks, you don't have to get stuck with the Knoppix
single partition.  You can do the install into a partition and then move
the /usr, /var, and /home or whatever to a different partition.  It
makes it tricky to get the sizes you want, but parted will rescue you if
you have a really difficult adjustment to make.

-- 
richard