Re: Is it safe to install Bookworm on a new machine now?
Rick:
Am 13.12.23 um 02:47 schrieb Rick Thomas:
> Is there a netinst iso that I can use to safely install Bookworm (stable) on a new PC?
Possibly yes, but please read on.
> If so, where can I download it from?
Please always use official sources: https://www.debian.org/CD/
> If not, how much longer is it likely to be before one exists?
My worst guess is 12.5, in a few months from now. But 12.4 might likely
work perfectly fine for you, out of the box. If not, you can make 12.4
work for you right now. Here are some of my findings, assumptions, and
educated guesses for you regarding "the bug". Hoping to help you, no
guarantees. Any risks are yours, as always.
"The bug" (Bug#1057967 & Bug#1057969) occurs only in kernel version
6.1.66-1 (package -6.1.0-15, released with bookworm 12.4). No other
debian kernel version has this bug. It might not affect you, and it can
be remedied/worked around. If it does affect you, it won't fry your
filesystem, but the computer won't run properly under this kernel,
causing a lots of problems, making your computer largely unusable during
this runtime. I don't see any great danger in giving it a shot, if
you're reasonably careful to understand, and prepare for what might go
wrong.
(The much more dangerous kernel would be its predecessor, 6.1.64-1,
package 6.1.0-14, which was briefly released in bookworm 12.3, and very
quickly retracted. It might toast your ext4 filesystem. (Bug#1057843)
For that very reason, no official 12.3 media were ever publically
released. See the latest messages at https://www.debian.org/News/2023/ )
"The bug" (Bug#1057967, Bug#1057969) is within the kernel module
cfg80211, which is used for Wifi in general, regardless of your
adapter's specific WiFi driver. If your computer has WiFi, even if you
don't intend to use it, debian (including installer) will by default try
to load the appropriate driver modules, which will pull in cfg80211.
In case of the non-free broadcom-sta driver, binary "wl.ko" is known to
trigger the bug in cfg80211 in 6.1.66-1/6.1.0-15, which then causes lots
of problems during runtime. Whether any other WiFi drivers trigger this
bug as well, IDK. The _free_ broadcom driver (see
https://wiki.debian.org/bcm43xx ) doesn't seem to trigger this for me, YMMV.
Non-free drivers are not shipped in official bookworm media, but if you
actively choose non-free during the installation process or later,
broadcom-sta might then be installed, triggering "the bug". Don't
confuse this with non-free firmware. This is indeed shipped in official
bookworm media, but most likely won't trigger "the bug".
In your case, I'd try the bookworm 12.4 installer straight. By chance,
everything might turn out well.
If promblems occur that look like "the bug", I'd try one or more of the
following possible remedies/workarounds, each of which _might_ suffice,
but might cause some error messages or other issues. As soon as you've
updated to 6.1.67-1 (6.1.0-16, about to come), any remedies/workarounds
should be safe to be reverted. Maybe try the least inconvenient ones
first. I haven't tested all of them.
* Avoid "non-free". "non-free-firmware" should be O. K.
* Turn off your physical RF kill switch.
* Physically remove your WiFi adapter.
* Blacklist "cfg80211".
* Blacklist "wl".
* Use bookworm 12.2 installer media, but not netinst, without internet
access. Do not allow kernel updates, until 6.1.67-1/6.1.0-16 is
available. Presumably some of the folks in this list/thread might come
up with even more possible remedies/workarounds.
Again: no guarantees. Some of the above is not confirmed or tested. All
you do is at your own risk. But I hope I could help you understand "the
bug" and how to possibly avoid it, giving you more confidence in what
you're attempting to do. Please feel free to ask any further questions
to this list, and any reports I'd welcome here.
--
Kevin Price
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