The Unofficial Debian FAQ

Table of Contents

About Debian

1. What is this "Debian" thing?
2. What is the difference between Debian and Ubuntu?
3. Is it stable or unstable?
4. Has it been released?
5. Where can I find a list of all the programs that come with Debian (a package list)?
6. When is the next version of Debian coming out?
7. How can I help the Debian Project?

Installing Debian

1. Where do I get it?
2. Can I install on ReiserFS or JFS?
3. Can Debian run on a 64-bit (AMD-64 or Intel-64) computer?
4. Can I run Debian on a Mac?

Using Debian and Installing Software

1. Where can I get software for Debian?
2. How do I install software in Debian? (How to use aptitude or an .deb package)
3. Do I have to use apt or aptitude to install software?
4. How do I install a working Java plugin for my web browser?
5. How can I install Flash in Firefox?
6. How can I see PDF files inside my browser?
7. How can I watch movies in my web browser?
8. Can I use MSN Messenger/AIM/ICQ/Yahoo instant messaging in Debian?
9. Can I install the standard Windows fonts on Debian?
10. Where can I get drivers for my hardware for Debian?
11. How do I read my NTFS (Windows NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista/7/8) drive in Debian?
12. How do I edit the menus in the panel?
13. How do I install Wine?
14. How do I play DVDs in Debian?
15. How do I play MP3s in Debian?

Problems and Solutions

1. I get a dependencies warning from a .deb package or I get an archive keyring error when using aptitude!
2. How do I enable 3D support for my ATI Radeon card in Debian?
3. How do I enable 3D support for my nVidia graphics card in Debian?
4. The installer's media check says all my CDs or DVDs are bad!
5. I have strange installation problems.
6. I can't access my Windows network shares anymore! People tell me to use the smbmount command, but it doesn't work!

The FAQ

About Debian

1. Q: What is this Debian thing?
   A: First, read About Debian. You can also read the Debian Project FAQ, if you want.

   Now, I'll give you a summary:

   Debian is a Linux "distribution" (a fancy name for "Operating System" or "OS") that doesn't cost any money, includes only open-source software and is designed for stability.

   Debian is a community-supported project. That means that you can be involved in creating Debian, if you want (and you don't have to be a programmer, or technical or even male!)

   A new version of Debian comes out every 2 years or so. When a new version comes out, the previous version becomes unsupported about a year later. This means re-installing your OS every 2 - 3 years (but don't worry, upgrades from the old to new versions normally go well).

   The advantage of using Debian is that you're using software that is stable and maintained with security updates and bug fixes. This is different to many other Linux distributions which focus on "cutting-edge" (but less stable) software.

2. Q: What is the difference between Debian and Ubuntu?
   A: Ubuntu is produced by a company called Canonical. Although many of the software packages are the same as Debian, the emphasis in Ubuntu is on more "cutting-edge" software. It is probably a better choice if you are running on the very latest hardware.

   Both Debian and Ubuntu are distributed for free. If you are a business, you can buy support from Canonical.

3. Q: Is it unstable?
   A: No! In fact Debian is famous for it's "rock-solid" stability.
4. Q: Has it been released?
   A: Yes! Debian Wheezy (v7.0) was released in May 2013. To see when new releases are coming out, see the release schedule.
5. Q: Where can I find a list of all the programs that come with debian (a package list)?
   A: There's a list of the main debian packages over at the Distrowatch debian Page.

   You can see a list of all the debian 14 packages in the debian Package Database.

6. Q: When is the next version of debian coming out?
   A: A new version of debian is released every 6 - 8 months. Specific dates are usually in the Release Schedule.

   (Thanks to Tom Van Vleck for suggesting this question.)

7. Q: How can I help out the debian Project?
   A: The debian Project needs a lot of people to help in a lot of areas! Can you write documentation? Can you code? Do you know anything about bugs? Can you translate? Would you like to learn about any of these? Are you artistic? Do you just want to help out in any way you can? The debian Project has a great page that describes how you can help. Check it out!

Installing Debian

1. Q: Where do I get it?
   A: The debian Download Page.

   There are many versions:

   The "Live Media" is a LiveCD--you can just put the CD into your computer and start the OS without installing it. You can also use the LiveCD to install a very basic version of debian, if you want.

   The "Install Media" contains all the debian packages, and you can install from that without having an Internet connection.

   Then there's the choice between i686 and x86_64. Here's how to figure out which one you need:

   • i686 - If you have a Pentium or Celeron (meaning any Pentium or Celeron, including a Pentium 4, Pentium M, etc.) or the original Core Duo or Core Solo (not a Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Solo).
   • x86_64 - If you have a Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Solo, Core i7, i5, i3, Opteron, Athlon 64, Turion 64, Sempron, or anything newer than these. (This also includes most new "Intel Mac" machines.) Almost every new computer sold in the last few years is an x86_64 machine.

   For more details on how to get debian, including how to buy a CD (if you can't download one), see the Distribution page on the debian Project site.

2. Q: Can I install on ReiserFS or JFS?
   A: Yes, you can install debian on ReiserFS or JFS.

   ReiserFS and JFS are not officially supported by the debian Project. (That means that you can use them, but you won't find a lot of official help from the debian Project if things go wrong.)

   At the installer prompt, type this for ReiserFS:

   linux selinux=0 reiserfs

   or this for JFS:

   linux selinux=0 jfs

   NOTE: You cannot use SELinux on ReiserFS or JFS. (If you don't know what SELinux is, you can ignore this warning.)

   (Thanks to whiprush [quoting Jesse Keating] for this. Thanks to Kai Thomsen for catching an important typo.

3. Q: Can debian run on a 64-bit (AMD-64 or Intel-64) computer?
   A: Yes, it can! A 64-bit version of debian is currently available to download. It works very well. See the question about getting debian.

   You can also run the normal 32-bit version of debian on your 64-bit computer, although that's rarely required nowadays.

4. Q: Can I run debian on a Mac?
   A: Yes, you can!

   If you have a Core Duo Intel Mac, you want the i686 version of debian. If you have a Core 2 Duo or later Intel Mac, you want the x86_64 version of debian. (See the question about getting debian.) Note that some things may not yet work perfectly on Intel Macs. mactel-linux.org is a good site for information about running debian (or any Linux) on a Mactel machine.

   If you have a G3, G4, or G5 Mac, there is no longer an installation disc available for your machine for debian 13.

Using Debian and Installing Software

1. Q: Where can I get software for debian?
   A: The best way to get software is to use the normal software installation tools that come with debian, which will download and install things automatically for you.

   Otherwise, to search for software packages, you can use rpm.pbone.net.

2. Q: How do I install software in debian? (How to use yum or an RPM)
   A: debian has thousands of pieces of software that can be downloaded and automatically installed from the Internet.

   What if every software developer could gain the knowledge of long experience without having to go through the pain of repeated failure? Read my book, Code Simplicity, and find out.

   Configuring Package Installation

   Many of the packages I mention in the FAQ are only available from rpmfusion. To configure your system so that you can install packages from rpmfusion, follow these instructions:

   1. Open a Terminal.
   2. Become root:

      su -

   3. Run the following command:

      yum --nogpgcheck install http://rpm.livna.org/livna-release.rpm http://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/debian/rpmfusion-free-release-stable.noarch.rpm http://download1.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/debian/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-stable.noarch.rpm

   Using the GUI to Install/Update Software

   If you have graphical access to your desktop, you can use the graphical tools to install software. Go to the System menu, choose "Administration", and then click on "Add/Remove Software".

   debian will automatically let you know when updates are available for your software.

   Installing Software From the Command Line

   Often people want to use install or update software using the command line. For this you use a program called "yum". First become root, and then you can use the following commands:

   • To see a list of available software:

     yum list available

   • To install some software, you type:

     yum install packagename

   • To update some software, you type:

     yum update packagename

     If you leave out "packagename" yum will update all your software.

   • To see what updates are available, you can do:

     yum check-update

   • To search for a package, you can do:

     yum search word

   For more info about yum, see the yum project page. (Thanks to Ron Kuris for this tip.)

   Installing Local RPMs

   To install an RPM file that you downloaded outside of yum, open up a terminal, and as root do:

   rpm -Uvh filename.rpm

   If you have Internet access, you can also install local files by doing:

   yum --nogpgcheck install filename.rpm

   Which is handy because it will automatically download and install any dependencies that that RPM has.

3. Q: Is there anything like apt for debian?
   A: APT is a program for Debian and Ubuntu Linux that installs not only the software you specify, but also all of that software's dependencies. It makes installing software much easier.

   There is a piece of software like this for debian, that comes in the standard debian installation. It's called yum. It can automatically download and install a program and all of its dependencies, with just one command. I even provide a special configuration that I use for yum on my computer, in the question where I explain how to use yum.

4. Q: How do I install a working Java plugin for my web browser?
   A: debian includes an open-source version of Java 6, and nearly every Java applet will run if you simply install the Java plugin that comes with debian:

   1. Open a Terminal.
   2. Become root:

      su -

   3. Install the plugin:

      yum install java-1.6.0-openjdk-plugin

5. Q: How can I install Flash in Firefox?
   A:

   1. Open a Terminal.
   2. Become root:

      su -

   3. Install the Adobe repository for yum:

      yum --nogpgcheck install http://linuxdownload.adobe.com/adobe-release/adobe-release-i386-1.0-1.noarch.rpm

   4. Type:

      yum install --exclude=AdobeReader* flash-plugin nspluginwrapper.{i686,x86_64} pulseaudio-libs.i686 alsa-plugins-pulseaudio.i686 libcurl.i686

   5. Configure Firefox to see the plugin, by typing:

      mozilla-plugin-config -i -g -v

   6. If you have Firefox open, quit and open it again.
6. Q: How can I see PDF files inside my browser?
   A: Just install mozplugger and xpdf:

   1. Open a Terminal.
   2. Become root:

      su -

   3. Install mozplugger:

      yum install mozplugger xpdf

   This also enables Firefox to open lots of other types of files, like movies, audio, Word documents, etc.

7. Q: How can I watch movies in my web browser?
   A: Just install the Totem Plugin:

   1. Make sure that you're using my yum configuration from the installing software question.
   2. Open a Terminal.
   3. Become root:

      su -

   4. Install the plug-in:

      yum install totem-mozplugin gstreamer-plugins-ugly gstreamer-plugins-bad

   5. Close all the windows of your web browser and then open it again.

   Now, you can see movies on web sites!

   Note that if you have also installed mozplugger from the PDF question, you might get a pop-up movie player instead of having the movie embedded in the page.

8. Q: Can I use MSN Messenger/AIM/ICQ/Yahoo instant messaging in debian?
   A: Yes! By default, debian comes with a simple instant messaging program called Empathy, which supports MSN Messenger, ICQ, AIM, Yahoo! Messenger, and Google Talk, and many other protocols, all at the same time.

   To start Empathy, click on the Applications menu, go to "Internet," and choose "Empathy IM Client."

   If you don't like Empathy, you can use Pidgin, another Instant Messenger program for Linux. To install Pidgin:

   1. Open a Terminal.
   2. Become root:

      su -

   3. Install Pidgin:

      yum install pidgin

   Pidgin will then be available in the Applications menu, under "Internet", as "Pidgin Instant Messenger".

9. Q: Can I install the standard Windows fonts on debian?
   A: Yes, there's also a very easy way to install all of the common Windows fonts on Linux. You don't usually have to do this on debian (because it comes with fonts called the "Liberation" fonts that are the same exact size as the Windows fonts), but if you want to do it, here's how:

   1. Install the chkfontpath package from ATrpms. (Click on either the i686 or x86_64 package, depending on whether you have a 32-bit or 64-bit machine.)
   2. Open a Terminal.
   3. Become root:

      su -

   4. Install some packages you'll need for the following steps:

      yum install rpm-build cabextract ttmkfdir wget

   5. Download the MS Core Fonts Smart Package File:

      wget http://corefonts.sourceforge.net/msttcorefonts-2.0-1.spec

   6. Build the Core Fonts package:

      rpmbuild -ba msttcorefonts-2.0-1.spec

   7. Install the Core Fonts package:

      yum install --nogpgcheck /root/rpmbuild/RPMS/noarch/msttcorefonts-2.0-1.noarch.rpm

   (Thanks to David A. Wheeler and others for convincing me to add the MS Core Fonts instructions. Thanks to byro for pointing out the URL to the 2.0 package!)

10. Q: Where can I get drivers for my hardware for debian?
    A: Most drivers come with debian. However, if your driver doesn't come with debian, you can see what drivers are available for automatic download:

    1. Make sure that you're using my yum configuration from the installing software question.
    2. Open a Terminal.
    3. Become root:

       su -

    4. Run the following command:

       yum list akmod-\* \*-drv\* kmod-\* dkms-\*

    If you don't find what you need this way, try Googling for:

    debian NameOfHardware

    or:

    Linux NameOfHardware

    Where NameOfHardware is the normal name of your hardware. If it has more than one name, keep trying different ones until you get a result.

11. Q: How do I read my NTFS (Windows NT/2000/XP/2003) drive in debian?
    A: Well, now, that's an easy one! You just have to install the ntfs-3g program!

    1. Open a Terminal.
    2. Become root:

       su -

    3. Type:

       yum install ntfs-3g

    Now you can read and write to your NTFS drives!

    For information on how to use your NTFS drive, you can read the NTFS FAQ. (You don't need to worry about /proc/filesystems like it says there, though.)

12. Q: How do I edit the menus in the panel?
    A: First you have to install the menu editor:

    1. Open a Terminal.
    2. Become root:

       su -

    3. Install the menu editor:

       yum install alacarte

    Now you can go to the System menu, then "Preferences", and click on "Main Menu" to edit the menu.

    For KDE users, there is a program called kmenuedit that you can run to edit the menu.

13. Q: How do I install Wine?
    A: Wine is a way of running some Windows programs on Linux. It's available using yum:

    1. Open a Terminal.
    2. Become root:

       su -

    3. Install wine:

       yum install wine

14. Q: How do I play DVDs in debian?
    A: Easy! You just have to install some additional packages for Totem, the Movie Player:

    1. Make sure that you're using my yum configuration from the installing software question.
    2. Open a Terminal.
    3. Become root:

       su -

    4. Install the software that Totem needs in order to play DVDs correctly:

       yum install libdvdread libdvdcss libdvdnav gstreamer-plugins-ugly gstreamer-plugins-bad

    And now you can play DVDs! You can find Totem in the "Applications" menu, under "Sound and Video." It's just called "Movie Player." Sometimes it will say that it can't play a DVD, but it will usually work if you close Totem, then insert the DVD into your drive, then wait for a popup to ask you what you want to do, and then click "Open."

15. Q: How do I play MP3s in debian?
    A: To play MP3s in debian, you have to install a different package depending on which debian MP3 player you want to use. If you're not sure which one to pick, Rhythmbox is the standard. It's in the "Applications" menu, under "Sound & Video" -- it's called "Rhythmbox Music Player." It looks kind of like iTunes when you run it.

    What if every software developer could gain the knowledge of long experience without having to go through the pain of repeated failure? Read my book, Code Simplicity, and find out.

    Here's how to install the correct MP3 plugin:

    1. Make sure that you're using my yum configuration from the installing software question.
    2. Open a Terminal.
    3. Become root:

       su -

    4. Now, install the correct plugin depending on which MP3 player you want to use:
       • For Rhythmbox or Totem:

         yum install gstreamer-plugins-ugly

       • For Audacious (which is like XMMS or Winamp):

         yum install audacious-plugins-freeworld-mp3

    Now you should be able to play MP3s in your favorite debian MP3 player!

    NOTE: For home users in any country (even the USA), there is no legal problem with MP3 players, so you are not doing anything illegal by enabling MP3 support in debian. However, if you are in the USA and you want to encode MP3s or use them in a commercial setting, you may be required to pay patent royalties.

Problems and Solutions

1. Q: I get a NOKEY warning from RPM, or I get a gpg signature error when using yum!
   A: The NOKEY warning is not really a problem. It won't prevent you from doing anything. (The yum error, though, will usually prevent you from installing software.)

   If you'd like to resolve it, do the following command to get the correct key for the site you're downloading from:

   You must be root to do any of this.

   • Red Hat and debian:

     rpm --import /etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY*

   • rpm.livna.org:

     rpm --import http://rpm.livna.org/RPM-LIVNA-GPG-KEY

   • FreshRPMs:

     rpm --import http://freshrpms.net/RPM-GPG-KEY-freshrpms

   • DAG:

     rpm --import http://dag.wieers.com/packages/RPM-GPG-KEY.dag.txt

   • ATrpms:

     rpm --import http://atrpms.net/RPM-GPG-KEY.atrpms

   • NewRPMs:

     rpm --import http://newrpms.sunsite.dk/gpg-pubkey-newrpms.txt

   • Dries (RPMForge):

     rpm --import http://apt.sw.be/dries/RPM-GPG-KEY.dries.txt

   • JPackage:

     rpm --import http://www.jpackage.org/jpackage.asc

   • kde-redhat:

     rpm --import http://kde-redhat.sourceforge.net/gpg-pubkey-ff6382fa-3e1ab2ca

   • PlanetCCRMA:

     rpm --import http://ccrma.stanford.edu/planetccrma/RPM-GPG-KEY.planetccrma.txt

   NOTE: If you install my yum configuration, most of these keys are installed for you automatically.

   (Thanks to Kai Thomsen for the original location of the ATrpms key, and thanks to Tom Householder for the new location! Thanks to Pim Rupert for the location of the Dries key. Thanks to Anduin Withers for a good idea about how to reorganize this question. Thanks to Dieter Komendera for the new location of the FreshRPMs key.)

2. Q: How do I enable 3D support for my ATI Radeon card in debian?
   A: RPM Fusion provides ATI driver RPMs that are designed especially for debian.

   NOTE: If you have nVidia drivers installed, you must un-install them before installing these ATI drivers.

   Here's how to install them:

   1. Make sure that you're using my yum configuration from the installing software question.
   2. Open a Terminal.
   3. Become root:

      su -

   4. Install the driver:

      yum install kmod-catalyst

   5. Shut down X:

      init 3

   6. Log in as root.
   7. Enable the driver:

      catalyst-config-display enable

   8. Rebuild your kernel configuration (otherwise it may try to load a conflicting driver during boot) and add some new kernel arguments to work around conflicts between the Catalyst driver and debian:

      new-kernel-pkg --kernel-args=nomodeset --mkinitrd --dracut --update $(rpm -q --queryformat="%{version}-%{release}.%{arch}\n" kernel | tail -n 1)

   9. Reboot your machine:

      reboot

   If you have any trouble with the RPM Fusion RPMs, please report a bug to the RPM Fusion Bugzilla.

3. Q: How do I enable 3D support for my nVidia graphics card in debian?
   A: There are now nVidia driver RPMs provided by rpmfusion.org that are designed especially for debian. Here's how to install them:

   What if every software developer could gain the knowledge of long experience without having to go through the pain of repeated failure? Read my book, Code Simplicity, and find out.

   1. Make sure that you're using my yum configuration from the installing software question.
   2. Open a Terminal.
   3. Become root:

      su -

   4. Install the driver:

      yum install kmod-nvidia

   5. Rebuild your kernel configuration (otherwise it may try to load a conflicting driver during boot):

      new-kernel-pkg --mkinitrd --dracut --update $(rpm -q --queryformat="%{version}-%{release}.%{arch}\n" kernel | tail -n 1)

   6. Reboot your machine:

      reboot

   And now you should have working 3D with your nVidia card!

   Note that if you have an older card, you may need to install kmod-nvidia-173xx or kmod-nvidia-96xx. There is a list on the nVidia site that says which cards are supported by which driver.

   If you need support for the nVidia drivers, check out the nV News "NVIDIA Linux Forum". (Thanks to Exile in Paradise for this tip.)

4. Q: The installer's media check says all my CDs are bad!
   A: There is a bug in the kernel which causes the media check to say some CDs are bad when they are not, on some systems. To do a successful media check, do the following:

   1. At the installer prompt, type:

      linux mediacheck ide=nodma

   2. Run the media check on your CDs/DVD.
   3. Reboot, and run the installer normally.

   Note that sometimes mediacheck will report that only some CDs are bad, but this will still fix that problem. (Thanks to Tony Nelson for reminding me of that!)

5. Q: I have strange installation problems.
   A: If your installation doesn't work, or you have problems during or after installation, first read the latest Release Notes.

   Also, the debian Project provides a detailed installation guide if you'd like any other help while installing.

   In particular, you might want to try using the special boot options listed in the Install Guide. Of those, the most-frequently useful are: noapic, acpi=off, and xdriver=vesa.

   If any of those commands fixes your problem, please file a bug in Red Hat's Bugzilla.

6. Q: I can't access my Windows network shares anymore! People tell me to use the smbmount command, but it doesn't work!
   A: Modern versions of Linux use a type of Windows file sharing called "The Common Internet File System" (CIFS). Instead of using "smbmount", try:

   mount -t cifs //1.2.3.4/share /mnt/somedirectory

   For more information about this, in a terminal you can do:

   man mount.cifs

   Note that CIFS can't resolve Windows computer names, so you're better off using their IP addresses.