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#1 2023-03-01 19:33:48
- Esleep
- Member
- Registered: 2023-03-01
- Posts: 10
Debian->Devuan Install Notes
I decided to upload my install notes in case it may be helpful to others later on
I keep notes on an old backup drive to help remember all the nuances at a later date
I'm building a system for high performance general/desktop/gaming usage
and am working towards it with a debian base and eventually migrating to devuan ideally
to get the best possible performance linux has to offer right now
System specs...
I have a custom built gaming computer with mostly the latest hardware/features
i7 cpu
rtx graphics card
16gb ddr4 ram
water cooling, giant rainbow fans, nvme hard drive
gaming monitor, mouse/keyboard
I use a wifi card, even though ethernet is ideal
usually my install notes are a lot simpler/cleaner but I decided to add details
to help explain the whole process, and my thinking along the way
## Debian 11.6 bullseye -> Devuan 4.0 Chimaera/bullseye Install notes
## Bullseye installation, and partitioning notes
## I used the debian 11.6 bullseye live cd with xfce desktop because
## it has calamares which allows me to easily use f2fs instead of other file system types
## which on nvme is lightning fast, as well as being an ideal base generally
## the proper link for the debian live CD including "non-free" firmware for my wifi driver
## can be annoying to find sometimes
https://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/unof … so-hybrid/
## I used ventoy in order to make the usb to boot the live iso, made in gpt mode
## and in order to properly install f2fs on an older version of calamares.
## Other than the absolute newest version I am fairly certain,
## where f2fs support works out of the box regardless of bios/uefi boot,
## I had to boot the ventoy usb in bios compatibility mode and not UEFI mode
## which is represented by the usb and UEFI usb entries in my computers boot menu,
## so I had to select the regular usb entry, and not the corresponding UEFI usb entry
## then I had to connect to wifi in the live environment to install f2fs-tools
## prior to running the calamares installer, to enable partitioning in calamares an f2fs filesystem
## Partitioning with bios mode and f2fs
## The calamares installer is altered by default slightly using bios mode
## as opposed to UEFI which is what allows f2fs to install properly
## with the older versions of calamares that most distros which use it carry,
## in that the location of the bootloader install, and it's configration
## is done appropriately
## partioning in calamares
from manual partitioning -> create new partition table on the target drive in gpt
then I made an 8 mb unformatted partition with bios/grub flag
then I made a 2048 mb ext4 partition mounted on /boot
then I made a 1024 mb fat32 partition mounted on /boot/efi with boot flag
then I made 16348 mb linux swap partition with swap flag
then I made the root partition with the remainder of the space formatted with f2fs
and mounted on / and the root flag
## I gave /boot and /boot/efi extra space to make them happy for later on
## when I add different kernels, which otherwise can cause issues/break the system
## then because I used bios boot instead of uefi, the default install location of the bootloader,
## and it's configuration works perfectly at this point
## In Debian Bullseye, after rebooting post-install
## did some initial alteration of appearance/workplace settings,
## removal of startup programs
## edited sources post install to include both contrib, non-free repo's
## first update, initial upgrade, reboot due to kernel upgrade
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade
sudo reboot
## installed some typical packages I like
## skipping tuned because it requires a service to function normally
## and I will try to get it working after devuan migration
sudo apt install gedit transmission galculator vlc lynx okular kstars krita youtube-dl ffmpeg stopwatch sunclock pulseeffects hwinfo iotop f2fs-tools gparted gufw
## I went back and added gufw, because I think it doesn't need a service to function appropriately
## (most programs I have always found actually don't, and that's the best solution after all)
## as it basically alters iptables, and entered gufw to enable it's default settings
## forgot debian bullseye has pipewire now, and have to check later if pulseeffects
## works appropriately with it. I think I remember a different program is meant to be
## be used with pipewire
## unfortunately virtualbox isn't in bullseye, but instead is in bookworm which I will
## attempt to get later
## some package cleanup and service disabling
sudo apt remove kdeconnect quodlibet parole
sudo apt autoremove
sudo service --status-all
sudo systemctl disable avahi-daemon
sudo systemctl disable cron
sudo systemctl disable cups
sudo systemctl disable cups-browsed
sudo systemctl disable exim4
## did a reboot to reflect the new changes
sudo reboot
## Here I am going to try initially installing a custom kernel
## and then the graphics/gaming related packages to hopefully
## work with devuan migration, both of which have issues
## on a standard devuan install with runit/sysv, I will try using
## sysv to hopefully make for a cleaner experience overall
## even though I like using runit, making the runit scripts
## is a little intimidating, I don't know yet I might use it
## because I aim for a very bare bones, and super speedy set-up overall
## and it's actually not too hard to use otherwise
## now here is where there will definitely be problems,
## but it shouldn't totally break the system as I
## will keep the default kernel, and left plenty of
## room in the /boot and /boot/efi partitions
## for extra kernels, i.e 2gb and 1gb respectively
## in past installs of default devuan / crowz/openbox->crowz/xfce
## generally with runit, or in the case of crowz sysv, nvidia-driver
## and custom kernels have caused some basic issues, essentially
## not being installed/configured correctly
## with nvidia-driver the persistenced module fails to load/install properly
## which isn't a huge deal since it appears to work normally without it
## however installing the custom kernel prevents the initialization
## of the desktop environment from working at all, even with startx from command line
## ... I tried to fix it with some basic ~/.xinitrc ~/.profile alterations to no avail
## Install custom made liquorix kernel
## the default install command from the website https://liquorix.net/
## is curl 'https://liquorix.net/install-liquorix.sh' | sudo bash
## but instead I opted to download and examine the installation
## script before running it, as a healthier practice
curl 'https://liquorix.net/install-liquorix.sh'
curl 'https://liquorix.net/install-liquorix.sh' | sudo bash
## for whatever reason the liquorix install script didn't show a password prompt
## and instead seemed to hang on downloading, but I typed in admin password
## and install continued normally
## updated grub and rebooted after new kernel install
sudo update-grub
sudo reboot
## separate graphics/gaming related package install
## these steps basically enable access to most of the gaming universe
## added 32 bit library support to enable proper support for lutris/wine/steam
## gaming later on, and installed the typical nvidia-driver package which has dkms
## that allows support for different kernels
sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386 && sudo apt update
## according to debian forums the newer 510 or + nvidia driver is in the bullseye repo
## but I think it's bad information or I didn't read it correctly
## so I used sudo apt search nvidia-driver to see available drivers
## and anyways plan to try to upgrade it later on, as a lesser priority
## compared to everything else
## installed the regular nvidia-driver package which works perfectly by default
## with little effort, and then basic gaming related packages
sudo apt install nvidia-driver
sudo apt install wine winetricks playonlinux gamemode vkbasalt mangohud ttf-mscorefonts-installer lutris steam
## reboot to properly load nvidia driver and finish it's installation
sudo apt reboot
## Spent some time themeing, altering panels how I like them
## and setting up nvidia settings
## to properly set up nvidia settings I had to...
run command nvidia-settings
image settings: high performance
disabled/uncheck sync to vblank
## I rarely use vsync, because it's more ideal to customize games configuration
## to run in a stable manner near target refresh rate without it initially
disable/uncheck use conformant texture clamping
## on older games like CoD4 helps with performance/rendering
## but I don't play them anymore and the benefit seems
## to be negligible on most other games
disable dithering, set colors to limited (helps render games at higher refresh rates than 60)
set refresh rate to 120 (to limit it appropriately so I don't overwork my hardware)
## I generally use high performance picture quality which improves system-wide response time
## and is good for maximising potential performance gains in demanding online games
enable fxaa and override application settings
## fxaa is a nice little texture enhancement with barely noticeable performance overhead
## I used override because I plan to install a game to benchmark my system in a cpu bound
## scenario, with very low graphics settings that disable fxaa ingame
## I think it should help improve text quality otherwise with high performance picture quality
save configuration to ~/.nvidia-settings-rc
add startup program called nvidia with command...on login
nvidia-settings --load-config-only
## I also go into sudo nvidia-settings too and save the same configuration in default
## /etc/X11/xorg.conf location for hopefully, appropriate redundancy if things change later on
## Now at this point, I know from experience my base system is configured perfectly
## except I haven't installed tuned yet, and eventually I want to upgrade
## the nvidia-driver to one of the later versions for the latest features supported
## that I specifically want to take advantage of, but otherwise even if I don't
## this is a perfect system at this point and there are a very few amount of programs
## that I need to make work with/without systemd, that aren't included in the default install
## (I can't count more than a couple honestly)
## (+ need is subjective, there are even workarounds that are more ideal
## than behind the scenes automation taxing my very high performance computer)
## My biggest problem is getting a custom kernel working with devuan, although
## the default 5.10 kernel in bullseye is actually super fast already
## compared to the 6.1 most distros are shipping
## I actually want to take advantage of custom features built into custom kernels
## such as fsync patches, and zen tuning, and at a far later date
## attempt to compile and install a custom tkg-linux kernel with a pds scheduler
## which effectively will give me the ultimate gaming/desktop system anyone can possibly get right now
## even though this order of operations takes me about 30minutes to an hour, I might make a backup here
## or some kind of plan in the event things start to malfunction
## Devuan migration
https://www.devuan.org/os/documentation … o-chimaera
## Now I actually paused here to attempt to do more research, in the past I have done this
## and everything works nicely other than using a custom kernel with devuan which
## breaks the desktop environment in such a way I can't figure out how to solve the problem (yet)
## I know it wont totally break my system to start the migration process, because I can revert to default kernel
## and I do want to see how building off of a debian base alters the situation which I haven't tried before
## so to be continued...
## I'll update my notes sometime soon when I continue this development/exploration
## So I decided to install timeshift, and use it to make a quick easy backup
## and avoid charging ahead, which I know will cause problems that are
## frustrating otherwise, and I decided to ignore the instructions on
## devuan.org for migration and install runit as opposed to systemv.
## The reasoning for this is simple because I essentially don't even want
## services to do anything except for the bare mininum required, so
## as it may make it easier to use systemv, I actually want to force myself
## to invent new solutions, which largely revolve around changing my own thinking.
sudo apt install timeshift
## Then I went into timeshift gui and went rsync -> selected
## an external harddrive to save the snapshots, disabled scheduling,
## because I just want one nice snapshot of my base system,
## selected to include all files of /root and /home
## and proceeded to make a snapshot which took about 3 minutes
## went into my external harddrive to view the /timeshift directory
## which only was about 13 gb
## 3 minutes, and 13 gb is very cheap for keeping a nice backup
## which I actually don't normally use, + I don't use a service
## to maintain it, instead I personally maintain it, which is
## the ideal solution for my use case:
## i.e. developing a highly responsive system that works for me
## instead of computer programs
## So now, at this point it's a day later after installing debian
## and I'm preparing myself for the migration and to anticipate
## problems that will arise.
## I know initially the main problems...
## look like initializing the desktop environment with a custom
## kernel, in this case liquorix--because that's an easy one
## to install on debian. Maybe I'll have to compile my own kernel,
## maybe I'll have to revert to the default. That's okay as
## these are afterthoughts to having a base system
## that I can appreciate working with such as debian/devuan.
## + I'm confident I can find solutions, with lots of deliberate patience.
## First, I gathered basic information surrounding systemd, and the intialization
## process that brings up my desktop environment.
## Using pstree, shows me the process tree at startup starting with systemd,
## and I note, that the process for starting my desktop environment uses
## executables lightdm and xfce4-session; which if there are problems after
## migration such as I have experienced before with vanilla devuan installs
## and custom kernels I will have to intialize manually or investigate.
## Note how lightdm->Xorg->lightdm->xfce4-session is the line of processes'
## that bring up the desktop environment
xfin@ity:~$ pstree
systemd─┬─ModemManager───2*[{ModemManager}]
├─NetworkManager───2*[{NetworkManager}]
├─acpid
├─agetty
├─dbus-daemon
├─ibus-daemon─┬─ibus-engine-sim───2*[{ibus-engine-sim}]
│ ├─ibus-extension-───3*[{ibus-extension-}]
│ ├─ibus-memconf───2*[{ibus-memconf}]
│ ├─ibus-ui-gtk3───3*[{ibus-ui-gtk3}]
│ └─3*[{ibus-daemon}]
├─ibus-x11───2*[{ibus-x11}]
├─irqbalance───{irqbalance}
├─lightdm─┬─Xorg───{Xorg}
│ ├─lightdm─┬─xfce4-session─┬─Thunar───3*[{Thunar}]
│ │ │ ├─nm-applet───3*[{nm-applet}]
│ │ │ ├─polkit-gnome-au───2*[{polkit-gnom+
│ │ │ ├─xfce4-notifyd───2*[{xfce4-notifyd+
│ │ │ ├─xfce4-panel─┬─panel-10-notifi───2+
│ │ │ │ ├─panel-14-action───2+
│ │ │ │ ├─panel-6-systray───2+
│ │ │ │ ├─panel-8-pulseau───2+
│ │ │ │ ├─panel-9-power-m───2+
│ │ │ │ └─2*[{xfce4-panel}]
│ │ │ ├─xfce4-power-man───2*[{xfce4-power+
│ │ │ ├─xfdesktop───2*[{xfdesktop}]
│ │ │ ├─xfsettingsd───2*[{xfsettingsd}]
│ │ │ ├─xfwm4───2*[{xfwm4}]
│ │ │ └─2*[{xfce4-session}]
│ │ └─2*[{lightdm}]
│ └─2*[{lightdm}]
├─nvidia-persiste
├─polkitd───2*[{polkitd}]
├─rsyslogd───3*[{rsyslogd}]
├─rtkit-daemon───2*[{rtkit-daemon}]
├─systemd─┬─(sd-pam)
│ ├─at-spi-bus-laun─┬─dbus-daemon
│ │ └─3*[{at-spi-bus-laun}]
│ ├─at-spi2-registr───2*[{at-spi2-registr}]
│ ├─dbus-daemon
│ ├─dconf-service───2*[{dconf-service}]
│ ├─gnome-keyring-d───3*[{gnome-keyring-d}]
│ ├─gpg-agent
│ ├─gvfs-afc-volume───3*[{gvfs-afc-volume}]
│ ├─gvfs-goa-volume───2*[{gvfs-goa-volume}]
│ ├─gvfs-gphoto2-vo───2*[{gvfs-gphoto2-vo}]
│ ├─gvfs-mtp-volume───2*[{gvfs-mtp-volume}]
│ ├─gvfs-udisks2-vo───3*[{gvfs-udisks2-vo}]
│ ├─gvfsd─┬─gvfsd-computer───3*[{gvfsd-computer}]
│ │ ├─gvfsd-trash───2*[{gvfsd-trash}]
│ │ └─3*[{gvfsd}]
│ ├─gvfsd-metadata───2*[{gvfsd-metadata}]
│ ├─ibus-portal───2*[{ibus-portal}]
│ ├─pipewire─┬─pipewire-media-───{pipewire-media-}
│ │ └─{pipewire}
│ ├─pulseaudio───2*[{pulseaudio}]
│ ├─xdg-desktop-por───6*[{xdg-desktop-por}]
│ ├─xdg-desktop-por───3*[{xdg-desktop-por}]
│ ├─xdg-document-po─┬─fusermount
│ │ └─6*[{xdg-document-po}]
│ ├─xdg-permission-───2*[{xdg-permission-}]
│ └─xfconfd───2*[{xfconfd}]
├─systemd-journal
├─systemd-logind
├─systemd-udevd## Then using systemctl, system control, and piping into grep to show
## lines containing the string 'active' I gather a list of active background
## processes' that a typical base debian system utilizes for normal operations
## if there's a problem with one of these minor systems later on, I can use this
## as a point of reference to solve the problem.
xfin@ity:~$ sudo systemctl | grep active
[sudo] password for xfin:
proc-sys-fs-binfmt_misc.automount loaded active waiting Arbitrary Executable File Formats File System Automount Point
sys-devices-pci0000:00-0000:00:01.0-0000:01:00.1-sound-card1-controlC1.device loaded active plugged /sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.0/0000:01:00.1/sound/card1/controlC1
sys-devices-pci0000:00-0000:00:14.3-net-wlo1.device loaded active plugged Wireless-AC 9560 [Jefferson Peak]
sys-devices-pci0000:00-0000:00:17.0-ata1-host0-target0:0:0-0:0:0:0-block-sda-sda1.device loaded active plugged ST2000DM008-2FR102 1
sys-devices-pci0000:00-0000:00:17.0-ata1-host0-target0:0:0-0:0:0:0-block-sda.device loaded active plugged ST2000DM008-2FR102
sys-devices-pci0000:00-0000:00:1d.0-0000:03:00.0-nvme-nvme0-nvme0n1-nvme0n1p1.device loaded active plugged WDC WDS100T2B0C-00PXH0 1
sys-devices-pci0000:00-0000:00:1d.0-0000:03:00.0-nvme-nvme0-nvme0n1-nvme0n1p2.device loaded active plugged WDC WDS100T2B0C-00PXH0 2
sys-devices-pci0000:00-0000:00:1d.0-0000:03:00.0-nvme-nvme0-nvme0n1-nvme0n1p3.device loaded active plugged WDC WDS100T2B0C-00PXH0 NO_LABEL
sys-devices-pci0000:00-0000:00:1d.0-0000:03:00.0-nvme-nvme0-nvme0n1-nvme0n1p4.device loaded active plugged WDC WDS100T2B0C-00PXH0 4
sys-devices-pci0000:00-0000:00:1d.0-0000:03:00.0-nvme-nvme0-nvme0n1-nvme0n1p5.device loaded active plugged WDC WDS100T2B0C-00PXH0 5
sys-devices-pci0000:00-0000:00:1d.0-0000:03:00.0-nvme-nvme0-nvme0n1.device loaded active plugged WDC WDS100T2B0C-00PXH0
sys-devices-pci0000:00-0000:00:1f.3-sound-card0-controlC0.device loaded active plugged /sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1f.3/sound/card0/controlC0
sys-devices-platform-serial8250-tty-ttyS1.device loaded active plugged /sys/devices/platform/serial8250/tty/ttyS1
sys-devices-platform-serial8250-tty-ttyS2.device loaded active plugged /sys/devices/platform/serial8250/tty/ttyS2
sys-devices-platform-serial8250-tty-ttyS3.device loaded active plugged /sys/devices/platform/serial8250/tty/ttyS3
sys-devices-pnp0-00:01-tty-ttyS0.device loaded active plugged /sys/devices/pnp0/00:01/tty/ttyS0
sys-devices-virtual-misc-rfkill.device loaded active plugged /sys/devices/virtual/misc/rfkill
sys-module-configfs.device loaded active plugged /sys/module/configfs
sys-module-fuse.device loaded active plugged /sys/module/fuse
sys-subsystem-net-devices-wlo1.device loaded active plugged Wireless-AC 9560 [Jefferson Peak]
-.mount loaded active mounted Root Mount
boot-efi.mount loaded active mounted /boot/efi
boot.mount loaded active mounted /boot
dev-hugepages.mount loaded active mounted Huge Pages File System
dev-mqueue.mount loaded active mounted POSIX Message Queue File System
media-xfin-cdb72e7e\x2d892f\x2d4b05\x2d8069\x2d9fe32290c6a6.mount loaded active mounted /media/xfin/cdb72e7e-892f-4b05-8069-9fe32290c6a6
run-timeshift-backup.mount loaded active mounted /run/timeshift/backup
run-user-1000-doc.mount loaded active mounted /run/user/1000/doc
run-user-1000.mount loaded active mounted /run/user/1000
sys-fs-fuse-connections.mount loaded active mounted FUSE Control File System
sys-kernel-config.mount loaded active mounted Kernel Configuration File System
sys-kernel-debug.mount loaded active mounted Kernel Debug File System
sys-kernel-tracing.mount loaded active mounted Kernel Trace File System
acpid.path loaded active running ACPI Events Check
systemd-ask-password-plymouth.path loaded active waiting Forward Password Requests to Plymouth Directory Watch
systemd-ask-password-wall.path loaded active waiting Forward Password Requests to Wall Directory Watch
init.scope loaded active running System and Service Manager
session-1.scope loaded active running Session 1 of user xfin
acpid.service loaded active running ACPI event daemon
alsa-restore.service loaded active exited Save/Restore Sound Card State
console-setup.service loaded active exited Set console font and keymap
dbus.service loaded active running D-Bus System Message Bus
getty@tty1.service loaded active running Getty on tty1
hddtemp.service loaded active exited LSB: disk temperature monitoring daemon
ifupdown-pre.service loaded active exited Helper to synchronize boot up for ifupdown
irqbalance.service loaded active running irqbalance daemon
keyboard-setup.service loaded active exited Set the console keyboard layout
kmod-static-nodes.service loaded active exited Create list of static device nodes for the current kernel
lightdm.service loaded active running Light Display Manager
lm-sensors.service loaded active exited Initialize hardware monitoring sensors
ModemManager.service loaded active running Modem Manager
NetworkManager-wait-online.service loaded active exited Network Manager Wait Online
NetworkManager.service loaded active running Network Manager
nvidia-persistenced.service loaded active running NVIDIA Persistence Daemon
packagekit.service loaded active running PackageKit Daemon
plymouth-quit-wait.service loaded active exited Hold until boot process finishes up
plymouth-read-write.service loaded active exited Tell Plymouth To Write Out Runtime Data
plymouth-start.service loaded active exited Show Plymouth Boot Screen
polkit.service loaded active running Authorization Manager
rsyslog.service loaded active running System Logging Service
rtkit-daemon.service loaded active running RealtimeKit Scheduling Policy Service
systemd-fsck@dev-disk-by\x2duuid-af775cf3\x2d7b5f\x2d4d5d\x2d8906\x2d0314eaaa76ff.service loaded active exited File System Check on /dev/disk/by-uuid/af775cf3-7b5f-4d5d-8906-0314eaaa76ff
systemd-fsck@dev-disk-by\x2duuid-C2B6\x2dE1A8.service loaded active exited File System Check on /dev/disk/by-uuid/C2B6-E1A8
systemd-journal-flush.service loaded active exited Flush Journal to Persistent Storage
systemd-journald.service loaded active running Journal Service
systemd-logind.service loaded active running User Login Management
systemd-modules-load.service loaded active exited Load Kernel Modules
systemd-random-seed.service loaded active exited Load/Save Random Seed
systemd-remount-fs.service loaded active exited Remount Root and Kernel File Systems
systemd-sysctl.service loaded active exited Apply Kernel Variables
systemd-sysusers.service loaded active exited Create System Users
systemd-tmpfiles-setup-dev.service loaded active exited Create Static Device Nodes in /dev
systemd-tmpfiles-setup.service loaded active exited Create Volatile Files and Directories
systemd-udev-trigger.service loaded active exited Coldplug All udev Devices
systemd-udevd.service loaded active running Rule-based Manager for Device Events and Files
systemd-update-utmp.service loaded active exited Update UTMP about System Boot/Shutdown
systemd-user-sessions.service loaded active exited Permit User Sessions
udisks2.service loaded active running Disk Manager
ufw.service loaded active exited Uncomplicated firewall
upower.service loaded active running Daemon for power management
user-runtime-dir@1000.service loaded active exited User Runtime Directory /run/user/1000
user@1000.service loaded active running User Manager for UID 1000
wpa_supplicant.service loaded active running WPA supplicant
-.slice loaded active active Root Slice
system-getty.slice loaded active active system-getty.slice
system-modprobe.slice loaded active active system-modprobe.slice
system-systemd\x2dfsck.slice loaded active active system-systemd\x2dfsck.slice
system.slice loaded active active System Slice
user-1000.slice loaded active active User Slice of UID 1000
user.slice loaded active active User and Session Slice
acpid.socket loaded active running ACPID Listen Socket
dbus.socket loaded active running D-Bus System Message Bus Socket
syslog.socket loaded active running Syslog Socket
systemd-fsckd.socket loaded active listening fsck to fsckd communication Socket
systemd-initctl.socket loaded active listening initctl Compatibility Named Pipe
systemd-journald-dev-log.socket loaded active running Journal Socket (/dev/log)
systemd-journald.socket loaded active running Journal Socket
systemd-rfkill.socket loaded active listening Load/Save RF Kill Switch Status /dev/rfkill Watch
systemd-udevd-control.socket loaded active running udev Control Socket
systemd-udevd-kernel.socket loaded active running udev Kernel Socket
uuidd.socket loaded active listening UUID daemon activation socket
dev-disk-by\x2duuid-e7f1b580\x2d8ca5\x2d4e01\x2da14e\x2dd8adf419db9a.swap loaded active active /dev/disk/by-uuid/e7f1b580-8ca5-4e01-a14e-d8adf419db9a
basic.target loaded active active Basic System
cryptsetup.target loaded active active Local Encrypted Volumes
getty.target loaded active active Login Prompts
graphical.target loaded active active Graphical Interface
local-fs-pre.target loaded active active Local File Systems (Pre)
local-fs.target loaded active active Local File Systems
multi-user.target loaded active active Multi-User System
network-online.target loaded active active Network is Online
network.target loaded active active Network
paths.target loaded active active Paths
remote-fs.target loaded active active Remote File Systems
slices.target loaded active active Slices
sockets.target loaded active active Sockets
sound.target loaded active active Sound Card
swap.target loaded active active Swap
sysinit.target loaded active active System Initialization
timers.target loaded active active Timers
anacron.timer loaded active waiting Trigger anacron every hour
apt-daily-upgrade.timer loaded active waiting Daily apt upgrade and clean activities
apt-daily.timer loaded active waiting Daily apt download activities
e2scrub_all.timer loaded active waiting Periodic ext4 Online Metadata Check for All Filesystems
exim4-base.timer loaded active waiting Daily exim4-base housekeeping
fstrim.timer loaded active waiting Discard unused blocks once a week
fwupd-refresh.timer loaded active waiting Refresh fwupd metadata regularly
logrotate.timer loaded active waiting Daily rotation of log files
man-db.timer loaded active waiting Daily man-db regeneration
systemd-tmpfiles-clean.timer loaded active waiting Daily Cleanup of Temporary Directories
130 loaded units listed. Pass --all to see loaded but inactive units, too.## and I ran the program service --status-all to give me a basic list
## of services, from the context of my slightly tweaked debian base,
## just prior to migration, which I have a timeshift snapshot of.
xfin@ity:~$ sudo service --status-all
[ + ] acpid
[ - ] alsa-utils
[ - ] anacron
[ - ] apparmor
[ - ] avahi-daemon
[ - ] bluetooth
[ - ] console-setup.sh
[ - ] cron
[ - ] cryptdisks
[ - ] cryptdisks-early
[ - ] cups
[ - ] cups-browsed
[ + ] dbus
[ - ] exim4
[ + ] hddtemp
[ - ] hwclock.sh
[ + ] irqbalance
[ - ] keyboard-setup.sh
[ + ] kmod
[ + ] lightdm
[ + ] lm-sensors
[ - ] mdadm
[ - ] mdadm-waitidle
[ - ] networking
[ ? ] nvidia-persistenced
[ - ] plymouth
[ + ] plymouth-log
[ + ] procps
[ - ] pulseaudio-enable-autospawn
[ - ] rsync
[ + ] rsyslog
[ - ] saned
[ - ] speech-dispatcher
[ - ] sudo
[ + ] udev
[ + ] ufw
[ - ] uuidd
[ - ] x11-common## Now I've gathered some basic system information, and save it in a textfile
## on a backup drive for quick easy reference later on if needed.
## The next step is attempting to reconfigure the migration instructions
## to work with runit instead. I know there is a package containing basic
## runit scripts that was recently added to the repositories, and there
## is a useful web interface that allows me to search devuan's
## package databases in advance: which is located here.
https://pkginfo.devuan.org/cgi-bin/policy-query.html
## First I search runit-scripts which came up with no results
## then I searched for runit* which turned up some results and examined
## the package runit 2.1.2-41 which is in the chimaera/bullseye repo
## I note in the package description the important information I need
" Complete init replacement is provided by 'runit-init'
package. Users that want to take advantage of runit supervision under systemd
or sysv init can directly install the 'runit-run' package. "
## I know the package runit-scripts is mentioned recently by someone
## in devuan forums so I went back to find the exact post
## I cheated and used a crafted google search to utilize it's api
## to quickly find the info. Ideally I should have used the forums
## search function instead. Often times google is reluctant
## to give good information.
site:"dev1galaxy.org" runit-scripts
## and the exact post I was looking for was the 6th result on the page
## on google; I had to scroll down just slightly to find it
## runit-services: new package available !
https://dev1galaxy.org/viewtopic.php?id=5555
## I note the important information I need which is...
" an official package that contains runit services is finally available in unstable and testing. "
## and the package is actually called runit-services
## back on the web service that let's us search devuan's package base
## I note the exact repositories that contain the package, which are
## the main repo in ceres/sid and daedalus/bookworm
http://deb.devuan.org/merged ceres/main
http://deb.devuan.org/merged daedalus/main
## So here it looks like, that after migration I might have
## to upgrade to a newer distrubution, but ideally I
## just grab these dependencies that may be helpful
## so using devuan's web api for it's packages I pull the .deb
## I need which is linked near the bottom in "Filename:"
https://pkginfo.devuan.org/cgi-bin/pack … ices=0.5.4
## and note it's dependencies are provided by daedalus/ceres as well,
## which means if I have to use it initially I will need to resolve them
## virtualbox is in ceres/sid not daedalus/bookworm, so I'll
## prioritize that for later, along with things like compiling
## a custom kernel on my own.
## At this point, I feel comfortable enough to start to migrate
## and troubleshoot problems as they arise
## First, I examine the package details for runit-init
## which replaces sysvinit-core we are instructed
## to install in the bullseye->chimaera migration
## instructions on devuan.org/os/install
## and I note it's dependencies
Package:
runit-init
Version:
2.1.2-41
Installed-Size:
51
Maintainer:
Lorenzo Puliti <plorenzo@disroot.org>
Architecture:
all
Replaces:
runit (<< 2.1.2-10~), systemd-sysv, sysvinit-core
Depends:
runit (>= 2.1.2-29~), getty-run, sysv-rc, initscripts
Conflicts:
libnss-systemd, systemd-sysv, sysvinit-core
## Then I updated sources.list as per migration instructions
## and made a root account, which isn't made by default
## after installing debian from a live disk using calamares.
sudo passwd
## error after apt-get-upgrade
Error: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.systemd1.NoSuchUnit: Unit packagekit.service not found.
## and here is where I deviated from the standard instructions, to install
## runit-init instead of sysvinit-core
root@debian:~# apt-get install eudev runit-init
## which produced some errors I ignored, except to take note of
" The following packages have unmet dependencies:
libpam-systemd : Depends: systemd (= 247.3-7+deb11u1) but it is not installable
Depends: systemd-sysv but it is not installable
E: Error, pkgProblemResolver::Resolve generated breaks, this may be caused by held packages. "
## And after reboot everything was broken, I was able to get into
## my desktop environment with the liquorix kernel, but the default 5.10
## couldn't start lightdm, even after manually trying to execute
## /usr/bin/xfce4-session and /usr/sbin/lightdm
## And I noted initially that it appeared my wifi/networkmanager was broken
## and also pipewire
## But I noticed, after using pstree, that systemd was still init
## unlike my expectations as per the migration instructions,
## so... I had to start over with my timeshift
## and try again
## I booted up debian live, and installed f2fs-tools and timeshift
## and utilized the snapshot I placed on an external hard drive
## earlier to restore my previous working base system
sudo apt update && sudo apt install f2fs-tools timeshift -y
## now for whatever reason the xfce debian live iso fails
## to provide increased resolutions beyond 1024x768
## so the gui for timeshift actually had some elements cut off
## which I ignored and used tab + enter to select next
## on the first and second windows
## the resolution issue is fixed after updating the kernel
## in the first upgrade, or perhaps by using a newer iso
## so timeshift perfectly restored my system and in hindsight
## without it, I couldn't quickly troubleshoot
## and fix my system which is extremely important/useful
## At this point I see that ignoring the migration instructions
## didn't help the already complex situation so I decided to try
## and upgrade again as per the instructions
## So I followed the migration instructions again this time for sysv
## and actually turned out the exact same results, where
## upon the first reboot, systemd is still pd1 not sysv or runit
## And reverted again with timeshift
## This time around, I slowed myself down to look at exactly
## what was happening and saw the real problem was that
## when attempting to install eudev and runit-init or sysvinit-core
## They actually wern't being installed at all, and I was only
## reading the end section of apt's response, leading to false assumptions
xfin@ity:~$ sudo apt-get install eudev sysvinit-core
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have
requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
distribution that some required packages have not yet been created
or been moved out of Incoming.
The following information may help to resolve the situation:
The following packages have unmet dependencies:
libpam-systemd : Depends: systemd (= 247.3-7+deb11u1) but it is not installable
Depends: systemd-sysv but it is not installable
E: Error, pkgProblemResolver::Resolve generated breaks, this may be caused by held packages.
## So it looks like they wern't even installing at all, and it's not even clear why that is the case to begin with
## I even tried using apt-get install -f which turned up no results, so basically it appears that libpam-systemd
## is involved in a dependency cycle that breaks my attempt to install either sysvinit-core or runit-init
## Now I'm stuck in debian, with systemd with no hope to escape : D
## I tried using artix before but it has a variety of issues too including
## not being able to utilize custom kernels, which I suppose is due to them
## being compiled on systemd systems, but I don't know,
## I read on artix forums that the kernel is supposed to be systemd independent
## but in my experience installing new kernels breaks the systems initialization
## process precisely because of systemd relatives, such as maybe lightdm, and xfce4-session
## It makes me really sad I can't get it working because I have tried basically all of the latest distro's
## to see where I can get the best performance gains, and ideally here in devuan or on artix
## where alternate init systems are offered, we can build the ultimate performance systems,
## but a lot of issues turn up, aside from just having a basic desktop and basic utilities,
## that make it unworkable after all.
Last edited by Esleep (2023-03-02 23:36:06)
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#2 2023-09-06 00:25:53
- rdav
- Member
- Registered: 2017-06-30
- Posts: 51
Re: Debian->Devuan Install Notes
Hi Esleep,
Thank you for the effort in presenting your detailed system install notes!
From the printout you provide from the command "pstree" it appears your system is running systemd.
xfin@ity:~$ pstree systemd─┬─ModemManager───2*[{ModemManager}] ├─NetworkManager───2*[{NetworkManager}] ├─acpid ├─agetty ├─dbus-daemon
This isn't possible with Devuan as it uses "init" to boot the system.
from my lappie running Devuan 5:
root@pipz:~# pstree
init─┬─ModemManager───2*[{ModemManager}]
├─NetworkManager───2*[{NetworkManager}]
├─apache2─┬─apache2
│ └─2*[apache2───26*[{apache2}]]
├─at-spi-bus-laun─┬─dbus-daemon
│ └─3*[{at-spi-bus-laun}]
├─at-spi-bus-laun───3*[{at-spi-bus-laun}]
├─at-spi2-registr───2*[{at-spi2-registr}]Please think about revising your notes to show the install of a system that is systemd-free.
Thanks in advance!
- rdav
Offline
#3 2023-09-06 12:53:04
- aluma
- Member
- Registered: 2022-10-26
- Posts: 646
Re: Debian->Devuan Install Notes
Why this suffering?
Why not set aside 20...30 GB of hard disk space and install a clean Devuan right away?
And you can build your own kernel, just answer 5000 questions in the configuration file. 
https://dev1galaxy.org/viewtopic.php?id=5415
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#4 2023-09-06 23:39:36
- rdav
- Member
- Registered: 2017-06-30
- Posts: 51
Re: Debian->Devuan Install Notes
HI aluma,
Thanks for your reply.
No pain here, only a request to original author correct their notes.
And link to instaling Devuan and a custom kernel.
Always useful.
BTW I have already installed as a dual boot on a lappie https://dev1galaxy.org/viewtopic.php?pid=44111#p44111
cheers
- rdav
Offline
#5 2023-09-07 05:58:10
- aluma
- Member
- Registered: 2022-10-26
- Posts: 646
Re: Debian->Devuan Install Notes
HI rdav.
Of course, we each have our own entertainment and toys.
But I really do not understand why break one OS to install another? Today, disk capacity is not a problem; if possible, you can add another disk.
Spend time and get an OS littered with unnecessary rubbish, then puzzle over why it does not work as it should ...
But, I repeat, of course this is our free choice.
Regards.
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