Technology Linux Debian 12 Questions, Help & Support

[Tranced]

So, just so I'm not polluting the W11 thread, I'm running Debian 12 KDE Plasma 5, and I absolutely adore it. I love the fact it's all FOSS; the bloat really irritated me with mint and ubuntu. Plus KDE Plasma looks slick. I'm dualbooting off two seperate NVME's with w11.

This thread is admittedly "questions, help & support" for me specifically, though hopefully it helps someone else, and I look forward to people chiming in.

Things I need to do:

Install my 5750XT GPU drivers
Make the Grub 2 bootloader 1440P
Install b550 chipset drivers?
Get my Focusrite 6i6 Gen 1 working (no official driver support, but I have had it working on Ubuntu and Mint before)
Get a decent backup manager
Encrypt HD with veracrypt
Install wireguard/proton vpn drivers.

I'll post things here as I do them, more as a reference for next time, and in case I have any problems/anybody can chime in. Thank you people of bluelight.

 

[Tranced]

@thujone - these are my current repositories.



Shall I add the one you said again?

delete everything in the /etc/apt/sources.list.d directory, and make this the only line in /etc/apt/sources.list -

deb http://deb.debian.org/debian/ testing main non-free non-free-firmware contrib

Going to go ahead as planned!


These are my sound card settings, for a Focusrite 6i6 1st Gen. I really, really wish I had sound:

 

[SpiralusSancti]

Isn't there some automatic driver checker for Debian? "Hardware probe" maybe?

I'm not aware of ways to set up veracrypt full disk encryption after installing OS. Did you set up luks? Luks is fine encryption and if you don't plan to make hidden containers veracrypt might not be what you need. If you'll set up veracrypt with hidden containers I think you need to start over.
Setting up luks and having bootloader on usb is a nice set up imho.

wireguard is one of VPN protocols, I guess proton VPN uses it? setting it up in network manager should be pretty straight forward. unless it needs to be set up in a different way than openVPN and other protocols.

 

[Tranced]

So I have a focusrite 6i6 1st gen external soundcard and I'm getting no sound on debian.

This article came out, in a very timely way given when I first installed... was within days.

Focusrite Extends Help to Linux Developer to Enable Driver Support

LinuxMusicians - Index page

Focusrite's wonderful gesture towards supporting Linux.
Even though Linux as a desktop platform is evolving fast, it is still a choice for few music producers compared to Windows and macOS. A major reason being the lack of official support from several DAWs and hardware manufacturers.

Fortunately, all of that is changing, with big names getting involved with Linux. Curious? Well, recently, PreSonus announced Linux support for its Studio One DAW.

And, now, Focusrite, one of the direct competitors of PreSonus has joined in They also manufacture audio interfaces and other professional audio equipment.

If you are a music producer or an enthusiast, you should know that these names often go as synonymous with each other. While I currently use PreSonus over Focusrite, both the companies and their products are a big deal for the mass market.

Focusrite's Pledge to Linux Support​

Geoffrey Bennett is a user on the LinuxMusicians forums, known for his work to bring Linux support to popular Focusrite audio interfaces (Scarlett 2nd and 3rd gen).

Of course, it is a massive undertaking, unofficially.

To take that up a notch, he recently launched a fundraiser to get the latest audio interface by Focusrite, i.e., Scarlett 4th gen.

Along with that, he had goals to work on podcast equipment by Focusrite.

While the fundraiser was a success, it also got attention from Focusrite, and they contributed a significant amount to help him get the latest audio interface.

Focusrite also offered to send him any devices he does not have and future products before release.

To add cherry on top, they mentioned how their engineering team can help him improve the development work.

While I had previously struggled to connect with the engineers or management at Focusrite, news of the overwhelming response to this fundraiser reached the top tiers there. Given the niche nature of Linux audio, I had kept my expectations in check, but this was beyond what I had imagined.

I just got off a call with them where, beyond providing the hardware, they were inquiring about other ways they could support the development.

Focusrite not only offered to send me any devices I didn't have in my collection but also proposed that for any future product releases, they will do their utmost to send me devices in advance. This means that Linux support could be ready right from the product launch!

Furthermore, they are discussing how their engineering team could better help me to streamline the development process, and eliminate much of the guesswork.

- Geoffrey via LinuxMusicians
So, Focusrite wants to ensure that the Linux community gets to use their products with an improved experience. In other words, indirectly providing official support to the Linux platform.

And, this is big news!

These two big audio manufacturers should persuade other software and hardware companies as well. Whether it is in the form of official support for drivers, troubleshooting support for their customers, anything works.

Any kind of attention to the Linux platform will help improve the Linux audio ecosystem.

Audio professionals do not have to get locked in the proprietary platforms or pay for a license to get an operating system if more audio companies add Linux support.

Focusrite Scarlett Gen 1 Control Panel GUI - Somebody actually replied to me here
[SOLVED] Scarlett 6i6 1st gen, no audio

It seems I can maybe use Jack too, though this article is for a different gen:

Focusrite Scarlett Solo Gen 3

The Scarlett Solo is a budget interface from Focusrite sporting USB connectivity and two preamps capable of delivering 56 dB of gain. Let's see if it knows how-to Linux.

linuxgamecast.com

Thoughts on where to take it? How can I backup first; I do not want a reinstall

 

[Tranced]

Isn't there some automatic driver checker for Debian? "Hardware probe" maybe?

I'm not aware of ways to set up veracrypt full disk encryption after installing OS. Did you set up luks? Luks is fine encryption and if you don't plan to make hidden containers veracrypt might not be what you need. If you'll set up veracrypt with hidden containers I think you need to start over.
Setting up luks and having bootloader on usb is a nice set up imho.

wireguard is one of VPN protocols, I guess proton VPN uses it? setting it up in network manager should be pretty straight forward. unless it needs to be set up in a different way than openVPN and other protocols.

I did actually install wireguard the other week, it's built into the latest Debian Kernel. The protonvpn linux app is shocking.

Just took a bit of fiddling.

I don't suppose you fancy jumping on Session (FOSS, no number requied etc), or Discord so I can grill you on a few things, do you?

 

[SpiralusSancti]

I did actually install wireguard the other week, it's built into the latest Debian Kernel. The protonvpn linux app is shocking.

Just took a bit of fiddling.

I don't suppose you fancy jumping on Session (FOSS, no number requied etc), or Discord so I can grill you on a few things, do you?

Not atm friend but it isn't out of question.
But know that I wont likely be of any help with installing drivers and for the rest I probably can learn at least as much about this stuff from you.
One member here told me that I helped him a lot clarifying some computer stuff for him but I'm still far from knowing even everything I need.
Tho I do have ambitions of getting a lot better at computing.

 

[someguyontheinternet]

Open up pavucontrol and see if the card is detected

 

[thujone]

Shall I add the one you said again?

trixie is the codename for the next stable release so it's the same as testing right now, but when trixie becomes the stable release then package updates will slow down.

if you stick with trixie then it will eventually become outdated over time as it moves to stable then oldstable. if you move to testing now then you will always be tracking the latest packages and don't have to worry about the distro release cycle.

is this clear? it's like if you have "iPhone 15" and "latest iPhone" and both are the same until iPhone 16 comes out then "latest iPhone" is no longer "iPhone 15". Trixie is like "iPhone 15" and testing is like "latest iPhone"

 

[Mr. Krinkle]

So I have a focusrite 6i6 1st gen external soundcard and I'm getting no sound on debian.

This article came out, in a very timely way given when I first installed... was within days.

Focusrite Extends Help to Linux Developer to Enable Driver Support

LinuxMusicians - Index page

Focusrite's wonderful gesture towards supporting Linux.
Even though Linux as a desktop platform is evolving fast, it is still a choice for few music producers compared to Windows and macOS. A major reason being the lack of official support from several DAWs and hardware manufacturers.

Fortunately, all of that is changing, with big names getting involved with Linux. Curious? Well, recently, PreSonus announced Linux support for its Studio One DAW.

And, now, Focusrite, one of the direct competitors of PreSonus has joined in They also manufacture audio interfaces and other professional audio equipment.



Focusrite Scarlett Gen 1 Control Panel GUI - Somebody actually replied to me here
[SOLVED] Scarlett 6i6 1st gen, no audio

It seems I can maybe use Jack too, though this article is for a different gen:

Focusrite Scarlett Solo Gen 3

The Scarlett Solo is a budget interface from Focusrite sporting USB connectivity and two preamps capable of delivering 56 dB of gain. Let's see if it knows how-to Linux.

linuxgamecast.com

Thoughts on where to take it? How can I backup first; I do not want a reinstall

I've been on Linux Mint since 2012 and it was a little rough at first but nowadays, there's nothing i can't do that i could do on windows

i love it...i have a work laptop with windows 11....can't stand it - funny tho how out of the loop i am with windows now

 

[Tranced]

Solution: do not use Debian 13 trixie/testing, it is an absolute nightmare and many things are way too broken for a noob.

Also I said in the title I was debian 12. Just noticed that; I was Debian 13. Probably another reason nothing worked.

Debian 12.7 Stable with KDE Plasma works like a dream.

Thanks for the help @thujone - I'm an absolute master at Debian with a trusty AI to tell me everything.

Shame it's going to.enslave us.

 

[Shinji Ikari]

A lot of people use testing full-time if debians forums were anything to go by a few years ago. I think the issue is it's mostly stable on a base install but the more packages you add and the more you bring in from outside the repos the more perilous things get.

You get the same problem on Arch or any distro sticking close to upstream. Out of the box they're solid but the more variables you introduce the more likely something is to break.