2023年2月13日星期一
Linux Distros
Signing the LMDE 7 “Gigi” Repository Key in Debian 13
To securely add the Linux Mint Debian Edition 7 (Gigi) repository in Debian 13, you need to import its official GPG key into your trusted keyring and configure the repository to use it.
1. Import the Linux Mint GPG Key
Linux Mint uses a public GPG key for signing its repositories. You can fetch it from their keyserver:
# Import the official Linux Mint signing key
gpg --keyserver hkp://keyserver.ubuntu.com:80 --recv-key "27DE B156 44C6 B3CF 3BD7 D291 300F 846B A25B AE09"
This key is used to verify packages from the LMDE 7 repository ThinkPenguin.com.
2. Add the Repository with Signed-by
Debian 13 (Trixie) uses the signed-by option in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ files. Create a new file for the LMDE 7 repository:
# Create the sources.list.d file
echo 'deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/linuxmint.gpg] https://packages.linuxmint.com/debian/ trixie main restricted universe multiverse' | \
sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/linuxmint.gpg.list
Here:
https://packages.linuxmint.com/debian/is the LMDE 7 repository URL.trixieis Debian 13’s codename.signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/linuxmint.gpgtells APT to use the imported key.
3. Ensure the Keyring Exists
If the keyring file doesn’t exist, create it:
sudo mkdir -p /etc/apt/keyrings
gpg --export --armor 27DEB15644C6B3CF3BD7D291300F846BA25BAE09 | \
sudo tee /etc/apt/keyrings/linuxmint.gpg
This stores the imported key in the trusted keyring.
4. Update and Verify
Update your package list to ensure the key is trusted:
sudo apt update
You can verify the key’s fingerprint matches the one you imported:
gpg --fingerprint 27DEB15644C6B3CF3BD7D291300F846BA25BAE09
5. Install Packages
Once the repository is signed and trusted, you can install LMDE 7 packages:
sudo apt install [package-name]
Tip: Always keep your GPG keyring updated and only add repositories from trusted sources to avoid man-in-the-middle attacks linuxbash.sh.
By following these steps, you’ve securely signed and added the LMDE 7 “Gigi” repository in Debian 13, ensuring package authenticity and integrity.
Manual installation MintPPC
This page was edited on 22.7.2026.
I will give some guidance on how to manually install the Mint layer on top of Debian sid. Debian sid can be installed as described in my other post.
We are first going to adapt the /etc/apt/sources.list file and add the MintPPC repository:sudo apt edit-sources
Add the following lines:
BTW : use http not https! For security reasons, the website will show https instead of http.
for MintPPC32:deb https://u58733p55594.web0093.zxcs-klant.nl/repo unstable main
deb https://u58733p55594.web0093.zxcs-klant.nl/wicknix ./
for MintPPC64:deb https://u58733p55594.web0093.zxcs-klant.nl/repo-64 unstable maindeb https://u58733p55594.web0093.zxcs-klant.nl/xeno74 ./
Close and save the editor. Then we update the repo:sudo apt update
You will see that we will need my public gpg key. We will now import the MintPPC public key:cd /home/your_username/Downloadswget https://u58733p55594.web0093.zxcs-klant.nl/repo/key/public.gpg.key
We will now convert and import the key in the Debian way:
gpg --no-default-keyring --keyring ./temp-keyring.gpg --import public.gpg.keygpg --keyring ./temp-keyring.gpg --no-default-keyring --export -a > mintppc.ascrm temp-keyring.gpgsudo mv mintppc.asc /etc/apt/keyrings/
To know more about importing public keys the right (Debian) way, see this link.
Edit the file /etc/apt/sources.list, and in between deb and the url, add [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/mintppc.asc]
sudo apt /etc/apt/sources.list
For MintPPC32 it will look like:#MintPPC32 repository
deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/mintppc.asc] https://u58733p55594.web0093.zxcs-klant.nl/repo unstable main
#MintPPC32 additional repository
deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/mintppc.asc] https://u58733p55594.web0093.zxcs-klant.nl/wicknix ./
For MintPPC64 it will look like:#MintPPC64 repository
deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/mintppc.asc] https://u58733p55594.web0093.zxcs-klant.nl/repo-64 unstable main
#MintPPC64 additional repository
deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/mintppc.asc] https://u58733p55594.web0093.zxcs-klant.nl/xeno74 ./
sudo apt update
We are now connected to the MintPPC repository and can start installing programs from there.
Now we are going to install MintPPC specific packages and some other packages to install the mint-lxde desktop.sudo apt install
task-lxde-desktop lxdm mint-artwork mint-artwork-lxde mint-common \
mint-lxde-default-settings mint-x-icons mint-y-icons mint-l-icons mint-themes \
mint-backgrounds-tina mint-backgrounds-ulyana mintsystem mint-l-theme xdg-user-dirs \
xdg-user-dirs-gtk libglib2.0-bin hfsutils evince \
firmware-linux-nonfree firmware-amd-graphics package-update-indicator \
brasero mtpaint pidgin xpad l3afpad arcticfox sealion \
gnome-screenshot mesa-utils mesa-utils-extra mint-cursor-themes \
gnome-themes-extra network-manager network-manager-gnome \
gucharmap galculator scrot preload xserver-xorg-video-nouveau sudo
To download this task and execute it:wget https://u58733p55594.web0093.zxcs-klant.nl/task-mintppc
chmod u+x task-mintppc
./task-mintppc
To install the right airport driver have a look here.
Make sure that you have configured the right display (or login) manager, if it has not already been done during package installation:sudo dpkg-reconfigure lxdm
Select lxdm, then ok
Now we delete the display manager package lightdm if it is present:sudo apt remove lightdm
Installing MintPPC in the usual way is done within an installer medium and a preseed file. Packages are installed and only after that, regular users are created. In this way, the newly created user gets all the MintPPC specific tweaks. As we now start from a system where user(s) are already set up, installing these MintPPC specific packages will not affect those users.
You have to either create a new user, or do a trick (in that case skip the following step).
So, in order to have a nice desktop, we have to create a new user which will be you. Give that user administration rights and then after everything is set up, delete the old user account. Users can be created and deleted from the Menu, Preferences, Users and Groups. After the new user is created, logout from this session (Menu, Logout and click Logout).
If you don’t want to create a new user you have to copy everything from /etc/skel into your home folder. Go to your home folder and issue:cp -r /etc/skel/* .
cp -r /etc/skel/.* .
Now log into into LXDE with your new user account and choose the Mint-LXDE session. You will then see the MintPPC desktop.
To get sound working install alsa-utils and launch alsamixer sudo apt install alsa-utils
alsamixer
Then hit fn+F6 (SoundByLayout)
go to the right and make sure you have PCM at 80<>80
ESC to exit alsamixer
You should have sound now…
Do not do the following in virtual emulated environment (qemu):
To tweak Debian to Linux Mint Debian, install debian-system-adjustments:
sudo apt install debian-system-adjustments
It is very important to install the program hfsprogs. It is needed in case the boot partition gets corrupted. It happens when one tries to upgrade the kernel and the post installation process wants to write to the /dev/sda2 boot partition. It will then complain it is read only and can’t fulfill the task. One has to then do this fix:sudo fsck.hfs /dev/sda2
To make SeaLion browser work in MintPPC64 do the following in /usr/lib/powerpc64-linux-gnu:sudo ln -s libffi.so.8 libffi.so.6
SeaLion was compiled in an older version of Debian, therefore we need to soft link the old library to the newer one.
Old information:
To have SeaLion 33.6.1 working one needs to install an old library (libjpeg.so.8 in /usr/lib/powerpc-linux-gnu/). It can be retrieved here.
If you want to change SeaLion to the theme of MintPPC, go here.
Reboot into MintPPC. At Grub you now see LMDE 6 Faye if you are not in an emulated (qemu) environment. Boot into MintPPC and that’s it folks.
Enjoy your MintPPC desktop!
I hope that you will enjoy your new desktop. Please give me feedback!
Mintify 21.3 (Virginia)
Warning
Use the following how-to and Mintify script AT YOUR OWN RISK!
They come with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY of any kind!
License
GPL v3.0+Prerequisites
1. Supported hardware (listed below) or enough courage to try the script on unsupported hardware. At least 2GB of RAM is recommended to avoid swapping.
2. Fast and durable internal or external storage (NVMe/SSD) with ext4 (or any Linux filesystem supported by the running kernel) and 50GB of free space (15GB for the installation + 35GB for the build environment). Storage systems without wear leveling support (eg. SD cards, USB flash drives, ancient SSDs) are unsuitable as their lifespan could decrease significantly or they could die!
3. Internet conection with unlimited quota for transferred data, as gigabytes of packages need to be downloaded.
4. Enough time that you can set aside for the script to run. The time requirements are written below.
5. Sufficient knowledge of Linux to overcome any shortcomings of this how-to.
How-to
1. Download one of the following recommended images and boot it. For booting from USB, read the 'Good to know' section.
DC-ROMA Laptop (riscv64) - Armbian 23.8.1 Jammy [unofficial v0.1] (sha256) {>11hrs}
Odroid XU4 (armv7l) - Armbian 23.11.1 Jammy (sha256) {>9hrs}
Pandaboard (armv7l) - Armbian 23.11.1 Jammy [unofficial v0.1] (sha256) {>23hrs}
Pine A64+ (aarch64) - Armbian 23.11.1 Jammy (sha256) {>19hrs}
Pinebook Pro (aarch64) - Armbian 23.11.1 Jammy (sha256) {>8hrs}
Raspberry Pi 4B (aarch64) - Armbian 23.11.1 Jammy (sha256) {>8hrs}
Raspberry Pi 5B (aarch64) - Armbian 24.2.5 Jammy (sha256) {>4hrs}
VisionFive 2 (riscv64) - Armbian 23.8.1 Jammy [unofficial v0.1] (sha256) {>11hrs}
2. Create a regular user called mintify (or any name that differs from your usual one)
3. Connect to a network with Internet access
4. Become root (if you are not yet)
sudo su
5. Create the required directories
mkdir -p /mintify/chroot
6. If (despite the recommendations) you are booting from slow media, then at least mount the previously mentioned faster and durable (and preferably empty) storage under the /mintify/chroot mount point (and optionally make the mount permanent via /etc/fstab)
mount /dev/XXXXX /mintify/chroot
7. Go to the /mintify dir and download the mintify script (note there are three V letters in the address)
cd /mintify && wget http://mintify.tavvva.net/mintify-21.3.sh
8. Make the script executable
chmod +x mintify-21.3.sh
9. Run the script in interactive or non-interactive mode (use -h for help)
/mintify/mintify-21.3.sh
Good to know
1. To boot from a USB drive, you can either try 'Tow-Boot' or clone the SD card contents to the USB drive (with dd or by writing the same image again) and then change the UUID/LABEL of the root file system on the SD card to prevent the kernel from using it, as changing the UUID/LABEL of the root file system on the USB drive requires editing the 'root' or 'rootdev' variable in the bootloader configuration on the SD card and each image can differ in a way of achieving that (boot.ini, cmdline.txt, uEnv.txt or boot.scr). In some cases (eg. boot.scr) the modification is not even directly possible and u-boot-tools/mkimage are required. The UUID/LABEL can be modified with gparted.
2. The contents of the /mintify/chroot/repo directory are reusable. If you want to deploy the port to multiple computers, then transfer the repo content and run the script from #8 in the menu (interactive mode) or with the -i option (non-interactive mode; use -h for help). If you transfer the whole chroot, then rename or delete the /mintify/chroot/status directory to allow the non-interactive mode to pass and to see the correct status in the interactive mode.
3. Some repositories (eg. Armbian) are time sensitive and apt fails to update the database when the HW is missing RTC (real-time clock) and the clock is not synchronized. In such cases you need to set the correct date and time prior running the Mintify script. You can install ntpdate and fix the time with ntpdate tik.cesnet.cz or similar.
4. Codecs are not installed automatically and you can install them with the following command (once you complete the installation procedure):
apt install mint-meta-codecs
Currently, Linux Mint does not have an official ARM (Aarch64) edition. The distribution primarily targets x86 (32-bit and 64-bit) architectures, and while ARM support has been discussed, it has not been formally implemented due to resource constraints and platform fragmentation.
That said, Linux Mint can run on ARM hardware indirectly by leveraging its Ubuntu base. Since Ubuntu provides ARM builds, users can install Ubuntu (or ARM-focused distros like Armbian) on ARM devices and then add Mint’s desktop environment and packages on top. This approach has been tested successfully on devices like the Raspberry Pi and ARM laptops, though it remains unofficial and unsupported by the Mint team.
Key Points:
No official ARM ISO: There is no ready-to-install ARM image from Linux Mint.
Unofficial methods exist: Install Ubuntu ARM, then add Mint’s Cinnamon, MATE, or Xfce packages.
Community efforts: Developers have rebuilt Mint packages for ARM64 and created local repositories, but these are personal projects, not endorsed by the Mint team.
Hardware scope: ARM covers a wide range of processors (e.g., Raspberry Pi, Apple M1/M2, Snapdragon laptops), making universal support complex.
Future possibility: The Mint team has stated they are not opposed to ARM support, but it would require significant demand and resources before becoming official.
Example: Installing Mint on ARM via Ubuntu
# Install Ubuntu ARM on your device first# Then add Mint repositories (unofficial)sudo add-apt-repository 'deb http://packages.linuxmint.com una main upstream import'sudo apt updatesudo apt install mint-meta-cinnamon(Replace [/mint-meta-cinnamon with mint-meta-mate or mint-meta-xfce as desired.)/]
Considerations:
Expect missing packages (e.g., Mint’s Firefox build) and potential dependency issues.
Updates and bug fixes will not be handled by the official Mint team.
For stable ARM support today, Debian, Ubuntu, or Raspberry Pi OS are better suited.
In summary, Linux Mint is not natively ARM-compatible yet, but with some manual setup, you can run a Mint-like environment on ARM devices. Official support may come in the future if ARM laptops and desktops become more mainstream.
- Apple mac cleanup procedures.. the data drive grows without control
- https://github.com/utmapp/UTM/issues/530
- Repair Partitions on SD cards