Upgrading GNOME on Debian

The stable version of Debian often comes with an old GNOME version due to its focus on stability. For example, GNOME Debian 12 latest update comes with GNOME 43. The newest version of GNOME, as of writing this post, is 46. The latest versions of GNOME loaded so many innovative features. Debian 12 users can't simply update to GNOME 46. Here are the steps to update to GNOME's latest version. Debian 12 is used to demonstrate the update process. I request that the process be tried in a Debian 12 installed in Virtualbox for learning purposes and later tried on the production computer. Take the data backup before the update attempt.

Two ways we can do the GNOME update. Install the Debian 12 without any desktop. While software selection, uncheck the Debian Desktop environment and GNOME to get desktopless Debian.

Start the installation directly if you are using the Debian stable version with a desktop. Anyway, start the update process from here.

How to update Linux kernel in Debian

Debian is a Linux-based operating system. The Linux kernel is the core component of any Linux-based operating system, acting as a bridge between the hardware and the software. It manages critical tasks such as memory allocation, process scheduling, device drivers, and file system interactions. Linux kernel development is an active process. The Linux kernel may be old if you use the stable version of Debian. Updating your Linux kernel is crucial for security, performance, and hardware compatibility. For example, the Debian 12 stable version consists of Linux kernel version 6.1. Debian repository contains the latest Linux kernel version and can be installed in the system. The following are the procedures for updating the kernel from the stable version of Debian to the new one.

Check the current kernel version

Apply the following command in the terminal to see the kernel version.

uname -r

Install GNOME Core for slim desktop experience

GNOME is an excellent and modern desktop in terms of features and size. It is packed with so many apps and packages. Bulky-size GNOME desktops occupy a good amount of storage and memory. Linux distros are available with a complete package of the GNOME desktop. Users who want to try a lean GNOME desktop can install GNOME Core. The GNOME Core package contains the core components of the GNOME Desktop. Here, I select the Debian desktop to install GNOME Core installation. Debian Linux OS is flexible in the selection of desired desktops during the installation process. The GNOME desktop in Debian Linux comes without many modifications and is very fast.

Install VirtualBox 7 on Debian 12 (Bookworm)

Debian 12 recently rolled out, and many dependencies for the installation of VirtualBox must borrow from the previous version of Debian. We need to add the Debian 11 repository first.

Add the Debian 11 repository.

echo 'deb http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian bullseye main ' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian11.list

sudo apt update

Visit the following URL and download the .deb suitable for Debian,

https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Linux_Downloads

Apply the following command to install the VirtualBox Debian package. I assume that the VirtualBox .deb file in the Download folder,

cd Downloads

sudo dpkg -i virtualbox*

Find the VirtualBox in the application launcher.

Debian 12 Bookworm repository information

Here are the steps to add the main repository address to Debian 12.
Add to sources.list
Open the sources.list using your favourite text editor (e.g. Mousepad),

su
mousepad /etc/apt/sources.list

Copy and paste the following lines into the file,

deb https://deb.debian.org/debian/ bookworm main contrib non-free-firmware non-free
deb-src https://deb.debian.org/debian/ bookworm main contrib non-free-firmware non-free

Save and close the file. Update the repository list and upgrade the packages by applying following commands;

apt update
apt upgrade