Debian: Stretch(ing) to Buster

I had this on my TODO list for quite sometime, so, this a lousy grey, rainy Sunday that kept me from pedaling seeing the GF, thought of it as an ideal day to undertake this monumental task...

- Updated the system on Stretch.

- Edited the file /etc/apt/sources.list, changed "stretch" for "buster".

- Updated the system: sudo apt update

- Upgraded the system: sudo apt upgrade

- Full upgraded the system: sudo apt full-upgrade

- Reboot

- Profit

Everything seems to be running just fine, but I have to configure some stuff (for instance adding the Genmon plugin to the XFCE Panel).
The whole thing took about two hours, and it downloaded something like 1 GB of files.

Note To Self

Never update when running low on battery...
In order to get apt-get to a working condition, I had to issue a:

sudo dpkg --configure -a

And then:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
sudo apt-get --fix-broken install
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
And finally, things got back to normal.

Thinkpad T60p: Disable Bluetooth

Nothing worked (on Linux, specificalluy Debian Stretch...)
Totally unable to disable, and as importantly, to turn off the Bluetooth LED indicator just below the LCD.
So, in the end, did the same thing I did on the T420, disable Bluetooth on the BIOS.
The option to do so on the T60p BIOS is under "Options" > "Network".
AFAIK, hidden from the OS has to be the same as disabling, right?

Debian Stretch on the Thinkpad T420

As part of the Debian Everywhere, last Thursday installed Debian (Stretch) on the T420, replacing Linux Mint 18.
The install went (as usual) smooth as hell, of course there is no WiFi until you install, via non-free repos, the firmware-iwlwifi package.
Ths particular WiFi card it is a bit spotty out of the box, so it needs a tweak on the /etc/modprobe.d/iwlwifi.conf file, used exactly the same snippet I was already using on LM 18 and it worked perfectly.
As usual, the plain vanilla encrypted LVM and everyhing is peachy.
The only "problem" I found so far was disabling Bluetooth (don't use it at all), so far I haven't been able to disable it automagically. Besides don't using it, I hate the damn LED being turned on all the time.

A Frankenkeyboard

Quick! Spot The Alien!
Can you tell the odd one in the picture?
A little hint, the flapping 9, switched with the one from the soggy late last week.
Up next, if possible, those faded Shift and the Backspace key.
Truly a Frankenkeyboard.

Soggy Keyboard

Not really, but close... What a mess...

Ménage à Trois

Taken last night, what you might call a heavy duty night.
Wasting time with three old friends.
The Dell is connected thru HDMI to the TV while watching Ken Burns The Vietnam War, the T420 is the general purpose one and the X220 hanging around the with the bunch.

A Sunday Among Machines

The GF went for a little day trip with a girl friend, so, immersed myself with my boxes!
Children Of The Night!

A Little Help with The Power (Button)

So, once again I had to replace (after doing a field repair on the power button) the keyboard of my beloved Thinkpad T420 with an old one I had around that it used to be originally from the X220.
This whole thing of swapping and swapping keyboards is due to the damn flapping 9 key, that I got on a keyboard (doh!) as a nice trade with some spare parts a while back.
The power button was a bit flaky, so I added a piece of tape to act as a kind of shin in order for the power button to actually reach and push the toggle to turn on/ off the lappie.
So far the thing seems to be working A Ok.

The Rig

The Apple Cinema Display still rocks after all these years...

The current Linux Mint desktop

Another take at my current XFCE theme.

Plain Login

A little picture of my dull, flat and simple MDM login theme on XFCE.
What can I say... At this moment its a work in progress.

The current Linux Mint desktop

A while since I've posted a proper Linux desktop around here...
And also, this is the first one for the T420.
Simpler desktop for a simpler time.

Kernel Crud Delete Mode

The time to delete old kernels is here once again.
Bye, and thanks for all the booting.

Friday's Kernel Crud Delete Mode

This time for the T420 beauty and for the Optiplex as well.
The fight is not over!!!!

The Flapping Nine

A little trouble with the magnificent T420 keyboard.
Of course the key works, but its a PITA to use.
Will have to replace or fix that somehow PRONTO.

Sparing The Parts

Not so spare parts, at this point...
Everything seems to be A Ok, except for the 9 key, I might have to replace it soon.

Two Of A Kind

The GF's T410 on the left and the distant cousin on the right.
A happy Linux family!

Kernel Crud Delete Mode³

Once again, time to delete old unused kernels.
This time, a first for the T420.

Certification is Over

And with flying colors too.
As of today, the little four Twenty is seaworthy for all that matters.