Debian installation on Mac

Overview

The aim of this lesson is to learn how to install and run a second operating system called Debian on your PC or Mac computer. Normally Raspberry Pi computers are used, but because of the global silicon chip shortage we need to use existing computers to support these classes. With every challenge comes an opportunity! One easy way to install a second operating system on a computer is to use Oracle VirtualBox. This software permits a computer to virtualize another operating system. The second operating system is kept separate from the first operating system.

The underlying operating system that runs on the Raspberry Pi is a scaled down version of Debian Linux. If we install Debian on a PC using VirtualBox then it will behave like a Raspberry Pi. The look and feel may be a little different, but the underlying architecture and fundamental workings will be the same. There are many different desktop environments that can be installed over the Debian operating system. We will install the Xfce which is a fast and light weight desktop environment.

In a low carbon future it will be important to extend the life of computers by running light weight operating systems such as Debian Linux and doing less processor intensive activities on a computer – e.g word processing, reading pdf documents, playing audio files, etc. Next time you are using your computer look at the processor temperature or listen for the noise of the processor fan.

Learning Objectives

Learn how to install Oracle VirtualBox.
Learn how to download the latest Debian Linux operating system.
Learn how to install the Debian operating system on a Mac (or PC).
Learn how to configure the Debian operating system and install software.

Debian linux operating system installation on Mac or PC

The Debian operating system is very easy to install on a PC or Mac computer. When a PC or Mac is very old the Debian operating system can be installed as a new and clean install on the computer. This will significantly increase the working life of a computer.

In this lesson we will be installing Debian within VirtualBox. The installation will not affect current installation of the Windows or Mac operating system. To do this we need to:

Download the latest version of the Debian Linux operating system
Download and install Oracle VirtualBox
Install the Debian operating system within VirtualBox.

1. Download the latest Debian Linux operating system

Open a browser and enter the search term Debian Linux Download.
The URL is https://www.debian.org/distrib/
Find a link (normally the first) that gets you to this page.
Click on Download an installation image

There are different Debian installations.
We will choose an installation that will use the Internet.
Under the category Small CDs or USB sticks – select the amd64 image. amd64 – is the processor architecture used on most modern PC and Mac computers.
The image will start downloading to your Downloads folder on your PC or Mac.
The file name will be similar to debian-11.1.0-amd64-netinst.iso and is approximately 400MB in size.

2. Download and install Oracle VirtualBox

In a browser enter the search term Oracle VirtualBox Download
Or enter the URL https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads
Download on the VirtualBox package relevant to your computer and complete the installation.