See how to correctly install Debian 12 "Bookworm" on your computer (dual-boot or not) by following our tips!

The Debian Project made available on June 10, 2023 the stable version of Debian 12 "Bookworm" with support for updates, security and bug fixes for around 5 years (until June 2028). Based on the Linux Kernel 6.1 LTS, Debian Bookworm brings the proprietary firmware on the official installation media and has the latest versions of desktop environments, such as KDE Plasma 5.27, GNOME 43 and Xfce 4.18, in addition to various software and system package updates.

And to help especially beginners who want to use this newest version of Debian, we have prepared this complete step-by-step installation of Debian 12 "Bookworm", from the initial preparations such as creating the installation media and freeing up disk space to the first login to the system.

𝙏𝙞𝙥!

𝙏𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙪𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙢𝙡𝙮, 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩, 𝙞𝙛 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮, 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙, 𝙤𝙠?!

𝘈𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯!

𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘋𝘈𝘛𝘈 𝘓𝘖𝘚𝘚. 𝘔𝘈𝘒𝘌 𝘉𝘈𝘊𝘒𝘜𝘗 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘉𝘌𝘍𝘖𝘙𝘌 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘰𝘬?!

𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧!

" 𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥" 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝟏𝟓𝟎𝐆𝐁 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟑𝐆𝐁 𝐨𝐟 𝐑𝐀𝐌. 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐔𝐄𝐅𝐈 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠.

Content Index

Debian 12 system requirements;

Before I start, what should I do?

BACKUP ALL your files;

Perform the DEFRAGMENTATION or OPTIMIZATION of the disk;

Disable Windows Fast Startup;

Download Debian 12 "Bookworm";

Check that the ISO image is not corrupted;

Create a Debian 12 "Bookworm" installation media;

Creating a bootable pen drive with Ventoy (recommended);

Creating a bootable pen drive with dd (Linux);

Creating a bootable pen drive with Rufus (Windows);

Burning the ISO to a DVD;

Free up space on your SSD or HDD (through Windows or with GParted);

Boot the PC from the installation media;

Installation of Debian 12 "Bookworm";

Only Windows starts after installing Debian, what to do?

What to do after installing Debian 12?

Conclusion.

Debian 12 System Requirements

Before we begin, check below if your computer meets the following minimum requirements for installing and running Debian 12 "Bookworm":

Processor (Intel® or AMD®) of 1 GHz or faster;

1 GB of RAM (2 GB or more is recommended);

10 GB (or more) of free* disk space for installation;

𝘐𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯!

𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘋𝘦𝘣𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺, 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 3 𝘎𝘉 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘈𝘔.

𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 "𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳" 𝘢𝘯𝘥/𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 2 𝘎𝘉 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘈𝘔, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘟𝘧𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘓𝘟𝘋𝘌 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘕𝘖𝘔𝘌 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘒𝘋𝘌 (𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴) , 𝘖𝘒?!

Is your computer capable of installing Debian Bookworm? If so, check out some steps below that you should follow BEFORE starting the installation!

Before I start, what should I do?

Do you intend to install Debian 12 "Bookworm" alongside the Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8/8.1, Windows 7 or any other Linux distribution previously installed on your disk (performing the "famous" dual boot)? So you MUST FOLLOW THE RECOMMENDATIONS BELOW to avoid future headaches:

BACK UP ALL your files (like music, documents, photos, etc) to an external storage device (like a HDD/SSD, Blu-rays, DVDs, pen drives or SD cards) use a cloud storage service ( Google Drive, Dropbox, MEGA, etc.). This is extremely important and must be done regularly (not just now that you want to install Debian), because if something goes wrong your personal data will be safe.

Defragment or OPTIMIZE the partition where Windows is located (at least 2 times) or the NTFS partition that you will resize to install Debian. If you use an SSD, use the optimization software provided by the disk manufacturer to optimize it. For HDDs, I recommend that you use Windows' own defragmentation tool to, obviously, defragment it.

Disable Windows Fast Startup, a feature present in newer versions of Windows (more precisely in Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8.1 and 8) that causes your computer to go into hibernation when you turn it off, causing problems when performing dual boot and also if you want to access the Windows partition.

To do this, open the Control Panel, then go to Power Options >> Change how the power buttons work, once done, click on Change settings not currently available and uncheck the "Turn on fast startup" option. Afterwards, save the changes.

Download Debian 12 "Bookworm"

Debian is a free, open-source operating system built by volunteers from around the world and freely available for personal or commercial use. And to download it (if you haven't already), just access the official website. https://www.debian.org/distrib/

Below you will also find the links to access the latest Debian Bookworm ISOs: 64-bit or 32-bit https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current/amd64/iso-dvd/ https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current/i386/iso-dvd/

Check that the ISO image is not corrupted

After downloading, it is highly recommended that you check the integrity of the ISO before burning it to a DVD or pen drive (thus avoiding random problems during installation).

If you are a Linux user, you can easily check the integrity of the ISO using the terminal.

On Windows, you will have to download third-party software to perform the verification.

Create Debian 12 "Bookworm" installation media

After checking that the ISO you downloaded is complete, it's time to create installation media with it. Below I show some easy methods for creating a bootable pen drive that I use and recommend, in addition to the traditional DVD method.

Creating a bootable pen drive with Ventoy (recommended)

The easiest way to create a Debian installation pen drive, whether on Windows or Linux, is using Ventoy. With Ventoy, all you have to do is format the pen drive once and copy the ISO to the created partition, that's it!

Creating a bootable pen drive with dd (Linux)

For Linux users who like to use the good old terminal, it is also possible to create a Debian installation media with "dd".

Creating a bootable pen drive with Rufus (Windows)

Rufus is, without a doubt, the best-known and most practical tool for creating bootable pen drives available for Windows.

Burning the ISO to a DVD

Another more traditional option that is little used nowadays is to create bootable optical discs (CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays) to install operating systems.

In Linux you have at your disposal some software such as the famous K3B, Brasero or Xfburn to create a Debian installation DVD easily in a few clicks.

Windows has a native tool to burn ISO to DVDs, just right-click on the Debian ISO file and select the "Burn disc image" option.

Free up space on your SSD or HDD (with Windows or with GParted)

Assuming that you have already backed up your data and that you have optimized or defragmented your SSD/HDD (if you use Windows), you will now need to create enough empty space on your disk to install Debian.

Notes regarding partitions (under construction)

Before you start resizing your disk partitions, it is important that you pay attention to some details so as not to get confused when installing Debian:

What partitions are needed for Debian?

For the "standard" installation of Debian (using the Ext4 file system) on a computer that already has another operating system(s), basically 2 partitions are needed:

The "Root", where Debian and all software are installed (which can also store your personal data);

And "Swap", a partition that acts as a virtual RAM memory (extending the computer's physical RAM memory) and supports suspension to disk.

𝑰𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏!

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝑶𝑴𝑬 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒐𝒐𝒕 (𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎).

What size should these partitions be?

The size for the partitions varies according to the requirements of each system and according to the needs of each user.

In the case of Debian (for installation with a graphical environment), it is necessary to allocate a minimum of 10 GB to the Root Partition. This is only for the system itself, the pre-installed software and for downloading future package updates, not counting your personal files and other extra software that you may install.

Regarding the Swap Partition, the Debian installer (in automatic mode) usually creates a partition of just 1 GB, but this may vary depending on the amount of RAM available on your computer.

But after all, how much space do I need to install Debian?

As stated above, this varies depending on the system and user needs.

In general, I recommend that you allocate at least 35 GB to the Root Partition, this allows you to install Debian with more "slack" and can also install some more software without the risk of running out of disk space. Remember that these 35 GB that I recommended are only for Debian, if you intend to store your personal data in the Root you need to add enough space to store them + about 10% free space (at least) to spare.

𝑻𝒊𝒑!

𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒆𝒃𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑹𝒐𝒐𝒕, 𝑰 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂 𝑯𝑶𝑴𝑬 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒐𝒌?!

Regarding the Swap Partition, I, personally, recommend that you allocate 4 GB to it. It's the same amount of Swap that I've been using for several years and I've never gotten to use it fully (but I'm also not in the habit of using the suspend feature in Linux).

Doing the math, according to the Debian documentation, you need to have:

10 GB for Root Partition (system only) + 1 GB for Swap Partition = 11 GB of FREE SPACE at least on disk, not counting the space to store your data;

According to my recommendations, you need to have:

35 GB for Root Partition + 4 GB for Swap Partition + Enough space for HOME Partition (the partition that will store your personal files) = More than 39 GB of FREE disk SPACE.

What about the HOME Partition, is it worth having one?

From my own experience I say, YES, it is really worth using a HOME Partition separate from the Root. By storing your documents, music, images, videos and other files in a partition separate from the partition where the operating system was installed, you have some benefits:

More security, because if the partition where your system is installed becomes corrupted, your data will be "safe" in another location;

Possibility to reinstall (or even change) the operating system easily without affecting your data (this does not replace the backup!);

Possibility of using the same HOME Partition in other Linux distributions or even in Windows (in this case, using the NTFS file system in it and disabling the Windows Fast Startup feature);

Allows you to resize the partition (increasing or decreasing in size) without affecting the system partition.

These are some of the advantages of having a separate HOME Partition, but despite this, it's up to you to create one or store your data directly on the partition where your Debian will be installed, ok?!

Partitioning disk in Windows

If you already have Windows installed on your computer, it is highly recommended that you use Disk Management, the system's native tool for creating and resizing partitions (in addition to other disk operations).

If you have a Linux distribution installed on your SSD/HDD, use GParted on a Live CD or pen drive to resize your partitions.

𝑰𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏!

𝑨𝒍𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑮𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒌 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒕𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒊𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 "𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒔" 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒕.

Boot PC from installation media

After freeing up disk space, it's time to boot your PC or notebook from the Debian Bookworm installation media that you learned how to create above.

The procedure is simple, the first step is to leave your bootable pen drive "sticking" in a USB port or insert the Debian DVD into the optical drive. Then, restart your computer normally and BEFORE the operating system already installed on your machine starts, you must press a certain key several times to access the Boot Menu (or Boot Menu) and select your installation media.

𝑰𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏!

𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒓/𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆, 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕.

When you access the Boot Menu you will find several boot options, including your SSD and/or HDD. If you are using a DVD to install Debian, just select your optical drive in the Boot Menu, press Enter and wait for it to load.

If you are using a Debian installation pen drive, be aware:

For computers with UEFI + Secure Boot    Your flash drive will probably be listed twice, however, you MUST select the pen drive in UEFI mode (the name option "UEFI: pen drive name/model") to install the Debian, as highlighted by the letter A

𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻!

𝗔𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝘁 (𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝘁) 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 (𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀) 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗗𝗩𝗗.

𝗜𝗙 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗯𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 (𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲), 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲'𝘀 𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗽.

For computers with BIOS/Legacy    Just normally select your pen drive in the Boot Menu list (without the option “UEFI”), as shown by the letter B

After backing up your data, freeing up space on the SSD/HDD and learning how to boot from the installation media, restart your computer to begin the step-by-step installation of Debian 12 "Bookworm"!

Installing Debian 12 "Bookworm"

And finally it's time to install Debian 12 Bookworm. Have you read and followed all the recommendations above? Are you ready? So let's go!

After booting your computer with the Debian Bookworm bootable pen drive or CD/DVD, a screen similar to the image below will be displayed (if your computer has UEFI). There, select the "Installation" option and press Enter then:

Next you must select the language that will be used in the system installation process.

Afterwards, select the country where you reside and click the "Continue" button:

Choose your keyboard layout and click "Continue":

The Debian installer will automatically attempt to configure the network (if you are connected to one), and if your computer has more than one network card (such as Wi-Fi), you can choose which one to connect to.

Afterwards, you must define a hostname for your system (or leave the one indicated by default) and click "Continue":

You will then be able to enter the domain name for your system. If you have no idea what this is, just leave it blank and click "Continue":

In the next step, you will be able to set a root password for your Debian (I recommend using special characters in it). You will have to enter the password twice and then click the "Continue" button:

𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻!

𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁, 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸 "𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲". 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀, 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 (𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽) 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗱𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀.

Afterwards, enter your Full Name to create a "standard" User Account on your system and then click "Continue":

Enter a username (which must always begin with a lowercase letter) for the new default account:

And create a password for this new account (you will also have to enter the password twice):

Then, set the time zone by selecting the state where you live and click "Continue":

Now we come to the most important step of installing Debian Bookworm, which is Disk Selection and Partitioning. In it, several Partitioning Methods will be presented, among the main ones are:

The "Assisted - use the most continuous free space" mode (this option will only appear if you have freed up disk space, as I indicated at the beginning of this article) is the easiest way to configure partitioning (recommended for those who are new to Linux and /or who doesn't understand much about partitions), since the Debian installer will take care of automatically creating all the necessary partitions. When selecting it, the Debian installer will propose three disk partitioning schemes:

All files in one partition (for starters);

Separate /home partition;

Separate /home, /var and /tmp partition.

Among them, just choose the one that is best for your case. The first option, as indicated by the installer himself, is ideal for beginners. You can see the steps (screenshots) of this process in this animated GIF (opens a new window)

The "Assisted - use the entire disk" mode is recommended ONLY for those who want to install Debian on a new hard disk and/or who do not have any other operating system or personal data (be careful, as this option will erase all data that is on HDD/SSD). In it, you must choose your hard drive and then (as previously indicated), choose one of the three disk partitioning schemes:

All files in one partition (for starters);

Separate /home partition;

Separate /home, /var and /tmp partition.

You should choose the option that best suits your needs, with the first option being ideal if you are not sure which one to choose. You can see the steps in this process in this animated GIF (opens a new window)

𝗧𝗵𝗲 "𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗟𝗩𝗠" 𝗮𝗻𝗱 "𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗿𝘆𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗟𝗩𝗠" 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆.

So that's it guys, I hope you enjoy this little tutorial.