When I used Mint, I could update the Debian software. I don’t know if you can update Debian from Mint’s repositories.
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The Ubuntu based Mint release uses Ubuntu packages, so no, not for that, but the Mint Debian based release uses Debian packages. I will be very pleased it I can get rednotebook functional on Mint Debian, so then I could use it as a backup OS on one of my Linux multi-boot laptops.
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Report back and let us know how your transfer back to Debian went.
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i just wanted to clarify that the tests i ran were all on debian 10.4 (with xfce which i prefer) and not mint’s debian release. i hadn’t thought of linux mint debian edition (lmde) in regards to this conversation. i like the cinnamon desktop as well and that seems like a good way to bring the two together. i believe lmde also comes with flatpak installed so it should be easy enough to add the package for rednotebook if you decide to go that route.
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Sorry about confusing you. I have 2 operating systems on both of my computers. When I was addicted to distro-hopping, I had 3 or 4 on both.
For most of this year now I have been running Mint 19.3 as my main systems, but there was a Debian 10 tucked away on a smaller partition too, just in case I needed a backup or to do some administrative task, like going into /home on an OS I am getting ready to remove and deleting all the hidden folders or files except my .conkyrc.
So now I have started putting Debian 10.4 Cinnamon into my 2 largest partition, and then LMDE4 into the smaller partitons. I hope to get rednotebook working on both.
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I have run into a problem that has me stumped. I cannot get gdebi installer to work on Debian, for quite a while now. I need to install proprietary.deb files for my vpn, megasync and a few other things. So that’s holding me up.
Gdebi works fine on my Mint installations, but on all the Debian installations I’ve done this year from 2 different isos, I can’t get Gdebi working. It opens, checks dependencies and all that stuff, but as soon as I click on start it just disappears and nothing happens.
It does not ask for my password, so it has to relate to that I assume. I have not really searched too much today. Now my dog needs some attention first. He figures I’ve ignored him enough today already. A bowl of chicken stew will probably change his mind for a while.
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no need to apologize 
i just wanted to make sure the method i used was clear. i added the neofetch output to show that i was using debian 10.4, but realized not everyone might be familiar with that.
my test system has two installed and i used to keep three or four also when i was trying to learn different distros and desktop environments. i switched to using virtual machines because it feels easier to create them than having to shift around partitions as well as avoiding the grub update situation. there is certainly a limit to what they can do compared to a full install, but for my testing and experimenting purposes they are a nice fit.
i am also a conky user (and fan).
good luck with that part of your transition.
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@gregory49… Installed RedNotebook in LMDE VM. Had to use flatpak to install RedNotebook since LMDE does not support PPA’s. Have no idea what to use it for, but it is installed and working.
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I am making progress. I got past the gdebi permission issue, by just realizing that the fact I wasn’t finding any posts about this problem could mean it was easy to fix.So I got a hunch and opened a folder containing a .deb file I need as root, and that partially solved the problem. By which I mean that it left the rest of the solution up to the support staff who work for the vpn, because the rest of the problem is obviously on their end.
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i ran a quick test in my debian 10.4 vm with one .deb file just to check and didn’t have any problems. gdebi did ask for my password. i just downloaded my iso within the past couple of days in case that helps.
i was able to install the same .deb with apt install from the command line. i read that i needed to use the absolute path for the file so my command was something like apt install /home/user/Downloads/strawberry_music_player.deb.
i realize you would probably prefer to get gdebi working. the quickest possible way to try that i can think of would be to reinstall it just to make sure all of the dependencies were installed along with it. if that doesn’t work (or you have already tried it), you might consider opening up another topic to see if anyone else has other suggestions.
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I think uses will become obvious if you play around with it.
I use it to keep a journal. My journal is searchable by word or term and goes back to October 2014, when I first encountered RedNoteBook.
And I have my journal syncced between 4 operating systems on 2 computers. In addition to keeping track of my weight loss or the progress of Mom’s dementia, I have 2 historical novels, and various short stories that serve as backhistory, plus character development sketches, plus various bits of sequels and prequels, all searchable by word or term.
So as far as fiction writing goes, the upside is that I am far more organized than before about working on 2 very different novels. The downside is that I have become somewhat dependent upon RedNoteBook, but when it works it works well.
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I now have rednotebook installed on my new installation of Debian 10.4 Cinnamon. Flatpak was almost confusing in a few places, but it worked well for me.
I have rednotebook setup, which just basically means it saves into /home/journal. A new install of rednotebook always has to be tricked into saving to my existing journal folder, because it will only accept the save as assignment for empty folders. So I play hide the pea, sortof.
I have not fully tested my new journal installation yet, because I am waiting until it’s syncced. Getting Megasync setup is next on my schedule. Then I can test the new rednotebook install, first by checking to see if it updates my entries for the last couple of days without any issues.
it sounds like you have some extensive experience with rednotebook that would probably be helpful to some other users, but it will be buried in this thread about mint and debian installation. i think it would be great to see a new thread about your work with rednotebook (i am pretty sure i haven’t seen one here before). of course, feel free to post where you choose 
i was just thinking that your advanced use of the program along with whatever other thoughts you might have on it and the settings you use might be more visible and searchable in a thread of their own.
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Yeah, maybe later. Now it’s grub issues around the LMDE4 installation I tried to install because the Debian install went so smooth. I haven’t been able to even start the Debian after I updated grub. Nothing works on that machine and I just keep going around in circles. And then I deleted a file I need, so hopefully tomorrow things will got better.
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This has turned into one of those nightmare projects. I have now installed Debian 10.4 and LMDE4 3 times and they simply will not play nice with each other. I am pretty sure I know what the problem is. It’s pretty obvious even to me that the problem is due to Grub issues.
If I install LMDE first, it boots fine, until I install Debian, and then LMDE won’t boot. If I install Debian first, and then install LMDE and update the Grub from Debian so Debian is back to the top of the boot order, LMDE will not boot at all. I am pretty sure this has something to do with the way Debian updates the Grub. For some reason Debian insists upon saving the Grub in a 386 format. It says that every time, for years now. I have never understood why.
This particular laptop was my first 64 bit machine, and has never had a 32 bit system installed on it. So I have no idea why Debian insists upon saving in a 32 bit format, or why some operating systems can handle this and some can’t.
I have not tried letting LMDE stay at the top of the boot order when I have installed it first, because I really want Debian to be first, but maybe I might have to relinquish control of the boot order to get around this problem.
Obviously, I am very close to being a complete ignoramus about Grub. There is so much info out there and it is so confusing. I don’t even know where to start.
But it has become very clear that I will either have to conquer this dilemma, or completely give up on multi-booting Linux, which I really do not want to do.
But looking at the positive side, at least I know that RedNotebook works just fine on Debian 10. I did get it easily set up the first time, but then ended up reformatting and starting over, twic actually. So maybe I can build on that first success, but finding the time right now will be a problem because of current pressures about other situations and projects. Problems usually seem to like company.
EDIT: I decided that I didn’t have time to be stubborn, and it occured to me that Debian could probably talk to more bootloaders than LMDE, so I set up Debian 10 first, checked to make sure it booted, and then installed LMDE. I left LMDE at the top of the boot order this time to see if everything worked. And it did work, so now I am setting up both systems. Everything is going smoothly so far.
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i’m glad to hear that it sounds like you worked your way to a manageable solution that lets you use rednotebook like you wanted i hope you are enjoying your new installations.
i am in no way suggesting you change what you worked so hard to get working, but in the future if you try a similar setup lmde offers an option to not install grub:
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Yeah, I did that the second attempt. I am familiar with that technique. The results of my second try are what got me thinking LMDE and Debian spoke different languages when communicating with grub.
I installed LMDE without installing the grub and then went back to Debian 10.4 and did the grub update thing. It found LMDE just fine, but then when I attempted to reboot into LMDE it would not start, said a whole bunch of stuff, including that the root account was locked, and put up some complicated notice which I have forgotten.
At a later point it occurred to me that I should see what happened if I let LMDE take over the top of the boot order. So I reinstalled Debian 10.4 and then LMDE4. Both systems start fine and I assume they will unless I use Debian to update the Grub and let it save in 386 mode again. But I won’t do that.
Thanks very much for all your advice and encouragement. I appreciate that very much.
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I ran this for awhile, it only has Mint installed now. I think it is easier to set up a multi boot Windows drive, Grub can be troublesome at times.
Vista was my last windows. Only windows I ever really liked was 98 Second Edition, which was what I had before Vista. After that it just got worse and worse, so I am not up to date on windows, and plan on keeping it that way
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OK, so things have been going well with my new setup, and I’ve been very busy with other situations. But then this morning a mystery popped up and I figured people here like mysteries so I thought I better update this thread.
I always do updates on the command line at a time of my choosing. This morning I did the sudo thing and there were several updates, several were grub orientated. Eventually dpkg came up to configure grub-pc
The screenshot shows the place where my problem occurred. For those not familiar with dpkg, what is supposed to happen here is that one of these choices is selected with the up-and-down cursor key, and then the right hand cursor key with is used to select OK and when enter is pushed dpkg will proceed with the installation.
In my case I can move up and down to make the selection, but I cannot get OK to light up, and whatever I try just gets me to a screen that asks if I want to skip grub and continue with the rest of the installation, or stop the installation.
Except once, I did manage to get grub installed on one of my laptops. I found some charts of keyboard shortcuts and was going through those. Then I just got frustrated and just started quickly trying semi-random shortcuts when the installation just started going. I am not sure if it was the last one I tried or maybe it was one or two before that one.
At any rate my attempts to remember and get grub-pc configured on my second laptop have all proved futile so far.
I would very much appreciate any suggestions or comments that people might have.
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