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III. - 🐧 Install Debian Linux 13

This guide walks you through installation of the Debian OS on your ggRock server.

The installation of Debian 13 (codename Trixie) is performed using a graphical installer that walks you through language, time zone, networking, disk setup, and more. Debian 13 is 64-bit only — 32-bit (i386) servers are no longer supported and must stay on Debian 12.

If you are setting up Debian with a RAID OS Disk, make sure to follow the external guide linked in Disk Setup & Boot, Step 1. If you're installing Debian to a RAID array, ensure your motherboard BIOS is set to Legacy boot mode.

🆕 What changed since Debian 12: the boot menu adds an Accessible dark contrast installer entry, the root-password screen now explains the sudo-only option, the optional media step is worded Scan extra installation media, and the software-selection list is reordered. Everything else in this guide is identical to the Bookworm flow.

✅ Before You Start

Five minutes here saves an hour later. Confirm all four before booting the installer.

Check	What you need
BIOS	UEFI boot mode, Secure Boot disabled. Use Legacy mode only if the OS is going onto a RAID array.
USB	A Debian 13 amd64 netinst USB written with Rufus in DD image mode (see Guide II).
Network	A wired cable in the port you intend to use, on a network with DHCP and internet access. The netinst image downloads packages during install.
Disks	Know which drive is your OS disk (usually the smallest). Array drives must not be selected in disk setup.

🧭 Getting Started

Step 1. Installation Options

Select Graphical install

Debian 13's menu adds an Accessible dark contrast installer entry below the usual options.

Step 2. Language Selection

Choose your preferred language (e.g., English)

Step 3. Country Selection

Select your location (United States)

Step 4. Keyboard Layout

Choose your keyboard layout (American English)

⏳ Upon clicking Continue, Debian will take a few moments to detect hardware and network settings in preparation for the next step.

Step 5. Hostname

Enter a hostname (e.g., ggrock)

If you see a different screen asking which network interface to use, go to Appendix I: Multiple Server Network Interfaces.

Step 6. Domain Name

Leave blank and press Continue

🔐 Accounts & Clock

Step 1. Root Password

Set a strong root password 🔐 — or leave it blank to use sudo instead (see below).
If you set one, store it in a secure place. It cannot be recovered later (although it can be reset at a later time).

Debian 13 spells out that leaving this field blank disables the root account and adds your regular user to sudo instead. Either option works for ggRock — with the blank-password route you run root commands with sudo, or open a root prompt with sudo -i.

Step 2. Regular User Name

Enter a full name for your regular (non-root) account (e.g. "user").
Press Continue, then set the username for the account.

Step 3. User Password

Set a password for the user created in Step 2
🔁 Can be reset later using root access

⏳ Upon clicking Continue, Debian will take a few moments to configure the system clock for the next step.

Step 4. Clock Configuration

Select your timezone (e.g., Eastern Time)

💽 Disk Setup & Boot

Step 1. Partition Setup

If you're prompted to force UEFI installation due to legacy partitions — select Yes and continue.

Choose: Guided – use entire disk
If installing the OS to a RAID array → follow Special Case – Install Debian to RAID, then return to Package Manager & Software, Step 1.

Step 2. Select OS Drive

Choose your OS install drive — e.g., 250.1 GB ATA Samsung SSD 860 — normally a different/smaller size from your array drives.

💡 This will also be your boot drive in Final Steps, Step 3.

Step 3. Partition Layout

Choose: All files in one partition (recommended for new users)

Step 4. Apply Partition

Select Finish partitioning and write changes to disk

Step 5. Confirm Partitioning

Confirm changes and proceed
⏳ Debian will now install the base system

Step 6. (Optional) Scan Extra Installation Media

Answer No and continue. In Debian 13 this prompt reads "Scan extra installation media?" rather than the old CD/DVD wording. It may not appear at all.

📦 Package Manager & Software

Step 1. Configure Package Manager

Choose your country (United States)

🧩 RAID users: if returning here after the special RAID setup, resume from this step.

Step 2. Mirror Selection

Select: deb.debian.org

Step 3. HTTP Proxy

Leave the proxy field blank and press Continue

🕸️ If this fails, double-check your network connection. Debian will now configure the apt package manager.

Step 4. Survey Participation

Choose based on your preference

Step 5. Software Selection

✅ Select only:

SSH server
Standard system utilities

❌ Leave everything else unticked — Debian desktop environment, GNOME, Xfce, KDE Plasma, and every other desktop or task.

This step is not optional. If a desktop environment is installed, the ggRock server application will fail to run. Debian 13 lists more desktop options than Debian 12 did — check the boxes carefully before continuing, and use the spacebar to untick an entry if any of them is ticked. Debian will then finish the installation of the selected packages.

🧱 Final Steps

Step 1. GRUB Boot Loader

If asked whether to install the GRUB boot loader to your primary drive, answer Yes.
When prompted for the device, pick the same OS drive you chose in Disk Setup & Boot, Step 2 — never Enter device manually and never an array drive.

Step 2. Restart Server

Remove the USB 💽
Click Continue

Step 3. Confirm Installation

The server will now restart and display the GRUB menu. The default Debian GNU/Linux entry is selected after 5 seconds.

After boot, you should see the console login prompt:

Debian GNU/Linux 13 ggrock tty1

ggrock login:

🎉 That's it! Debian 13 is now installed and you are ready to Install the ggRock Server Application.

🔄 Already Running Debian 12?

A working Debian 12 ggRock server does not need to be reinstalled. Debian 12 can be upgraded, and a clean install of 13 is only recommended for new builds.

If you do want to move an existing server from 12 to 13, run ggrock-upgrade-debian13 to upgrade your server to Debian 13 Trixie.

📝 Debian 13 also moves apt sources to the new /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.sources format. Older instructions that tell you to edit /etc/apt/sources.list may find that file empty on a fresh 13 install — that is expected.

🛠️ Troubleshooting

The installer never reaches the hostname screen
Network autoconfiguration failed. Check the cable is in the port you plugged in, that the switch port is live, and that DHCP is available. If the server has several NICs, see Appendix I: Multiple Server Network Interfaces.

"No kernel modules were found" or missing firmware warnings
You wrote the USB from the wrong image or wrote it in ISO mode. Re-download the official Debian 13 amd64 netinst image and write it with Rufus in DD image mode (Guide II).

Only your array drives appear in disk setup
The OS SSD is not being detected — check the SATA/NVMe cable and confirm the drive is enabled in BIOS. Never continue by installing onto an array drive.

Mirror step fails or hangs downloading packages
Usually DNS or a captive portal on the venue network. Confirm the server can reach the internet, leave the proxy field blank, and retry with deb.debian.org.

Server boots to a graphical login instead of a console
A desktop environment was left ticked in software selection, and ggRock will not run with one installed. Reinstall Debian with only SSH server and standard system utilities selected, or contact support before attempting to remove the desktop packages.

Server boots straight back into the installer
The USB is still attached, or BIOS boot order still prefers it. Remove the USB and set the OS drive as first boot device.

Updated on: 06/08/2026

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