PureOS Crimson (Debian 12) on Librem 15 / Librem 13 (x86-64)

Software PureOS
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Hello,

am currently running PureOS 10.3 (Byzantium) on my Librem 15v3. Have been following the PureOS updates (here) and now see that Crimson (based on Debian 12) is available.

I read that Librem 11 (armx86-64) is shipping with Crimson pre-installed.

Someone here is running Crimson x86-64 on a USB drive, but not sure which device they are using. Someone here is using on a desktop.

However, many of the issues being raised, and discouraging upgrades, are related to the Libram 5 (arm), and I understand that the delays in the release of PureOS Crimson are due to the fact that it needs support two architectures.

Is anyone running Crimson on a Librem 15 or 13? If so I assume these instructions are applicable to upgrade from Byzantium to Crimson by replacing the version names.

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Librem 14 v1, although I just reflashed the USB drive with Byzantium as well: I was experiencing random freezes on Crimson when attempting to reflash my Librem 5 USA.

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thanks for the quick reply. good to know.

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NB: Librem 11 is x86_64, not ARM.

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Not sure it constitutes a “delay” per se, but in the case of the Librem 5, I think they have posted that it requires more development because it has the added complexity of mobile functionalities, not applicable to the desktop version.

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Sure, I mean delay as per the Amber/Byzantium releases which seemed relatively faster when they did not have the LIbrem 5 to contend with.

I guess things will speed up once more arm devices run on Debian-based linux flavours and more people contribute to the project.

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Ah yes, my bad. I am so used to seeing tablets running on arm processors that I automatically made the connection :slight_smile:

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A zillion years ago I went through the exact same worry with the Amber → Byzantium upgrade. Had to do a new install of B over A, on an L15v4.

Is it the case that I would need to do the same thing again? Or might it just be a case of changing repos in etc/apt/sources? :crossed_fingers:

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Backup any important files before considering either procedure, then try changing repositories first. If the operation introduces issues, you can follow up with a fresh installation of Crimson.

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Well, I had enough of waiting for PureOS 11 “Crimson”, so I just upgraded to Debian12 “Bookworm” on my Librem 15v4. There is only so much you can keep up with, even with Debian bullseye-backports added to your PureOS apt repo list.

Full backup, a fresh install, and restore.

There are some nice automagic features in there, such as Bluetooth being available immediately (instead of the need to manually add it in via adding the Debian apt repo non-free, which has been discussed on this forum before). Of course, I understand the reasoning for that, so this is not a criticism of that stance, simply an observation.

When I run vrms on the new installation, I find only 4 non-free packages:

firmware-atheros;
firmware-misc-nonfree;
firmware-sof-signed; and
intel-microcode .

And, of course, if you want libreoffice to be passably interoperable with the rest of the Microsoft universe, then there is also a need to add the contrib package:

ttf-mscorefonts-installer.

So, not a totally ideal “pure” installation, such as the philosophy behind PureOS, but very close to the spirit of it. As the quote from Carl Schurz has it:

Our ideals are like the stars; we may never reach them, but we chart our courses by them.

It is clear exactly how much this installation deviates from the ideal.

The new install is very snappy on the Librem 15, which is still happily chugging along even after 4 years.

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