DEBIAN INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE OFFICIAL DEBIAN INSTALL DISK (3.0r1) FAQs
1. Boot from CD drive
2. Type bf24 vga=791 [enter] Most modern systems will work with this. If you get an error, type scan and accept what is recommended (probably 8, if I were to guess)
3. Once the installer boots, pick a language, I will be using English United States
4. Next you will see release notes. If you care read them otherwise just hit enter.
5. Next configure the keyboard. like most US user I am using a US qwerty keyboard which is the first one in the list. hit enter.
6. Partition a hard disc.
i. Select the drive you wish to install on.
ii. Read the 2 notices that come up and hit enter.
iii. If you don't know how you want to partition your hard drive follow these steps otherwise do what you want and don't blame me
i. make sure you have enough free space on the selected drive to create the partition. you will need at least 4 GB.
ii. select free space
iii. go to new
iv. go to logical
v. now whip out a calculator and follow this equation:
if you have less than or equal to 64MB RAM the answer is 256
if you have 65 to 256MB RAM the answer is your RAM*2
if you have 257 to 512mb RAM the answer is your RAM*1.5
if you have more than 512 MB RAM you have way to much. I'm jealous Oh and the answer is 1024
vi. type in the answer you found and hit enter
vii. select end and hit enter
viii. arrow down over the partition you just created
ix. select type you may need to hit enter a few times to get to the correct screen for entering file system type. When you get there, you want to choose 82 which is the default. hit enter.
x. you will now be back at the screen you were on before selecting the type. You should see a partition of size labeled Linux swap. If you don't see this partition try again.
xi. For those of you that do have a Linux swap partition, we have now created 1 of the 2 necessary partitions. Let us proceed to the creation of partition 2.
xii. arrow up to free space
xiii. select new and hit enter
xiv. select primary and hit enter
xv. hit enter again
xvi. select the newly created partition and press enter to make it bootable
xvii. select right and press enter
xviii. it is highly encouraged that you type yes in response to the question are you sure you want to write the partition table to the disc? If you have been an idiot partitioning your system all data will be lost. If you say no you will not lose any data, but all your changes will be lost. Users who feel lucky are again encouraged to type yes and hit enter. If you do not feel lucky, reboot and start again making sure you can feel lucky at this point.
xix. those of you still with me, go to quit and press enter
7. initialize and activate a swap partition
i. you may be asked to select a partition. If so select the Linux swap partition you recently
ii. you will be asked if you want to scan for bad blocks. It is a good idea but takes forever so it's your call.
iii. the obligatory are you sure question...once again hit enter if your sure...here's a hint, you probably are.
8. initialize the Linux partition
i. it will ask you to choose a file system type. if you don't know choose EXT2 which is the default and recommended by the installer.
ii. once again you will have to choose whether or not to take the time to do a bad block scan. It is encouraged you do so for this step.
iii. are you sure... pause and consider for a few moments and decide for yourself
iv. 6 days later ...OK not that long...you'll be asked if you wish to mount this as your root file system. If you've followed my partitioning system say yes. If you didn't why are you reading this section. the mount may take some time. do not be alarmed
9. install kernel and driver modules
i. press enter
ii. say yes by pressing enter
10. ALTERNATE: configure PCMCIA support
If your machiene is a laptop then configure your PCMCIA slots take the defaults when in doubt. I haven't done this in a while so rather then trust my memory, I will leave you in the hands of the installer.
11. Configure device driver modules
i. read the notice and press enter
ii. figure out which hardware modules you need. This info can be obtained online
recommendations:
kernel/fs
binfmt_aout
binfmt_misc
kernel/fs/msdos
msdos
kernel/arch/i386/kernel
cpuid
apm
kernel/drivers/char/agp
agpgart
iii. you need to be sure you find the correct modules for your network card, and the rest of your hardware. Most computers will need those that I've recommended above but will also need others.
12. Configure the network [ this step only applies to machines with network cards)
i. name your computer and press enter
ii. most networks are dhcp so press enter to select that. if you know that is not correct then walk yourself through manual set up either way you will be eventually told your network has been successfully configured so press continue
13. Install the base system by pressing enter
14. Make the system bootable
i. install lilo in the mbr use this if unsure. if you know you have to do it differently don't bother reading this step
ii. if lilo finds other OS's it will ask you if it can include them in the boot menu. Select include.
iii. you will receive a security warning read it and press continue
15. Make a boot floppy if you wish
16. Reboot your computer
17. Boot into Linux
18. You will be greeted with a message read it and press enter
19. the next screen shows the time your computer says is current. If this is a vastly different hour from what time it really is, your computer is probably set to GMT. If it is say yes if it's not say no and pick your time zone.
20. If you wish to have passwords greater than 8 characters answer yes to the next question, otherwise say no
21. If you do not understand what the next screen says, say yes. If you do understand it, you still might want to say yes.
22. Now you will be asked to set your root password. Pick a password that you will remember but which is not easily guessed.
23. Add a normal user account
i. pick a user name and hit enter
ii. enter users full name and hit enter
iii. select a password for this user. It should NOT be the same as the root password
24. Desktop users will be asked if they wish to remove PCMCIA support. Say YES
25. Read the section and answer according to your needs
26. Scan the CD in the drive for Debian packages by pressing enter if you have other Debian CDs you may have them scanned in also when prompted.
27. If you are connected to the internet say yes to getting updates from security.debian.org
28. run tasksel by pressing enter
29. select what software you want by pressing space bar, press i to see more info about a particular package. when you have selected all the packages you want press f
30. DO NOT RUN DESELECT if you can figure out how this program works send me instructions
31. once you've said no to deselect, type y and hit enter
32. do whatever apt tells you to do (insert disks, connect to the internet, etc)
33. you will get a message about binutils. it's fine press enter
34. you will get a message about less say yes or no depending on how you feel
35. you will get a message about locals press tab then enter
36. you will then be asked a second locals question. select c and hit enter
37. you will get a message about NFS read it and press enter
38. you will get a question about ssh read it, make a decision and press enter
39. you will be given more ssh info. read and press enter
40. you will get a second ssh question say yes
41. you will get a third ssh question. say yes
42. you may be asked other questions. Let the Debian installer walk you through
43. count to 12 million
44. Apt will now have completed it's task and your Debian system should be functional. If it isn't refer questions to http://www.debianhelp.org and tell them where your problem/question is. You can ask me too if you want, but I am only one person and DebianHelp is a community.