I'm new to this forum so hello to everyone.

I'm going to install the latest stable Debian, 3.0 r2 but when I was starting to download those cd-images I started to wonder what images do I need (I'm hoping to get along just with the first two...) so where can I found information whats inside on those images? Thank You!

You will find all the information you will need - surprise ! - on the Debian-site !
Everything from what is where to install instructions...

http://www.debian.org - for me it's http://www.debian.de

If you have a fast Internet-connection you will only need the first CD or even just a install-floppy - it's all there.

:-)

1. you can do it with CD1, just type

bf24

on the first screen, and follow the instructions from:

The Very Verbose Debian 3.0 Installation Walkthrough
http://osnews.com/story.php?news_id=294

2. Start the installation with CD5 (bf24) and switch to CD1 when
instructed to do so.

You can download as many as you want, but really you only need one, especially if you have a broadband connection. Grabbing a bunch of disks means downloading a bunch of packages you'll never use and which will quickly become out-of-date anyway. When I first went to install, I downloaded the first 3 disks...and discovered I had really wasted my time with the last two because once you finish with the basic install apt-get does a perfect job of downloading everything else you need for you.

It isn't so much a question of how many images you need, it's a question of which kernel do you want to use in conjunction with your install. Here is a direct quote from the Debian site:

"Which of the numerous CD images should I download? Do I need all of them?

No, you only need the CD images for your computer's architecture. The architecture is the type of hardware your computer uses. By far the most popular one is the Intel architecture, so most people will only want to get the images for "i386".

Furthermore, in most cases it is not necessary to download all of the images for your architecture. The packages on the CDs are sorted by popularity: CD 1 contains the installation system and the most popular packages. CD 2 contains slightly less popular ones, CD 3 even less popular ones, etc. You will probably not need CD 3 and higher unless you have very special requirements. (And in case you happen to need a package later on which is not on one of the CDs you downloaded, you can always install that package directly from the Internet.)

Finally, for each architecture there are two versions of the first CD, the normal and the non-US version. You only need one of these! See below for detail"


At any rate, I think it is like disc 5 that contains a 2.4 kernel with some semi up to date drivers. I myself recommend people download the first CD and the 5th. If you go with the first and 2nd, you'll wind up with a 2.2 kernel, which may not know what to do with your hardware if you run anything fairly recent. Another option is to go with a network based install. That works out nicely.