HOWTO install Sarge with the net-installer-rc2
SARGE INSTALLATION WITH THE NET-INSTALLER RC2
There are many ways of installing Debian, this is just how i do it, hope this helps somebody, remember, if you break Debian, you get to keep both parts. :D The net-installer-rc2 is still in beta (Release Candidate 2), you can download it from: Sarge net-installer-rc2 (choose i386) http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-installer/ The type of installation i had in mind for my old machine is one that is minimal, installing light apps that will render my system lean and quick. So, there will be no KDE, Gnome, splash screens, or little stars titillating on the desktop. I will install IceWM, because it's my favorite; XFCE4, WMaker, Fluxbox, are equally fast and excellent. I want to install the kernel 2.4.27, my box is standard, there is nothing complex, everything works with kernel 2.4.27. MY HARDWARE PII 266 128 MB RAM Yamaha sound card Realtek NIC Riva 128 nVidia with 4 MB RAM 40 GB IDE hd (5400) Optiquest V73 17" monitor PS/2 generic 3-button mouse Logitech iTouch keyboard (spanish) Monitor's horizontal frequency (30-70) Monitor's vertical refresh rate (50-160) ADSL connection You can find your frequencies from your monitor's manual or googling for your monitor's brand and model, or manufacturer. DO NOT USE MINE. It is a desktop, so users with laptops, adjust accordingly. AT THE BOOT PROMPT I inserted the installation CD and rebooted, it brought me to the boot prompt. There, i pressed F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, F7, and F8. I read everything, and chose the following boot parameters: boot: expert noapic nolapic bootkbd=es debian-installer/framebuffer=false expert- will allow me to have more control on the installation, there will be more options to choose from, and i will be able to choose. noapic nolapic- will allow me, together with the installation of 'apmd' (the apm daemon), to shutdown my machine which has an old BIOS, and refuses to shutdown otherwise. bootkbd=es- will allow me to use my spanish keyboard from the start. debian-installer/framebuffer=false - will tell the installer NOT to install the framebuffer, which hangs my system and has affected my fonts in the past. If you don't understand any of this, type: expert and press Enter. All set, i press Enter. The installation begins, the first screen comes up, from here on, after choosing an answer, press the key Enter, or with the TAB key choose YES, CANCEL, or NO. Choose your country or region <go down the list and choose> Select a keyboard layout <PC-style or PS2 connector> keymap to use <Spanish> DETECT AND MOUNT CD-ROM Modules <Continue> Prompt for modules parameters <NO> Start PCI card services (unless you use a laptop) <NO> Unable to load some modules <Continue> CD-ROM DETECTED <Enter> LOAD INSTALLER COMPONENTS FROM CD <Enter> Installer components to load <Continue> Loading components... <it takes a few seconds> DETECT NETWORK HARDWARE <Enter> Module to load <Continue> (here it shows the NIC module to be installed) Prompt for module parameters <NO> Start PC card services <NO> Unable to load some modules <Continue> CONFIGURE THE NETWORK <Enter> Auto-configure network with DHCP <YES> (it configures it...) Hostname <write something short, e.g. debian> <Enter> Domain name <write your isp domain, e.g. pacific-bell.net> DETECT HARDWARE <Enter> Prompt for module parameters <NO> Start PC card services <NO> Unable to load some modules <Continue> PARTITION DISKS <Enter> a. Erase entire disk (hda) b. Manually edit partition table I got no other OS, so i choose 'a' and press Enter If you got Windows or other, choose 'b', the installer will make it easy. The next screen will show the different partition schemes: If you chose 'a' above, the next screen will be: PARTITIONING SCHEMES a. All files in one partition (recommended for newbies) b. Desktop machine c. Multi-user workstation The installer will partition the hard drive automatically, without the user's intervention. Here's how it will partition according to your choice: a. it will create a root partition and swap b. A root partition, swap, and /home. c. it will create the following partitions: /, /usr, /var, swap, /tmp, and /home, all this without you moving a finger, pretty nifty! Newbies choose 'a' and continue. Of course, i chose C :) I ended up with this: Ext 3 / 280 MB Ext 3 /usr 5 GB Ext 3 /var 3 GB Ext 3 swap 390 MB Ext 3 /tmp 399 MB Ext 3 /home 31 GB I wanted to try a different file system instead of Ext 3. So, i went up with the keyboard arrow, to the first partition (/root), once it's highlited I pressed Enter; on the next screen, i went up with the arrow to the first line: "use as Ext 3 journalling file system" and pressed Enter again. This in turn, took me to a third screen, which lists all the file systems available: Ext2 Ext3 ReiserFS JFS XFS FAT16 FAT32 swap area Physical Volume for LVM Physical Volume for RAID NOTE: in this installer, EXt2, Ext3, ReiserFS, and JFS, all work flawlessly with GRUB, XFS will not, so if you choose XFS, you will have to choose LILO instead of GRUB from the main installation menu. Naturally, this is the one i chose. :D Once you choose your file system and press Enter, this will take you to the previous screen, Go down with the arrow until you are at the line: "Done setting up this partition" <Enter> This takes you back to the first partition screen, choose another partition, and do the same all over again until you have changed all the partitions file system from Ext3 to your new file system, EXCEPT swap. It only takes 2-3 minutes, once you get the hang of it, this installer is hot! Of course, if you choose "a" or "b" from the partitioning scheme, you only have to change one or two partitions' file system. When you are thru with all the partitions, back at the original partitioning screen, go down with the arrow, ALL THE WAY DOWN TILL THE END OF THE SCREEN, otherwise, you might miss the following line, select it: "Finish partitioning and write changes to disk" <Enter> The next screen list the partitions to be formatted, and it says NO by default for matters of safety, so you don't accidentally screw up. Choose <YES> It begins formatting... INSTALL THE BASE SYSTEM <Enter> It starts installing the base system...3/4 of the way in, it pop up a dialog box, asking you what kernel you want, choose the one you want. kernel-image 2.6.8-1-386 kernel-image 2.4.27-1-386 After this is finished, you're back at the main installation menu, and the next line is: INSTALL THE GRUB BOOT LOADER ON A HARD DISK <Enter> If you chose Ext3, ReiserFS, or JFS, GRUB will boot fine, if you chose XFS, Debian will tell you that it won't work that it will fail, it has NO by default, press Enter, and it will take you to the line in the menu to install LILO. A box will pop up asking you where you want to install LILO: /dev/hda. Master Boot Record /dev/hda2: new Debian partition other choice (Advanced) I chose the first one, and installed LILO to the MBR. FINISH THE INSTALLATION <Enter> The CD ejects, close the CD-ROM <Continue> <Enter> The machine starts rebooting... It comes back with the screen: DISPLAY INTRODUCTORY MESSAGE <Enter> Welcome to your Debian System <Enter> CONFIGURE YOUR TIME ZONE <Enter> Is the hardware clock set to GMT? <NO> unless, you live in England or close. Are you in the (your continent/your region) time zone? <YES> Is this info correct? <YES> (if it is) SET UP USERS AND PASSWORDS <Enter> Enable shadow passwords? <YES> Root password <enter it> Re-enter your password Create a normal user account now? <YES> Enter a full name for the new user <you can type anything> Enter a user name for your account <do it> Type a password for the new user <do it> Re-type the same password <do it> Set the hostname (already done) <Enter> CONFIGURE APT <Enter> It gives a list of options <ftp> DEBIAN DISTRIBUTION TO USE -stable -unstable -testing I chose Testing <Enter> Use non-free software? <YES> (personal decision) Mirror country <choose one close to you> Choose the Debian mirror to use <choose one close to you> Here, the screen goes black, and APT starts checking the repositories for the Debian version you chose, it takes a few minutes. Add another APT source? <NO> Use security updates from security.debian.org? <YES> SELECT AND INSTALL PACKAGES <Enter> EDIT: HERE, YOU CAN SKIP THIS STEP WITH THE KEYBOARD ARROW AND GO TO THE NEXT LINE IN THE MENU. Or: Choose to install packages manually. The program Aptitude will come up, press the key 'q' to quit (without installing anything), or press Cancel, and you'll be in the main menu, skip to next line to configure the mail. At the end, i installed the packages i needed with apt-get. CONFIGURE THE MAIL TRANSFER AGENT <Enter> In the next few questions just take the default answers, nothing to write. FINISH CONFIGURING THE BASE SYSTEM <Enter> Thank you for using Debian <Enter> It takes you to the console (black screen) with a debian login. debian login: <enter your username> Enter password: <enter your user password> Enter (now you've become a user) Example: macondo@debian:~$ we have to become root in order to be able to install packages and edit files. So type 'su' (switch user) macondo@debian:~$ su <Enter> password: <enter your ROOT password> Enter (now you're ROOT) debian:/home/macondo# Ok, now i install my apps so i can enter X environment. the first thing i do is: #apt-get update #apt-get dist-upgrade Here, you can go different ways, the first option is recommended for newbies, it will come with xterm (terminal) and XDM (display manager). So, now that you're root: Option 1: #apt-get install x-window-system mozilla-firefox mozilla-thunderbird icewm icewm-themes firehol locales nano You can replace icewm with wmaker, xfce4, fluxbox, etc Option 2 (my favorite, it's lighter): #apt-get install x-window-system-core mozilla-firefox aterm menu icewm icewm-themes iceme firehol locales nano apmd I'll install Pine later on. After you come back, it's time to configure X, i follow the instruction from the article: The Very Verbose Debian Installation Walkthrough http://osnews.com/story.php?news_id=2016 Sections 9 and 10 (it takes all of 15 minutes and will save you hours if not days). The reason i tell you to read this, it's because nobody can explain this better than Clinton De Young. after reading this 2 sections, it'll take you just a few minutes to configure X. So, i say NO to auto-detection, i got an old video card, that only works with 15 bit color. At the monitor's screen i take the Advanced option. After i'm thru with configuring X, i configure the firewall (firehol), for this, i need to edit the file /etc/default/firehol #nano /etc/default/firehol and edit it to look like this: START_FIREHOL=YES FIREHOL_LOG_MODE="ULOG" save/exit in other words, Ctrl+O Enter Ctrl+X The first line will activate Firehol, the second will divert the log messages somewhere else, so the console screen will be free of them, which is marvelous if you use startx. The default kernel during the installation was: kernel-image-2.4.27.-1-386 but my box is a PII, (processors PII, PIII, and P4 use 686) i want this kernel optimized for my processor, so, i'll install a 686 model: #apt-get install kernel-image-2.4.27-1-686 If you installed Sarge with the 2.6.8-1-386, you can install the one with the 686 flag at the end. #apt-get install kernel-image-2.6.8-1-686 If you installed Sid, 2.6.8, you can install the latest: #apt-get install kernel-image-2.6.9-1-686 For those smart enough to install GRUB, you have to do nothing, no questions to answer, it will install, update the grub menu automatically, at the end, all you have to do is: #reboot It can't get any better than this! If you have LILO installed like me, and no other OS in the hd, just say YES to the question asked, #lilo #reboot Later on, you can get rid of the old kernel with Synaptic or Debfoster. When you reboot, you will come back with a new kernel and a working firewall. If you chose the first option you will come to XDM to log in, on option 2, you'll come to the console, in text mode, login and use startx. I finish the configuration of my system with the instructions from the sticky "Debian Configuration Post-Install" at the top of the threads list in this forum. It has plenty of tips contributed by some of the boys in this forum. Most of this HOWTO is based on tips from this forum (linuxquestions.org) I hope this helps a little bit. Good Luck! This document was written using Nano. EDIT: i forgot to mention: before installing the new kernel and rebooting, configure the locales. #dpkg-reconfigure locales a list will come up, go down the list with the arrows, and select with the spacebar all the instances of en_US (about 3) and any other language you use, choose OK, on the next screen choose your environment language (the language all your instructions will be in) select OK and the locales will be generated. |
I thoroughly enjoyed your "Debian Configuaration Post-Install" thread; no doubt this [current] topic will help Debian newbies. Your guides are top notch.
Good job. :) |
very well done......perfect reference tool....:)
i print it out and keep it in my book of important docs for linux.. |
thanks!
Ninja Cow and utanja: thank you for your words. As a newbie, i resent articles and convoluted explanations that do not help me at all due to my technical ignorance, or incompetence on the part of the author in conveying in a simple way, his or her vast knowledge.
I fought hard for every bit of knowledge i've acquired so far, and always make sure i thank and applaud others for their contributions. Where i live, there are no books or Linux Users Groups, so everything with me is thru the Internet. I remember my frustrations with pseudo-geeks who give half-answers or tell you to RTFM, without especifying the section to read. Thus, i try to write as if i was the one reading it.:) |
well done , it is easy to folow str8 and very clean , i really enjoy reading it . Respect :)
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Thanks Peter! that was the idea! :)
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nice guide macondo!
But I wouldn't advice XDM to newbies (or anyone ;) ). How do you start your X? Just by typing startx? If you haven't tried, add this line to the end of your ~/.bash_profile: ps ax|grep -q "[ ]`which X`" || startx And it'll automaticly start the windowmanager you've set in /.xsession. I find that the easiest solution. Session managers like x(gk)dm, login.app take away the control of your X and use more ram because they run in the background all the time. PS:Can I put your guides as a simple html file on my site? So I don't have to load the pics of LQ.org everytime I want to read it. Of course there would be a link on top of the howto linking here. grtz, guni |
"nice guide macondo!"
Thanks "But I wouldn't advice XDM to newbies (or anyone ;) )." It comes with the packages in option 1, together with xterm and x-window.system. XDM is ok to start with. As the article explains, option 2 will give them the text login so they can use 'startx'. "How do you start your X? Just by typing startx? If you haven't tried, add this line to the end of your ~/.bash_profile: ps ax|grep -q "[ ]`which X`" || startx" In option 2, (my favorite) if you install the x-window-system-core, you get an automatic text login for 'startx', nothing to edit. "I find that the easiest solution. Session managers like x(gk)dm, login.app take away the control of your X and use more ram because they run in the background all the time." I agree, i use a PII 266, thus, startx and IceWM. "PS:Can I put your guides as a simple html file on my site? So I don't have to load the pics of LQ.org everytime I want to read it. Of course there would be a link on top of the howto linking here." Of course, knock yourself out! :D Ed Hurst, one of my favorite tech authors writes: "COPYRIGHT NOTICE: People of honor need no copyright laws; they are only too happy to give credit where credit is due. Others will ignore copyright laws whenever they please. If you are of the latter, please note what Moses said about dishonorable behavior -- "be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23)" |
I have two questions for you,
1) Is there a benefit in a workstation or desktop partitioning over a single partition on a home computer? 2) I have been using ext3 without any problems, but I read that people are also using ReiserFS and you used XFS in this tutorial, is there any advantage to other file systems over ext3 on a home computer? P.S. My little ancient computer that I am learning Linux on is a P-167 MMX (and just think it was so powerful its time) |
Oh Cisco wrote:
I have two questions for you, 1) Is there a benefit in a workstation or desktop partitioning over a single partition on a home computer? The more partitions, the more secure your system, due to the fact you can still go into your system and fix things, according to the gurus. Me? i'm using / and swap for my partitioning, with ReiserFS, because i do a lot of reinstalling testing new things. I think the /home partition is overrated, i keep all my Debian tips and important papers in a folder i created in my Yahoo web mail, that way, if a tsunami comes, i can have access to it later on. ******************* 2) I have been using ext3 without any problems, but I read that people are also using ReiserFS and you used XFS in this tutorial, is there any advantage to other file systems over ext3 on a home computer? There are a couple of articles in Google discussing this matter, and after reading it twice, i understood nothing. All these file systems are good, they all use journalling systems (except Ext 2), the differences apply to large files and small files reading, for mere mortals like you and me who use crappy boxes, there is no visible advantage, IMHO. In my next installation i'm gonna use Ext 3, is a little bit slower, but on a PII 266, there isn't much difference, plus i like the fact that after a few times, it checks the partitions for damages. Also it is supposed to be more secure in terms of keeping data intact. I tried XFS for the article, because i had never used it and wanted to know how it was. Of course with my opinion and a buck, you can get a cup of coffee. |
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