Hey everyone,
So I've decided to switch to Debian. Yeah!!. I've been using mandrake but had serious issues getting the internet and sound to work. I've been trying on the forums to get help but it's still no good. Grr I always have so many problems with Mandrake.
The kicker is that for the first time Mandrake set itself up properly along side windows. I get a Lilo Boot screen that gave me the choice of Linux or Windows. I really dont want to kill my version of windows by attempting to install debian overtop of mandrake.
The reason I'm making the switch is because of a little thing called Knoppix. I tried the Live CD and volia! internet, sound everything works great! And I looked it up and it uses debian i believe.
So my 2 questions are this..

1. Which Debian flavour should I download? (is there one that the live cd uses more?)

2. How will I install it without killing my windows?

Thanks so much for your time. I look forward to being a Debian user!

Basttrax

Good for you. I myself switched from Mandrake to Debian a while back. A switch I don't regret - though expect to spend some time doing the finer tweaks to get everything the way you want it.

1) Go with Testing (at the moment also known as Sarge). Keep in mind that Knoppix is not Debian, it's Debian-based and use packages from Testing, Unstable, and some home-hacked stuff. If you really need exactly Knoppix, do a HD install of Knoppix. But I'd go for Debian Sarge.

2) Simple. Don't install Debian on the Windows partition. Sure, Windows may not show up in the bootloader (Grub) initially, but it hasn't disappeared. You may need to add the following to grub:

(assuming that Windows is on the first partition on the first drive.)

Edit: Also, looking at the config files for Knoppix will give you good hints on how Debian should be configured.

Good luck,
/TLV

just to make you happy:

My system orginally was a knoppix live cd, but using knx-hdinstall (execute as root), you can install it to an existing partition on your harddisk and let it become mainly a debian system. for me, this worked great, you can install/uninstall the packages you dont want using apt etc.
Your autodetection from knoppix is mainly imported!

hth,
Flo

hey
First off thanks for the replies.

So what happened was I ended up at Chapters and picked up a Linux User mag that came with a distro called Unbuntu.
I believe it's Debian-based, but all i can tell you is it installed great. Internet, sound everything worked (unlike mandrake).

The only problem i'm having now is the age old installing apps. Everytime I try I get "This program cannot run due to lack of this package..."
and if i find that package and istall it I always get some sort of compatibility issue. urggg.

Anyone know a way around this? Or do i have to spend hours getting something as easy as bittorrent installed?

Thanks

Basttrax

I've tested Debian Sarge. 2.6 kernel behaves very stable. Speed yet still of Debian
If Debian then Sarge or SID. Both testing distros, up to date too