Which architecture is Intel core i7 ?
 

Hi. I have a Lenovo ThinkPad X220 with an Intel Core i7-2620M. I don't understand what this translates to in terms of the list of Debian architectures. I can't figure this out from the Debian pages.

I ran Xubuntu on this machine (dual booted with W7) for a few months
without much trouble and I'm running wheezy amd64 on a desktop. But, finally fed up with all things ubuntu, I put the amd64 wheezy disc into the Lenovo laptop without thinking and got a very inadequate
installation.

I guess amd64 is the wrong architecture for the laptop -- can you
tell me what I should be using?

Thanks.

The amd64 iso image is fine for a core i7. The issue you had with your installation is probably due to other reasons, like a defective CD, or a bad installation procedure (it's hard to know without more information).

You could also use the i386 image, but the amd64 one is the recommended, since you probably have more than 3 gb of RAM, and i386 installs won't recognize it all without a PAE kernel.

Thanks a lot odiseo. I'll go back and try again. Just for info, I got only a single terminal. In fact I work in x terminals most of the time but having just the one is a bit too basic. I got a message about the mirrors not being accessible (I tried 5 or 6). Maybe I should have used a new disc; the one I used is a few weeks old.

All the best, M

The i7 has always been amd64. I can't speak to Debian, but usually a 64-bit CD won't even boot on 32-bit hardware - and tells you so.
Use amd64 - i386 would be a travesty on that kit.

If you are in Aus, the inabilility to get to mirrors might be the pipe under the Pacific - sort your mirrors to preference local mirrors (in need).

What exactly made the installation inadequate? I'm using Wheezy64 on a i5 with no problems. It was suggested to me to use the full DVD install which has something to do with the limited kernel choices on the net install. I'm not technical so don't know the specifics bt I did use the 3 disc, DVD install though only disc one was used...

Your problem may be that the hardware inside is too new to be recognised by the installer kernel. Wait a few days, I understand Jessie is about to be released as the new Testing, and it may solve that particular issue. Alternatively, consider Linux Mint.

Still gets stuck on the mirror stage.

This time I used debian-wheezy-DI-rc3-amd64-DVD-1.iso (downloaded this morning) instead of the net install, like Soapm said.

I still get the `Bad Archive Mirror' page. I tried half a dozen mirrors starting with the debian site at the top and a couple of university mirrors.

Few thoughts:

1. I get a request for files iwlwifi-6000g2a-6.ucode and iwlwifi-6000g2a-5.ucode

This time I just answered `no', following the advice from

http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-installer/errata

Quote: Erroneous firmware prompt with some Intel Wireless cards. If you have an Intel Wireless 6005 or 6205 card then the installer will prompt for the firmware file
iwlwifi-6000g2a-6.ucode. This file is not included in the firmware-iwlwifi package and is not actually needed. You must answer no to continue with installation.

2. I don't understand the distinction between IP address and gateway. I entered my IP address in the gateway. Maybe that was wrong? Should I have entered the router admin address? I have a standard ethernet router and am using ethernet for the installation. The cable is usually plugged into a desktop and works fine.

3. Last time I used the subnet mask 255.255.255.255 which my isp gave me and which has worked on other machines; this time I used subnet mask 255.255.255.0 which the installation gives as default.

4. The mirror suggests a http proxy may be needed. I have never knowingly needed one
before.

It'd be great to get help with this. I need the machine working by Tuesday, at least for reading files, so I can't wait for Jessie (thanks, Dutch Master).

Quote: If you are in Aus, the inabilility to get to mirrors might be the pipe under the Pacific - sort your mirrors to preference local mirrors (in need).

Sadly not. From Melbourne but living in the antipodes, so trying west european mirrors.

Without this driver or wired connection the install will only put basic OS, no desktop because you aren't getting network connection.
When setting up network connections it didn't fail?
You can download here.
http://packages.debian.org/wheezy/al...lwifi/download
Or you can download the hybrid cd which may have it.

My bad disregard first post.
If you select "Advanced Options>>Expert Install" you get more options.
You should see both cards when you get to Configure Network, you have to select the ethernet card to configure it for wired connection

Consider the IP address as your postal code, the gateway is your city. You should indeed have used the router address as your gateway.

Thanks Eddy. I tried again with the Expert Install which was interesting. But I still haven't got the network config right. I removed the cable but the installer still only offered eth0 (not wlan). I have a desktop and decent range of basic tools but no internet.

This laptop is dual booted with W7 so I got an ip address off the windows partition, but that still hasn't helped.

Thanks Dutch Master -- let me see if I've understood: the IP address which my isp gives me and which the world uses to contact me is basically irrelevant here. What I need to give for `gateway' is the 192.168.nnn.nnn address for the router.

I'll have another go.

Thanks again.

Yes, you understood it right. A package destined for your address first has to arrive at your city before it can be forwarded to your house by the post-office. And if you want to send something, you go to the post-office to get it into the wider world. That forwarding and retrieving is done by your router when it comes to packets from the internet.

If you have a wired connection, use it to install and update the system first, worry about wireless later :)

Interestingly enough, at least speaking for Debian, a 64 bit image will boot on a 32 bit processor. I was doing it all the time at work with a Debian Wheezy Live ISO. It worked flawlessly too, for the most part.

If you can boot a 64 bit image on a given machine, it means that it's 64 bit capable. AFAIK, you can use i386 and i686 images on a processor with 64 bit support, but you can't do the opposite (using x64 images on a processor that's only 32 bit).

This means you have successfully completed the install??

If so, at a root terminal -
put this in /etc/network/interfaces:
enter the command
Barring any firmware issue and if your router does dhcp (as per 99% of home setups) you should be connected.

For wireless, id your hardware with lspci, and look at http://wiki.debian.org/WiFi