Hello! Yesterday I downloaded Debian (do not remember what version but it was the latest one on their website, I can check on my USB later if it's relevant) on my new Lenovo Ideapad 100-15IBY.

I had some problems, but they are all solved now. Problems with installing the OS because of Windows Secure Boot function and problems with entering my encrypted hard drive. Anyhow, that is not a problem anymore. The problems I am experiencing now is that I am stuck in the Shell Prompt and that I can not get out. I want to download and install a desktop environment, such as Gnome or Xfce, but that can not be done using the commands "apt-get install gnome" or "apt-get install xfce4". It starts loading but then it says "E: Unable to locate package gnome/xfce4".

I believe the problem is that I do not have any internet connection. What is the command for checking for internet connection? I tried pinging www.Google.com with "ping www.google.com" and also trying to ping my router (I guess you're supposed to ping your own IP-adress which I found out at www.Dnsleaktest.com". Then I tried "ping xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx". It did not work. I have more questions right now but I need to go to work, if anyone could help me out I'd be really grateful!

Thank you

Sincerely, Max Svenman

Hi, welcome to the forum
And what a question to start with
So, you have installed "a" Debian...and are stuck in "a" shell....that is not the Debian I remember...Debian starts pretty graphical....
What I do when installing an OS is have a wired network connection, that is the safest...
Can you describe the install procedure you went through?
By the way, Xubuntu is Debian, with XFCE...got it up n running on a Lenovo R400...
Melissa

things we need to know the version and what one you installed after that then we could help.
if you did a full install you would go to a desktop. I would look into doing a full install.

Technically, xubuntu is 'Ubuntu' with XFCE, not Debian with XFCE.
Aside from that, I agree: we need more information about what was actually used, and what was DONE.

I have only had one install (Sparky, I believe) properly detect my WIFI cards. It is normal for me to have to install the driver post-install, using a wired connection. Oddly, the live-cd usually gets it right, but the install process does not.

Technically

@ wpeckham - yea, you're right...I went a stage deeper where Ubuntu is derived from Debian...but, yea, it is Ubuntu
Melissa

First of all, thank you

Yes, I'm sorry, the version I'm currently running is Debian 8.2.0 "Jessie" (did I type that right?). That's at least what I get from typing in the command "apt-get update". Actually, more specified it says "jessie InRelease, jessie release.gpg, jessie Release, jessie/main ad64 Packages/DiffIndex, jessie/main Translation-en_US".

I guess that "jessie/main amd64 Packages/DiffIndex" means that it is the amd64-version and not the i386 (which I think it is called). It also explains that the computer's processor runs at 64bit?

A friend of mine told me that I could type in the command "sudo ifconfig eth0 up". The problem is that I can not type any sudo-command which I think is because I haven't activated sudo. Note that I'm a root-user.

Thank you

Hi
Note that I'm a root-user.
Well, in that case you dont even need SUDO. Besides, I never install SUDO anyway...but, I have a different view on SUDO...
Note that some distros replaced ifconfig with ip...
...it's more like i686...but, I get the drift
Show us the output of this command:
so we know what is "cooking" there
Uname is a tool that allows you to see info on your system...
Melissa

Hello! The version I'm currently using is Debian 8.2.0 "Jessie"

I think that I downloaded the most complete version of Debian from www.Debian.org, but apparently I did not. I am stuck in the Shell prompt. Although I think this is a good way of learning the basics of the OS and would like to keep it up since making a new install (with desktop environment included) would make me feel like a failure.

I have also had some problems with entering sudo-commands, which I seem not to be able to make at all. The solution I found on the internet is that I yet not have installed sudo. Anyhow, I used the recommended command which is "apt-get install sudo" which gives me this info:

"The following NEW packages will be installed:
sudo
0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 0 B/850 kB of archives.
After this operation, 2,694 kB of additional disk space will be used.
Media change: please insert the disc labeled
'Debian GNU/Linux 8.2.0 _Jessie_ - Official amd64 NETINST Binary-1 20150906-11:09'
in the drive '/media/cdrom/' and press enter

The same thing happens when I use the command "adduser root sudo".

What exactly does this mean? Is the package for sudo missing? And am I being told that by inserting a disc with Debian 8.2.0 "Jessie" amd64 the packages/files will be installed? I think I downloaded the full version, but apparently I did not.

That's what I thought! As I've understood it (only been reading about Linux since thursday) the sudo command is only necessary when you are a regular user (note: not root). Using sudo as root just seems irrelevant since root means that you are admin and sudo gives regular users some admin privileges. That's atleast how I have come to understand it

Yes, on Debian specifically it apparently is ifconfig and not ipconfig (as in the classic Windows cmd). I also do not get a different outcome from just typing "ifconfig" rather than "ifconfig -a". What is the "-a" good for?

Yes, i686 is probably what I ment Thank you for the correction.

By using the command "uname -a" I get the output: "Linux Debian 3.16.0-4-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 3.16.7-ckt11-1+deb8u3 (2015-08-04) x86_64 GNU/Linux"

Maybe you can see if this is an incomplete version or suchlike ?

PS. Thank you for helpful comments and fast replies

Hello everybody! I think I have identified my problem, and I can admit it is a little bit clumsy, but I have accidentally downloaded the small version of Debian (it is on 259MB and can be downloaded in your browser). What I actually need is the larger and more complete version of Debian which is downloaded as a torrent and thus requires software like uTorrent or Bit-torrent to download.

I will update you on how the installation goes and if I from there have any questions then they might be asked

I hope this could help someone out if you are having problems with missing packages which usually comes up as "E: Unable to locate package xxx" or likewise. Then you might have the "smaller" version installed which I'm guessing requires more configuration which some might want to avoid when getting to know the OS. Learning how to download and set up the whole OS from Shell prompt might be a little bit too much for a newbie, including myself

Official update: I am now aiming to download this version from Debian's website: Debian-8.2.0-amd64-xfce-CD-1.iso.torrent

Crossing my fingers...

Correctly understood. I feel SUDO (being an alternative way to Root-hood) to be a possible security leak, but, others will contradict this. It's all about personal taste really...

Well, it'd not make you look like a failure. There are two ways to do it: hard n easy. I did the hard way, and had a lot of frustration. The easy way is to get something up n running, play with it and THEN...explore...sorta drill your way in...

Melissa
Edit -

There are some distros that still aim for the i386...but...since the 386 is kinda a dying breed...

Yes, I agree with you that sudo is a potential threat to the computer's security. Can you configure what sudo commands are able to change?

Now I did it the easy way (or actually still doing, the computer is partitioning my disk at the moment). Do you call it partitioning disks? I only have one hard drive for the moment, and I can't fit another one in since I only have a laptop with a 2,5" hard drive slot. It's an SSD, how are they when it comes to encryption versus mechanic hard drives (HDD:s)?

The amd64, i386 and i686(?), what does these actually mean?

Also, in the installation process it said that I am missing firmware, which I guess is kind of the same as drivers. The file name is: rtlwifi/rtl8723befw.bin, do you know any safe source that supplies this firmware? I thought about googling it but since it might be a common problem perhaps people mask malware, key loggers, trojans, etc etc in these firmwares since they are regularly downloaded. Does this make any sense?

Another question, encrypting your hard disk with the option of using something called LVM + encrypting your hard disk, is that the same as using LUKS-encryption or is that a different concept? If they differ, how do I encrypt my SSD with LUKS?

Sincerely, Max Svenman

Yes, that's exactly what it's called. In case you wonder, a Linux system "chops" the disk in several pieces, each with its own purpose...
AMD64 is basically a 64 bit system for a 64 bit processor, an i386...well, that is grandma's PC...and i686 is basically the run-off-the-mill 32 bit PC...slowly oozing out of focus...
Yes...it's called the repo. Every distro has one. Stay in there and you're safe. Chances are you'll get online anyhow...with a more generic driver...
Of course, I had an exotic OS once, only the most common driver. Since I have the Lenovo, needless to say that a straight connect was not given to me. I plugged in a USB network adaptor and got to work
Of course, I have changed OS since then, one that DOES have the required drivers
Yes, but, since you stay INSIDE the catalogue of the repo, you're safe. Besides, anything that comes in, has to pass the root password (and...you ARE using the non-root password, I hope) to "install"...
Sorry, you got me on a blank there...I never encrypt the drives...makes recovery much easier in case something dies...
Melissa

RE: Sudo. Sudo does not have to be a security issue, it was designed to IMPROVE security. The problem is that most people (and now some distributions) configure it to provide root authority for EVERYTHING; that is what is insecure.
Sudo can be configured to allow ONLY certain commands, with authority that is root OR is any other valid authority, and ONLY with provided paths and parameters. Used in such a way sudo can be quite secure.
Proper security takes work, attention, and knowledge: most people do not bother. While I understand perfectly why some people would wish to avoid it, I use it daily.



RE: Encrypted file systems and LVM. I am no expert on this. We use encryption and LVM together on ONE server at work. ONE! It is a little risky, messy, and has some performance impact. It provides hipaa compliance at a higher level than unencrypted storage. Unless you store data that suggests (or requires) that security, I would not bother. IF you need it, there are some interesting documents available online if you only search for them. (Google is your best buddy here.)