Getting started

carlosinfl · 01-31-2005, 01:34 PM

I am really wanting to install Debian on my system and was told that "Testing" is the wya to go since it is usually more on the "cuttin edge" of packages. My only problem is that I have only installed Fedora Linux 1,2,3 which is very hold your hand'ish. I have never installed Debian.

There are 3 types of Debian and it looks like even more ways to install Debian. Can someon please tell me what is the best way I should go about doing this?

I did read some info at http://www.debian.org/distrib/cd & http://www.debian.org/releases/testing/ .

I thank anyone here for a point in the right direction.

m_yates · 01-31-2005, 01:56 PM

Go here: http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-installer/

The easiest is to burn the netinst CD (about 120 MB). It will install the base system and walk you through downloading everything else you need. There is also a manual: http://d-i.alioth.debian.org/manual/ I think the installer is pretty straightforward. One word of advice though: take the time to actually read the dialog boxes that open up. If you ignore things and blindly click "OK", you may run into problems. Otherwise, it is about as easy as Fedora to install and much easier to maintain after installing. Good luck!

carlosinfl · 01-31-2005, 02:00 PM

Thanks, I will try that. I guess this is a 120MB iso file, right? I just boot from disk? I get really freaked out when it asks for all the partioning stuff since I am not really understanding how all the main, swap, and other partitions work?

I have just 1 120GB S-ATA drive I want to throw debian on. Is there documantion on the partitioning or examples of how I set that up?

jonaskoelker · 01-31-2005, 02:09 PM

I'll try to share my 'wisdom': the best way of installing debian depends highly on what kind of person you are, what kind of machine you have, and what you want it to do. Assuming that you want an 'average end-user desktop system', I'd say go for testing. As for the main/contrib/non-free: if you say 'free software'*, you want main; if you say 'open source', you probably want main/contrib/non-free (with emphasis on main); if you don't say anything, you probably just want whatever works best for you. (*) I assume you understand the distinction. If not, browse around www.gnu.org and www.catb.org/~esr/, and/or read the DFSG.

As for the installation procedure: I used the floppy way; due my floppies being crappy, it took a few tries, but generally things worked smoothly once I really started. I've also heard many people say good things about the one-CD/net-install. Pick one; if you picked the wrong one for you, pick the other one and retry (, abort, fail?)

Oh, and go read the installation guide. Then read it again, and prepare the media. Then read the difficult/tricky parts again. Better an extra hour of labor now, than 20 hours of grief and despair later

Hope this helps; I wish you best of luck and lots of joy with Debian,

Jonas

PS. I haven't checked into which kernel you get by default with the installer, but pick the newest one. If not a 2.6.x, upgrade kernel when your system is running somewhat stable.

PPS. if you happen to run a notLinux (say, windows XP) on hdb, you might want to read http://www.anandtech.com/guides/viewfaq.html?i=138 -- paying close attetion to 'map-drive' (in case you run LILO). Just in case... (this bit me).

jonaskoelker · 01-31-2005, 02:19 PM

here's my `df -h`:

Code:

Filesystem            Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/hda2             4.7G  146M  4.6G   4% /
tmpfs                 252M     0  252M   0% /dev/shm
/dev/hda1              96M   43M   54M  45% /boot
/dev/hda8              28G   26G  2.8G  91% /home
/dev/hda5             480M   34M  447M   7% /tmp
/dev/hda6             1.9G  592M  1.3G  32% /var
/dev/hda7              14G  1.7G   13G  12% /usr

note (more than how I allocated) how much is used for each mount point.
Note that since I run reiserfs, there's a 32 MB log overhead for each partition,
so /boot is really 32 MB log + 11 MB data. This is also of a 120 GB disk;
if you do a little math, you'll see that there is a lot of unallocated space,
which leaves me with the freedom to allocate more, where it is needed
(say, /home). The simplest heuristic I can give when in doubt:
allocate a little extra for each mount point, but leave some space unallocated.
As a side note: I think the highest use of swap space I've ever had was 50% (128 MB).
YMMV.

Hope this helps,

Jonas

m_yates · 01-31-2005, 06:57 PM

I would recommend a simpler partition scheme with only 3 partitions. One mounted at "/" that contains all of the operating system and applications (maybe 10-20 GB in size). A swap partition (1 GB in size is plenty). An lastly, a partition mounted at "/home" that contains your personal stuff (/home can occupy the rest of the disk). Keeping /home on a separate partition means you can then reinstall the operating system if needed without formatting /home and keep your personal stuff. In my opinion, there is really no need to make separate partitions for /var, /usr, /etc, etc. It will only make you confused.

If you are just starting out and want to try Debian, I would suggest th netinst CD. It is an ISO image. You boot the CD. The default kernel is 2.4.27, but if you type "linux26" at the boot prompt, it will give you kernel 2.6.8. The netinst CD will install a basic system, then reboot into it. At the first boot, it will run "task select" program that allows you to decide what you want your computer to do like "desktop environment", "mail server", etc. Select one or more tasks and it will automatically download and install the required packages from the internet. If you choose "desktop environment", it will install both gnome and kde along with associated applications.

carlosinfl · 01-31-2005, 07:42 PM

I guess maybe Debian is way over my head because I find a bit of info in this thread confusing.

That partition example was crazy and I have never seen anything that complicated. I would like to install (sarge) Testing via minimal CD boot disk (CD-R) and then install everything via the net. Is that something a beginer like myself can do?

I can't find a link to the install process that will let me burn a minimal boot CD and then install everything I need via the net.

I have searched Debian's site and they have so many links and options, its kind of confusing for a 1st timer.

ernobe · 01-31-2005, 10:07 PM

The link for the net install instructions is at the main Debian page:
www.debian.org You can net install with two floppies, but for me it
only worked with the idepci stable version, with a 2.2.20 kernel,
because the others were not able to recognize my net card. I then
had to upgrade to unstable, which is easier to do if you just change
the apt address ( using dselects "choose access method" ) to unstable
and not install any new packages at the same time, as it can confuse
the program ( dselect ) into installing a mixure of stable and
unstable. As for the partitions, I read somewhere at the Debian
site, which has loads of useful information, that the Linux file
system tends to become unstable if installed in partitions bigger
than 6 GB.

giosue_c · 01-31-2005, 11:05 PM

Yo.

You are a beginner? Don't be afraid. Whatever impulse led you to Debian was a good one because after trying several RPM based (fedora, mandrake) I find the Debian way to be the best way. That being said it is a little more hands on than those (but not much).

The netinstall they mentioned earlier is the way to go, and what you may need to do here is approach the first install like you would your first step up to home plate. Take a few practice swings! Loosen up. The first time I installed debian, it worked, but there were things I wished I had done differently. So I reinstalled. Then I reinstalled again. After you do it a few times you will understand much better what is going on.

Of course if you are in a hurry or are impatient that will be a problem... but if that is the case perhaps you shouldn't be learning linux. Ah, forget I said that. Learning linux is worth it!

That is my advice. Oh, and one more thing. Read every description of debian's package manager apt-get or aptitude (gui version) that you can find. It is absolutely critical to maintaining your system down the road.

cheers!

m_yates · 02-01-2005, 06:12 AM

If you have no experience, try SimplyMepis. It is very easy, multimedia stuf and browser plugins are pre-configured, and it is based on Debian. Installing SimplyMepis is just a matter of a few mouse clicks.

For Debian, the iso image you need is here: http://cdimage.debian.org/pub/cdimag...86-netinst.iso burn that onto a CD, boot it and follow the instructions. If you get confused, you may have to spend some time reading to learn more, but it is worth it in the end.

If you just want something to work without reading much, try simplymepis.