If I used the images labeled debian-30r5-i386-binary-1.iso, debian-30r5-i386-binary-2.iso and so on, do I need all of them, or can all of the packages just be downloaded from the repositories using the first disk?

Also, is i386 the right choice for a IBM t42?

When doing a network install I usually boot from cd5 (because it supports ext3).

you only really need CD1, that'll give you a base system which you can install from. I did once have a small problem with one computer, and had no cd burner available, so you can even install debian from a floppy disk!

http://www.debian.org/distrib/floppyinst

that will allow you to make a floppy image to boot off, then the rest can be downloaded from the Internet - good if you have no cd's cd burner's or are a real Scrooge and don't want to waste a cd.

i did once download the entire set, but they became obsolete pretty soon, and so dumped them in favor of downloading them as and when packages are needed.

Hope this helps

Dan

you can also install debian from only the initrd on the netinstallation media.. be it floppy, cd, or whatever. and, of course a kernel that supports your hardware.. I mention this only as a point of interest because it's not something you'd normally want to do..

Yes, i386 is Correct for your notebook.

You may have issues with the ATI drivers though.

If you need any other help you can check out http://www.thinkwiki.org

I have the same notebook and everything works great except hardware acceleration with the video card.

So, then what do the other CDs contain if 1 is the base system?

The other CD's Contain software packages, which can be obtained just as well from the internet. All depends if your willing to wait ages for the 7 cd's to download or wait individually for each package.

I personally prefer downloading the packages when i need them - means i get the latest and greatest. The CD images can become outdated very quickly, but are very useful if you have a slow internet connection, or a computer without an internet connection.

Dan