BIG newbie question:
I just used PartitionMagic to resize my enormous NTFS partition (Win2000), and then I created the various /, /usr ... and swap partitions where I would like to install GNU/Debian.

Is this ok? Should I have left the new space untouched and configured it during the install?

Is there a COMPLETE manual somewhere that explains STEP BY STEP how to do a dual boot install? That could explain to me why the linux boot disk I made is completely ignored?

Sorry about the exasperation, but the next time someone says "it's easy, just get grub" I think I'll explode.

regards
Anna

you made /,/usr and swap partitions??make sure that the filesystem type etc are right.there is no need of a /usr partition since linux would automatically create /usr(not a partition).you could have made a '/boot' or a '/home' partition instead.
by the by,you are trying debian??it is the toughest(to configure) linux distro i have ever seen.(and is the best).
and if you experiance any problems,post them here.
about dual partition howto;there are plenty of them in the net.i just did a quick search and got this.
http://geodsoft.com/howto/dualboot/

all the best,
arun

Hey Anna, sometimes (by oversight) people forget to enable their BIOSes for booting from CD (boot sequence). Could that be the reason your CDs won't work?

Don't worry about your prepared partitions, you will just have to make them available during system setup (they will probalby have to be reformatted, which is no problem in itself).

note:i said /usr partition is not needed cos for an average user,you dont expect /usr partition to fill up.there is no problem in having such a partition.