Installing Debian GNU/Linux 2.2 For Intel x86 --------------------------------------------- Bruce Perens Sven Rudolph Igor Grobman James Treacy Adam Di Carlo version 2.2.27, 14 Listopad, 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Abstract -------- This document contains installation instructions for the Debian GNU/Linux 2.2 system, for the Intel x86 (``i386'') architecture. It also contains pointers to more information and information on how to make the most of your new Debian system. The procedures in this document are _not_ to be used for users upgrading existing systems; if you are upgrading, see the Release Notes for Debian 2.2 (http://www.debian.org/releases/2.2/i386/release-notes/). Copyright Notice ---------------- This document may be distributed and modified under the terms of the GNU General Public License. (C) 1996 Bruce Perens (C) 1996, 1997 Sven Rudolph (C) 1998 Igor Grobman, James Treacy (C) 1998--2001 Adam Di Carlo This manual is free software; you may redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or (at your option) any later version. This manual is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but _without any warranty_; without even the implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. See the GNU General Public License for more details. A copy of the GNU General Public License is available as `/usr/doc/copyright/GPL' in the Debian GNU/Linux distribution or on the World Wide Web at the GNU website (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html). You can also obtain it by writing to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA. We require that you properly attribute Debian and the authors of this document on any materials derived from this document. If you modify and improve this document, we request that you notify the authors of this document, via . ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contents -------- 1. Welcome to Debian 1.1. What is Debian? 1.2. What is GNU/Linux? 1.3. What is Debian GNU/Linux? 1.4. What is Debian GNU/Hurd? 1.5. Getting Debian 1.6. Getting the Newest Version of This Document 1.7. Organization of This Document 1.8. WARNING: This Document Has Known Problems 1.9. About Copyrights and Software Licenses 2. System Requirements 2.1. Supported Hardware 2.2. Installation Media 2.3. Memory and Disk Space Requirements 2.4. Peripherals and Other Hardware 2.5. Purchasing Hardware Specifically for GNU/Linux 3. Before You Start 3.1. Backups 3.2. Information You Will Need 3.3. Pre-installation Hardware and Operating System Setup 4. Partitioning Your Hard Drive 4.1. Background 4.2. Planning Use of the System 4.3. Device Names in Linux 4.4. Recommended Partitioning Scheme 4.5. Example Partitioning 4.6. Partitioning Prior to Installation 4.7. Lossless Repartitioning When Starting From DOS, Win-32 or OS/2 4.8. Partitioning for DOS 5. Methods for Installing Debian 5.1. Overview of the Installation Process 5.2. Choosing the Right Installation Set 5.3. Installation Sources for Different Installation Stages 5.4. Description of Installation System Files 5.5. Diskettes 5.6. CD-ROM 5.7. Hard Disk 5.8. Installing from NFS 6. Booting the Installation System 6.1. Boot Parameter Arguments 6.2. Interpreting the Kernel Startup Messages 6.3. Booting from a Hard Disk 6.4. Booting and/or Installing from a CD-ROM 6.5. Booting With the Rescue Floppy 6.6. Troubleshooting the Boot Process 7. Using `dbootstrap' for Initial System Configuration 7.1. Introduction to `dbootstrap' 7.2. ``Release Notes'' 7.3. ``Debian GNU/Linux Installation Main Menu'' 7.4. ``Configure the Keyboard'' 7.5. Last Chance! 7.6. ``Partition a Hard Disk'' 7.7. ``Initialize and Activate a Swap Partition'' 7.8. ``Initialize a Linux Partition'' 7.9. ``Mount a Previously-Initialized Partition'' 7.10. Mounting Partitions Not Supported by `dbootstrap' 7.11. ``Install Operating System Kernel and Modules'' 7.12. ``Configure PCMCIA Support'' 7.13. ``Configure Device Driver Modules'' 7.14. ``Configure the Network'' 7.15. ``Install the Base System'' 7.16. ``Configure the Base System'' 7.17. ``Make Linux Bootable Directly From Hard Disk'' 7.18. ``Make a Boot Floppy'' 7.19. The Moment of Truth 7.20. Debian Post-Boot (Base) Configuration 7.21. MD5 Passwords 7.22. Shadow Passwords 7.23. Set the Root Password 7.24. Create an Ordinary User 7.25. Setting Up PPP 7.26. Removing PCMCIA 7.27. Configuring APT 7.28. Package Installation: Simple or Advanced 7.29. Simple Package Selection -- The Task Installer 7.30. Advanced Package Selection with `dselect' 7.31. Log In 8. Next Steps and Where to Go From Here 8.1. If You Are New to Unix 8.2. Orienting Yourself to Debian 8.3. Reactivating DOS and Windows 8.4. Further Reading and Information 8.5. Compiling a New Kernel 9. Technical Information on the Boot Floppies 9.1. Source Code 9.2. Rescue Floppy 9.3. Replacing the Rescue Floppy Kernel 9.4. The Base Floppies 10. Appendix 10.1. Further Information and Obtaining Debian GNU/Linux 10.2. Linux Devices 11. Administrivia 11.1. About This Document 11.2. Contributing to This Document 11.3. Major Contributions 11.4. Trademark Acknowledgement ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Welcome to Debian -------------------- We are delighted that you have decided to try Debian, and sure that you will find that Debian's GNU/Linux distribution is unique. Debian GNU/Linux brings together high-quality free software from around the world, integrating it into a coherent whole. We believe that you will find that the result is truly more than the sum of the parts. This chapter provides an overview of the Debian Project and Debian GNU/Linux. If you already know about the Debian Project's history and the Debian GNU/Linux distribution, feel free to skip to the next chapter. 1.1. What is Debian? -------------------- Debian is an all-volunteer organization dedicated to developing free software and promoting the ideals of the Free Software Foundation. The Debian Project began in 1993, when Ian Murdock issued an open invitation to software developers to contribute to a complete and coherent software distribution based on the relatively new Linux kernel. That relatively small band of dedicated enthusiasts, originally funded by the Free Software Foundation (http://www.gnu.org/fsf/fsf.html) and influenced by the GNU (http://www.gnu.org/) philosophy, has grown over the years into an organization of around 500 _Debian Developers_. Debian Developers are involved in a variety of activities, including Web (http://www.debian.org/) and FTP (ftp://ftp.debian.org/) site administration, graphic design, legal analysis of software licenses, writing documentation, and, of course, maintaining software packages. In the interest of communicating our philosophy and attracting developers who believe in the principles that Debian stands for, the Debian Project has published a number of documents that outline our values and serve as guides to what it means to be a Debian Developer: * The Debian Social Contract (http://www.debian.org/social_contract) is a statement of Debian's commitments to the Free Software Community. Anyone who agrees to abide to the Social Contract may become a maintainer (http://www.debian.org/doc/maint-guide/). Any maintainer can introduce new software into Debian --- provided that the software meets our criteria for being free, and the package follows our quality standards. * The Debian Free Software Guidelines (http://www.debian.org/social_contract#guidelines) are a clear and concise statement of Debian's criteria for free software. The DFSG is a very influential document in the Free Software Movement, and was the foundation of the Open Source Free Software Guidelines (http://opensource.org/osd.html). * The Debian Policy Manual (http://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/) is an extensive specification of the Debian Project's standards of quality. Debian developers are also involved in a number of other projects; some specific to Debian, others involving some or all of the Linux community. Some examples include: * The Linux Standard Base (http://www.linuxbase.org/) (LSB) is a project aimed at standardizing the basic GNU/Linux system, which will enable third-party software and hardware developers to easily design programs and device drivers for Linux-in-general, rather than for a specific GNU/Linux distribution. * The Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (http://www.pathname.com/fhs/) (FHS) is an effort to standardize the layout of the Linux filesystem. The FHS will allow software developers to concentrate their efforts on designing programs, without having to worry about how the package will be installed in different GNU/Linux distributions. * Debian Jr. (http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-jr/) is an internal project, aimed at making sure Debian has something to offer to our youngest users. For more general information about Debian, see the Debian FAQ (http://www.debian.org/doc/FAQ/). 1.2. What is GNU/Linux? ----------------------- The GNU Project has developed a comprehensive set of free software tools for use with Unix(TM) and Unix-like operating systems such as Linux. These tools enable users to perform tasks ranging from the mundane (such as copying or removing files from the system) to the arcane (such as writing and compiling programs or doing sophisticated editing in a variety of document formats). An operating system consists of various fundamental programs which are needed by your computer so that it can communicate and receive instructions from users; read and write data to hard disks, tapes, and printers; control the use of memory; and run other software. The most important part of an operating system is the kernel. In a GNU/Linux system, Linux is the kernel component. The rest of the system consists of other programs, many of which were written by or for the GNU Project. Because the Linux kernel alone does not form a working operating system, we prefer to use the term ``GNU/Linux'' to refer to systems that many people casually refer to as ``Linux''. The Linux kernel (http://www.kernel.org/) first appeared in 1991, when a Finnish computing science student named Linus Torvalds announced an early version of a replacement kernel for Minix to the Usenet newsgroup `comp.os.minix'. See Linux International's Linux History Page (http://www.li.org/linuxhistory.php). Linus Torvalds continues to coordinate the work of several hundred developers with the help of a few trusty deputies. An excellent weekly summary of discussions on the `linux-kernel' mailing list is Kernel Traffic (http://kt.linuxcare.com/kernel-traffic/). More information about the `linux-kernel' mailing list can be found on the linux-kernel mailing list FAQ (http://www.tux.org/lkml/). 1.3. What is Debian GNU/Linux? ------------------------------ The combination of Debian's philosophy and methodology and the GNU tools, the Linux kernel, and other important free software, form a unique software distribution called Debian GNU/Linux. This distribution is made up of a large number of software _packages_. Each package in the distribution contains executables, scripts, documentation, and configuration information, and has a _maintainer_ who is primarily responsible for keeping the package up-to-date, tracking bug reports, and communicating with the upstream author(s) of the packaged software. Our extremely large user base, combined with our bug tracking system ensures that problems are found and fixed quickly. Debian's attention to detail allows us to produce a high-quality, stable, and scalable distribution. Installations can be easily configured to serve many roles, from stripped-down firewalls to desktop scientific workstations to high-end network servers. The feature that most distinguishes Debian from other GNU/Linux distributions is its package management system. These tools give the administrator of a Debian system complete control over the packages installed on that system, including the ability to install a single package or automatically update the entire operating system. Individual packages can also be protected from being updated. You can even tell the package management system about software you have compiled yourself and what dependencies it fulfills. To protect your system against ``trojan horses'' and other malevolent software, Debian's servers verify that uploaded packages come from their registered Debian maintainers. Debian packagers also take great care to configure their packages in a secure manner. When security problems in shipped packages do appear, fixes are usually available very quickly. With Debian's simple update options, security fixes can be downloaded and installed automatically across the Internet. The primary, and best, method of getting support for your Debian GNU/Linux system and communicating with Debian Developers is through the many mailing lists maintained by the Debian Project (there are more than 90 at this writing). The easiest way to subscribe to one or more of these lists is visit Debian's mailing list subscription page (http://www.debian.org/MailingLists/subscribe) and fill out the form you'll find there. 1.4. What is Debian GNU/Hurd? ----------------------------- Debian GNU/Hurd is a Debian GNU system that replaces the Linux monolithic kernel with the GNU Hurd --- a set of servers running on top of the GNU Mach microkernel. The Hurd is still unfinished, and is unsuitable for day-to-day use, but work is continuing. The Hurd is currently only being developed for the i386 architecture, although ports to other architectures will be made once the system becomes more stable. For more information, see the Debian GNU/Hurd ports page (http://www.debian.org/ports/hurd/) and the mailing list. 1.5. Getting Debian ------------------- For information on how to download Debian GNU/Linux from the Internet or from whom official Debian CDs can be purchased, see the distribution web page (http://www.debian.org/distrib/). The list of Debian mirrors (http://www.debian.org/distrib/ftplist) contains a full set of official Debian mirrors. Debian can be upgraded after installation very easily. The installation procedure will help setup up the system so that you can make those upgrades once installation is complete, if need be. 1.6. Getting the Newest Version of This Document ------------------------------------------------ This document is constantly being revised. Be sure to check the Debian 2.2 pages (http://www.debian.org/releases/2.2/) for any last-minute information about the 2.2 release of the Debian GNU/Linux system. Updated versions of this installation manual are also available from the official Install Manual pages (http://www.debian.org/releases/2.2/i386/install). 1.7. Organization of This Document ---------------------------------- This document is meant to serve as a manual for first-time Debian users. It tries to make as few assumptions as possible about your level of expertise. However, we do assume that you have a general understanding of how the hardware in your computer works. Expert users may also find interesting reference information in this document, including minimum installation sizes, details about the hardware supported by the Debian installation system, and so on. We encourage expert users to jump around in the document. In general, this manual is arranged in a linear fashion, walking you through the installation process from start to finish. Here are the steps in installing Debian GNU/Linux, and the sections of this document which correlate with each step: 1. Determine whether your hardware meets the requirements for using the installation system, in Chapter 2, `System Requirements'. 2. Backup your system, and perform any necessary planning and hardware configuration prior to installing Debian, in Chapter 3, `Before You Start'. 3. Getting the partitions on your system set up correctly is very important, because once you've done the install, you may have to live with your choices for a long time. 4. In Chapter 5, `Methods for Installing Debian', several different ways to install Debian are presented and discussed. Select your favorite method and prepare your installation media as described. 5. Chapter 6, `Booting the Installation System', describes booting into the installation system. This chapter also discusses troubleshooting procedures in case you have problems with this step. 6. Perform the initial system configuration, which is discussed in Chapter 7, `Using `dbootstrap' for Initial System Configuration' (Sections Section 7.1, `Introduction to `dbootstrap'' through Section 7.14, ```Configure the Network'''). 7. Section 7.15, ```Install the Base System'''. 8. Boot into your newly installed base system and run through some additional configuration tasks, from Section 7.19, `The Moment of Truth'. 9. Install the rest of the system, using `dselect' or `apt-get', in Section 7.28, `Package Installation: Simple or Advanced'. Once you've got your system installed, you can read Chapter 8, `Next Steps and Where to Go From Here'. That chapter explains where to look to find more information about Unix and Debian, and how to replace your kernel. If you want to build your own install system from source, be sure to read Chapter 9, `Technical Information on the Boot Floppies'. Finally, information about this document and how to contribute to it may be found in Chapter 11, `Administrivia'. 1.8. WARNING: This Document Has Known Problems ---------------------------------------------- This document is still in a rather rough form. It is known to be incomplete, and probably also contains errors, grammatical problems, and so forth. If you see the words ``FIXME'' or ``TODO'', you can be sure we already know that section is not complete. As usual, _caveat emptor_ (buyer beware). Any help, suggestions, and, especially, patches, would be greatly appreciated. The non-x86 versions of this document may be particularly incomplete, inaccurate, and untested. Your help is definitely wanted! Working versions of this document can be found at http://www.debian.org/releases/2.2/i386/install. There you will find a list of all the different architectures and languages for which this document is available. Source is also available publicly; look for more information concerning how to contribute in Chapter 11, `Administrivia'. We welcome suggestions, comments, patches, and bug reports (use the package `boot-floppies', but check first to see if the problem is already reported). 1.9. About Copyrights and Software Licenses ------------------------------------------- We're sure that you've read some of the licenses that come with most commercial software --- they usually say that you can only use one copy of the software on a single computer. The Debian GNU/Linux system's license isn't like that at all. We encourage you to put a copy of Debian GNU/Linux on every computer in your school or place of business. Lend your installation media to your friends and help them install it on their computers! You can even make thousands of copies and _sell_ them --- albeit with a few restrictions. Your freedom to install and use the system comes directly from Debian being based on _free software_. Calling software ``free'' doesn't mean that the software isn't copyrighted, and it doesn't mean that CDs containing that software must be distributed at no charge. Free software, in part, means that the licenses of individual programs do not require you to pay for the privilege of distributing or using those programs. Free software also means that not only may anyone extend, adapt, and modify the software, but that they may distribute the results of their work as well.[1] Many of the programs in the system are licensed under the _GNU_ _General Public License_, often simply referred to as ``the GPL''. The GPL requires you to make the _source code_ of the programs available whenever you distribute a binary copy of the program; that provision of the license ensures that any user will be able to modify the software. Because of this provision, the source code for all such programs is available in the Debian system.[2] There are several other forms of copyright statements and software licenses used on the programs in Debian. You can find the copyrights and licenses for every package installed on your system by looking in the file `/usr/doc//copyright' once you've installed a package on your system. For more information about licenses and how Debian determines whether software is free enough to be included in the main distribution, see the Debian Free Software Guidelines (http://www.debian.org/social_contract#guidelines). The most important legal notice is that this software comes with _no warranties_. The programmers who have created this software have done so for the benefit of the community. No guarantee is made as to the suitability of the software for any given purpose. However, since the software is free, you are empowered to modify that software to suit your needs --- and to enjoy the benefits of the changes made by others who have extended the software in this way. [1] Note that the Debian project, as a pragmatic concession to its users, does make some packages available that do not meet our criteria for being free. These packages are not part of the official distribution, however, and are only available from the `contrib' or `non-free' areas of Debian mirrors or on third-party CD-ROMs; see the Debian FAQ (http://www.debian.org/doc/FAQ/), under ``The Debian FTP archives'', for more information about the layout and contents of the archives. [2] For information on how to locate, unpack, and build binaries from Debian source packages, see the Debian FAQ (http://www.debian.org/doc/FAQ/), under ``Basics of the Debian Package Management System''. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. System Requirements ---------------------- This section contains information about what hardware you need to get started with Debian. You will also find links to further information about hardware supported by GNU and Linux. 2.1. Supported Hardware ----------------------- Debian does not impose hardware requirements beyond the requirements of the Linux kernel and the GNU tool-sets. Therefore, any architecture or platform to which the Linux kernel, libc, `gcc', etc. have been ported, and for which a Debian port exists, can run Debian. There are, however, some limitations in our boot floppy set with respect to supported hardware. Some Linux-supported platforms might not be directly supported by our boot floppies. If this is the case, you may have to create a custom rescue disk (see Section 9.3, `Replacing the Rescue Floppy Kernel'), or investigate network installations. Rather than attempting to describe all the different hardware configurations which are supported for Intel x86, this section contains general information and pointers to where additional information can be found. 2.1.1. Supported Architectures ------------------------------ Debian 2.2 supports six architectures: Intel x86-based architectures; Motorola 680x0 machines such as Atari, Amiga, and Macintoshes; DEC Alpha machines; Sun SPARC machines; ARM and StrongARM machines; and some IBM/Motorola PowerPC machines, including CHRP, PowerMac and PReP machines. These are referred to as _i386_, _m68k_, _alpha_, _sparc_, _arm_, and _powerpc_, respectively. This document covers installation for the _i386_ architecture. If you look for information on other architectures take a look at the Debian-Ports (http://www.debian.org/ports/) pages. 2.1.2. CPU, Mainboards, and Video Support ----------------------------------------- Complete information concerning supported peripherals can be found at Linux Hardware Compatibility HOWTO (http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Hardware-HOWTO.html). This section merely outlines the basics. 2.1.2.1. CPU ------------ Nearly all x86-based processors are supported; this includes AMD and Cyrix processors as well. Also the new processors like Athlon and the K6-2 or K6-3, respectively, are supported. However, Linux will _not_ run on 286 or earlier processors. 2.1.2.2. I/O Bus ---------------- The system bus is the part of the motherboard which allows the CPU to communicate with peripherals such as storage devices. Your computer must use the ISA, EISA, PCI, the Microchannel Architecture (MCA, used in IBM's PS/2 line), or VESA Local Bus (VLB, sometimes called the VL bus). 2.1.2.3. Graphics Card ---------------------- You should be using a VGA-compatible display interface for the console terminal. Nearly every modern display card is compatible with VGA. Ancient standards such CGA, MDA, or HGA should also work, assuming you do not require X11 support. Note that X11 is not used during the installation process described in this document. Debian's support for graphical interfaces is determined by the underlying support found in XFree86's X11 system. The newer AGP video slots are actually a modification on the PCI specification, and most AGP video cards work under XFree86. Details on supported graphics buses, cards, monitors, and pointing devices can be found at http://www.xfree86.org/. Debian 2.2 ships with X11 revision 3.3.6. 2.1.2.4. Laptops ---------------- Laptops are also supported. Laptops are often specialized or contain proprietary hardware. To see if your particular laptop works well with GNU/Linux, see the Linux Laptop pages (http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/kharker/linux-laptop/). 2.1.3. Multiple Processors -------------------------- Multi-processor support -- also called ``symmetric multi-processing'' or SMP -- is supported for this architecture. However, the standard Debian 2.2 kernel image does not support SMP. This should not prevent installation, since the standard, non-SMP kernel should boot on SMP systems; the kernel will simply use the first CPU. In order to take advantage of multiple processors, you'll have to replace the standard Debian kernel. You can find a discussion of how to do this in Section 8.5, `Compiling a New Kernel'. At this time (kernel version 2.2.19) the way you enable SMP is to select ``symmetric multi-processing'' in the ``General'' section of the kernel config. If you compile software on a multiprocessor system, look for the `-j' flag in the documentation on make(1). 2.2. Installation Media ----------------------- There are four different media which can be used to install Debian: floppies, CD-ROMs, local disk partitions, or the network. Different parts of the same Debian installation can mix and match these options; we'll go into that in Chapter 5, `Methods for Installing Debian'. Floppy disk installation is a common option, although generally, the least desirable. In many cases, you'll have to do your first boot from floppies, using the Rescue Floppy. Generally, all you will need is a high-density (1440 kilobytes) 3.5 inch floppy drive. Double-density, 5.25 inch installation floppies (1200 k) are also provided. CD-ROM based installation is also supported for some architectures. On machines which support bootable CD-ROMs, you should be able to do a completely floppy-less installation. Even if your system doesn't support booting from a CD-ROM, you can use the CD-ROM in conjunction with the other techniques to install your system, once you've booted up by other means; see Section 6.4, `Booting and/or Installing from a CD-ROM'. Both SCSI and IDE/ATAPI CD-ROMs are supported. In addition, all non-standard CD interfaces supported by Linux are supported by the boot disks (such as Mitsumi and Matsushita drives). However, these models might require special boot parameters or other massaging to get them to work, and booting off these non-standard interfaces is unlikely. The Linux CD-ROM HOWTO (http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/CDROM-HOWTO.html) contains in-depth information on using CD-ROMs with Linux. Installation from local disk is another option. If you have free space on partitions other than the partitions you're installing to, this is definitely a good option. Some platforms even have local installers, i.e., for booting from AmigaOS, TOS, or MacOS. The last option is network installation. You can install your base system via HTTP or NFS. Diskless installation, using network booting and NFS-mounting of all local filesystems, is another option -- you'll probably need at least 16MB of RAM for this option. After your base system is installed, you can install the rest of your system via any sort of network connection (including PPP), via FTP, HTTP, or NFS. More complete descriptions of these methods, and helpful hints for picking which method is best for you, can be found in Chapter 5, `Methods for Installing Debian'. Please be sure to continue reading to make sure the device you intend to boot and install from is supported by the Debian installation system. 2.2.1. Supported Storage Systems -------------------------------- The Debian boot disks contain a kernel which is built to maximize the number of systems it runs on. Unfortunately, this makes for a larger kernel, with a lot of drivers which will never be used (see Section 8.5, `Compiling a New Kernel' to learn how to build your own). However, support for the widest possible range of devices is desirable in order to ensure that Debian can be installed on the widest array of hardware. Generally, the Debian installation system includes support for floppies, IDE drives, IDE floppies, parallel port IDE devices, SCSI controllers and drives. The file systems supported include MINIX, FAT, Win-32 FAT extensions (VFAT), among others (note that NTFS is not supported by the installation system; you can add it later, as described in Section 8.5, `Compiling a New Kernel'). Rather than attempting to describe the supported hardware, it is much easier to describe the Linux supported hardware which is _not_ supported by the Debian boot system. The disk interfaces that emulate the ``AT'' hard disk interface which are often called MFM, RLL, IDE, or ATA are supported. Very old 8 bit hard disk controllers used in the IBM XT computer are supported only as a module. SCSI disk controllers from many different manufacturers are supported. See the Linux Hardware Compatibility HOWTO (http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Hardware-HOWTO.html) for more details. Not supported are IDE SCSI drives and some SCSI controllers, including * EATA-DMA protocol compliant SCSI Host Adapters like the SmartCache III/IV, SmartRAID controller families and the DPT PM2011B and PM2012B controllers. * The 53c7 NCR family of SCSI controllers (but 53c8 and 5380 controllers are supported) 2.3. Memory and Disk Space Requirements --------------------------------------- You must have at least 12MB of memory and 64MB of hard disk. If you want to install a reasonable amount of software, including the X Window System, and some development programs and libraries, you'll need at least 300MB. For a more or less complete installation, you'll need around 800MB. To install _everything_ available in Debian, you'll probably need around 2 GB. Actually, installing everything doesn't even make sense, since some packages conflict with others. 2.4. Peripherals and Other Hardware ----------------------------------- Linux supports a large variety of hardware devices such as mice, printers, scanners, modems, network cards, PCMCIA devices, etc. However, none of these devices are required while installing the system. This section contains information about peripherals specifically _not_ supported by the installation system, even though they may be supported by Linux. Again, see the Linux Hardware Compatibility HOWTO (http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Hardware-HOWTO.html) to determine whether your specific hardware is supported by Linux. Some network interface cards (NICs) are not supported by the Debian installation disks (although a custom Linux kernel can use them), such as AX.25 cards and protocols; 3Com EtherLink Plus (3c505) and EtherLink16 (3c507); NI5210 cards; generic NE2100 cards; NI6510 and NI16510 EtherBlaster cards; SEEQ 8005 cards; Schneider & Koch G16 cards; Ansel Communications EISA 3200; and the Zenith Z-Note built-in network card. Microchannel (MCA) network cards are not supported by the standard installation system, but see Linux on MCA disk images (ftp://ns.gold-link.com/pub/LinuxMCA/) for unofficial images, and the Linux MCA discussion archives (http://www.dgmicro.com/linux_frm.htm). FDDI networks are also not supported by the installation disks, both cards and protocols. As for ISDN, the D-channel protocol for the (old) German 1TR6 is not supported; Spellcaster BRI ISDN boards are also not supported by the boot-floppies. Sound devices are not supported by default. But as already mentioned above: if you want to use an own kernel please go to Section 8.5, `Compiling a New Kernel' for further information. 2.5. Purchasing Hardware Specifically for GNU/Linux --------------------------------------------------- There are several vendors, now, who ship systems with Debian or other distributions of GNU/Linux pre-installed. You might pay more for the privilege, but it does buy a level of peace of mind, since you can be sure that the hardware is well-supported by GNU/Linux. If you do have to buy a machine with Windows bundled, carefully read the software license that comes with Windows; you may be able to reject the license and obtain a rebate from your vendor. See http://www.linuxmall.com/refund/ for complete details. Whether or not you are purchasing a system with Linux bundled, or even a used system, it is still important to check that your hardware is supported by the Linux kernel. Check if your hardware is listed in the references found above. Let your salesperson (if any) know that you're shopping for a Linux system. Support Linux-friendly hardware vendors. 2.5.1. Avoid Proprietary or Closed Hardware ------------------------------------------- Some hardware manufacturers simply won't tell us how to write drivers for their hardware. Others won't allow us access to the documentation without a non-disclosure agreement that would prevent us from releasing the Linux source code. One example is the IBM laptop DSP sound system used in recent ThinkPad systems -- some of these systems also couple the sound system to the modem. Another example is the proprietary hardware in the older Macintosh line. Since we haven't been granted access to the documentation on these devices, they simply won't work under Linux. You can help by asking the manufacturers of such hardware to release the documentation. If enough people ask, they will realize that the free software community is an important market. 2.5.2. Windows-specific Hardware -------------------------------- A disturbing trend is the proliferation of Windows-specific modems and printers. In some cases these are specially designed to be operated by the Microsoft Windows operating system and bear the legend ``WinModem'' or ``Made especially for Windows-based computers''. This is generally done by removing the embedded processors of the hardware and shifting the work they do over to a Windows driver that is run by your computer's main CPU. This strategy makes the hardware less expensive, but the savings are often _not_ passed on to the user and this hardware may even be more expensive than equivalent devices that retain their embedded intelligence. You should avoid Windows-specific hardware for two reasons. The first is that the manufacturers do not generally make the resources available to write a Linux driver. Generally, the hardware and software interface to the device is proprietary, and documentation is not available without a non-disclosure agreement, if it is available at all. This precludes its being used for free software, since free software writers disclose the source code of their programs. The second reason is that when devices like these have had their embedded processors removed, the operating system must perform the work of the embedded processors, often at _real-time_ priority, and thus the CPU is not available to run your programs while it is driving these devices. Since the typical Windows user does not multi-process as intensively as a Linux user, the manufacturers hope that the Windows user simply won't notice the burden this hardware places on their CPU. However, any multi-processing operating system, even Windows 95 or NT, suffers from degraded performance when peripheral manufacturers skimp on the embedded processing power of their hardware. You can help this situation by encouraging these manufacturers to release the documentation and other resources necessary for us to program their hardware, but the best strategy is simply to avoid this sort of hardware until it is listed as working in the Linux Hardware Compatibility HOWTO (http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Hardware-HOWTO.html). 2.5.3. Fake or ``Virtual'' Parity RAM ------------------------------------- If you ask for Parity RAM in a computer store, you'll probably get _virtual parity_ memory modules instead of _true parity_ ones. Virtual parity SIMMs can often (but not always) be distinguished because they only have one more chip than an equivalent non-parity SIMM, and that one extra chip is smaller than all the others. Virtual-parity SIMMs work exactly like non-parity memory. They can't tell you when you have a single-bit RAM error the way true-parity SIMMs do in a motherboard that implements parity. Don't ever pay more for a virtual-parity SIMM than a non-parity one. Do expect to pay a little more for true-parity SIMMs, because you are actually buying one extra bit of memory for every 8 bits. If you want complete information on Intel x86 RAM issues, and what is the best RAM to buy, see the PC Hardware FAQ (ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet-by-hierarchy/comp/sys/ibm/pc/hardware/systems/). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Before You Start ------------------- 3.1. Backups ------------ Before you start, make sure to back up every file that is now on your system. The installation procedure can wipe out all of the data on a hard disk! The programs used in installation are quite reliable and most have seen years of use; still, a false move can cost you. Even after backing up be careful and think about your answers and actions. Two minutes of thinking can save hours of unnecessary work. Even if you are installing a multi-boot system, make sure that you have on hand the distribution media of any other present operating systems. Especially if you repartition your boot drive, you might find that you have to reinstall your operating system's boot loader, or in some cases (i.e., Macintosh), the whole operating system itself. 3.2. Information You Will Need ------------------------------ Besides this document, you'll need the cfdisk (cfdisk.txt) manual page, the fdisk (fdisk.txt) manual page, the dselect Tutorial (dselect-beginner), and the Linux Hardware Compatibility HOWTO (http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Hardware-HOWTO.html). If your computer is connected to a network 24 hours a day (i.e., an Ethernet or equivalent connection -- not a PPP connection), you should ask your network's system administrator for this information: * Your host name (you may be able to decide this on your own). * Your domain name. * Your computer's IP address. * The IP address of your network. * The netmask to use with your network. * The broadcast address to use on your network. * The IP address of the default gateway system you should route to, if your network _has_ a gateway. * The system on your network that you should use as a DNS (Domain Name Service) server. * Whether you connect to the network using Ethernet. * Whether your Ethernet interface is a PCMCIA card; if so, the type of PCMCIA controller you have. If your computer's only network connection is via a serial line, using PPP or an equivalent dialup connection, you are probably not installing the base system over a network. You don't need to worry about getting your network setup until your system is already installed. See Section 7.25, `Setting Up PPP' below for information on setting up PPP under Debian. 3.3. Pre-installation Hardware and Operating System Setup --------------------------------------------------------- There is sometimes some tweaking to your system that must be done prior to installation. The x86 platform is the most notorious of these; pre-installation hardware setup on other architectures is considerably simpler. This section will walk you through pre-installation hardware setup, if any, that you will need to do prior to installing Debian. Generally, this involves checking and possibly changing firmware settings for your system. The ``firmware'' is the core software used by the hardware; it is most critically invoked during the bootstrap process (after power-up). 3.3.1. Invoking the BIOS Set-Up Menu ------------------------------------ BIOS provides the basic functions needed to boot your machine to allow your operating system to access your hardware. Your system probably provides a BIOS set-up menu, which is used to configure the BIOS. Before installing, you _must_ ensure that your BIOS is setup correctly; not doing so can lead to intermittent crashes or an inability to install Debian. The rest of this section is lifted from the PC Hardware FAQ (ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet-by-hierarchy/comp/sys/ibm/pc/hardware/systems/), answering the question, "How do I enter the CMOS configuration menu?". How you access the BIOS (or ``CMOS'') configuration menu depends on who wrote your BIOS software: [From: burnesa@cat.com (Shaun Burnet)] AMI BIOS Del key during the POST (power on self test) Award BIOS Ctrl-Alt-Esc, or Del key during the POST DTK BIOS Esc key during the POST IBM PS/2 BIOS Ctrl-Alt-Ins after Ctrl-Alt-Del Phoenix BIOS Ctrl-Alt-Esc or Ctrl-Alt-S [From: mike@pencom.com (Mike Heath)] Some 386 machines don't have a CMOS configuration menu in the BIOS. They require a software CMOS setup program. If you don't have the Installation and/or Diagnostics diskette for your machine, you can try using a shareware/freeware program. Try looking in ftp://ftp.simtelnet.net/pub/simtelnet/msdos/. 3.3.2. Boot Device Selection ---------------------------- Many BIOS set-up menus allow you to select the devices that will be used to bootstrap the system. Set this to look for a bootable operating system on `A:' (the first floppy disk), then optionally the first CD-ROM device (possibly appearing as `D:' or `E:'), and then from `C:' (the first hard disk). This setting enables you to boot from either a floppy disk or a CD-ROM, which are the two most common boot devices used to install Debian. If you have a newer SCSI controller and you have a CD-ROM device attached to it, you are usually able to boot from the CD-ROM. All you have to do is enabling booting from a CD-ROM in the SCSI-BIOS of your controller. Additionally you have to be able to boot from a floppy disk. This is set up in the PC-BIOS. If your system can't boot directly from CD-ROM, or you simply can't seem to get it to work, don't despair; you can simply run `E:\install\boot.bat' under DOS (replace `E:' with whatever drive letter DOS assigns to your CD-ROM drive) to start the installation process. See Section 6.4, `Booting and/or Installing from a CD-ROM' below for details. Also, if you're going to be installing from a FAT (DOS) partition, you won't need any floppies at all. See Section 6.3.1, `Booting from a DOS partition' below for more information on installing via this method. 3.3.3. CD-ROM Settings ---------------------- Some BIOSes (such as Award BIOS) allows you to automatically set the CD speed. You should avoid that, and instead set it to, say, the lowest speed. If you get `seek failed' error messages, this may be your problem. 3.3.4. Extended vs. Expanded Memory ----------------------------------- If your system provides both ex_ten_ded and ex_pan_ded memory, set it so that there is as much extended and as little expanded memory as possible. Linux requires extended memory and cannot use expanded memory. 3.3.5. Virus Protection ----------------------- Disable any virus-warning features your BIOS may provide. If you have a virus-protection board or other special hardware, make sure it is disabled or physically removed while running GNU/Linux. These aren't compatible with GNU/Linux; moreover, due to the file system permissions and protected memory of the Linux kernel, viruses are almost unheard of.[1] [1] After installation you can enable Boot Sector protection if you want. There is no need to tamper with Master Boot Record (MBR) after the boot manager has been set up. This offers no additional security in Linux but if you also do Windows it may prevent a catastrophe. 3.3.6. Shadow RAM ----------------- Your motherboard may provide _shadow RAM_ or BIOS caching. You may see settings for ``Video BIOS Shadow'', ``C800-CBFF Shadow'', etc. _Disable_ all shadow RAM. Shadow RAM is used to accelerate access to the ROMs on your motherboard and on some of the controller cards. Linux does not use these ROMs once it has booted because it provides its own faster 32-bit software in place of the 16-bit programs in the ROMs. Disabling the shadow RAM may make some of it available for programs to use as normal memory. Leaving the shadow RAM enabled may interfere with Linux access to hardware devices. 3.3.7. Advanced Power Management -------------------------------- If your motherboard provides Advanced Power Management (APM), configure it so that power management is controlled by APM. Disable the doze, standby, suspend, nap, and sleep modes, and disable the hard disk's power-down timer. Linux can take over control of these modes, and can do a better job of power-management than the BIOS. The version of the operating system kernel on the installation floppies does not, however, use APM, because we've had reports of one laptop system crashing when the Linux APM driver is configured. Once you've installed Linux, you can build a custom-configured version of the Linux kernel; see Section 8.5, `Compiling a New Kernel' for instructions how. 3.3.8. The Turbo Switch ----------------------- Many systems have a _turbo_ switch that controls the speed of the CPU. Select the high-speed setting. If your BIOS allows you to disable software control of the turbo switch (or software control of CPU speed), do so and lock the system in high-speed mode. We have one report that on a particular system, while Linux is auto-probing (looking for hardware devices) it can accidentally touch the software control for the turbo switch. 3.3.9. Over-Clocking your CPU ----------------------------- Many people have tried operating their 90 MHz CPU at 100 MHz, etc. It sometimes works, but is sensitive to temperature and other factors and can actually damage your system. One of the authors of this document over-clocked his own system for a year, and then the system started aborting the `gcc' program with an unexpected signal while it was compiling the operating system kernel. Turning the CPU speed back down to its rated value solved the problem. 3.3.10. Bad Memory Modules -------------------------- The `gcc' compiler is often the first thing to die from bad memory modules (or other hardware problems that change data unpredictably) because it builds huge data structures that it traverses repeatedly. An error in these data structures will cause it to execute an illegal instruction or access a non-existent address. The symptom of this will be `gcc' dying from an unexpected signal. The very best motherboards support parity RAM and will actually tell you if your system has a single-bit error in RAM. Unfortunately, they don't have a way to fix the error, thus they generally crash immediately after they tell you about the bad RAM. Still, it's better to be told you have bad memory than to have it silently insert errors in your data. Thus, the best systems have motherboards that support parity and true-parity memory modules; see Section 2.5.3, `Fake or ``Virtual'' Parity RAM'. If you do have true-parity RAM and your motherboard can handle it, be sure to enable any BIOS settings that cause the motherboard to interrupt on memory parity errors. 3.3.11. Cyrix CPUs and Floppy Disk Errors ----------------------------------------- Many users of Cyrix CPUs have had to disable the cache in their systems during installation, because the floppy disk has errors if they do not. If you have to do this, be sure to re-enable your cache when you are finished with installation, as the system runs _much_ slower with the cache disabled. We don't think this is necessarily the fault of the Cyrix CPU. It may be something that Linux can work around. We'll continue to look into the problem. For the technically curious, we suspect a problem with the cache being invalid after a switch from 16-bit to 32-bit code. 3.3.12. Miscellaneous BIOS Settings to Watch Out For ---------------------------------------------------- If your BIOS offers something like ``15-16 MB Memory Hole'', please disable that. Linux expects to find memory there if you have that much RAM. We have a report of an Intel Endeavor motherboard on which there is an option called ``LFB'' or ``Linear Frame Buffer''. This had two settings: ``Disabled'' and ``1 Megabyte''. Set it to ``1 Megabyte''. When disabled, the installation floppy was not read correctly, and the system eventually crashed. At this writing we don't understand what's going on with this particular device -- it just worked with that setting and not without it. 3.3.13. Peripheral Hardware Settings to Watch Out For ----------------------------------------------------- In addition to your BIOS settings, you may have to change some settings on the actual cards. Some cards have setup menus, while others rely on jumpers. This document cannot hope to provide complete information on every hardware device; what it hopes to provide is useful tips. If any cards provide ``mapped memory'', the memory should be mapped somewhere between 0xA0000 and 0xFFFFF (from 640K to just below 1 megabyte) or at an address at least 1 megabyte greater than the total amount of RAM in your system. 3.3.14. More than 64 MB RAM --------------------------- The Linux Kernel can not always detect what amount of RAM you have. If this is the case please look at Section 6.1, `Boot Parameter Arguments'. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Partitioning Your Hard Drive ------------------------------- 4.1. Background --------------- Partitioning your disk simply refers to the act of breaking up your disk into sections. Each section is then independent of the others. It's roughly equivalent to putting up walls in a house; if you add furniture to one room it doesn't affect any other room. If you already have an operating system on your system (Windows95, Windows NT, OS/2, MacOS, Solaris, FreeBSD, ...) and want to stick Linux on the same disk, you will probably need to repartition the disk. In general, changing a partition with a filesystem already on it will destroy any information there. Thus you should always make backups before doing any repartitioning. Using the analogy of the house, you would probably want to move all the furniture out of the way before moving a wall or you risk destroying it. Luckily, there is an alternative for some users; see Section 4.7, `Lossless Repartitioning When Starting From DOS, Win-32 or OS/2'. At a bare minimum, GNU/Linux needs one partition for itself. You can have a single partition containing the entire operating system, applications, and your personal files. Most people feel that a separate swap partition is also a necessity, although it's not strictly true. ``Swap'' is scratch space for an operating system, which allows the system to use cheap disk storage as ``virtual memory''. By putting swap on a separate partition, Linux can make much more efficient use of it. It is possible to force Linux to use a regular file as swap, but it is not recommended. Most people choose to give GNU/Linux more than the minimum number of partitions, however. There are two reasons you might want to break up the filesystem into a number of smaller partitions. The first is for safety. If something happens to corrupt the file system, generally only one partition is affected. Thus, you only have to replace (from the backups you've been carefully keeping) a portion of your system. At a bare minimum, you should consider creating what is commonly called a ``root partition''. This contains the most essential components of the system. If any other partitions get corrupted, you can still boot into GNU/Linux to fix the system. This can save you the trouble of having to reinstall the system from scratch. The second reason is generally more important in a business setting, but it really depends on your use of the machine. Suppose something runs out of control and starts eating disk space. If the process causing the problem happens to have root privileges (the system keeps a percentage of the disk away from users), you could suddenly find yourself out of disk space. This is not good as the OS needs to use real files (besides swap space) for many things. It may not even be a problem of local origin. For example, getting spammed with e-mail can easily fill a partition. By using more partitions, you protect the system from many of these problems. Using mail as an example again, by putting `/var/spool/mail' on its own partition, the bulk of the system will work even if you get spammed. Another reason applies to you only if you have a large IDE disk, and are using neither LBA addressing, overlay drivers (sometimes provided by hard disk manufacturers), nor a new (post 1998) BIOS that supports large disk access extensions. In this case, you will have to put the boot partition into the first 1024 cylinders of your hard drive (usually around 524 megabytes, without BIOS translation). The only real drawback to using more partitions is that it is often difficult to know in advance what your needs will be. If you make a partition too small then you will either have to reinstall the system or you will be constantly moving things around to make room in the undersized partition. On the other hand, if you make the partition too big, you will be wasting space that could be used elsewhere. Disk space is cheap nowadays, but why throw your money away? 4.1.1. The Directory Tree ------------------------- The following list describes some important directories. It should help you to find out what your partitioning scheme should be. If this is too confusing for you, just ignore it and reread it when you read the rest of the installation manual. * `/': root represents the starting point of the directory hierarchy. It contains the essential programs that the computer can boot. This includes the kernel, system libraries, configuration files in `/etc' and various other needed files. Typically 30-50 MB are needed but this may vary. Note: do _not_ partition `/etc', `/bin', `/sbin', `/lib' or `/dev' as its own partition; you won't be able to boot. * `/dev': this directory contains the various device files which are interfaces to the various hardware components. For more information see Section 4.3, `Device Names in Linux'. * `/usr': all user programs (`/usr/bin'), libraries (`/usr/lib'), documentation (`/usr/share/doc'), etc., are in this directory. This part of the filesystem needs most of the space. You should provide at least 500 MB of disk space. If you want to install more packages you should increase the amount of space you give this directory. * `/home': every user will put his data into a subdirectory of this directory. The size of this depends on how many users will be using the system and what files are to be stored in their directories. Depending on your planned usage you should reserve about 100 MB for each user, but adapt this value to your needs. * `/var': all variable data like news articles, e-mails, websites, APT's cache, etc. will be placed under this directory. The size of this directory depends greatly on the usage of your computer, but for most people will be dictated by the package management tool's overhead. If you are going to do a full installation of just about everything Debian has to offer, all in one session, setting aside 2 or 3 gigabytes of space for `/var' should be sufficient. If you are going to install in pieces (that is to say, install services and utilities, followed by text stuff, then X, ...), you can get away with 300 - 500 megabytes of in `/var'. If harddrive space is at a premium and you don't plan on using APT, at least not for major updates, you can get by with as little as 30 or 40 megabytes in `/var'. * `/tmp': if a program creates temporary data it will most likely go in `/tmp'. 20-50 MB should be usually enough. 4.2. Planning Use of the System ------------------------------- It is important to decide what type of machine you are creating. This will determine disk space requirements and affect your partitioning scheme. Debian offers the `tasksel' tool to assist the user during installation. (see Section 7.29, `Simple Package Selection -- The Task Installer'). Tasks are collections of packages which are automatically marked for installation as a group, to implement a given type of Linux installation. Checking the sizes of various tasks will give you a sense of how large your partition or partitions need to be for your intended usage. Link to a page dynamically generated using current tasksel to list tasks with associated sizes. Delete following outdated list. Server_std This is a small server profile, useful for stripped down server which does not have a lot of niceties for shell users. It basically has an FTP server, a web server, DNS, NIS, and POP. It will take up around 50 MB. Of course, this is just size of the software; any data you serve up would be additional. Dialup A standard desktop box, including the X window system, graphics applications, sound, editors, etc. Size of the packages will be around 500 MB. Work_std A more stripped-down user machine, without the X window system or X applications. Possibly suitable for a laptop or mobile computer. The size is around 140 MB. (Note that the author has a pretty simple laptop setup including X11 in even less, around 100 MB). Devel_comp A desktop setup with all the development packages, such as Perl, C, C++, etc. Size is around 475 MB. Assuming you are adding X11 and some additional packages for other uses, you should plan around 800 MB for this type of machine. Remember that these sizes don't include all the other materials which are usually to be found, such as user files, mail, and data. It is always best to be generous when considering the space for your own files and data. Notably, the Debian `/var' partition contains a lot of state information. The `dpkg' files (with information on all installed packages) can easily consume 20 MB; with logs and the rest, you should usually allocate at least 50 MB for `/var'. 4.2.1. PC Disk Limitations -------------------------- The PC BIOS generally adds additional constraints for disk partitioning. There is a limit to how many ``primary'' and ``logical'' partitions a drive can contain. Additionally, with pre 1994-98 BIOS, there are limits to where on the drive the BIOS can boot from. More information can be found in the Linux Partition HOWTO (http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/mini/Partition/) and the Phoenix BIOS FAQ (http://www.phoenix.com/pcuser/BIOS/biosfaq2.htm), but this section will include a brief overview to help you plan most situations. ``Primary'' partitions are the original partitioning scheme for PC disks. However, there can only be four of them. To get past this limitation, ``extended'' and ``logical'' partitions were invented. By setting one of your primary partitions as an extended partition, you can subdivide all the space allocated to that partition into logical partitions. You can create up to 60 logical partitions per extended partition; however, you can only have one extended partition per drive. Linux limits the partitions per drive to 15 partitions for SCSI disks (3 usable primary partitions, 12 logical partitions), and 63 partitions on an IDE drive (3 usable primary partitions, 60 logical partitions). The last issue about the PC BIOS which you need to know is that your boot partition, that is, the partition containing your kernel image, needs to be contained within the first 1024 cylinders of the drive, _unless_ you have a BIOS newer than around 1995-98 (depending on the manufacturer) that supports the ``Enhanced Disk Drive Support Specification''. Both Lilo, the Linux loader, and Debian's alternative `mbr' must use the BIOS to read the kernel from the disk into RAM. If the BIOS int 0x13 large disk access extensions are found to be present, they will be utilized. Otherwise, the legacy disk access interface is used as a fallback, and it cannot be used to address any location on the disk higher than the 1023rd cylinder. Once Linux is booted, no matter what BIOS your computer has, these restrictions no longer apply, since Linux does not use the BIOS for disk access. If you have a large disk, you might have to use cylinder translation techniques, which you can set from your BIOS setup program, such as LBA (Logical Block Addressing) or CHS translation mode (``Large''). More information about issues with large disks can be found in the Large Disk HOWTO (http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Large-Disk-HOWTO.html). If you are using a cylinder translation scheme, and the BIOS does not support the large disk access extensions, then your boot partition has to fit within the _translated_ representation of the 1024th cylinder. The recommended way of accomplishing this is to create a small (5-10 MB should suffice) partition at the beginning of the disk to be used as the boot partition, and then create whatever other partitions you wish to have, in the remaining area. This boot partition _must_ be mounted on `/boot', since that is the directory where the Linux kernel(s) will be stored. This configuration will work on any system, regardless of whether LBA or large disk CHS translation is used, and regardless of whether your BIOS supports the large disk access extensions. 4.3. Device Names in Linux -------------------------- Linux disks and partition names may be different from other operating systems. You need to know the names that Linux uses when you create and mount partitions. Here's the basic naming scheme: * The first floppy drive is named ``/dev/fd0''. * The second floppy drive is named ``/dev/fd1''. * The first SCSI disk (SCSI ID address-wise) is named ``/dev/sda''. * The second SCSI disk (address-wise) is named ``/dev/sdb'', and so on. * The first SCSI CD-ROM is named ``/dev/scd0'', also known as ``/dev/sr0''. * The master disk on IDE primary controller is named ``/dev/hda''. * The slave disk on IDE primary controller is named ``/dev/hdb''. * The master and slave disks of the secondary controller can be called ``/dev/hdc'' and ``/dev/hdd'', respectively. Newer IDE controllers can actually have two channels, effectively acting like two controllers. * The first XT disk is named ``/dev/xda''. * The second XT disk is named ``/dev/xdb''. The partitions on each disk are represented by appending a decimal number to the disk name: ``sda1'' and ``sda2'' represent the first and second partitions of the first SCSI disk drive in your system. Here is a real-life example. Let's assume you have a system with 2 SCSI disks, one at SCSI address 2 and the other at SCSI address 4. The first disk (at address 2) is then named ``sda'', and the second ``sdb''. If the ``sda'' drive has 3 partitions on it, these will be named ``sda1'', ``sda2'', and ``sda3''. The same applies to the ``sdb'' disk and its partitions. Note that if you have two SCSI host bus adapters (i.e., controllers), the order of the drives can get confusing. The best solution in this case is to watch the boot messages, assuming you know yourself the drive models. Linux represents the primary partitions as the drive name, plus the numbers 1 through 4. For example, the first primary partition on the first IDE drive is `/dev/hda1'. The logical partitions are numbered starting at 5, so the first logical partition on that same drive is `/dev/hda5'. Remember that the extended partition, that is, the primary partition holding the logical partitions, is not usable by itself. This applies to SCSI disks as well as IDE disks. 4.4. Recommended Partitioning Scheme ------------------------------------ As described above, you should definitely have a separate smaller root partition, and a larger `/usr' partition, if you have the space. For examples, see below. For most users, the two partitions initially mentioned are sufficient. This is especially appropriate when you have a single small disk, since breaking out lots of partitions can waste space. In some cases, you might need a separate `/usr/local' partition if you plan to install many programs that are not part of the Debian distribution. If your machine will be a mail server, you might need to make `/var/spool/mail' a separate partition. Often, putting `/tmp' on its own partition, for instance 20 to 32 MB, is a good idea. If you are setting up a server with lots of user accounts, it's generally good to have a separate, large `/home' partition. In general, the partitioning situation varies from computer to computer depending on its uses. For very complex systems, you should see the Multi Disk HOWTO (http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Multi-Disk-HOWTO.html). This contains in-depth information, mostly of interest to ISPs and people setting up servers. With respect to the issue of swap partition size, there are many views. One rule of thumb which works well is to use as much swap as you have system memory, although there probably isn't much point in going over 64 MB of swap for most users. It also shouldn't be smaller than 16 MB, in most cases. Of course, there are exceptions to these rules. If you are trying to solve 10000 simultaneous equations on a machine with 256 MB of memory, you may need a gigabyte (or more) of swap. On 32-bit architectures (i386, m68k, 32-bit SPARC, and PowerPC), the maximum size of a swap partition is 2 GB (on Alpha and SPARC64, it's so large as to be virtually unlimited). This should be enough for nearly any installation. However, if your swap requirements are this high, you should probably try to spread the swap across different disks (also called ``spindles'') and, if possible, different SCSI or IDE channels. The kernel will balance swap usage between multiple swap partitions, giving better performance. 4.5. Example Partitioning ------------------------- As an example, one of the authors' home machine has 32 MB of RAM and a 1.7 GB IDE drive on `/dev/hda'. There is a 500 MB partition for another operating system on `/dev/hda1' (should have made it 200 MB as it never gets used). A 32 MB swap partition is used on `/dev/hda3' and the rest (about 1.2 GB on `/dev/hda2') is the Linux partition. 4.6. Partitioning Prior to Installation --------------------------------------- There are two different times that you can partition: prior to the installation of Debian, or during installation of Debian. If your computer will be solely dedicated to Debian, you should partition as part of the installation process (Section 7.6, ```Partition a Hard Disk'''). If you have a machine with more than one operating system on it, you generally should let the native operating system create its own partitions. The following sections contain information regarding partitioning in your native operating system prior to installation. Note that you'll have to map between how the other operating system names partitions, and how Linux names partitions; see Section 4.3, `Device Names in Linux'. 4.6.1. Partitioning From DOS or Windows --------------------------------------- If you are manipulating existing FAT or NTFS partitions, it is recommended that you either use the scheme below or native Windows or DOS tools. Otherwise, it is not really necessary to partition from DOS or Windows; the Linux partitioning tools will generally do a better job. 4.7. Lossless Repartitioning When Starting From DOS, Win-32 or OS/2 ------------------------------------------------------------------- One of the most common installations is onto a system that already contains DOS (including Windows 3.1), Win32 (such as Windows 95, 98, NT), or OS/2, and it is desired to put Debian onto the same disk without destroying the previous system. As explained in the Section 4.1, `Background', decreasing the size of an existing partition will almost certainly damage the data on that partition unless certain precautions are taken. The method described here, while not guaranteed to protect your data, works extremely well in practice. As a precaution, you should _make a backup_. Before going any further, you should have decided how you will be dividing up the disk. The method in this section will only split a partition into two pieces. One will contain the original OS and the other will be used for Debian. During the installation of Debian, you will be given the opportunity to use Debian portion of the disk as you see fit, i.e., as swap or as a filesystem. The idea is to move all the data on the partition to the beginning, before changing the partition information, so that nothing will be lost. It is important that you do as little as possible between the data movement and repartitioning to minimize the chance of a file being written near the end of the partition as this will decrease the amount of space you can take from the partition. The first thing needed is a copy of `fips' which is available in the `tools/' directory on your nearest Debian mirror. Unzip the archive and copy the files `RESTORRB.EXE', `FIPS.EXE' and `ERRORS.TXT' to a bootable floppy. A bootable floppy can be created using the command `sys a:' under DOS. `fips' comes with very good documentation which you may want to read. You will definitely need to read the documentation if you use a disk compression driver or a disk manager. Create the disk and read the documentation _before_ you defragment the disk. The next thing needed is to move all the data to the beginning of the partition. `defrag', which comes standard with DOS 6.0 and later can easily do the job. See the `fips' documentation for a list of other software that may do the trick. Note that if you have Windows 95, you must run `defrag' from there, since DOS doesn't understand VFAT, which is used to support for long filenames, used in Windows 95 and higher. After running the defragmenter (which can take a while on a large disk), reboot with the `fips' disk you created in the floppy drive. Simply type `a:\fips' and follow the directions. Note that there are many other other partition managers out there, in case `fips' doesn't do the trick for you. 4.8. Partitioning for DOS ------------------------- If you are partitioning for DOS drives, or changing the size of DOS partitions, using Linux tools, many people experience problems working with the resulting FAT partitions. For instance, some have reported slow performance, consistent problems with `scandisk', or other weird errors in DOS or Windows. Apparently, whenever you create or resize a partition for DOS use, it's a good idea to fill the first few sectors with zeros. Do this prior to running DOS's `format' command, from Linux: dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/hdXX bs=512 count=4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Methods for Installing Debian -------------------------------- You can install Debian from a variety of sources, both local (CD, hard disk, floppies) and remote (FTP, NFS, PPP, HTTP). Debian also supports various hardware configurations, so you may still have a few choices to make before you get going. This chapter lays out the choices and some suggestions for how to make them. You can make different choices for different steps in the installation. For example, you may start the installation by booting off diskettes, but then feed later steps in the install process files from your hard disk. As the installation progresses you will move from a scrawny, incapable system which lives only in RAM to a full-featured Debian GNU/Linux system installed on the hard disk. One of the key goals of the early installation steps is to increase the variety of hardware (e.g., interface cards) and software (e.g., network protocols and file system drivers) the system supports. Consequently, later installation steps can use a broader range of sources than earlier ones. The easiest route for most people will be to use a set of Debian CDs. If you have such a set, and if your machine supports booting directly off the CD, great! Simply configure your system to boot off the CD as described in Section 3.3.2, `Boot Device Selection', insert your CD, reboot, and proceed to the next chapter. If it turns out the standard installation doesn't work for your hardware, you can come back here to see about alternate kernels and installation methods which may work for you. In particular, note that some CD sets provide different kernels on different CDs, so that booting off some CD other than the first may work for you. 5.1. Overview of the Installation Process ----------------------------------------- This overview highlights the points for which you must choose an installation media, or make a choice which will affect which sources you can choose later. The following steps will occur: 1. You begin by booting the installation system. 2. You answer a series of questions to perform the initial system configuration. 3. You provide a media source for the kernel and drivers. 4. You select which drivers to load. 5. You provide a media source for the base system. 6. You reboot the system and then do some final configuration. 7. You install additional software, packages, at your discretion. In making your choices, you need to bear a few factors in mind. The first involve your choice of kernel. The kernel that you pick for the initial system boot is the same kernel that your fully configured system will use. Since drivers are kernel-specific, you must pick a package containing drivers which go with your kernel. We'll turn shortly to the details of picking the right kernel, or rather, installation set. Different kernels also have different networking abilities out of the box, and so also expand or limit your source choices, particularly early in the install process. Finally, the particular drivers that you choose to load can enable additional hardware (e.g., network interface cards, hard drive controllers) or file systems (e.g., NTFS or NFS). This therefore widens the choices of installation source media. 5.2. Choosing the Right Installation Set ---------------------------------------- Kernel images are available in various ``flavors'', each of which supports a different set of hardware. The flavors available for Intel x86 are: `vanilla' The standard kernel package available in Debian. This includes almost all drivers supported by Linux built as modules, which includes drivers for network devices, SCSI devices, sound cards, Video4Linux devices, etc. The `vanilla' flavor includes one Rescue Floppy, one root and three Driver Floppies. `udma66' Very similar to `vanilla', except it includes Andre Hedrick's IDE patches to support UDMA66 devices. `compact' Like `vanilla', but with many of the less-frequently-use drivers removed (sound, v4l, etc). In addition, it has built in support for several popular PCI Ethernet devices --- NE2000, 3com 3c905, Tulip, Via-Rhine and Intel EtherExpress Pro100. These built in drivers allow you to take full advantage of the Debian installer's net install feature to install the Driver Floppies and/or base system over the network so that only the root and Rescue Floppy disks need to be made. Finally, `compact' also supports several common RAID controllers: DAC960, and Compaq's SMART2 RAID controllers. The `compact' flavor includes one Rescue Floppy, one root and one driver disk. `idepci' Kernel that supports only IDE and PCI devices (and a very small number of ISA devices). This kernel should be used if the SCSI drivers in the other flavors cause your system to hang on startup (probably because of resource conflicts, or a misbehaving driver/card in your system.) The `idepci' flavor also has a built-in ide-floppy driver so that you can install from LS120 or ZIP devices. Although we have described above how many 1.44MB diskettes the different sets occupy, you may still choose different methods of installation. The kernel config files for these flavors can be found in their respective directories in a file named "kernel-config". 5.3. Installation Sources for Different Installation Stages ----------------------------------------------------------- This section indicates the type of hardware which _may_, and usually _will_, work at different stages of the installation. It is not a guarantee that all hardware of the indicated type will work with all kernels. For example, RAID disks generally will not be accessible until you install the appropriate drivers. 5.3.1. Booting the Initial Installation System ---------------------------------------------- The initial boot of the installation system is perhaps the most idiosyncratic step. The next chapter provides additional details, but your choices generally include * the Rescue Floppy * a bootable CD-ROM * a hard drive, via a boot loader running in another operating system 5.3.2. Source Media and Installation Stages ------------------------------------------- The following table indicates which media sources you can use at each stage of the installation process. The columns indicate different install stages, ordered from left to right in the sequence which they occur. The far right column is the installation media. A blank cell indicates that given source media is not available at that installation stage; `Y' indicates that it is, and `S' means that it is in some cases. Boot | Kernel Image | Drivers | Base System | Packages | media -----+--------------+---------+-------------+----------+-------- S | | | | | tftp S | Y | Y | Y | | diskette S | Y | Y | Y | Y | CD-ROM S | Y | Y | Y | Y | hard disk | Y | Y | Y | Y | NFS | | S | Y | Y | LAN | | | | Y | PPP For example, the table shows that only use for PPP in the installation process is the installation of packages. Note that you will only be prompted for a source for the kernel images and drivers in some installation methods. If you boot off a CD-ROM, it will automatically pick those items off the CD. The important point is that _as soon as you boot off a diskette, you can immediately switch to some superior installation source_. Remember, though, that you _must_ not mix up the different install sets, i.e., using a Rescue Floppy from one subarchitecture and Driver Floppies from another. The `Boot' column is all `S's because media support for booting varies widely for different architectures. The `LAN' and `PPP' rows refer to Internet-based file transfer (FTP, HTTP, and the like) over Ethernet or phone lines. In general this is not available, but certain kernels may permit you to do this earlier. Experts can also use these connections to mount disks and perform other operations to accelerate the process. Providing help in such cases is beyond the scope of this document. 5.3.3. Recommendations ---------------------- Get a set of Debian GNU/Linux CDs. Boot off them if you can. Since you've read this far, you probably couldn't or wouldn't. If your problem is simply that your CD drive is not bootable, you can pull the files you need for the initial boot off the CD and use them to make floppies or do a boot from alternate operating system. Failing this, you may have an existing operating system with some free disk space. The early installation system can read many filesystems (NTFS being a prominent exception --- you must load the appropriate driver). If it can read yours, you should download documentation, initial boot images, and utilities. Then get the appropriate drivers archive as a single file, and the base system as a single file. Perform your initial boot, and then point the installation program at the files you have downloaded when it asks for the appropriate source. These are only suggestions. You should choose whatever sources are most convenient for you. Floppies are neither convenient nor reliable, so we urge you to get off them as soon as possible. However, compared to booting off an existing operating system they may provide a cleaner environment and an easier path, so they are appropriate for the initial boot, if your system supports them. 5.4. Description of Installation System Files --------------------------------------------- This section contains an annotated list of files you will find in the `disks-i386' directory. You may not need to download these at all; it all depends on the booting and base system installation media you have chosen. Most files are floppy disk images; that is, a single file which can be written to a disk to create the necessary floppy disk. These images are, obviously, dependent on the size of the target floppy. For instance, 1.44MB is the normal quantity of data which is what fits on standard 3.5 inch floppies. 1.2MB is the amount of data which normally fits on 5.25 inch floppy disks, so use this image size if you have such a floppy drive. The images for 1.44MB floppy disks can be found in the `images-1.44' directory. Images for 1.2MB floppy disks can be found in the `images-1.20' directory. Images for 2.88MB disks, which are generally only used for CD-ROM booting and the like, are found in the `images-2.88' directory. If you are using a web browser on a networked computer to read this document, you can probably retrieve the files by selecting their names in your web browser. Depending on your browser you may need to take special action to download directly to a file, in raw binary mode. For example, in Netscape you need to hold the shift key when clicking on the URL to retrieve the file. Files can be downloaded from the URLs in this document, or you can retrieve them from http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main/disks-i386/current/, or the corresponding directory on any of the Debian mirror sites (http://www.debian.org/distrib/ftplist). 5.4.1. Documentation -------------------- _Installation Manual:_ install.en.txt install.en.html install.en.pdf This file you are now reading, in plain ASCII, HTML or PDF format. _Partitioning Program Manual Pages:_ fdisk.txt cfdisk.txt Instructions for using your available partitioning programs. http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/basecont.txt Listing of the contents of the base system. http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/md5sum.txt List of MD5 checksums for the binary files. If you have the `md5sum' program, you can ensure that your files are not corrupt by running `md5sum -v -c md5sum.txt'. 5.4.2. Files for the Initial System Boot ---------------------------------------- _Rescue Floppy images:_ http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.20/rescue.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.20/safe/rescue.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/rescue.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/compact/rescue.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/idepci/rescue.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/safe/rescue.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/udma66/rescue.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-2.88/rescue.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-2.88/compact/rescue.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-2.88/idepci/rescue.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-2.88/udma66/rescue.bin These are the Rescue Floppy disk images. The Rescue Floppy is used for initial setup and for emergencies, such as when your system doesn't boot for some reason. Therefore it is recommended you write the disk image to the floppy even if you are not using floppies for installation. _Root image(s):_ http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.20/root.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/root.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/compact/root.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/idepci/root.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/udma66/root.bin This file contains an image of a temporary filesystem that gets loaded into memory when you boot from the Rescue Floppy. This is used for installations from hard disk and floppies. _Linux kernel:_ http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/linux http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/compact/linux http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/idepci/linux http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/udma66/linux This is the Linux kernel image to be used for hard disk and CD installations. You don't need it if you are installing from floppies. _Linux boot loader for DOS:_ http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/dosutils/loadlin.exe You will need this boot loader if you are installing from a DOS partition or from a CD-ROM. See Section 6.3.1, `Booting from a DOS partition'. _DOS Installer Batch Files:_ http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/install.bat http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/compact/install.bat http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/idepci/install.bat http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/udma66/install.bat DOS batch file for starting Debian installation from DOS. This batch file is used in installations from hard disk or CD-ROM. See Section 6.3.1, `Booting from a DOS partition'. 5.4.3. Driver Files ------------------- These files contain kernel modules, or drivers, for all kinds of hardware that are not necessary for initial booting. Getting the drivers you want is a two step process: first you identify an archive of drivers you want to use, and then you select which particular drivers you want. Remember that your driver archive must be consistent with your initial kernel choice. _Driver Floppies images:_ http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.20/driver-1.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.20/driver-2.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.20/driver-3.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.20/driver-4.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.20/driver-5.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.20/safe/driver-1.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.20/safe/driver-2.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.20/safe/driver-3.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.20/safe/driver-4.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.20/safe/driver-5.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/driver-1.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/driver-2.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/driver-3.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/driver-4.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/compact/driver-1.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/idepci/driver-1.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/safe/driver-1.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/safe/driver-2.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/safe/driver-3.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/safe/driver-4.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/udma66/driver-1.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/udma66/driver-2.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/udma66/driver-3.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/udma66/driver-4.bin These are the Driver Floppies disk images. _Driver Floppies archive_ http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/drivers.tgz http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/compact/drivers.tgz http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/idepci/drivers.tgz http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/udma66/drivers.tgz If you are not limited to diskettes, choose one of these files. 5.4.4. Base System Files ------------------------ The ``Debian base system'' is a core set of packages which are required to run Debian in a minimal, stand-alone fashion. Once you have configured and installed the base system, your machine can ``stand on its own''. _Base system images:_ http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/base2_2.tgz or http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/base-1.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/base-2.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/base-3.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/base-4.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/base-5.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/base-6.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/base-7.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/base-8.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/base-9.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/base-10.bin http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/images-1.44/base-11.bin These files contain the base system which will be installed on your Linux partition during the installation process. This is the bare minimum necessary for you to be able to install the rest of the packages. The `http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main/disks-i386/current/base2_2.tgz' file is for installation from non-floppy media, i.e., CD-ROM, harddisk, or NFS. 5.4.5. Utilities ---------------- http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main /disks-i386/current/dosutils/rawrite2.exe This is a DOS utility to write a floppy disk image to a floppy. You should not copy images to the floppy, but instead use this utility to ``raw write'' them. We turn now to concerns specific to particular kind of sources. For convenience, they appear in the same order as the rows in the earlier table discussing different installation sources. 5.5. Diskettes -------------- 5.5.1. Floppy Disk Reliability ------------------------------ The biggest problem for people installing Debian for the first time seems to be floppy disk reliability. The Rescue Floppy is the floppy with the worst problems, because it is read by the hardware directly, before Linux boots. Often, the hardware doesn't read as reliably as the Linux floppy disk driver, and may just stop without printing an error message if it reads incorrect data. There can also be failures in the Driver Floppies and the base floppies, most of which indicate themselves with a flood of messages about disk I/O errors. If you are having the installation stall at a particular floppy, the first thing you should do is re-download the floppy disk image and write it to a _different_ floppy. Simply reformatting the old floppy may not be sufficient, even if it appears that the floppy was reformatted and written with no errors. It is sometimes useful to try writing the floppy on a different system. One user reports he had to write the images to floppy _three_ times before one worked, and then everything was fine with the third floppy. Other users have reported that simply rebooting a few times with the same floppy in the floppy drive can lead to a successful boot. This is all due to buggy hardware or firmware floppy drivers. 5.5.2. Booting from Floppies ---------------------------- Booting from floppies is supported for most platforms. To boot from floppies, simply download the Rescue Floppy image and the Driver Floppies image. If you need to, you can also modify the Rescue Floppy; see Section 9.3, `Replacing the Rescue Floppy Kernel'. The Rescue Floppy couldn't fit the root filesystem image, so you'll need the root image to be written to a disk as well. You can create that floppy just as the other images are written to floppies. Once the kernel has been loaded from the Rescue Floppy, you'll be prompted for the root disk. Insert that floppy and continue. See also Section 6.5, `Booting With the Rescue Floppy'. 5.5.3. Installing Base from Floppies ------------------------------------ NOTE: This is not a recommended way of installing Debian, because floppies are generally the least reliable type of media. This is only recommended if you have no extra, pre-existing filesystems on any of the hard drives on your system. Complete these steps: 1. Obtain these disk images (these files are described in greater detail in Section 5.4, `Description of Installation System Files'): * a Rescue Floppy image * the Driver Floppies images * the base system disk images, i.e., `base-1.bin', `base-2.bin', etc. * and a root filesystem image 2. Locate sufficient floppies for all the images you need to write. 3. Create the floppies, as discussed in Section 5.5.4, `Creating Floppies from Disk Images'. 4. If you are not an English speaker, see Section 5.5.5, `Modifying the Rescue Floppy to Support National Language' to have the Rescue Floppy speak your language. 5. Insert the Rescue Floppy into your floppy drive, and reboot the computer. 6. Skip down to Chapter 6, `Booting the Installation System'. 5.5.4. Creating Floppies from Disk Images ----------------------------------------- Disk images are files containing the complete contents of a floppy disk in _raw_ form. Disk images, such as `rescue.bin', cannot simply be copied to floppy drives. A special program is used to write the image files to floppy disk in _raw_ mode. This is required because these images are raw representations of the disk; it is required to do a _sector copy_ of the data from the file onto the floppy. There are different techniques for creating floppies from disk images, which depend on your platform. This section describes how to create floppies from disk images for different platforms. No matter which method you use to create your floppies, you should remember to flip the tab on the floppies once you have written them, to ensure they are not damaged unintentionally. 5.5.4.1. Writing Disk Images From a Linux or Unix System -------------------------------------------------------- To write the floppy disk image files to the floppy disks, you will probably need root access to the system. Place a good, blank floppy in the floppy drive. Next, use the command dd if= of=/dev/fd0 bs=1024 conv=sync ; sync where is one of the floppy disk image files. `/dev/fd0' is a commonly used name of the floppy disk device, it may be different on your workstation (on Solaris, it is `/dev/fd/0'). The command may return to the prompt before Unix has finished writing the floppy disk, so look for the disk-in-use light on the floppy drive and be sure that the light is out and the disk has stopped revolving before you remove it from the drive. On some systems, you'll have to run a command to eject the floppy from the drive (on Solaris, use `eject', see the manual page). Some systems attempt to automatically mount a floppy disk when you place it in the drive. You might have to disable this feature before the workstation will allow you to write a floppy in _raw mode_. Unfortunately, how to accomplish this will vary based on your operating system. On Solaris, you can work around volume management to get raw access to the floppy. First, make sure that the floppy is automounted (using `volcheck' or the equivalent command in the file manager). Then use a `dd' command of the form given above, just replace `/dev/fd0' with `/vol/rdsk/', where is the name the floppy disk was given when it was formatted (unnamed floppies default to the name `unnamed_floppy'). On other systems, ask your system administrator. 5.5.4.2. Writing Disk Images From DOS, Windows, or OS/2 ------------------------------------------------------- You'll find the `rawrite2.exe' program in the same directory as the floppy disk images. There's also a `rawrite2.txt' file containing instructions for using `rawrite2'. To write the floppy disk image files to the floppy disks, first make sure that you are booted into DOS. Many problems have been reported when trying to use `rawrite2' from within a DOS box from within Windows. Double-clicking on `rawrite2' from within the Windows Explorer is also reported to not work. If you don't know how to boot into DOS, just hit _F8_ while booting. Once you've booted into plain DOS, use the command rawrite2 -f -d where is one of the floppy disk image files, and is either `a:' or `b:', depending on which floppy drive you are writing to. 5.5.5. Modifying the Rescue Floppy to Support National Language --------------------------------------------------------------- The messages shown by the Rescue Floppy (before loading the Linux kernel) can be shown in your mother tongue. To achieve this if you are not an English speaker, after writing the image file, you must copy the provided message files and a font to the floppy. For MS-DOS and Windows users there is a batch file `setlang.bat' in the `dosutils' directory, which copies the correct files. Simply enter this directory (e.g. `cd c:\debian\dosutils') within a command prompt window, and run `setlang ', where is a two-letter code of your language in lower case, for example `setlang pl' to set the language to Polish. Currently these language codes are available: `cs de eo es fi fr hr hu it ja pl pt ru sk sv tr' 5.5.5.1. Writing Disk Images on Atari Systems --------------------------------------------- You'll find the http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main/disks-i386/current/rawwrite.ttp program in the same directory as the floppy disk images. Start the program by double clicking on the program icon, and type in the name of the floppy image file you want written to the floppy at the TOS program command line dialog box. 5.5.5.2. Writing Disk Images From MacOS --------------------------------------- To create floppies from the distribution floppy images on a MacOS system, you can use the MacOS utility `Disk Copy' or the freeware utility `suntar'. The `root.bin' file is an example of a floppy image. First, locate `root.bin' on the offical Debian GNU/Linux CD, or download it from your favorite Debian mirror in _binary_ mode. Do not allow any automatic extraction of the file after downloading. The `.bin' extension does not stand for Macbinary, but rather just `binary' floppy image files. Then use one of the following methods to create a floppy from the floppy image. 5.5.5.2.1. Writing Disk Images with `Disk Copy' ----------------------------------------------- 1. If you are creating the floppy image from files which were originally on the official Debian GNU/Linux CD, then the Type and Creator are already set correctly. These `Creator-Changer' steps are only necessary if you downloaded the image files. 1. Obtain Creator-Changer (ftp://uiarchive.uiuc.edu/mirrors/ftp/ftp.info-mac.org/info-mac/disk/creator-changer-284.hqx) and use it to open the `root.bin' file. 2. Change the Creator to `ddsk' (Disk Copy), and the Type to `DDim' (binary floppy image). The case is sensitive for these fields. 3. _Important:_ In the Finder, use `Get Info' to display the Finder information about the floppy image, and `X' the `File Locked' checkbox so that MacOS will be unable to remove the boot blocks if the image is accidentally mounted. 2. Obtain `Disk Copy'; if you have a MacOS system or CD it will very likely be there already, otherwise try http://asu.info.apple.com/swupdates.nsf/artnum/n11162. 3. Run `Disk Copy', and select `Make a Floppy' from the `Utilities' menu, then select the _locked_ image file from the resulting dialog. It will ask you to insert a floppy, then ask if you really want to erase it. When done it should eject the floppy. 5.5.5.2.2. Writing Disk Images with `suntar' -------------------------------------------- 1. Obtain `suntar' from http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive/Archive/cmp/suntar-223.hqx. Start the `suntar' program and select `Overwrite Sectors...' from the `Special' menu. 2. Insert the floppy disk as requested, then hit return (start at sector 0). 3. Select the `root.bin' file in the file-opening dialog. 4. After the floppy has been created successfully, select `Eject' from the `File' menu. If there are any errors writing the floppy, simply toss that floppy and try another. Before using the floppy you created, _set the write protect tab_! Otherwise if you accidently mount it in MacOS, MacOS will helpfully ruin it. 5.6. CD-ROM ----------- CD-ROM booting is one of the easiest ways to install. If you're unlucky and the kernel on the CD-ROM doesn't work for you, you'll have to fall back to another technique. Installing from CD-ROM is described in Section 6.4, `Booting and/or Installing from a CD-ROM'. Note that certain CD drives may require special drivers, and so be inaccessible in the early installation stages. 5.7. Hard Disk -------------- Booting from an existing operating system is often a convenient option; for some systems it is the only supported method of installation. This method is described in Section 6.3, `Booting from a Hard Disk'. Exotic hardware or filesystems may render files on the hard disk inaccessible early in the installation process. If they aren't supported by the Linux kernel, they may be inaccessible even at the end! 5.8. Installing from NFS ------------------------ Due to the nature of this method of installation, only the base system can be installed via NFS. You will need to have the Rescue Floppy and the Driver Floppies available locally using one of the above methods. To install the base system via NFS, you'll have to go through the regular installation as explained in Chapter 7, `Using `dbootstrap' for Initial System Configuration'. Do not forget to insert the module (driver) for your Ethernet card, and the file system module for NFS. When `dbootstrap' asks you where the base system is located (Section 7.15, ```Install the Base System'''), you should choose NFS, and follow the instructions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. Booting the Installation System ---------------------------------- This chapter begins with some general information about booting Debian GNU/Linux, then moves to individual sections on particular installation methods, and concludes with some troubleshooting advice. Note that on some machines, `Control-Alt-Delete' does not properly reset the machine, so a ``hard'' reboot is recommended. If you are installing from an existing operating system (e.g., from a DOS box) you don't have a choice. Otherwise, please do a hard boot when booting. 6.1. Boot Parameter Arguments ----------------------------- Boot parameters are Linux kernel parameters which are generally used to make sure that peripherals are dealt with properly. For the most part, the kernel can auto-detect information about your peripherals. However, in some cases you'll have to help the kernel a bit. If you are booting from the Rescue Floppy or from CD-ROM you will be presented with the boot prompt, `boot:'. Details about how to use boot parameters with the Rescue Floppy can be found in Section 6.5, `Booting With the Rescue Floppy'. If you are booting from an existing operating system, you'll have to use other means to set boot parameters. For instance, if you are installing from DOS, you can edit the `install.bat' file with any text editor. Full information on boot parameters can be found in the Linux BootPrompt HOWTO (http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/BootPrompt-HOWTO.html); this section contains only a sketch of the most salient parameters. If this is the first time you're booting the system, try the default boot parameters (i.e., don't try setting arguments) and see if it works correctly. It probably will. If not, you can reboot later and look for any special parameters that inform the system about your hardware. When the kernel boots, a message `Memory: k/k available' should be emitted early in the process. should match the total amount of RAM, in kilobytes. If this doesn't match the actual of RAM you have installed, you need to use the `mem=' parameter, where is set to the amount of memory, suffixed with ``k'' for kilobytes, or ``m'' for megabytes. For example, both `mem=65536k' and `mem=64m' mean 64MB of RAM. Some systems have floppies with ``inverted DCLs''. If you receive errors reading from the floppy, even when you know the floppy is good, try the parameter `floppy=thinkpad'. On some systems, such as the IBM PS/1 or ValuePoint (which have ST-506 disk drivers), the IDE drive may not be properly recognized. Again, try it first without the parameters and see if the IDE drive is recognized properly. If not, determine your drive geometry (cylinders, heads, and sectors), and use the parameter `hd=,,'. If your monitor is only capable of black-and-white, use the `mono' boot argument. Otherwise, your installation will use color, which is the default. If you are booting with a serial console, generally the kernel will autodetect this. If you have a videocard (framebuffer) and a keyboard also attached to the computer which you wish to boot via serial console, you may have to pass the `console=' argument to the kernel, where is your serial device, which is usually something like ``ttyS0''. Again, full details on boot parameters can be found in the Linux BootPrompt HOWTO (http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/BootPrompt-HOWTO.html), including tips for obscure hardware. Some common gotchas are included below in Section 6.6, `Troubleshooting the Boot Process'. 6.1.1. `dbootstrap' Arguments ----------------------------- The installation system recognizes a few arguments which may be useful. quiet This will cause the installation system to suppress confirmation messages and try to do the right thing without fuss. If you are familiar and comfortable with what the installation system is going to expect, this is a nice option to quieten the process. verbose Ask even more questions than usual. debug Emit additional debug messages to the installation system log (see Section 7.1.1, `Using the Shell and Viewing the Logs'), including every command run. bootkbd=<...> Pre-select the keyboard you want to use, e.g., `bootkbd=qwerty/us' mono Use monochrome rather than color mode. 6.2. Interpreting the Kernel Startup Messages --------------------------------------------- During the boot sequence, you may see many messages in the form `can't find something', or `something not present', `can't initialize something', or even `this driver release depends on something'. Most of these messages are harmless. You see them because the kernel for the installation system is built to run on computers with many different peripheral devices. Obviously, no one computer will have every possible peripheral device, so the operating system may emit a few complaints while it looks for peripherals you don't own. You may also see the system pause for a while. This happens when it is waiting for a device to respond, and that device is not present on your system. If you find the time it takes to boot the system unacceptably long, you can create a custom kernel later (see Section 8.5, `Compiling a New Kernel'). 6.3. Booting from a Hard Disk ----------------------------- In some cases, you may wish to boot from an existing operating system. You can also boot into the installation system using other means, but install the base system from disk. 6.3.1. Booting from a DOS partition ----------------------------------- It is possible to install Debian from an already installed DOS partition on the same machine. You have two alternatives: either try the floppy-less installation, or boot from the Rescue Floppy but install base from the local disk. To try floppyless booting, follow these directions: 1. Get the following files from your nearest Debian FTP mirror and put them into a directory on your DOS partition. Be sure to retain their subdirectory structure, e.g., `images-1.44\compact\rescue.bin'. * One of the Rescue Floppy images, one of the root images, one of the Linux kernel files, and one of the DOS batch files from Section 5.4.2, `Files for the Initial System Boot'. See Section 5.2, `Choosing the Right Installation Set' for help deciding which kernel to use. * One of the Driver Floppies archives from Section 5.4.3, `Driver Files'; it must correspond to the kernel flavor you chose above. * http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main/disks-i386/current/base2_2.tgz (see Section 5.4.4, `Base System Files') * http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main/disks-i386/current/dosutils/loadlin.exe (see Section 5.4.2, `Files for the Initial System Boot') 2. Boot into DOS (not Windows) without any drivers being loaded. To do this, you have to press _F8_ at exactly the right moment (and optionally select the `safe mode command prompt only' option). 3. Enter the subdirectory for the flavor you chose, e.g., `cd c:\debian\compact'. Next, execute `install.bat'. 4. Skip down to Chapter 7, `Using `dbootstrap' for Initial System Configuration'. If you want to boot from floppies, but install base from a DOS partition, then simply download and create the Rescue Floppy and Driver Floppies as described in Section 5.5.4, `Creating Floppies from Disk Images'. Download http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main/disks-i386/current/base2_2.tgz and place that file somewhere on a DOS partition. 6.3.2. Installing from a Linux Partition ---------------------------------------- You can install Debian from an ext2fs partition or from a Minix partition. This installation technique may be appropriate if you are completely replacing your current Linux system with Debian, for instance. Note that the partition you are installing _from_ should not be the same as the partitions you are installing Debian _to_ (e.g., `/', `/usr', `/lib', etc.). To install from an already existing Linux partition, follow these instructions. 1. Get the following files and place them in a directory on your Linux partition. Use the largest possible files for your architecture: * a Rescue Floppy image, see Section 5.4.2, `Files for the Initial System Boot' * one of the Driver Floppies archives from Section 5.4.3, `Driver Files' * http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/potato/main/disks-i386/current/base2_2.tgz 2. You can use any other functional boot method when installing from a partition. The following assumes you are booting with floppies; however, any boot installation can be used. 3. Create the Rescue Floppy as discussed in Section 5.5.4, `Creating Floppies from Disk Images'. Note that you won't need the Driver Floppies. 4. Insert the Rescue Floppy into your floppy drive, and reboot the computer. 5. Skip down to Chapter 7, `Using `dbootstrap' for Initial System Configuration'. 6.4. Booting and/or Installing from a CD-ROM -------------------------------------------- If you have a CD which is bootable, and if your architecture and system supports booting from a CD-ROM, you don't need any floppies. Often, it's as simple as puting the CD-ROM in the CD drive and booting. You may need to configure your hardware as indicated in Section 3.3.2, `Boot Device Selection'. Then put the CD-ROM into the drive, and reboot. The system should boot up, and you should be presented with the `boot:' prompt. Here you can enter your boot arguments, or just hit _enter_. Note that official Debian CD-ROM sets for Intel x86 will boot different ``flavors'' depending on which CD-ROM you boot from. See Section 5.2, `Choosing the Right Installation Set' for a discussion of the different flavors. Here's how the flavors are laid out on the different CD-ROMs: CD 1 Boots the `vanilla' flavor. CD 2 Boots the `compact' flavor. CD 3 Boots the `idepci' flavor (2.2r3 or better only) CD 4 Boots the `udma66' flavor (2.2r3 or better only) So, if you want to boot from one of the above flavors, put that CD in the drive for booting. If your hardware does not support bootable CD-ROMs, you should boot into DOS, and execute the `boot.bat' file which is located in the `\boot' directory on your CD. Then, skip down to Chapter 7, `Using `dbootstrap' for Initial System Configuration'. Even if you cannot boot from CD-ROM, you can install the base Debian system from CD-ROM. Simply boot using a different media, such as floppies. When it is time to install the base system and any additional packages, point the installation system at the CD-ROM drive as described in Section 7.15, ```Install the Base System'''. 6.5. Booting With the Rescue Floppy ----------------------------------- Booting from the Rescue Floppy is easy: place the Rescue Floppy in the primary floppy drive, and reset the system by pressing _reset_, or by turning the system off and on. As mentioned above, doing a ``hard reboot'' is recommended. The floppy disk should be accessed, and you should then see a screen that introduces the Rescue Floppy and ends with the `boot:' prompt. If you are using an alternative way to boot the system, follow the instructions, and wait for the `boot:' prompt to come up. If you boot from floppies smaller than 1.44MB, or, in fact, whenever you boot from floppy on your architecture, you have to use a ramdisk boot method, and you will need the Root Disk. You can do two things at the `boot:' prompt. You can press the function keys _F1_ through _F10_ to view a few pages of helpful information, or you can boot the system. Information on boot parameters which might be useful can be found by pressing _F4_ and _F5_. If you add any parameters to the boot command line, be sure to type the boot method (the default is `linux') and a space before the first parameter (e.g., `linux floppy=thinkpad'). If you simply press _Enter_, that's the same as typing `linux' without any special parameters. The disk is called the Rescue Floppy because you can use it to boot your system and perform repairs if there is ever a problem that makes your hard disk unbootable. Thus, you should save this floppy after you've installed your system. Pressing _F3_ will give further information on how to use the Rescue Floppy. Once you press _Enter_, you should see the message `Loading...', followed by `Uncompressing Linux...', and then a screenful or so of information about the hardware in your system. More information on this phase of the boot process can be found below. If you choose a non-default boot method, e.g., ``ramdisk'' or ``floppy'', you will be prompted to insert the Root Floppy. Insert the Root Floppy into the first disk drive and press _Enter_. (If you choose floppy1 insert the Root Floppy into the second