Chapter 3. Before Installing Debian GNU/Linux

Table of Contents

3.1. Overview of the Installation Process
3.2. Back Up Your Existing Data!
3.3. Information You Will Need
3.3.1. Documentation
3.3.2. Finding Sources of Hardware Information
3.3.3. Hardware Compatibility
3.3.4. Network Settings
3.4. Meeting Minimum Hardware Requirements
3.5. Pre-Partitioning for Multi-Boot Systems
3.6. Pre-Installation Hardware and Operating System Setup
3.6.1. How to update bare metal ppc64el firmware
3.6.2. Updating KVM guest firmware (SLOF)
3.6.3. Updating PowerKVM hypervisor

This chapter deals with the preparation for installing Debian before you even boot the installer. This includes backing up your data, gathering information about your hardware, and locating any necessary information.