Leeky
Posts: 3,357 +116
In this guide I will cover the installation of Debian Linux 6.0.4, 32-bit version from a large installation image. The installation of other Debian CD versions including 64-bit will be very similar to this guide. I will try to explain certain options and provide helpful hints along the way, so rather than just following the guide, you can understand the reasoning behind the decisions.
If there are any mistakes please draw my attention to them and I will correct as needed. I have tried to make this as simple as possible, whilst covering the vast majority of scenarios users will come across whilst installing this operating system.
[FONT=Arial]Step 1:[/FONT]
The first thing you should do is head to http://www.debian.org/CD/ [FONT=Arial]and [/FONT]download using your preferred method the stable release i386 version of CD1. The disc image I’m using in this guide is debian-6.0.4-i386-cd-1.iso.
[FONT=Arial]Step 2:[/FONT]
Using your disc burning software, burn the .iso you downloaded to a CD[FONT=Arial].[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Step 3[/FONT][FONT=Arial]:[/FONT]
Before you go any further, ensure all important data is backed up in case of data loss on your drives. This guide assumes you have media backups of your hard drives and you are safe to proceed.
***Warning: Installing another operating system without first ensuring you have backups of your current files and operating system is a big risk. If you have no data to lose or you’ve backed up important data, you’re ready to proceed. YOU are responsible if you lose data. For those of you using Windows, and installing Linux for the first time I recommend you either use a separate hard disk that does not contain the Windows OS, or create a partition big enough for Linux within Windows using Disk Management in the Administrative Tools menu of the control panel. 20GB of hard disk space is absolutely plenty of space for you to begin exploring Debian whilst at the same time having room to grow.
Disclaimer: It goes without saying, that neither me, nor TechSpot accept any liability or responsibility for any errors or damages made to your computer during, or after installing Linux. It is up to the user to ensure proper backups are made of important documents and files.
[FONT=Arial]Step 4:[/FONT]
Ensure you have a network cable connected, restart your computer, and boot from the CD drive.
[FONT=Arial]Step 5:[/FONT]
The CD will begin to load up, and you'll be presented by the following box:
Using the arrow keys on your keyboard select the “graphical install” option and hit the return key.
Step 6:
The installer will then load up and initialize the graphical install environment, after a short while you will be presented with the following box:
Select the correct native language you wish to use and click "continue."
Step 7:
The next screen you will see is "select your location," as below:
Select your location and click "continue."
Step 8:
You will now be greeted by the next screen to select your keyboard locale, as below:
Choose the correct keyboard layout for your region. The default is usually automatically highlighted according to your region and language chosen. If you are not sure, leave the default selected. Then click "continue."
Step 9:
The installer will then load more packages from the CD in order to progress with the installation of Debian. Once complete it will begin with the configuration of your network, starting with the hostname as below:
Either leave the default of "debian" or change the name to suit whatever you would like to name your computer on the network. For most home users you can enter any value here. For those installing Linux to integrate with existing commercial networks consult your Systems Administrator for further clarification.
Once you have entered the name you wish to use, select "continue."
The domain name in most cases for home users can safely be ignored. Leave the box blank, and select "continue" to proceed to the next step. The network will then automatically configure and verify the connection before proceeding.
Step 10:
The installer will then move on to the "set up users and passwords" part of the installation of Debian, as below:
Enter the password you would like to use for the root account, and click "continue."
Tip: The admin password is not the same as the user password. This password is used in order to elevate user permissions in order to perform certain tasks as the administrator in Debian. Even in a single user installation of Linux this password should be unique and not used by another user account for security reasons.
The installer will then ask you to create the first user account for your Linux installation.
Enter the "real name" of the first user and click "continue." The installer will then load the next screen asking what username you would like to use for the first user account.
The installer will have filled in the value for your first name. This can of course be changed to whatever you prefer. Once you are happy with the username click “continue” to move onto the password selection for the new user account.
Tip: The user's name in Linux is case sensitive, so for this reason it is considered best practice to type the username in lowercase, with no leading uppercase letter. e.g. leeky, not Leeky.
Type the password for the user account, and then re-enter it in the second box to verify it and click "continue" to move on to the next stage of the Debian installation.
Step 11:
The installation will then move onto the "partition disks" stage of the installation, as below:
For this tutorial we're going to go with the first option, "guided -- use entire disk. So select this and then click "continue" to move to the next step, at which point you'll be presented with the following window.
For those installing Debian Linux on a computer with more than one physical hard disk, you will see multiple hard disks in the above window. Select the correct one you wish to use, and then click "continue" to proceed.
You will now have three choices:
1. All files in one partition -- Linux uses one partition for all the essential directories during installation.
2. Separate /home partition -- This method will create a root partition (/) and a separate /home partition for your personal files and user settings.
3. Separate /home, /usr, /var, and /tmp partitions -- This method creates multiple partitions as well as a root partition.
Having separate partitions is worthwhile for those that will be regularly upgrading or migrating between Linux distributions. I recommend you select the second option, to create a partition for /home to keep your personal files and user settings separate from the root partition.
Choose the option you want to use, and then click "continue" and the installer will then automatically provision the partitions you selected based on your total available storage. Once complete, the installer will then ask you to view these changes, as below.
Double check the partitions have been created according to the option you selected and then click "continue" to proceed.
So to re-cap what is above:
Partition #1 is your new root (/) partition.
Partition #2 is your swap partition.
Partition #3 is your /home partition.
Double check you're happy with the changes about to be made, then click the "yes" button, and click "continue" to write them to disk. At this point the partitions will be written, and any data contained on the disk selected will be erased. Ensure you have backups before you click "continue."
Step 12:
The installer will now begin to copy the base install files to the hard disk partitions you have created in the last steps.
Once this is complete you will be presented with the following option:
Step 13:
The following screen will give you the option to scan for additional packages that might be included on additional media.
This option is not needed for the type of installation you are performing, so select "no" and then click "continue" to proceed.
Step 14:
You'll then be presented with the following screen to select the network mirror.
It is advisable to select "yes" for this option so the installer can install additional packages, as well as newer versions. Once you have chosen the option, select "continue" to proceed to the next step.
If there are any mistakes please draw my attention to them and I will correct as needed. I have tried to make this as simple as possible, whilst covering the vast majority of scenarios users will come across whilst installing this operating system.
[FONT=Arial]Step 1:[/FONT]
The first thing you should do is head to http://www.debian.org/CD/ [FONT=Arial]and [/FONT]download using your preferred method the stable release i386 version of CD1. The disc image I’m using in this guide is debian-6.0.4-i386-cd-1.iso.
[FONT=Arial]Step 2:[/FONT]
Using your disc burning software, burn the .iso you downloaded to a CD[FONT=Arial].[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Step 3[/FONT][FONT=Arial]:[/FONT]
Before you go any further, ensure all important data is backed up in case of data loss on your drives. This guide assumes you have media backups of your hard drives and you are safe to proceed.
***Warning: Installing another operating system without first ensuring you have backups of your current files and operating system is a big risk. If you have no data to lose or you’ve backed up important data, you’re ready to proceed. YOU are responsible if you lose data. For those of you using Windows, and installing Linux for the first time I recommend you either use a separate hard disk that does not contain the Windows OS, or create a partition big enough for Linux within Windows using Disk Management in the Administrative Tools menu of the control panel. 20GB of hard disk space is absolutely plenty of space for you to begin exploring Debian whilst at the same time having room to grow.
Disclaimer: It goes without saying, that neither me, nor TechSpot accept any liability or responsibility for any errors or damages made to your computer during, or after installing Linux. It is up to the user to ensure proper backups are made of important documents and files.
[FONT=Arial]Step 4:[/FONT]
Ensure you have a network cable connected, restart your computer, and boot from the CD drive.
[FONT=Arial]Step 5:[/FONT]
The CD will begin to load up, and you'll be presented by the following box:
Using the arrow keys on your keyboard select the “graphical install” option and hit the return key.
Step 6:
The installer will then load up and initialize the graphical install environment, after a short while you will be presented with the following box:
Select the correct native language you wish to use and click "continue."
Step 7:
The next screen you will see is "select your location," as below:
Select your location and click "continue."
Step 8:
You will now be greeted by the next screen to select your keyboard locale, as below:
Choose the correct keyboard layout for your region. The default is usually automatically highlighted according to your region and language chosen. If you are not sure, leave the default selected. Then click "continue."
Step 9:
The installer will then load more packages from the CD in order to progress with the installation of Debian. Once complete it will begin with the configuration of your network, starting with the hostname as below:
Either leave the default of "debian" or change the name to suit whatever you would like to name your computer on the network. For most home users you can enter any value here. For those installing Linux to integrate with existing commercial networks consult your Systems Administrator for further clarification.
Once you have entered the name you wish to use, select "continue."
The domain name in most cases for home users can safely be ignored. Leave the box blank, and select "continue" to proceed to the next step. The network will then automatically configure and verify the connection before proceeding.
Step 10:
The installer will then move on to the "set up users and passwords" part of the installation of Debian, as below:
Enter the password you would like to use for the root account, and click "continue."
Tip: The admin password is not the same as the user password. This password is used in order to elevate user permissions in order to perform certain tasks as the administrator in Debian. Even in a single user installation of Linux this password should be unique and not used by another user account for security reasons.
The installer will then ask you to create the first user account for your Linux installation.
Enter the "real name" of the first user and click "continue." The installer will then load the next screen asking what username you would like to use for the first user account.
The installer will have filled in the value for your first name. This can of course be changed to whatever you prefer. Once you are happy with the username click “continue” to move onto the password selection for the new user account.
Tip: The user's name in Linux is case sensitive, so for this reason it is considered best practice to type the username in lowercase, with no leading uppercase letter. e.g. leeky, not Leeky.
Type the password for the user account, and then re-enter it in the second box to verify it and click "continue" to move on to the next stage of the Debian installation.
Step 11:
The installation will then move onto the "partition disks" stage of the installation, as below:
For this tutorial we're going to go with the first option, "guided -- use entire disk. So select this and then click "continue" to move to the next step, at which point you'll be presented with the following window.
For those installing Debian Linux on a computer with more than one physical hard disk, you will see multiple hard disks in the above window. Select the correct one you wish to use, and then click "continue" to proceed.
You will now have three choices:
1. All files in one partition -- Linux uses one partition for all the essential directories during installation.
2. Separate /home partition -- This method will create a root partition (/) and a separate /home partition for your personal files and user settings.
3. Separate /home, /usr, /var, and /tmp partitions -- This method creates multiple partitions as well as a root partition.
Having separate partitions is worthwhile for those that will be regularly upgrading or migrating between Linux distributions. I recommend you select the second option, to create a partition for /home to keep your personal files and user settings separate from the root partition.
Choose the option you want to use, and then click "continue" and the installer will then automatically provision the partitions you selected based on your total available storage. Once complete, the installer will then ask you to view these changes, as below.
Double check the partitions have been created according to the option you selected and then click "continue" to proceed.
So to re-cap what is above:
Partition #1 is your new root (/) partition.
Partition #2 is your swap partition.
Partition #3 is your /home partition.
Double check you're happy with the changes about to be made, then click the "yes" button, and click "continue" to write them to disk. At this point the partitions will be written, and any data contained on the disk selected will be erased. Ensure you have backups before you click "continue."
Step 12:
The installer will now begin to copy the base install files to the hard disk partitions you have created in the last steps.
Once this is complete you will be presented with the following option:
Step 13:
The following screen will give you the option to scan for additional packages that might be included on additional media.
This option is not needed for the type of installation you are performing, so select "no" and then click "continue" to proceed.
Step 14:
You'll then be presented with the following screen to select the network mirror.
It is advisable to select "yes" for this option so the installer can install additional packages, as well as newer versions. Once you have chosen the option, select "continue" to proceed to the next step.
