woody install problem

[Egbert Bouwman <egbert@bork.demon.nl>]

Dear woody install debugger,
I am a naive end-user, but have installed slink and potato
several times already.

Now I try to install woody (kernel 2.2.19) from a cd-set into the 2nd hdisk:
    /     into  /dev/hdb2
    /usr  into  /dev/hdb5   in secondary partition /dev/hdb4
    /var  into  /dev/hdb6   idem

I haven't filled or used any floppies yet; that comes later, I suppose.

Then I try to Install the base system. I choose successively:
   Installation medium: previous (ie cdrom)
   important note: boot-floppy testers ...: continue
   Select a distribution: 'woody'
and that gives:
   Base installation Error
   debootstrap exited with an error (return value 2)
   
In the alt-F4 screen the last two messages are:
   kmod: runaway modprobe loop assumed and stopped
   /usr/sbin/debootstrap: arithmetic expression: syntax error: " 0 + "

In the console screen (alt-F2) I see:
/etc/fstab only contains a line for /dev/fd0
/etc/mtab does not contain a floppy line, but has:

/dev/root     /            ext2    rw 0 0
/proc         /proc        proc    rw 0 0
/dev/hdb2     /target      ext2    rw 0 0
/dev/hdb5     /target/usr  ext2    rw 0 0
/dev/hdb6     /target/var  ext2    rw 0 0
/dev/cdrom    /instmnt     iso9660 ro 0 0

Something that disturbs me is that several times i come across 
remarks about diskettes, boot-floppies, but I try to install from
a CD-set. For instance, i see in /etc/inittab as the third line:
# init(8) configuration for debian boot-floppies Root Disk.

I may copy ... cuent/images-1.44/rescue.bin and root.bin
to diskettes. Do I need them ?

I know that this all doesn't sound very clear-minded,
but it illustrates that it is very difficult for me to 
come to grips with the intricacies of the debian system.
Hope you can help me.
egbert
-- 
Egbert Bouwman - Keizersgracht 197 II - 1016 DS  Amsterdam - 020 6257991
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