Maxime BrouBrou wrote:
here the problem's - I use windows xp - My debian iso file are on the NTFS partition- I got just one partition(i know i need to create another one but in ext2, ext3 or swap(using partition magic 8)- I want to install Debian with hard drive booting So...how do i install Debian?I need some explanation...this is the first time i'm working with linux...just trying to know how it work!
Don't bother creating partitions; just shrink your current NTFS partition to leave an empty spot at the end. The Debian installation will allow you to create any needed partitions in this empty space when you get to that point.
The size of the empty space (and the number and size of partitions you create later) will depend on how big your hard drive is and how much you're willing to take from WindowsXP to give to Debian and what type of system (web server, mail server, workstation, etc) and how secure it needs to be, etc. If you've got a nice big empty drive (like with 15GB or more free), I'd probably give anywhere from 3GB to 8GB to Debian (which is overkill for a dedicated server, but adequate to roomy for a workstation).
You won't be able to install from the NTFS partition; however, you can create a smallish FAT32 partition with your Partition Magic and move the installer files to that partition. I know you can install from the .ISO off a hard drive partition, but I've never done so. If you're going to install from a hard drive, I'd suggest getting the individual install files (http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/ch-install-methods.en.html#s-boot-drive-files). Otherwise, if you have a burner, you can burn the .ISO to a CD and boot off the CD and install from there. The FAT32 partition can later be used to move files between your WindowsXP and Debian systems (since Linux doesn't "reliably" (er, "safely") write to NTFS partitions), or it can be converted into swap or tmp space, etc.
Basically:1) Use partition magic to free up some space (like 8GB) on the tail-end of your WindowsXP drive. 1.5 (Optional) Create a smallish (10MB) FAT32 partition for sharing and/or initial boot-up of the Debian installation.
2) Create a bootable CD using the .ISO you downloaded.3) Boot off the CD (or optional, off the smallish FAT32 partition, using a DOS boot floppy to boot the machine to get there - hmmm, seems like a bootable CD is looking easier and easier) 4) Using the Debian installer's partitioning tool, create at least one / partition and one swap partition (twice the size of your RAM, although this is just a general rule of thumb; others say to create one the same size; others 2.5 times; others say to create two or three swap partitions; whatever). Others (myself among them, in most cases, but not all) would recommend creating separate partitions for different parts of Debian, but to keep it simple, as this is your first install, a single / and a single swap will be adequate. 5) After the reboot, create a root password, and a normal user (get in the habit of logging in as a normal user unless it's absolutely necessary to be root, and even then, use sudo instead (it'll have to be installed and configured separately later). Do not run tasksel or dselect. The installer will quit, and you'll be dropped into a text console login.
At this point, you have a minimal Debian installation. Debian is installed at this point. You're finished installing Debian.
However, it won't be very useful to you; you won't have a GUI, or sound, or games. You might not even how web browsing or mail capability (although, for kicks, try "lynx" and/or "mutt" and/or "mail"). You're now ready to install more Debian applications, including the GUI, the X Window System (aka X, or XFree86). Probably the easiest way to do this is to run "tasksel" which will allow you to install a group of packages based on a task, such as the X Window System or a desktop environment (Gnome/KDE). You could also use dselect (the older method) or aptitude, which is a menu-driven console app for adding/removing software. There are also command-line tools, such as aptitude (aptitude is both command-line and menu-driven, depending on how it's invoked) or apt-get, or even dpkg, which is a lower-level tool, for which these other tools act as front-ends.
I think I'd recommend that you do "apt-get install x-window-system", which will install a fairly small amount of packages to get you a minimal GUI. I would recommend this so that you can see the system getting built-up piece-by-piece, so you have a better idea of what's going on "under the hood". Then you can try "aptitude" to install something else; fire it up, hit the / key to search, and search for mutt; press the + key to mark it for installation. Then search for sudo and mark it for installation. Then press the g key to "Go" start the process. Later you can "apt-get install synaptic" (once X is working) for a GUI package management tool.
That should get your feet wet. -- Kent