Re: installing a debian source ISO
On Tuesday 13 Dec 2005 12:23, fernando tear wrote:
> I get source debian sarge ISO and i am trying to
> install it.
> I search it by internet and i found how install a
> binary distribution, not a source one.
>
> where can i find the steps to install a source
> distro??
Good on you for installing from source; but I will warn you in advance, it is
not as easy as installing "click and go" spyware-infested applications under
Windows! OTOH, there is something undefinable yet deeply satisfying about
knowing you built it all yourself from source code ..... just like the way
vegetables from a supermarket never taste as good as the ones you grew on
your own allotment, or other people's babies are never as pretty as yours.
First of all, you have to set up a minimal build environment on the target
machine. {You can't do this with just the debian sources disc; get something
like an LFS or gentoo boot CD to use instead. You might even be able to use
Slax if you can find a version which includes GCC}. Partition your HDD, and
mount it somewhere like /target {don't forget to mount other filesystems
under it}. Unless you have stupid amounts of RAM, enable swap space with
swapon. Build a text editor, GCC, a kernel, all the Debian packaging tools,
the base system and lilo -- all with a PREFIX that will place them under the
target system. NB: If the GCC version on your bootdisc is older than the
source you have, build the new GCC first and use it to build everything else.
Chroot into the target and set up /etc/fstab and /etc/lilo.conf.
Run /sbin/lilo. *EXIT FROM THE CHROOT*, remove the boot CD and reboot into
the target system.
If that sounds too complicated, start installing a very minimal base system
from a Debian binary install CD and complete it with sources compiled locally
from your sources CD.
If that still sounds too complicated, cut your losses and download the binary
ISO. Is there a good reason you can't use netinstall? Even with only a
512Kb internet connection, it's still reasonably quick.
I don't doubt that somebody will have created a boot CD with a working build
environment that can be used for bootstrapping Debian from sources.
--
AJS
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