Re: newbie+potato+Classic=? [was CDU561 misadventures]

[Mike Pfleger <pfleger@islandnet.com>]

Ben Roberts wrote:
> 
<snip>
> 
> If you use apt to install from ftp, you can fool it into thinking it already
> downloaded the packages: have your friend download all of them and burn them to
> CD, then just copy them all to /var/cache/apt/archives or something like that.
> If you don't have enough space you can make a few decisions before getting to
> dselect.

Hmmm.... well; the classic has a puny harddrive by todays standards. :(

Please excuse the fumblings.  I am new to Debian and the dpkg/deselect/
apt thing.

OK; I'll put these all onto, say CDRWs, and then install using the
floppy
boot and root images dd'd from the CD onto floppies.  Once I'm at that
point, is there a way to use the CDs (as is) to install using dpselect?
If necessary, I can install the base from floppies, too.  However, it
seems that there is a base2_2.tgz or some such thing in the appropriate
directories on Debian mirrors.  If I could use that from the CD that
would save a lot of time, as opposed to putting 10 images onto floppies.

I suppose, regardless of how I got to that point, I could move files in
groups onto /var/cache/apt/archives.  Are there going to be problems
that
I should be aware of?  For example, what about resolving dependencies of
the packages that I'm going to unceremoniously dump into this dir?  Is
there a reasonably painless way to resolve these?

One final question.  Is there a way to generate a list of everything I
decided to install, and then use this to make a CD of just what I want?
Is this something that apt puts into a log file somewhere, that can be
parsed or viewed at a later time?  This way I can burn a CDR and wipe my
CDRWs and use them for the backup purposes they were bought for.  =:)

Thanks in advance,

-- 
cheers,
Mike Pfleger

There's seventy brilliant people on Earth.
Where are they hiding?
-Cabaret Voltaire "Yashar"