Re: dselect-help!!!!!!!
On Tue, 8 Dec 1998, Patrice Bertrand wrote:
> I have installed Linux on my laptop and i have now to use 'dselect'
> to install X and others packages. Problem : i can't find my way and
>i'm stuck with dselect from the beginning. I've downloaded the file
>'Dselect documentation for beginners' from debian.org but it's not
>very helpful. (e.g. : when I go to select i can't understand anything
>from the different menus and the differents options. For instance,
>what's the difference between 'Install from a hard disk partition
>partion (NOT YET MOUNTED)' and 'Install from a filesystem which is
>already mounted'. Which one should I pick up since i've just installed
>Debian from floppies?)
> Basically, I'm looking for :
> - a manual which explains carefully and with examples what to do
>when using dselect.
> - if this is not available, is it possible to have a few
>directions about how to install X Windows with dselect, notably the very
>first steps -something in plain english for idiots or retardos. (What i
>have now on my lap-top computer is plain Linux. I can't use a CD ROM and
>can't yet get access to the Internet since I don't know how to setup my
>PCMCIA card. For now my priority is to install X Windows, the Mouse and
>have some graphical interface to navigate through Linux).
> Thanks for your help!
>
I don't know of any good documentation, but I might can give you a couple
of pointers.
dselect is a "front-end" to dpkg. dpkg is the real installer/uninstaller.
Apt is the next generation front-end to replace dselect, but it's not
quite ready for prime-time.
You're right; dselect is not easy to use.
In case you don't understand it, you can't use dselect to install software
unless it's pointed to a repository of that software. Accordingly, you
need to use the Access option to tell dselect how to access that software.
When you choose to install from a hardrive (not yet mounted), I believe
you'll be given the option to "mount" the hard drive so it can be read by
the system. Then that drive has become "an already-mounted file system".
Unless you've downloaded .deb files (maybe from a Windows partition, etc)
to your local harddrive, these two options probably don't apply to you.
However, I see that you can't use a CD or the network, so you're kind of
up a tree without a paddle (or whatever the idiom is).
Without the appropriate .debs, you can't install X-Windows, etc, just like
you can't install Doom or Wordperfect on a Windows machine without the
appropriate installation software.
You really need to get a CD working and use a Debian CD, or better
yet, get your network access up. Maybe someone more knowledgeable on
the list can help you with that.
--
Kent West
kent.west@infotech.acu.edu
KC5ENO - Amateur Radio: When all else fails.
Linux - Finally! A real OS for the Intel PC!
"Life is an ongoing classroom." - Capt. James T. Kirk, "Dreadnought"
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