Re: How can one get debian installed?

[dman <dsh8290@rit.edu>]

On Sat, Jul 28, 2001 at 02:37:02PM +0100, Frank Zimmermann wrote:

| apt-get needs AFAIK a Contents-file. It looks to me like you've
| downloaded the files and then try to install it with apt-get. So
| you'll have to tell apt-get where the files are.
| 
| I think you'll have to create a Contents.gz file in your download 
| directory, add the path to your sources.list and run apt-get update. 

Actually it is called "Packages.gz" and it is a text file (in a
certain format) that is compressed with gzip.  It and the .deb files
must follow a certain directory heirarchy and the base directory of
that hierarchy must be listed in /etc/apt/source.lst.  This sounds
complicated, but in practice it isn't -- whoever maintains the server
has the Packages.gz and the directory hierarchy so you don't need to
worry about it.  All you normally need to do is include the server in
your sources.lst file and apt will know how to find the packages.

Also, apt-get takes a package _name_, not a path to a .deb file.

| The more easier way to install the packages is to use dpkg.

If you already have the .deb somewhere use

    dpkg -i /path/to/some_file.deb

and it will work as long as all dependencies are met.  The simpler
way is to simply have the correct lines in /etc/apt/sources.lst and
simply use

    apt-get update  # get the list of packages and versions available 
    apt-get install <package_name>

If you already have the package file, apt will simply use it (apt-get
works with cds too, see 'man apt-cdrom').  If you don't have it apt
will download it, then install it.

HTH,
-D