On Thu, Feb 14, 2002 at 09:56:25AM -0000, kevincrookes wrote: > Hello. I do not know if this is for the right mailing list channel, > but i thought that i would post it in here. Bascially i am a total > newbie to Linux. A friend total me about it over the internet and he > says the Debian Linux is a good Linux to start with. Well i have not > got any idea how to install it, or how to set about setting it all up. > So this is where you guys come in. Please could you point me in the > right direction to answering the following questions below: > > 1. How do i get a copy of Debian Linux? (The exact place). > > 2. How do i go about installing it? I see that you've gotten a few good answers already. I'd like to add: Learn as much as you can about your hardware as you can. Auto-detection of hardware on Linux isn't as good as on Windows, and often you'll have to *tell* linux that you have a <you-name-it>. Basically, the programs aren't trying that hard to "hold your hand". Linux puts you in complete control, without any interfering paperclips ;-). (Disclaimer: Last time I installed debian is a good 18 months ago. Haven't looked back since. So I may be out-of-date when it comes to installing from scratch). Often, when you buy a system, there will be a small booklet with it. And all of the interesting stuff in in the appendix (if it is there at all). Some bits that will come in handy: - Make and model of network card. This will help you choose the correct driver for it. - Modem: Beware of "winmodems", as they often require special software, which isn't available for linux. An external serial modem should always work. - Monitor specification: Horizontal & Vertical sync frequencies. This allows you to drive the monitor to its maximum resolution. Alternatively, figure out what the maximum resolution is under windows. - Make and model of video card - Type of mouse (PS/2 is quite simple, serial ones not too bad either to set up) - # of keys on the keyboard (yep: count'em!). 104 ? 105 ?. Won't hurt much if you get it wrong, but that single odd key that doesn't work can really be annoying. What's that windows-key for anyway? Hopefully you won't need all of the above, but... If you are running windows already on that machine, you can probably get windows to tell you the above. And most importantly of all: Be prepared to learn. Know where to find the documentation (man, info, /usr/share/doc). Read HOWTOs. Post to debian-user with questions. Share what you learn by trying to help out others on debian-user. Hope this helps -- Karl E. Jørgensen karl@jorgensen.com www.karl.jorgensen.com ==== Today's fortune: Science is what happens when preconception meets verification.
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