Problems with Install of Woody from CD (and Network)
I've been running a LAN based on Mandrake Linux for over a year (including a
box or two w/ Win2K, using Mandrake w/ Samba as a PDC and handling logins
for Win2k).
I've been very interested in switching to Debian for a while, since I've
heard so many people talk about how easy it is to upgrade packages and to
manage a Debian box. I have a box (currently dual boot -- Win2k & Linux)
that I spent 2 days trying to install Debian on and encountered multiple
problems with this install. If I could find out what I need to do, I'd
still be interested in replacing Mandrake 9.0 (currently on the box) w/
Debian, but I'm not going to do it if Debian will not do what I need to.
This system will be a video workstation.
Help or info on any of these issues would be greatly appreciated. I posted
most of this on linux.debian.user on USEnet, but there were no responses. I
must say I'm quite frustrated, after hearing so many people say how wonderful
Debian is, I find it won't even install on my system (and that's using
defaults and a minimal install). I can't help but wonder, since Debian is so
easy to upgrade, and most Debian users don't do re-installs, if the installer
has been overlooked or only paid minimal attention. I would love to be able
to switch, but at this point I can't switch if I can't even install Debian.
(Yes, I've searched the archives, read FAQs, etc., etc., etc.)
Here are the problems I've been running into:
(General info: I started w/ the 7 CD set of Woody, but also tried to install
by booting with the rescue floppy and using the root floppy. After getting
fed up with this, I burned an image of Knoppix and installed that to the
hard drive by using the install script. I've verified that all my CDs are
readable.)
1) Not once was I able to do a complete install. Even when I was ONLY
installing the base system, I always got messages that not all packages
could be installed. Even if I went back and re-selected packages, I still
had this problem. This happened when I installed from the CDs, or when I
started with floppies and tried a network install.
2) When I used the CDs, if the install asked for Disc 1 and I accidently put
in Disc 2 and received the error message (or the insert disk message
again), and put in the correct Disc, the install program continued asking
for the right disc in an endless loop -- in other words, if, after asking
once for a disc, it didn't find the right disc, it was unable to find it
anytime afterward (is it possible an error flag was set in the loop and not
cleared when the install program checked again?).
3) When I installed using the rescue and root floppies, it still required
the 1st CD (the website implies if you start with floppies the entire
install is network based -- if this is wrong, it needs to be clarified).
Is it possible to install w/ the floppies and NO CD and do a complete
network install? If so, why did install refuse to go on until I provided
the first CD?
4) I am using an ATI All-In-Wonder Radeon. If I select ATI as the video
card, do I still need to download the drivers from GATOS, or is that what
Debian is using?
5) Not once could I get the X server up and running -- it always said there
was a problem with a port not being available -- and this is immediately
after the install completed.
6) After installing Knoppix instead, there was no indication it recognized
my firewire card or my USB mass storage device (a ramdisk). (I never got
that far w/ the regular install.) What needs to be done to get Debian (or
Knoppix/Debian) to see these devices and use them?
7) I added Demudi as a debs source. According to the documention, Demudi
includes Cinelerra as a package. I think (but don't remember for sure)
that one time I was able to install Cinelerra, but all the other times,
even after I hand edited the debs file (and did apt-get update) to include
Demudi as a source, whenever I did apt-get cinelerra, I got a "not
available" error message. How do I fix this?
8) Is it possible, under Debian, to capture incoming video on an ATI
All-In-Wonder Radeon card, can I play back video through the video out port
on this card, and is it possible to capture and playback video through a
firewire card w/ Debian?
Is there anyone else out there using Debian on a video workstation? I'd be
interested in hearing how it was set up and what needs to be done.
I've been hearing from so many people how great Debian is, and it turns out
most of them have not installed it in a year or two, since they've just
kept updating it. I am not a newbie, but I am not a professional
programmer or sys admin. I feel I need to say the Debian install is very
frustrating for someone (like me) who wants to set up a system that "just
works" so they can use the computer and software as a productivity tool,
instead of spending time making tools to write programs to do other Linux
stuff. I don't care about a GUI, or point and click, but it would be nice
if I could get the system to just install.
Thanks for any help or suggestions.
(Yes, I've been reading docs and FAQs on the site.)
Hal
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