stephan.sens wrote:
Dear Russell, I even haven't started and we are talking about reinstallation and Spring cleaning, woooo!!!! :-))) Well, then just few little questions: Do you make the reinstallation also over the internet or do you have your own installation CDs (I guess compiled is the expression)?Do you have a list of the programs you would like to reinstall? Generally, how do you manage all this?Stephan
Dear Stephan,I assume that, once you saddle up with Linux, it's going to be a lifelong affair; so a view toward the future is good.
Etch is the "testing" release of Debian, so almost every day you find that a package or two has been updated. I use synaptic as the package manager, and whenever I think about it, I click on the RELOAD and MARK UPGRADES buttons in order to see if updates are available. If so, I click on the APPLY button, and in a few minutes the upgrade is complete -- it is automatic. And (at least if you install "Etch" with the Gnome desktop; I don't know about KDE) every day or to a little orange icon appears in the upper right-hand corner of the screen with a note that updates are available. You can install these automatically by clicking on the icon. This "upgrades are available" automatic notification is new with Etch. Of course, this assumes that the machine routinely is connected to the Internet, so that notification and downloading is possible.
The two approaches are equivalent; you can use them interchangeably. And if you wish not to upgrade, you are free to do as you choose.
%%%%%By reinstallation, I mean putting in a boot CD and installing the entire system. After you boot, you must choose whether to install from CD or over the Internet. So there is no difference between installation and reinstallation, except that when you reinstall you have a better idea of how to set up partitions and what packages you need.
As I explained previously, if you don't have a broadband connection, you need a set of Debian CDs, but seldom is a complete set (about 15 in number) required; the first three CDs contain all the packages most people need, and few people need more than the first five CDs. You can use the application called "jigdo" (which is available for Window$) to download CD ISO images. Go to www.debian.org and look for the link "getting Debian :: cd ISO images". A jigdo download is simple and can be done over a number of sessions; it is much easier than direct download of a monolithic 700 mbyte ISO image. You can use jidgo every month (or even every week) to obtain and keep up-to-date a complete set of Debian ISO images. (Only updated packages are downloaded, so an update of the full set does not take long.) Or you can set up a local repository of Debian packages for your machine. This might be good for someone who has dial-up Internet service and thus needs to install from CD.
%%%%%Once you have a basic Debian system running, you are going to discover on occasion that you need to install additional packages. Perhaps you wish to install a web cam, or perhaps you wish to edit audio files. Use Google or Synaptic or the Debian web site to search for a package which appears to be suitable, then install it and try it. Eventually you likely shall find that you have installed a few dozen packages in addition to the packages which were automatically installed when you originally installed Debian. If and when you reinstall Debian, it likely is going to take you a day or more to install these additional packages. (Since you have become accustomed to having them available, you likely shall install them as soon as possible.)
All of this is no different than the experience which you go through with Window$. Except that Window$ typically requires reinstallation much more frequently, and additional packages for Window$ typically are expensive.
%%%%%So, just install Debian and start using it; in a few days you should feel at home with it.
RLH