Re: First Debian Installation: totally brain-dead. Where do I go from here?

[Keith P Mitchell <kpmitchell@gmail.com>]

Hey Andrei:

Thanks for getting back.

Q. Did the network setup step during the installation work?
A. Good question. I was so concerned with disk management, I did not notice. I am looking at starting from scratch. I now have some experience and good recommendations. The physical connection is solid and reliable.

Everything that was there installed correctly. X-desktop and about five minimal applications. I just blew selecting the necessary apps.

Thanks for the reply.

Keith




On 7/2/2010 3:46 AM, Andrei Popescu wrote:
> [Please reply to debian-user only. If you are not subscribed please ask
> for CCs]
>
> (full quote for context)
>
> On Vi, 02 iul 10, 00:49:53, Keith Mitchell wrote:
> > I decided to build a Linux box instead of emulating Linux using
> > VM-Ware under Windows. I heard Debian was the way to go. I have
> > created Red-Hat and Ubuntu Linux boxes in the past with no problems.
> >
> > This, my very first Debian installation, and it has been a total
> > nightmare! I created a dual-boot installation on my ancient Gateway
> > dual-processor workstation as I used to have in the past. This time it
> > is XP and Debian. I reassigned one full 70-GB SCSI drive previously
> > formatted with an XP NTFS file system to Linux plus another 5-GB of
> > swap-space on another physical SCSI drive (for performance). This I
> > know is OK.
> >
> > I then followed the instructions on the web-site for installing Debian
> > with internet connectivity.
> Did the network setup step during the installation work?
>
> > The web instructions said burn a minimal CD, and download what you
> > need from the internet.
> >
> > 1. I downloaded the .iso file, and burnt a bootable-CD (not DVD).
> > 2. I used that CD and installed Debian. I now have a minimal and
> > totally brain-dead Linux installation.
> It very much depends on the answer to the question above. If your
> connection worked during install you probably didn't select any "task"
> (like "Desktop"). If your connection didn't work if couldn't have
> downloaded all the needed packages and you might need DVD1 to get a
> decent install.
>
> > 3. There is no gcc compiler. There is no Firefox web browser.
> > 4. I went back to the Debian web-site for instructions on how to
> > proceed from here. There were no instructions for how to proceed from
> > here. Even MinGW on Windows has a minimal Linux working set. How do I
> > download a file working-set without requesting each file one by one?
> > 5. Right now it seems my only option is using Gatesware Windows to
> > download an Ubuntu distribution, a distribution that does work, use
> > the .iso file to create a CD or DVD, and blow away the Debian crap
> > that does not work.
> >
> > Any suggestions before I blow Debian away?
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Keith.
> Regards,
> Andrei