Re: netinst CD image - too big, vaguely specified?
Please forgive the direct reply, I get the Debian-User list digest,
and any reply I make will "break the thread" anyway.
Like you, I enjoy a "minimalist" install, at least at first. Let me
give you my experiences with the various Debian install styles.
It used to be that the Business-card and Net-install images would do a
base install without a network connection, creating a truly minimal
Linux installation. I would then edit /etc/apt/sources.list to include
one or two repositories, add "dselect" by hand (apt-get update;
apt-get install dselect) which is the old, minimalist, non-graphical
package dependency manager, and start the process of choosing the
applications I wanted.
The last time I tried, the Net-install would still do a base
installation without a network connection, but the BBC would not.
"Expert" mode using any of the Debian install images will allow you to
select whether or not to install a graphical "desktop". Don't worry,
"expert" mode is very straightforward, following the defaults is all
that the less interactive setup processes do. I recommend people try
"expert" to learn the steps required in setting up a basic system.
Be aware that the Debian installer does not collect all information
first and then do the work, it will prompt for steps as required. So,
it seems to take longer but you get far greater control than with more
automated/automatic installers.
If what you want is a minimal install to start, don't worry about what
is on the install disk. Just tell the installer to only build a "Base
System", and that is what you will get. I know I'm a dinosaur for
still using dselect as my package manager tool, but do give it a try.
Oh, and "search" in dselect is started with "\", and "next" is "/",
"+" to add the highlighted package, "_" to purge it. Those are the
keys I use most.
When you're ready for the big package sets like Xwindow, Lxde, etc,
there are meta-packages with names like "KDE-all" that will do the
heavy lifting for you.
I think you will find that even with what seem to be "extra" packages
on the install disks, for the most part very little cruft gets
installed. Unlike some other distributions *cough*Ubuntu*cough* the
Debian install disks do not automatically build an entire system for
you unless you ask it to. So even using DVD#1, you can say "base
system" and a basic system is all you'll get.
I like DVD#1, and had a great time playing with it when making up this
blog post, "Linux's Killer Feature: Flexibility"
http://anarchic-order.blogspot.com/2011/02/linuxs-killer-feature-flexibility.html
Peace, and do experiment a bit. The worst thing that can happen with a
botched install is to reinstall, which is not all that much work after
all.
Curt-
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