1. Before we get going, there are a few things we need to do. The first is to make sure you have enough free space for Debian. I personally try and make sure that Debian has at least 10GB, although it's perfectly possible to run it on less.
2. Stick the Debian Sarge CD in the drive, reboot and make sure your CD drive is the first in the boot order. You should be presented with a black screen with a Debian logo, and the prompt:
Press F1 for help, or ENTER to boot:
At this point, we want to add an option to the standard installation. By default, Debian uses the 2.4 kernel, but I prefer to use the more recent 2.6 kernel. You can tell the installer to use the 2.6 kernel by typing linux26 before pressing Enter. This is especially important if you more recent hardware, such as a SATA drive. You can still use the 2.4 kernel if you wish; if you're uncertain, try the 2.6 kernel, and if that doesn't work, you can try the 2.4 kernel just by pressing Enter at this screen.
3. Next you should be asked:
Choose a language:
Select English. (Just for future reference - use the arrow keys and Tab to move around, the Enter key for when you need to select one item, and the space bar for when you need to select items from a list, in similar fashion to tick boxes).
4. Next is our location; the screen should say:
Based on your language, you are probably located in one of these countries or regions.
Choose a country, territory or area:
Select your appropriate location.
5. Next is the keyboard layout, with the screen stating:
Keymap to use:
Again, a relatively simple choice. The installer will suggest the one that makes the most sense or else select US English.
6. Next, we have some network configuration. The instructions make good sense to begin with, so I'll just type them out again:
Please enter the hostname for this system.
Enter a hostname for example “mydebian”
7. Next is the disk partitioning - the screen should read:
This installer can guide you through partitioning a disk for use by Debian, or if you prefer, you can do it manually. If you do choose to use the guided partitioning tool, you will still have a chance to see the results, customize it, and even undo the partitioning if you do not like it.
Now you can decide where to install Debian. Due to my already full disk, I have the choice of manual editing or erasing my entire hard disk. If you have some free space, you should also get the choice of using the free space. If you didn't choose manual editing, you should be guided through the process. The main two ways I normally install a system is either to lump it all into a single big partition, or as a 'Desktop machine'. For my own systems, I normally choose a Desktop machine. What this means is that the /home directories are kept separately from the rest of the system. The result is, if you decide to reinstall, you can keep all of your documents and most of your settings. If you're still not sure, then having all the files on one partition is fine.
Next, you should be shown how the installer has distributed the space. You can change it around, although the installer tends to decide the spaces quite sensibly. I often leave far too much space for the root filesystem - about 10GB. This is to make sure I don't run out of room, especially since I barely use any in my home directory, but less than that is still plenty.
You can play around the different partitions - once you're happy, you can hit Finish partitioning and save changes to disk and you should get a screen that starts:
If you continue, the changes listed below will be written to the disks.
WARNING: This will destroy all data on any partitions you have removed as well as on the partitions that are going to be formatted.
That's your last chance to go back! Once you select Yes, you can wave goodbye to whatever was on your hard disk (assuming you're formatting over another installation).
8. Now the installer will ask:
Install the GRUB boot loader to the master boot record?
The message beforehand will vary as to whether you have another operating system on the system. If you do have another operating system, it should be listed. If it isn't, then you might want to stop here since you won't be able to get back into the operating system easily. Otherwise, hit Yes, and the installation will continue. You'll be asked to take your CD out, which you don't really need to do if you just change the boot order so that it boots from the hard disk rather than the CD drive. The next thing that should happen is... a reboot!
9. The next part of the installer should greet you with:
Welcome to your new Debian system!
Hit Ok to continue.
10. The next question asks:
Is the hardware clock set to GMT?
If you're running Windows alongside Linux, you'll want to select No here; if you're just running Linux, Yes is the option you want. You'll then be presented with a list of timezones - just pick the one most appropiate to you.
11. After that, you're asked for a root password. Enter your root password, and enter it again for confirmation.
12. Then you will be told to:
Enter a full name for the new user:
Enter and press enter.
13. You'll then be asked to:
Enter a username for your account:
This should be something fairly simple and easy to remember since you'll be using it every time you want to use the computer. You're then asked for another password, and to confirm it.
14. Next is apt configuration. If you left the CD in the drive, the installer will start reading it. The computer will start testing the apt sources. If all goes well, the list of packages should be obtained, and the installation continues. You'll be asked what software you want to install. The installer will now start installing selected packages.
15. It should ask you to configure Exim after some time - specifically:
General type of mail configuration:
From the list, the default of local delivery only; not a network should be fine. You'll then be asked to pick the Root and postmaster mail recipient - again, the default value should be fine. Some more things… until you are told:
Setup of your new Debian system is complete.
