| 1 |
<!-- retain these comments for translator revision tracking -->
|
| 2 |
<!-- $Id$ -->
|
| 3 |
|
| 4 |
|
| 5 |
<chapter id="d-i-intro"><title>Using the Debian Installer</title>
|
| 6 |
|
| 7 |
<sect1><title>How the Installer Works</title>
|
| 8 |
<para>
|
| 9 |
|
| 10 |
The Debian Installer consists of a number of special-purpose
|
| 11 |
components to perform each installation task. Each component performs
|
| 12 |
its task, asking the user questions as necessary to do its job.
|
| 13 |
The questions themselves are given priorities, and the priority
|
| 14 |
of questions to be asked is set when the installer is started.
|
| 15 |
|
| 16 |
</para><para>
|
| 17 |
|
| 18 |
When a default installation is performed, only essential (high priority)
|
| 19 |
questions will be asked. This results in a highly automated installation
|
| 20 |
process with little user interaction. Components are automatically run
|
| 21 |
in sequence; which components are run depends mainly on the installation
|
| 22 |
method you use and on your hardware. The installer will use default values
|
| 23 |
for questions that are not asked.
|
| 24 |
|
| 25 |
</para><para>
|
| 26 |
|
| 27 |
If there is a problem, the user will see an error screen, and the
|
| 28 |
installer menu may be shown in order to select some alternative
|
| 29 |
action. If there are no problems, the user will never see the
|
| 30 |
installer menu, but will simply answer questions for each component
|
| 31 |
in turn. Serious error notifications are set to priority 'critical'
|
| 32 |
so the user will always be notified.
|
| 33 |
|
| 34 |
</para><para>
|
| 35 |
|
| 36 |
Some of the defaults that the manual uses can be influenced by passing
|
| 37 |
boot arguments when &d-i; is started. If, for example, you wish to
|
| 38 |
force static network configuration (DHCP is used by default if available),
|
| 39 |
you could add the boot parameter <userinput>netcfg/use_dhcp=false</userinput>.
|
| 40 |
See <xref linkend="installer-args"/> for available options.
|
| 41 |
|
| 42 |
</para><para>
|
| 43 |
|
| 44 |
Power users may be more comfortable with a menu-driven interface,
|
| 45 |
where each step is controlled by the user rather than the installer
|
| 46 |
performing each step automatically in sequence. To use the installer
|
| 47 |
in a manual, menu-driven way, add the boot argument
|
| 48 |
<userinput>DEBCONF_PRIORITY=medium</userinput>.
|
| 49 |
|
| 50 |
</para><para>
|
| 51 |
|
| 52 |
If your hardware requires you to pass options to kernel modules as
|
| 53 |
they are installed, you will need to start the installer in
|
| 54 |
<quote>expert</quote> mode. This can be done by either using the
|
| 55 |
<command>expert</command> command to start the installer or by adding
|
| 56 |
the boot argument <userinput>DEBCONF_PRIORITY=medium</userinput>.
|
| 57 |
Expert mode gives you full control over d-i;.
|
| 58 |
|
| 59 |
</para><para condition="FIXME">
|
| 60 |
|
| 61 |
<emphasis>
|
| 62 |
FIXME: Should we add something here about starting d-i with the 2.6 kernel?
|
| 63 |
</emphasis>
|
| 64 |
|
| 65 |
</para><para>
|
| 66 |
|
| 67 |
The normal installer display is character-based (as opposed to the now
|
| 68 |
more familiar graphical interface). The mouse is not operational in
|
| 69 |
this environment. Here are the keys you can use to navigate within the
|
| 70 |
various dialogs. The <keycap>Tab</keycap> or <keycap>right</keycap>
|
| 71 |
arrow keys move `forward', and the <keycombo> <keycap>Shift</keycap>
|
| 72 |
<keycap>Tab</keycap> </keycombo> or <keycap>left</keycap> arrow keys
|
| 73 |
move `backward' between displayed buttons and selections.
|
| 74 |
The <keycap>up</keycap> and <keycap>down</keycap> arrow select
|
| 75 |
different items within a scrollable list, and also scroll the list
|
| 76 |
itself. In addition, in long lists, you can type a letter to cause the
|
| 77 |
list to scroll directly to the section with items starting with the
|
| 78 |
letter you typed and use <keycap>Pg-Up</keycap> and
|
| 79 |
<keycap>Pg-Down</keycap> to scroll the list in sections. The
|
| 80 |
<keycap>space bar</keycap> selects an item such as a checkbox. Use
|
| 81 |
&enterkey; to activate choices.
|
| 82 |
|
| 83 |
</para><para arch="s390">
|
| 84 |
|
| 85 |
S/390 does not support virtual consoles. You may open a second and third
|
| 86 |
telnet session to view the logs described below.
|
| 87 |
|
| 88 |
</para><para>
|
| 89 |
|
| 90 |
Error messages are redirected to the third console (known as
|
| 91 |
<userinput>tty3</userinput>). You can access this console by
|
| 92 |
pressing <keycombo><keycap>Left Alt</keycap><keycap>F3</keycap></keycombo>
|
| 93 |
(hold the left <keycap>Alt</keycap> key while pressing the
|
| 94 |
<keycap>F3</keycap> function key); get back to
|
| 95 |
the main installer process with
|
| 96 |
<keycombo><keycap>Left Alt</keycap><keycap>F1</keycap></keycombo>.
|
| 97 |
|
| 98 |
</para><para>
|
| 99 |
|
| 100 |
These messages can also be found in
|
| 101 |
<filename>/var/log/messages</filename>. After installation, this log
|
| 102 |
is copied to <filename>/var/log/installer.log</filename> on your new
|
| 103 |
system. Other installation messages may be found in
|
| 104 |
<filename>/target/var/log/debian-installer/</filename> during the
|
| 105 |
installation, and <filename>/var/log/debian-installer/</filename>
|
| 106 |
after the computer has been booted into the installed system.
|
| 107 |
|
| 108 |
</para>
|
| 109 |
</sect1>
|
| 110 |
|
| 111 |
|
| 112 |
<sect1 id="modules-list"><title>Components Introduction</title>
|
| 113 |
<para>
|
| 114 |
|
| 115 |
Here is a list of installer components with a brief description
|
| 116 |
of each component's purpose. Details you might need to know about
|
| 117 |
using a particular component are in <xref linkend="module-details"/>.
|
| 118 |
|
| 119 |
</para>
|
| 120 |
|
| 121 |
<variablelist>
|
| 122 |
<varlistentry>
|
| 123 |
|
| 124 |
<term>main-menu</term><listitem><para>
|
| 125 |
|
| 126 |
Shows the list of components to the user during installer operation,
|
| 127 |
and starts a selected component when it is selected. Main-menu's
|
| 128 |
questions are set to priority MEDIUM, so if your priority is set to
|
| 129 |
HIGH or CRITICAL (HIGH is the default), you will not see the menu. On
|
| 130 |
the other hand, if there is an error which requires your intervention,
|
| 131 |
the question priority may be downgraded temporarily to allow you
|
| 132 |
to resolve the problem, and in that case the menu may appear.
|
| 133 |
|
| 134 |
</para></listitem>
|
| 135 |
</varlistentry>
|
| 136 |
<varlistentry>
|
| 137 |
|
| 138 |
<term>languagechooser</term><listitem><para>
|
| 139 |
|
| 140 |
Shows a list of languages and language variants. The installer will
|
| 141 |
display messages in the chosen language, unless the translation for
|
| 142 |
that language is not complete. When a translation is not complete,
|
| 143 |
English messages are shown.
|
| 144 |
|
| 145 |
</para></listitem>
|
| 146 |
</varlistentry>
|
| 147 |
<varlistentry>
|
| 148 |
|
| 149 |
<term>countrychooser</term><listitem><para>
|
| 150 |
|
| 151 |
Shows a list of countries. The user may choose the country he lives
|
| 152 |
in.
|
| 153 |
|
| 154 |
</para></listitem>
|
| 155 |
</varlistentry>
|
| 156 |
<varlistentry>
|
| 157 |
|
| 158 |
<term>ddetect</term><listitem><para>
|
| 159 |
|
| 160 |
Detects hard disks, either installed or attached to the computer.
|
| 161 |
|
| 162 |
</para></listitem>
|
| 163 |
</varlistentry>
|
| 164 |
<varlistentry>
|
| 165 |
|
| 166 |
<term>pcmcia</term><listitem><para>
|
| 167 |
|
| 168 |
Allows the user to configure PCMCIA cards used in laptops for
|
| 169 |
networking.
|
| 170 |
|
| 171 |
</para></listitem>
|
| 172 |
</varlistentry>
|
| 173 |
<varlistentry>
|
| 174 |
|
| 175 |
<term>kbd-chooser</term><listitem><para>
|
| 176 |
|
| 177 |
Shows a list of keyboards, from which the user chooses the model which
|
| 178 |
matches his own.
|
| 179 |
|
| 180 |
</para></listitem>
|
| 181 |
</varlistentry>
|
| 182 |
<varlistentry>
|
| 183 |
|
| 184 |
<term>netcfg</term><listitem><para>
|
| 185 |
|
| 186 |
Configures the computer's network connections so it can communicate
|
| 187 |
over the internet.
|
| 188 |
|
| 189 |
</para></listitem>
|
| 190 |
</varlistentry>
|
| 191 |
<varlistentry>
|
| 192 |
|
| 193 |
<term>iso-scan</term><listitem><para>
|
| 194 |
|
| 195 |
Looks for ISO file systems, which may be on a CD-ROM or on the
|
| 196 |
hard drive.
|
| 197 |
|
| 198 |
</para></listitem>
|
| 199 |
</varlistentry>
|
| 200 |
<varlistentry>
|
| 201 |
|
| 202 |
<term>choose-mirror</term><listitem><para>
|
| 203 |
|
| 204 |
Presents a list of Debian archive mirrors. The user may choose
|
| 205 |
the source of his installation packages. Commonly, a CD-ROM or
|
| 206 |
network mirror are chosen.
|
| 207 |
|
| 208 |
</para></listitem>
|
| 209 |
</varlistentry>
|
| 210 |
<varlistentry>
|
| 211 |
|
| 212 |
<term>cdrom-checker</term><listitem><para>
|
| 213 |
|
| 214 |
Checks integrity of a CD-ROM. This way the user may assure him/herself
|
| 215 |
that the installation CD-ROM was not corrupted.
|
| 216 |
|
| 217 |
</para></listitem>
|
| 218 |
</varlistentry>
|
| 219 |
<varlistentry>
|
| 220 |
|
| 221 |
<term>cdrom-detect</term><listitem><para>
|
| 222 |
|
| 223 |
Detects CD-ROM drives, either installed or attached to the computer.
|
| 224 |
|
| 225 |
</para></listitem>
|
| 226 |
</varlistentry>
|
| 227 |
<varlistentry>
|
| 228 |
|
| 229 |
<term>lowmem</term><listitem><para>
|
| 230 |
|
| 231 |
Lowmem tries to detect systems with low memory and then does various
|
| 232 |
tricks to remove unnecessary parts of &d-i; from the memory (at the
|
| 233 |
cost of some features).
|
| 234 |
|
| 235 |
</para></listitem>
|
| 236 |
</varlistentry>
|
| 237 |
<varlistentry>
|
| 238 |
|
| 239 |
<term>anna</term><listitem><para>
|
| 240 |
|
| 241 |
Anna's Not Nearly APT. Installs packages which have been retrieved
|
| 242 |
from the chosen mirror.
|
| 243 |
|
| 244 |
</para></listitem>
|
| 245 |
</varlistentry>
|
| 246 |
<varlistentry>
|
| 247 |
|
| 248 |
<term>partman</term><listitem><para>
|
| 249 |
|
| 250 |
Allows the user to partition disks attached to the system, create file
|
| 251 |
systems on the selected partitions, and attach them to the
|
| 252 |
mountpoints. Included are also interesting features like a fully
|
| 253 |
automatic mode or LVM support. This is the preferred partitioning tool
|
| 254 |
in Debian.
|
| 255 |
|
| 256 |
</para></listitem>
|
| 257 |
</varlistentry>
|
| 258 |
<varlistentry>
|
| 259 |
|
| 260 |
<term>autopartkit</term><listitem><para>
|
| 261 |
|
| 262 |
Automatically partitions an entire disk according to preset
|
| 263 |
user preferences.
|
| 264 |
|
| 265 |
</para></listitem>
|
| 266 |
</varlistentry>
|
| 267 |
<varlistentry>
|
| 268 |
|
| 269 |
<term>partitioner</term><listitem><para>
|
| 270 |
|
| 271 |
Allows the user to partition disks attached to the system. A
|
| 272 |
partitioning program appropriate to your computer's architecture
|
| 273 |
is chosen.
|
| 274 |
|
| 275 |
</para></listitem>
|
| 276 |
</varlistentry>
|
| 277 |
<varlistentry>
|
| 278 |
|
| 279 |
<term>partconf</term><listitem><para>
|
| 280 |
|
| 281 |
Displays a list of partitions, and creates file systems on
|
| 282 |
the selected partitions according to user instructions.
|
| 283 |
|
| 284 |
</para></listitem>
|
| 285 |
</varlistentry>
|
| 286 |
<varlistentry>
|
| 287 |
|
| 288 |
<term>lvmcfg</term><listitem><para>
|
| 289 |
|
| 290 |
Helps the user with the configuration of the
|
| 291 |
<firstterm>LVM</firstterm> (Logical Volume Manager).
|
| 292 |
|
| 293 |
</para></listitem>
|
| 294 |
</varlistentry>
|
| 295 |
<varlistentry>
|
| 296 |
|
| 297 |
<term>mdcfg</term><listitem><para>
|
| 298 |
|
| 299 |
Allows the user to setup Software <firstterm>RAID</firstterm>
|
| 300 |
(Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks). This Software RAID is usually
|
| 301 |
superior to the cheap IDE (pseudo hardware) RAID controllers found on
|
| 302 |
newer motherboards.
|
| 303 |
|
| 304 |
</para></listitem>
|
| 305 |
</varlistentry>
|
| 306 |
<varlistentry>
|
| 307 |
|
| 308 |
<term>base-installer</term><listitem><para>
|
| 309 |
|
| 310 |
Installs the most basic set of packages which would allow
|
| 311 |
the computer to operate under Linux when rebooted.
|
| 312 |
|
| 313 |
</para></listitem>
|
| 314 |
</varlistentry>
|
| 315 |
<varlistentry>
|
| 316 |
|
| 317 |
<term>kernel-chooser</term><listitem><para>
|
| 318 |
|
| 319 |
Allows the user to choose an operating system kernel version,
|
| 320 |
if there is more than one version available.
|
| 321 |
|
| 322 |
</para></listitem>
|
| 323 |
</varlistentry>
|
| 324 |
<varlistentry>
|
| 325 |
|
| 326 |
<term>os-prober</term><listitem><para>
|
| 327 |
|
| 328 |
Detects currently installed operating systems on the computer and
|
| 329 |
passes this information to the bootloader-installer, which may offer
|
| 330 |
you an ability to add discovered operating systems to the bootloader's
|
| 331 |
start menu. This way the user could easily choose at the boot time
|
| 332 |
which operating system to start.
|
| 333 |
|
| 334 |
</para></listitem>
|
| 335 |
</varlistentry>
|
| 336 |
<varlistentry>
|
| 337 |
|
| 338 |
<term>bootloader-installer</term><listitem><para>
|
| 339 |
|
| 340 |
Installs a boot loader program on the hard disk, which is necessary
|
| 341 |
for the computer to start up using Linux without using a floppy or
|
| 342 |
CD-ROM. Many boot loaders allow the user to choose an alternate
|
| 343 |
operating system each time the computer boots.
|
| 344 |
|
| 345 |
</para></listitem>
|
| 346 |
</varlistentry>
|
| 347 |
<varlistentry>
|
| 348 |
|
| 349 |
<term>baseconfig</term><listitem><para>
|
| 350 |
|
| 351 |
Provides dialogs for setting up the base system packages according
|
| 352 |
to user preferences. This is normally done after rebooting the
|
| 353 |
computer; it is the 'first run' of the new Debian system.
|
| 354 |
|
| 355 |
</para></listitem>
|
| 356 |
</varlistentry>
|
| 357 |
<varlistentry>
|
| 358 |
|
| 359 |
<term>shell</term><listitem><para>
|
| 360 |
|
| 361 |
Allows the user to execute a shell from the menu, or in the second
|
| 362 |
console.
|
| 363 |
|
| 364 |
</para></listitem>
|
| 365 |
</varlistentry>
|
| 366 |
<varlistentry>
|
| 367 |
|
| 368 |
<term>bugreporter</term><listitem><para>
|
| 369 |
|
| 370 |
Provides a way for the user to record information on a floppy disk
|
| 371 |
when trouble is encountered, in order to accurately report installer
|
| 372 |
software problems to Debian developers later.
|
| 373 |
|
| 374 |
</para></listitem>
|
| 375 |
</varlistentry>
|
| 376 |
|
| 377 |
</variablelist>
|
| 378 |
|
| 379 |
</sect1>
|
| 380 |
|
| 381 |
&using-d-i-components.xml;
|
| 382 |
|
| 383 |
</chapter>
|
| 384 |
|
Parent Directory
| 
Revision Log