Joe versus the Potato
I am writing this column using gEdit, on a Helix GNOME desktop. I installed Helix GNOME yesterday by typing apt-get install task-helix-gnome. Yes, my dw33bs, I am l33t. Ph34r my sk1llz! We are talking Potato -- potato soup, that is. It is done, installed. Behold, I run Debian 2.2.
My column from a few weeks ago, which concluded that the Debian install sucked, was based on an old release of Debian (Slink Point Five) that I picked up at the LinuxWorld Expo. So I promised to take another look at the Debian install using the latest version (Debian 2.2, the Joel "Espy" Klecker Release -- aka Potato).
It took longer than I planned to keep that promise. There seems to be
some sort of conspiracy involving me and official Debian releases on CD. LinuxMall has had me backordered for two weeks now. A Debian user burned me a set and sent it via snail mail, but after more than a week, it has still not arrived.
Finally, I bit the bullet and did the install over the Internet. While some
people actually prefer that method, I don't. It takes a very long time. CDs are easier to use; Internet installs create additional delays and frustration.
First I downloaded the boot floppies from the Debian site. (Debian uses that term for the rescue floppy, the root floppy, and the driver floppy.) OK, downloading the floppies wasn't the first thing. The first thing was finding a crib sheet for guidance. (See Resources for the URL of the Debian Install Manual.) After reviewing the cheat sheet, I decided which flavor of installation set was right for me. The choices were vanilla, udma66, compact, or idepci: I chose idepci.
You may recall that in my original Debian install, I used a machine without a floppy drive. That had to change, of course, and able to wait no longer for a set of CDs to arrive, I purchased and installed a Mitsumi drive. Except for a smaller hard drive, the rest of the system was just as it had been for the Slink-and-a-Half install: Guillemot GeForce DDR video card with 32 MB, RealTek 8139 Ethernet card, Soundblaster 16, and an Asus 50x ATAPI CD on a 300-MHz/128-MB K6-2.
I downloaded the appropriate boot floppies from the Debian site. (See Resources for a link.) The install guide gives you the URLs by platform, floppy size, and installation flavor; I used the dd utility to put the images onto floppies. I was ready for my great Debian adventure. Three diskettes in hand, install guide saved on a local machine, and with a pure heart, I began.
But my rescue floppy refused to boot. I swapped the floppy drive for the
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