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Debian on the Desktop

Debian based 'Live CDs'

Before installing Debian as your desktop operating system you should try some of the Debian based 'Live CD' distibutions. These allow you, at no risk to your existing operating system, to sample some of various 'flavours' available. Just download the CD image to disk and burn it to a CD. Boot off the CD and away you go.

Ubuntu to sample a Gnome desktop:

Kubuntu to sample KDE:

Xubuntu to experience Xfce:

  • http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/releases/dapper/release/ - Xfce, a lighter and faster desktop

You could opt to install one of these derivative distributions; they offer a pretty painless install on most hardware and tend to release new versions quite frequently. However, they don't offer full integration with Debian. If you search the net for 'Debian v Ubuntu' you will probably find hours of seemingly arcane debate over the merits of the two distributions. It is worth exploring to ensure that you pick the right distribution for your needs.

Once you've sampled some of the different ways Debian can look and feel, you will probably be impatient to install Debian (or one of the derivative versions). So let's cut to the chase ....

Installing Debian

Debian releases

Before installing Debian it is worth exploring: http://www.debian.org/releases/

If you are completely new to Debian we would recommend installing Sarge, the current 'stable' release. We use this for all servers and mission critical systems. Once you have gained experience of running Debian and understand more, you could consider upgrading to Sid, the 'unstable' release. The great advantage is that it contains the latest packages and generally supports the latest hardware. Whilst described as unstable, this is a relative term; we run 'sid' on our workstations and they are significantly more stable than when running either MSWindows or Mac OSX. That said, you need to understand Debian and its package management tools.

Installation

If you have a broadband connection, we recommend the network install, which involves downloading a CD image (netinst.iso) which will install a basic system and setup the connections to complete the installation by downloading packages from the Debian offical 'mirrors' (sites that store the debian releases). After the basic install you are asked to reboot and then the installation is completed by downloading packages from the internet. Follow the excellent installation manual: http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/installmanual

If you are setting up a 'dual boot' system ie. installing Debian alongside your exsting Windows or Mac partition, you need to 'shrink' the Mac or Windows partition which can be done during the install. However, before commencing the installation, we recommend a thorough 'defrag'; check the installation manual for your hardware.

* Remember to back up important data before commencing installation

Debian supports a wide variety of hardware including AMD64 based systems. Specific guidance on this is provided at: https://alioth.debian.org/docman/view.php/30192/21/debian-amd64-howto.html

It is worth having to hand some details about your PC. In Windows you can download and run Belarc Advisor to get information about the basic hardware on your computer. (It also provides some of the registration keys/details for your Windows software). 'Apple System Profiler' in the Mac OSX Utilities gives similar information for Apple hardware. Alternatively, most of the 'Live CDs' contain utilities to explore your system.

  • Download sarge.netinst.iso from: http://www.debian.org/CD/netinst/. Choose the image for your hardware - eg. 'i386' for Intel86 and 'powerpc' for Apple Mac
  • Burn the .iso image on to a CD (Track At Once)
  • Place the installer CD in the CD/DVD ROM drive and at the boot prompt either hit return or type in 'linux26' to use the latest 2.6 kernel. If you have SATA drives or wish to set up RAID, type in 'expert26' which will allow you to load the necessary modules (drivers) for these.
  • You will be presented with a menu which will guide you through the installation. If you are installing for the first time we recommend you install the default desktop system, when asked.

Once you've completed the installation, we recommend the following steps:

  • Install aptitude, if not already installed (as root):
  • # apt-get install aptitude
  • Use aptitude to install the following packages:
  • # aptitude install sudo gpm lshw ntpdate
  • give your self 'sudo' privileges - see 'man sudo' - it is not sensible to run programs as root unless you really have to. Sudo gives you temporary root privileges which reduces the risk of corrupting your system by accident

If you encounter errors or difficulties search the mailing list archives for clues http://lists.debian.org/search.html.

Another (quicker) way of searching the archives is to type in your google search box:
site:lists.debian.org searchterm searchterm searchterm Quite often, pasting the error message into the google search box will reveal a solution.

If however, you can't find help, consider posting to debian-user or debian-powerpc (for Macs). It is worth reading this first however: http://people.cornell.edu/pages/kk288/du-guidelines.html

We hang out on both debian-user and debian-powerpc and may see you there ;)

Further information:

If this is your first foray into Linux, you may find a book useful:

and don't forget, there is loads of documentation on your system after you install ... try:

  • $ man man
    • or:
  • $ info info

Welcome to the world of Debian!

 

Clive Menzies - July 2005