Looking for troubles with Debian

[Pierre Lambion]

Hello,

I'm using slackware and I am quite happy with it. HOWEVER, I would like to try Debian. Slackware doesn't have that many packages, the team maintaining it is smaller and it is apparently more oriented towards servers (that's fine but I have a workstation usage of linux).

I'm looking for trouble as I would like to:
- go directly woody (so no CD available)
- don't have broadband
- don't have a floppy drive (but have external zip drive)

I saw it is possible to boot rescue.bin and root.bin from a dos partition and install from there the base package. Nice enough. I could download those files from work and bring them home on a zip disk.

But then? I cannot install the rest from the net on my 56K (with connection time billed).
Therefore my option would be to copy the woody tree (or parts of it?) to zip disks and copy it to dos at home. I don't intend to install any K, so I guess I could skip that subfolder?

Does it sounds feasible?

Thx in advance,

Pierre

[milanuk]

There does exist a package/utility/something called (I think) apt-zip, which is pretty much made for your situation, where you have limited internet access on target machine (due to cost), a zip drive, and access to another machine w/ a zip drive and better access. I haven't used it, so I really can't tell you much more than that, but it may be worth looking into.

Monte

[Pierre Lambion]

Thanks a lot!

I don't know if I will be able to use it for the install but it will be great for updates and new software install!

Pierre

[manux]

another way is to get 11 floppies and download the base files. that should be enough to install debian.

[Pierre Lambion]

Originally posted by manux:
another way is to get 11 floppies and download the base files. that should be enough to install debian.

Yes, but as I said I'm looking for trouble and don't have a floppy drive on my pc (home assembly) http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/wink.gif .

P.

[ColdPack]

Actually, if you do have access to a decent internet connection and a cd-burner, there are unofficial iso images of woody and other stuff like it here:
http://lists.debian.org/debian-cd-0010/msg00018.html

I think the download is a bit slower so be patient but it may make the install easier in the long run. I don't know for sure -- haven't tried it.

------------------
What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? In that case, I
definitely overpaid for my carpet.
-- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers"

[Strike]

Or give me your address and I'll send you the three 2.2r2 CD's I burned. Either post here or (if you're wary/shy), e-mail to

ddipaolo@trinity.edu

[Strike]

Ooohhh. I see a different country domain in your homepage (in your profile), so shipping the CDs might be a no-go. I'm looking US only - sorry if that's not the case.

[Pierre Lambion]

Thanks for your answers.
Right Strike, I'm in Europe. Thanks anyway for your proposal.

I think I will just try to install from dos a basic potato, upgrade it to woody and then copy all woody packages to mu dos partition and put it in sources.list.

Or maybe I will just wait for woody to be stable and distributed!!

[beetle4418]

This may seem like a stupid question, but I don't know a whole lot about Linux, what is woody?

PS sorry im using your thread

[mdwatts]

From what I've read in the posts here, Woody is a version/release of the Debian distro.

[ColdPack]

Yes, the current stable release of Debian is called "Potato". The next official release of Debian will be called "Woody".
Prior to "Potato" was "Slink".
All of the Debian releases are named after characters in the movie "Toy Story".
While "woody" is still considered "unstable", the actual unstable version of Debian is now called "Sid" (even though, as I satated above, woody itself has yet to be officially released -- probably won't happen for several months, yet).

------------------
What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? In that case, I
definitely overpaid for my carpet.
-- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers"

[beetle4418]

Does the woody distro fully suport USB peripherals, because I have tried about 5 or 6 distros with my USB keyboard/mouse combo and have not been able to find a single one that will work. I've tried Suse, Debian ( guess it was potato), mandrake, and red hat. My next chance was going to be Storm, but I don't really expect it to work. I am so sick of windows, all it ever does is mess up my computer. I would really like to get some kind of linux system up and running because it would make my life so much easier. If anybody has any ideas let me know. Thanks