[ale] Debian. Grr.

[Jim Popovitch]

Forget the CDs.  Run dselect and config it to use an HTTP source then
Update and Select the software pkgs you want to install.  dselect will
"open" up a new view as you select pkgs that need dependencies.  This
way you only wind up installing the s/w you want.

-Jim P.

On Sun, 2004-02-22 at 02:59, Joe Knapka wrote:
> I'm trying once again to install Debian. My last attempt was in maybe
> '98 or so, and ended in frustration before I even got the machine to
> boot. This attempt is on the verge of ending in frustration, though
> the machine *has* booted a minimal Debian system from the HD.
> 
> The main problem I'm having is that "tasksel" and "dselect" seem to be
> user-unfriendly in the extreme.  So far I have not gotten "apt" to
> install *anything* but the minimal system. I boot the machine, run
> "base-config", and then I have to sit in front of the machine swapping
> CDs (*seven* of them) while it "scans them for index files"
> (presumably to figure out which packages are on which disks), taking
> about a minute per disk to do so. This is just enough time for me to
> get distracted by something else, so it probably amounts to more like
> five minutes per disk.  It may not be the case that I must sit through
> the "scanning" process every time I run "base-config", but I see no
> indication that it's *not* a requirement, so I don't feel safe
> skipping this.  Then I get into tasksel and/or dselect, and I
> invariably press some wrong key that causes it to start installing
> stuff before I've managed to select what I want to be
> installed. Oopsie, abort, run base-config, drat, have to scan all
> those bloody CDs again...  It's really a drag. Apparently I've been
> spoiled by Red Hat and Slackware installers.
> 
> Do I *really* need to let it scan every CD every time?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> -- Joe Knapka
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