I’ve been using Linux (Ubuntu) for a couple of months now, and I want to try Debian to see how different it is.
Well, I’ve already found a couple of differences..
- The first one that Debian-Live means only-Live.
- The second difference has stopped me in my tracks. There doesn’t seem to be a specific .iso CD to download / install.
I am confronted with a list of 31 CDs …
debian-506-i386-CD-1.iso -to- debian-506-i386-CD-31.iso
What is this all about and which .iso do I need for a vanilla (32 bit) desktop install?
Answers:
Thank you for visiting the Q&A section on Magenaut. Please note that all the answers may not help you solve the issue immediately. So please treat them as advisements. If you found the post helpful (or not), leave a comment & I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
Method 1
The Debian CD set contains all of the packages in the main repository. Most of this software can easily be downloaded later. According to the Debian wiki:
Although there are over 30 CDs (or 5 DVDs) in a full set, only the first CD is required to install Debian. The additional CDs are optional and include extra packages, that can be downloaded individually during the installation, or later.
Just installing CD-1 will limit what software you can install during the installation process, but after installing with the first CD, other software can be downloaded from the Debian repositories, just as with Ubuntu.
Method 2
Usually many distros provides ‘network’ installation disk – including Debian. If you have normal broadband connection probably the easiest way is to install via network install as:
- You download only things you need
- You (usually – I’m not sure about Debian) don’t need to update things right after installation as the newest package is installed with all security patches applied
- You don’t have problems that you downloaded only some of disks while you favourite editor is not included
Network image is as large as 40-120 MB for debian.
PS. Probably you would need standalone router for network installation as I doubt that many drivers for USB routers are included on network disk.
All methods was sourced from stackoverflow.com or stackexchange.com, is licensed under cc by-sa 2.5, cc by-sa 3.0 and cc by-sa 4.0