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authorJoey Hess <joeyh@debian.org>2005-10-07 19:51:38 +0000
committerJoey Hess <joeyh@debian.org>2005-10-07 19:51:38 +0000
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downloadinstallation-guide-1ea73eea5ecc6a8ed901316049259aee737ee554.zip
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+<!-- retain these comments for translator revision tracking -->
+<!-- $Id$ -->
+
+
+ <chapter id="d-i-intro"><title>Using the Debian Installer</title>
+
+ <sect1><title>How the Installer Works</title>
+<para>
+
+The Debian Installer consists of a number of special-purpose
+components to perform each installation task. Each component performs
+its task, asking the user questions as necessary to do its job.
+The questions themselves are given priorities, and the priority
+of questions to be asked is set when the installer is started.
+
+</para><para>
+
+When a default installation is performed, only essential (high priority)
+questions will be asked. This results in a highly automated installation
+process with little user interaction. Components are automatically run
+in sequence; which components are run depends mainly on the installation
+method you use and on your hardware. The installer will use default values
+for questions that are not asked.
+
+</para><para>
+
+If there is a problem, the user will see an error screen, and the
+installer menu may be shown in order to select some alternative
+action. If there are no problems, the user will never see the
+installer menu, but will simply answer questions for each component
+in turn. Serious error notifications are set to priority
+<quote>critical</quote> so the user will always be notified.
+
+</para><para>
+
+Some of the defaults that the installer uses can be influenced by passing
+boot arguments when &d-i; is started. If, for example, you wish to
+force static network configuration (DHCP is used by default if available),
+you could add the boot parameter <userinput>netcfg/disable_dhcp=true</userinput>.
+See <xref linkend="installer-args"/> for available options.
+
+</para><para>
+
+Power users may be more comfortable with a menu-driven interface,
+where each step is controlled by the user rather than the installer
+performing each step automatically in sequence. To use the installer
+in a manual, menu-driven way, add the boot argument
+<userinput>debconf/priority=medium</userinput>.
+
+</para><para>
+
+If your hardware requires you to pass options to kernel modules as
+they are installed, you will need to start the installer in
+<quote>expert</quote> mode. This can be done by either using the
+<command>expert</command> command to start the installer or by adding
+the boot argument <userinput>debconf/priority=low</userinput>.
+Expert mode gives you full control over &d-i;.
+
+</para><para>
+
+The normal installer display is character-based (as opposed to the now
+more familiar graphical interface). The mouse is not operational in
+this environment. Here are the keys you can use to navigate within the
+various dialogs. The <keycap>Tab</keycap> or <keycap>right</keycap>
+arrow keys move <quote>forward</quote>, and the <keycombo> <keycap>Shift</keycap>
+<keycap>Tab</keycap> </keycombo> or <keycap>left</keycap> arrow keys
+move <quote>backward</quote> between displayed buttons and selections.
+The <keycap>up</keycap> and <keycap>down</keycap> arrow select
+different items within a scrollable list, and also scroll the list
+itself. In addition, in long lists, you can type a letter to cause the
+list to scroll directly to the section with items starting with the
+letter you typed and use <keycap>Pg-Up</keycap> and
+<keycap>Pg-Down</keycap> to scroll the list in sections. The
+<keycap>space bar</keycap> selects an item such as a checkbox. Use
+&enterkey; to activate choices.
+
+</para><para arch="s390">
+
+S/390 does not support virtual consoles. You may open a second and third
+ssh session to view the logs described below.
+
+</para><para>
+
+Error messages are redirected to the third console.
+You can access this console by
+pressing <keycombo><keycap>Left Alt</keycap><keycap>F3</keycap></keycombo>
+(hold the left <keycap>Alt</keycap> key while pressing the
+<keycap>F3</keycap> function key); get back to
+the main installer process with
+<keycombo><keycap>Left Alt</keycap><keycap>F1</keycap></keycombo>.
+
+</para><para>
+
+These messages can also be found in
+<filename>/var/log/messages</filename>. After installation, this log
+is copied to <filename>/var/log/debian-installer/messages</filename> on your
+new system. Other installation messages may be found in
+<filename>/var/log/</filename> during the
+installation, and <filename>/var/log/debian-installer/</filename>
+after the computer has been booted into the installed system.
+
+</para>
+ </sect1>
+
+
+ <sect1 id="modules-list"><title>Components Introduction</title>
+<para>
+
+Here is a list of installer components with a brief description
+of each component's purpose. Details you might need to know about
+using a particular component are in <xref linkend="module-details"/>.
+
+</para>
+
+<variablelist>
+<varlistentry>
+
+<term>main-menu</term><listitem><para>
+
+Shows the list of components to the user during installer operation,
+and starts a component when it is selected. Main-menu's
+questions are set to priority medium, so if your priority is set to
+high or critical (high is the default), you will not see the menu. On
+the other hand, if there is an error which requires your intervention,
+the question priority may be downgraded temporarily to allow you
+to resolve the problem, and in that case the menu may appear.
+
+</para><para>
+
+You can get to the main menu by selecting the <quote>Back</quote> button
+repeatedly to back all the way out of the currently running component.
+
+</para></listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry condition="sarge">
+
+<term>languagechooser</term><listitem><para>
+
+Shows a list of languages and language variants. The installer will
+display messages in the chosen language, unless the translation for
+that language is not complete. When a translation is not complete,
+English messages are shown.
+
+</para></listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry condition="sarge">
+
+<term>countrychooser</term><listitem><para>
+
+Shows a list of countries. The user may choose the country he lives
+in.
+
+</para></listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry condition="etch">
+
+<term>localechooser</term><listitem><para>
+
+Allows the user to select localization options for the installation and
+the installed system: language, country and locales. The installer will
+display messages in the selected language, unless the translation for
+that language is not complete in which case some messages may be shown
+in English.
+
+</para></listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry>
+
+<term>kbd-chooser</term><listitem><para>
+
+Shows a list of keyboards, from which the user chooses the model which
+matches his own.
+
+</para></listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry>
+
+<term>hw-detect</term><listitem><para>
+
+Automatically detects most of the system's hardware, including network
+cards, disk drives, and PCMCIA.
+
+</para></listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry>
+
+<term>cdrom-detect</term><listitem><para>
+
+Looks for and mounts a Debian installation CD.
+
+</para></listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry>
+
+<term>netcfg</term><listitem><para>
+
+Configures the computer's network connections so it can communicate
+over the internet.
+
+</para></listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry>
+
+<term>iso-scan</term><listitem><para>
+
+Looks for ISO file systems, which may be on a CD-ROM or on the
+hard drive.
+
+</para></listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry>
+
+<term>choose-mirror</term><listitem><para>
+
+Presents a list of Debian archive mirrors. The user may choose
+the source of his installation packages.
+
+</para></listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry>
+
+<term>cdrom-checker</term><listitem><para>
+
+Checks integrity of a CD-ROM. This way the user may assure him/herself
+that the installation CD-ROM was not corrupted.
+
+</para></listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry>
+
+<term>lowmem</term><listitem><para>
+
+Lowmem tries to detect systems with low memory and then does various
+tricks to remove unnecessary parts of &d-i; from the memory (at the
+cost of some features).
+
+</para></listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry>
+
+<term>anna</term><listitem><para>
+
+Anna's Not Nearly APT. Installs packages which have been retrieved
+from the chosen mirror or CD.
+
+</para></listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry>
+
+<term>partman</term><listitem><para>
+
+Allows the user to partition disks attached to the system, create file
+systems on the selected partitions, and attach them to the
+mountpoints. Included are also interesting features like a fully
+automatic mode or LVM support. This is the preferred partitioning tool
+in Debian.
+
+</para></listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry>
+
+<term>autopartkit</term><listitem><para>
+
+Automatically partitions an entire disk according to preset
+user preferences.
+
+</para></listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry>
+
+<term>partitioner</term><listitem><para>
+
+Allows the user to partition disks attached to the system. A
+partitioning program appropriate to your computer's architecture
+is chosen.
+
+</para></listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry>
+
+<term>partconf</term><listitem><para>
+
+Displays a list of partitions, and creates file systems on
+the selected partitions according to user instructions.
+
+</para></listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry>
+
+<term>lvmcfg</term><listitem><para>
+
+Helps the user with the configuration of the
+<firstterm>LVM</firstterm> (Logical Volume Manager).
+
+</para></listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry>
+
+<term>mdcfg</term><listitem><para>
+
+Allows the user to setup Software <firstterm>RAID</firstterm>
+(Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks). This Software RAID is usually
+superior to the cheap IDE (pseudo hardware) RAID controllers found on
+newer motherboards.
+
+</para></listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry>
+
+<term>base-installer</term><listitem><para>
+
+Installs the most basic set of packages which would allow
+the computer to operate under Linux when rebooted.
+
+</para></listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry>
+
+<term>os-prober</term><listitem><para>
+
+Detects currently installed operating systems on the computer and
+passes this information to the bootloader-installer, which may offer
+you an ability to add discovered operating systems to the bootloader's
+start menu. This way the user could easily choose at the boot time
+which operating system to start.
+
+</para></listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry>
+
+<term>bootloader-installer</term><listitem><para>
+
+Installs a boot loader program on the hard disk, which is necessary
+for the computer to start up using Linux without using a floppy or
+CD-ROM. Many boot loaders allow the user to choose an alternate
+operating system each time the computer boots.
+
+</para></listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry>
+
+<term>base-config</term><listitem><para>
+
+Provides dialogs for setting up the base system packages according
+to user preferences. This is normally done after rebooting the
+computer; it is the <quote>first run</quote> of the new Debian system.
+
+</para></listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry>
+
+<term>shell</term><listitem><para>
+
+Allows the user to execute a shell from the menu, or in the second
+console.
+
+</para></listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry>
+
+<term condition="sarge">bugreporter</term><term condition="etch">save-logs</term><listitem><para>
+
+Provides a way for the user to record information on a floppy
+disk<phrase condition="etch">, network, hard disk, or other media</phrase>
+when trouble is encountered, in order to accurately report installer
+software problems to Debian developers later.
+
+</para></listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+
+</variablelist>
+
+ </sect1>
+
+&using-d-i-components.xml;
+
+</chapter>
+