Installation-guide cleanup

  * Various small removals / updates / amendments in chapter 3,
    most of them concerning outdated information.
  * Extended the "Devices Requiring Firmware" section.
  * Rewrote large parts of the "Avoid Proprietary or Closed Hardware"
    section.
  * Rewrote the "Hardware Compatibility" section.
  * Amended the "Network Settings" section.
  * Rewrote the "Pre-Partitioning for Multi-Boot Systems" section
    to bring it up to date with the current d-i features and make it
    easier to read for beginners.
  * Rewrote the "Pre-Installation Hardware and Operating System Setup"
    section to bring it up to date for modern hardware.

5 files changed, 238 insertions, 426 deletions

diff --git a/en/hardware/buying-hardware.xml b/en/hardware/buying-hardware.xml
index 48c20e4c7..a6dd3b144 100644
--- a/en/hardware/buying-hardware.xml
+++ b/en/hardware/buying-hardware.xml
@@ -36,11 +36,9 @@ vendors.
 Some hardware manufacturers simply won't tell us how to write drivers
 for their hardware. Others won't allow us access to the documentation
 without a non-disclosure agreement that would prevent us from
-releasing the &arch-kernel; source code.
-
-</para><para>
-
-Since we haven't been granted access to the documentation on these
+releasing the driver's source code, which is one of the central
+elements of free software. 
+Since we haven't been granted access to usable documentation on these
 devices, they simply won't work under &arch-kernel;.
 
 </para><para>
@@ -61,7 +59,8 @@ In other fields, among them e.g. printers, this is unfortunately not the
 case.  While there are many printers which can be addressed via a small set
 of (de-facto-)standard control languages and therefore can be made to work
 without problems in any operating system, there are quite a few models which
-only understand proprietary control commands and either cannot be used at
+only understand proprietary control commands for which no usable
+documentation is available and therefore either cannot be used at
 all on free operating systems or can only be used with a vendor-supplied
 closed-source driver.
 
diff --git a/en/preparing/bios-setup/i386.xml b/en/preparing/bios-setup/i386.xml
index 7e9872b9a..fddc947ae 100644
--- a/en/preparing/bios-setup/i386.xml
+++ b/en/preparing/bios-setup/i386.xml
@@ -1,337 +1,70 @@
 <!-- retain these comments for translator revision tracking -->
 <!-- $Id$ -->
 
-<!-- This section is heavily outdated. It only really describes
-     older BIOSes and not the current situation. Most of it is not
-     really relevant for AMD64, but a general description would be.
-     File should be renamed to x86.xml if a more general text is
-     written. -->
-
   <sect2 arch="any-x86" id="bios-setup"><title>Invoking the BIOS Set-Up Menu</title>
 
 <para>
 
-BIOS provides the basic functions needed to boot your machine to allow
-your operating system to access your hardware.  Your system probably
+The BIOS provides the basic functions needed to boot your machine and
+to allow your operating system to access your hardware.  Your system 
 provides a BIOS setup menu, which is used to configure the BIOS.
-Before installing, you <emphasis>must</emphasis> ensure that your BIOS
-is set up correctly; not doing so can lead to intermittent crashes or
-an inability to install &debian;.
-
-</para><para>
-
-The rest of this section is lifted from the
-<ulink url="&url-pc-hw-faq;"></ulink>, answering the question, <quote>How do I
-enter the CMOS configuration menu?</quote>.  How you access the BIOS (or
-<quote>CMOS</quote>) configuration menu depends on who wrote your BIOS
-software:
-
-</para>
-
-<!-- From: burnesa@cat.com (Shaun Burnet) -->
-<variablelist>
-
-<varlistentry>
- <term>AMI BIOS</term>
- <listitem><para>
-
-<keycap>Delete</keycap> key during the POST (power on self test)
-
-</para></listitem>
-</varlistentry>
-
-<varlistentry>
- <term>Award BIOS</term>
- <listitem><para>
-
-<keycombo>
-  <keycap>Ctrl</keycap><keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>Esc</keycap>
-</keycombo>, or <keycap>Delete</keycap> key during the POST
-
-</para></listitem>
-</varlistentry>
-
-<varlistentry><term>DTK BIOS</term>
- <listitem><para>
-
-<keycap>Esc</keycap> key during the POST
-
-</para></listitem>
-</varlistentry>
-
-<varlistentry><term>IBM PS/2 BIOS</term>
- <listitem><para>
-
-<keycombo>
-  <keycap>Ctrl</keycap><keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>Insert</keycap>
-</keycombo>
-after
-<keycombo>
-  <keycap>Ctrl</keycap><keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>Delete</keycap>
-</keycombo>
-
-</para></listitem>
-</varlistentry>
-
-<varlistentry>
- <term>Phoenix BIOS</term>
- <listitem><para>
-
-<keycombo>
-  <keycap>Ctrl</keycap><keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>Esc</keycap>
-</keycombo>
-or
-<keycombo>
-  <keycap>Ctrl</keycap><keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>S</keycap>
-</keycombo>
-or
-<keycap>F1</keycap>
-
-</para></listitem>
-</varlistentry>
-</variablelist>
-
-<para>
-
-Information on invoking other BIOS routines can be found in
-<ulink url="&url-invoking-bios-info;"></ulink>.
-
-</para><para>
-
-Some &arch-title; machines don't have a CMOS configuration menu in the
-BIOS.  They require a software CMOS setup program.  If you don't have
-the Installation and/or Diagnostics diskette for your machine, you can
-try using a shareware/freeware program.  Try looking in
-<ulink url="&url-simtel;"></ulink>.
+To enter the BIOS setup menu you have to press  a key or key combination
+after turning on the computer. Often it is the <keycap>Delete</keycap>
+or the <keycap>F2</keycap> key, but some manufacturers use other keys.
+Usually upon starting the computer there will be a message
+stating which key to press to enter the setup screen.
 
 </para>
   </sect2>
-
+  
   <sect2 arch="any-x86" id="boot-dev-select"><title>Boot Device Selection</title>
 
 <para>
 
-Many BIOS setup menus allow you to select the devices that will be
-used to bootstrap the system. Set this to look for a bootable
-operating system on <filename>A:</filename> (the first floppy disk),
-then optionally the first CD-ROM device (possibly appearing as
-<filename>D:</filename> or <filename>E:</filename>), and then from
-<filename>C:</filename> (the first hard disk).  This setting enables
-you to boot from either a floppy disk or a CD-ROM, which are the two
-most common boot devices used to install &debian;.
+Within the BIOS setup menu, you can select which devices shall be
+checked in which sequence for a bootable operating system. Possible choices
+usually include the internal harddisks, the CD/DVD-ROM drive and USB mass storage
+devices such as USB sticks or external USB harddisks. On modern systems there
+is also often a possibility to enable network booting via PXE.
 
 </para><para>
 
-If you have a newer SCSI controller and you have a CD-ROM device
-attached to it, you are usually able to boot from the CD-ROM.  All you
-have to do is enable booting from a CD-ROM in the SCSI-BIOS of your
-controller.
+Depending on the installation media (CD/DVD ROM, USB stick, network boot)
+you have chosen you should enable the appropriate boot devices if they
+are not already enabled. 
 
 </para><para>
 
-Another popular option is to boot from a USB storage device (also called
-a USB memory stick or USB key). Some BIOSes can boot directly from a USB
-storage device, but some cannot. You may need to configure your BIOS to boot
-from a <quote>Removable drive</quote> or even from <quote>USB-ZIP</quote> to
-get it to boot from the USB device.
-
-</para><para>
-
-Here are some details about how to set the boot order. Remember to
-reset the boot order after &arch-kernel; is installed, so that you restart
-your machine from the hard drive.
-
-</para>
-
-   <sect3 id="ctbooi">
-   <title>Changing the Boot Order on IDE Computers</title>
-
-<orderedlist>
-<listitem><para>
-
-As your computer starts, press the keys to enter the BIOS
-utility. Often, it is the <keycap>Delete</keycap> key. However,
-consult the hardware documentation for the exact keystrokes.
-
-</para></listitem>
-<listitem><para>
-
-Find the boot sequence in the setup utility. Its location depends on
-your BIOS, but you are looking for a field that lists drives.
-
-</para><para>
-
-
-Common entries on IDE machines are C, A, cdrom or A, C, cdrom.
-
-</para><para>
-
-
-C is the hard drive, and A is the floppy drive.
-
-</para></listitem>
-<listitem><para>
-
-Change the boot sequence setting so that the CD-ROM or the
-floppy is first. Usually, the <keycap>Page Up</keycap> or
-<keycap>Page Down</keycap> keys cycle
-through the possible choices.
-
-</para></listitem>
-<listitem><para>
-
-Save your changes. Instructions on the screen tell you how to
-save the changes on your computer.
-
-</para></listitem>
-</orderedlist>
-   </sect3>
-
-   <sect3 id="ctboos">
-   <title>Changing the Boot Order on SCSI Computers</title>
-<para>
-
-<orderedlist>
-<listitem><para>
-
-As your computer starts, press the keys to enter the SCSI setup
-utility.
+Most BIOS versions allow to call up a boot menu on system startup in
+which you select from which device the computer should start for the
+current session. If this option is available, the BIOS usually displays
+a short message like "press <keycap>F12</keycap> for boot menu" on system startup.
+The actual key used to select this menu varies from system to system;
+commonly used keys are <keycap>F12</keycap>, <keycap>F11</keycap> and
+<keycap>F8</keycap>. Choosing a device from this menu does not change
+the default boot order of the BIOS, i.e. you can start once from a 
+USB stick while having configured the internal harddisk as the normal
+primary boot device.
 
 </para><para>
 
-You can start the SCSI setup utility after the memory check and
-the message about how to start the BIOS utility displays when you
-start your computer.
+If your BIOS does not provide you with a boot menu to do ad-hoc choices
+of the current boot device, you have to change your BIOS setup to make
+the device from which the &d-i; shall be booted the primary boot device.
 
 </para><para>
 
-The keystrokes you need depend on the utility. Often, it is
-<keycombo><keycap>Ctrl</keycap><keycap>F2</keycap></keycombo>.
-However, consult your hardware documentation for the
-exact keystrokes.
-
-</para></listitem>
-<listitem><para>
-
-Find the utility for changing the boot order.
-
-</para></listitem>
-<listitem><para>
-
-Set the utility so that the SCSI ID of the CD drive is first on
-the list.
-
-</para></listitem>
-<listitem><para>
-
-Save your changes. Instructions on the screen tell you how to
-save the changes on your computer. Often, you must press
-<keycap>F10</keycap>.
-
-</para></listitem>
-</orderedlist>
+Unfortunately some computers contain buggy BIOS versions. Booting &d-i; from
+a USB stick might not work even if there is an appropriate option in the
+BIOS setup menu and the stick is selected as the primary boot device.  On
+some of these systems using a USB stick as boot medium is impossible; others
+can be tricked into booting from the stick by changing the device type in
+the BIOS setup from the default "USB harddisk" or "USB stick" to "USB ZIP"
+or "USB CDROM". In particular if you use an isohybrid CD/DVD image on a USB stick
+(see <xref linkend="usb-copy-isohybrid"/>), changing the device type to
+"USB CDROM" helps on some BIOSes which will not boot from a USB stick in 
+USB harddisk mode.
 
 </para>
-   </sect3>
   </sect2>
 
-  <sect2 arch="any-x86">
-  <title>Miscellaneous BIOS Settings</title>
-
-   <sect3 id="cd-settings"><title>CD-ROM Settings</title>
-<para>
-
-Some BIOS systems (such as Award BIOS) allow you to automatically set
-the CD speed.  You should avoid that, and instead set it to, say, the
-lowest speed.  If you get <userinput>seek failed</userinput> error
-messages, this may be your problem.
-
-</para>
-   </sect3>
-
-   <sect3><title>Extended vs. Expanded Memory</title>
-<para>
-
-If your system provides both ex<emphasis>ten</emphasis>ded and
-ex<emphasis>pan</emphasis>ded memory, set it so that there is as much
-extended and as little expanded memory as possible. &arch-kernel; requires
-extended memory and cannot use expanded memory.
-
-</para>
-   </sect3>
-
-   <sect3><title>Virus Protection</title>
-<para>
-
-Disable any virus-warning features your BIOS may provide. If you have
-a virus-protection board or other special hardware, make sure it is
-disabled or physically removed while running GNU/&arch-kernel;. These aren't
-compatible with GNU/&arch-kernel;; moreover, due to the file system
-permissions and protected memory of the &arch-kernel; kernel, viruses are
-almost unheard of<footnote>
-<para>
-
-After installation you can enable Boot Sector protection if you
-want. This offers no additional security in &arch-kernel; but if you also run
-Windows it may prevent a catastrophe. There is no need to tamper with
-the Master Boot Record (MBR) after the boot manager has been set up.
-
-</para>
-</footnote>.
-
-</para>
-   </sect3>
-
-   <sect3><title>Shadow RAM</title>
-<para>
-
-Your motherboard may provide <emphasis>shadow RAM</emphasis> or BIOS
-caching. You may see settings for <quote>Video BIOS Shadow</quote>,
-<quote>C800-CBFF Shadow</quote>, etc. <emphasis>Disable</emphasis>
-all shadow RAM.  Shadow
-RAM is used to accelerate access to the ROMs on your motherboard and
-on some of the controller cards. &arch-kernel; does not use these ROMs once it
-has booted because it provides its own faster 32-bit software in place
-of the 16-bit programs in the ROMs. Disabling the shadow RAM may make
-some of it available for programs to use as normal memory.  Leaving
-the shadow RAM enabled may interfere with &arch-kernel; access to hardware
-devices.
-
-</para>
-   </sect3>
-
-   <sect3><title>Memory Hole</title>
-<para>
-
-If your BIOS offers something like <quote>15&ndash;16 MB Memory
-Hole</quote>, please disable that. &arch-kernel; expects to find memory there if
-you have that much RAM.
-
-</para><para>
-
-We have a report of an Intel Endeavor motherboard on which there is an
-option called <quote>LFB</quote> or <quote>Linear Frame Buffer</quote>.
-This had two settings: <quote>Disabled</quote> and <quote>1
-Megabyte</quote>. Set it to <quote>1 Megabyte</quote>.
-When disabled, the installation floppy was not read correctly, and the
-system eventually crashed. At this writing we don't understand what's
-going on with this particular device &mdash; it just worked with that
-setting and not without it.
-
-</para>
-   </sect3>
-
-<!-- no other platforms other than x86 provide this sort of thing, AFAIK -->
-
-   <sect3><title>Advanced Power Management</title>
-<para>
-
-If your motherboard provides Advanced Power Management (APM),
-configure it so that power management is controlled by APM. Disable
-the doze, standby, suspend, nap, and sleep modes, and disable the hard
-disk's power-down timer.  &arch-kernel; can take over control of these modes,
-and can do a better job of power-management than the BIOS.
-
-</para>
-   </sect3>
-  </sect2>
diff --git a/en/preparing/needed-info.xml b/en/preparing/needed-info.xml
index 4c13446f0..e642466ff 100644
--- a/en/preparing/needed-info.xml
+++ b/en/preparing/needed-info.xml
@@ -154,7 +154,9 @@ The manuals that come with each piece of hardware.
 The BIOS setup screens of your computer. You can view these screens
 when you start your computer by pressing a combination of keys. Check
 your manual for the combination. Often, it is the <keycap>Delete</keycap> 
-or the <keycap>F2</keycap> key.
+or the <keycap>F2</keycap> key, but some manufacturers use other keys
+or key combinations. Usually upon starting the computer there will
+be a message stating which key to press to enter the setup screen.
 
 </para></listitem>
 <listitem><para>
@@ -211,6 +213,7 @@ networking and e-mail.
   <entry>Partitions where other operating systems are installed.</entry>
 </row>
 
+<!-- 
 <row arch="not-s390">
   <entry morerows="5">Monitor</entry>
   <entry>Model and manufacturer.</entry>
@@ -222,7 +225,9 @@ networking and e-mail.
   <entry>Color depth (number of colors) supported.</entry>
 </row>
 <row arch="not-s390"><entry>Screen size.</entry></row>
+-->
 
+<!--
 <row arch="not-s390">
   <entry morerows="3">Mouse</entry>
   <entry>Type: serial, PS/2, or USB.</entry>
@@ -230,27 +235,21 @@ networking and e-mail.
 <row arch="not-s390"><entry>Port.</entry></row>
 <row arch="not-s390"><entry>Manufacturer.</entry></row>
 <row arch="not-s390"><entry>Number of buttons.</entry></row>
+-->
 
 <row arch="not-s390">
-  <entry morerows="1">Network</entry>
-  <entry>Model and manufacturer.</entry>
+  <entry morerows="0">Network interfaces</entry>
+  <entry>Type/model of available network interfaces.</entry>
 </row>
-<row arch="not-s390"><entry>Type of adapter.</entry></row>
 
 <row arch="not-s390">
-  <entry morerows="1">Printer</entry>
+  <entry morerows="0">Printer</entry>
   <entry>Model and manufacturer.</entry>
 </row>
-<row arch="not-s390"><entry>Printing resolutions supported.</entry></row>
 
 <row arch="not-s390">
-  <entry morerows="2">Video Card</entry>
-  <entry>Model and manufacturer.</entry>
-</row>
-<row arch="not-s390"><entry>Video RAM available.</entry></row>
-<row arch="not-s390">
-  <entry>Resolutions and color depths supported (these should be
-  checked against your monitor's capabilities).</entry>
+  <entry morerows="0">Video Card</entry>
+  <entry>Type/model and manufacturer.</entry>
 </row>
 
 <row arch="s390">
@@ -276,58 +275,132 @@ networking and e-mail.
 
 <para>
 
-Many brand name products work without trouble on &arch-kernel;. Moreover,
+Many products work without trouble on &arch-kernel;. Moreover,
 hardware support in &arch-kernel; is improving daily. However, &arch-kernel; still does
 not run as many different types of hardware as some operating systems.
 
-</para><para arch="any-x86">
+</para><para>
 
-In particular, &arch-kernel; usually cannot run hardware that requires a
-running version of Windows to work.
+Drivers in &arch-kernel; in most cases are not written for a certain
+"product" or "brand" from a specific manufacturer, but for a certain
+hardware/chipset, regardless of the "brand" it is used in.  Many seemingly
+different products/brands are based on the same hardware design; it is not
+uncommon that chip manufacturers provide so-called "reference designs" for
+products based on their chips which are then used by several different
+device manufactureres and sold under lots of different product or brand
+names.
 
-</para><para arch="x86">
+</para><para>
 
-Although some Windows-specific hardware can be made to run on Linux,
-doing so usually requires extra effort. In addition, Linux drivers
-for Windows-specific hardware are usually specific to one Linux
-kernel. Therefore, they can quickly become obsolete.
+This has advantages and disadvantages. An advantage is that a driver for one
+chipset works with lots of different products from different manufacturers,
+as long as their product is based on the same chipset.  The disadvantage is
+that it is not always easy to see which actual chipset is used in a certain
+product/brand.  Unfortunately sometimes device manufacturers change the
+hardware base of their product without changing the product name or at least
+the product version number, so that when having two items of the same
+brand/product name bought at different times, they can sometimes be based on
+two different chipsets and therefore use two different drivers or there
+might be no driver at all for one of them.
 
-</para><para arch="any-x86">
+</para><para>
 
-So called win-modems are the most common type of this hardware.
-However, printers and other equipment may also be Windows-specific.
+For USB and PCI/PCI-Express/ExpressCard devices, a good way to find out on
+which chipset they are based ist to look at their device IDs.  All
+USB/PCI/PCI-Express/ExpressCard devices have so called "vendor" and
+"product" IDs, and the combination of these two is usually the same for any
+product based on the same chipset.
 
 </para><para>
 
-You can check hardware compatibility by:
+On Linux systems, these IDs can be read with the <command>lsusb</command>
+command for USB devices and with the <command>lspci -nn</command> command for
+PCI/PCI-Express/ExpressCard devices.  The vendor and product IDs are usually
+given in the form of two hexadecimal numbers, seperated by a colon, such as
+"1d6b:0001".
 
-<itemizedlist>
-<listitem><para>
+</para><para>
 
-Checking manufacturers' web sites for new drivers.
+An example for the output of <command>lsusb</command>: "Bus 001
+Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub", whereby 1d6b is
+the vendor ID and 0002 is the product ID.
 
-</para></listitem>
-<listitem><para>
+</para><para>
 
-Looking at web sites or manuals for information about emulation.
-Lesser known brands can sometimes use the drivers or settings for
-better-known ones.
+An example for the output of <command>lspci -nn</command> for an Ethernet
+card: "03:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. 
+RTL8111/8168B PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet controller [10ec:8168] (rev 06)". 
+The IDs are given inside the rightmost square brackets, i.e. here
+10ec is the vendor- and 8168 is the product ID.
 
-</para></listitem>
-<listitem><para>
+</para><para>
 
-Checking hardware compatibility lists for &arch-kernel; on web sites
-dedicated to your architecture.
+As another example, a graphics card could give the following output:
+"04:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee
+ATI RV710 [Radeon HD 4350] [1002:954f]".
 
-</para></listitem>
-<listitem><para>
+</para><para>
 
-Searching the Internet for other users' experiences.
+On Windows systems, the IDs for a device can be found in the Windows device
+manager on the tab "details", where the vendor ID is prefixed with VEN_
+and the product ID is prefixed with DEV_.
 
-</para></listitem>
-</itemizedlist>
+On Windows 7 systems, you have to select the property "Hardware IDs" in the
+device manager's details tab to actually see the IDs, as they are not
+displayed by default.
+
+</para><para>
+
+Searching on the internet with the vendor/product ID, "&arch-kernel;" and
+"driver" as the search terms often results in information regarding
+the driver support status for a certain chipset. If a search for the
+vendor/product ID does not yield usable results, a search for the chip
+code names, which are also often provided by lsusb and lspci
+("RTL8111"/"RTL8168B" in the network card example and "RV710" in the
+graphics card example), can help.
 
 </para>
+
+    <sect3>
+      <title>Testing hardware compatibility with a Live-System</title>
+
+<para>
+
+&debian-gnu; is also available as a so-called "live system" for certain
+architectures.  A live system is a preconfigured ready-to-use installation
+in a compressed format that can be booted and used from a read-only medium
+like a CD or DVD.  Using it by default does not create any permanent changes
+on your computer.  You can change user settings and install additional
+programs from within the live system, but all this only happens in the
+computer's RAM, i.e.  if you turn off the computer and boot the live system
+again, everything is reset to its defaults.  If you want to see whether
+your hardware is supported by &debian-gnu;, the easiest way is to run a
+&debian; live system on it and try it out.
+
+</para><para>
+
+There are a few limitations in using a live system. The first is that as
+all changes you do within the live system must be held in your computer's
+RAM, this only works on systems with enough RAM to do that, so installing
+additional large software packages may fail due to memory constraints. 
+Another limitation with regards to hardware compatibility testing is
+that the official &debian-gnu; live system contains only free components,
+i.e. there are no non-free firmware files included in it. Such non-free
+packages can of course be installed manually within the system, but there
+is no automatic detection of required firmware files like in the &d-i;,
+so installation of non-free components must be done manually if needed.
+
+</para><para>
+
+Information about the available variants of the  &debian; live images
+can be found at the <ulink url="&url-debian-live-cd;">Debian Live Images website</ulink>.
+
+</para>
+
+  
+    </sect3>
+
+
   </sect2>
 
   <sect2>
@@ -335,9 +408,10 @@ Searching the Internet for other users' experiences.
 
 <para>
 
-If your computer is connected to a network 24 hours a day (i.e., an
-Ethernet or equivalent connection &mdash; not a PPP connection), you
-should ask your network's system administrator for this information.
+If your computer is connected to a fixed network (i.e. an Ethernet or
+equivalent connection &mdash; not a dialup/PPP connection) which is
+administered by somebody else, you should ask your network's system
+administrator for this information:
 
 <itemizedlist>
 <listitem><para>
@@ -376,24 +450,39 @@ Service) server.
 
 </para><para>
 
-On the other hand, if your administrator tells you that a DHCP server
-is available and is recommended, then you don't need this information
+If the network you are connected to uses DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration
+Protocol) for configuring network settings, you don't need this information
 because the DHCP server will provide it directly to your computer
 during the installation process.
 
+</para><para>
+
+If you have internet access via DSL or cable modem (i.e. over a cable tv
+network) and have a router (often provided preconfigured by your phone or
+catv provider) which handles your network connectivity, DHCP is usually
+available by default.
+
+
+</para><para arch="x86">
+
+As a rule of thumb: if you run a Windows system in your home network and did
+not have to manually perform any network settings there to achieve Internet
+access, network connectivity in  &debian-gnu; will also be configured
+automatically.
+
 </para><para arch="not-s390">
 
-If you use a wireless network, you should also find out:
+If you use a WLAN/WiFi network, you should find out:
 
 <itemizedlist>
 <listitem><para>
 
-ESSID of your wireless network.
+The ESSID ("network name") of your wireless network.
 
 </para></listitem>
 <listitem><para>
 
-WEP or WPA/WPA2 security key (if applicable).
+The WEP or WPA/WPA2 security key to access the network (if applicable).
 
 </para></listitem>
 </itemizedlist>
diff --git a/en/preparing/non-debian-partitioning.xml b/en/preparing/non-debian-partitioning.xml
index 0d5bda3a3..2d75748c0 100644
--- a/en/preparing/non-debian-partitioning.xml
+++ b/en/preparing/non-debian-partitioning.xml
@@ -28,18 +28,19 @@ If you already have an operating system on your system
 (VM, z/OS, OS/390, &hellip;)
 </phrase>
 
-and want to stick &debian; on the same disk, you will need to repartition
-the disk. &debian; requires its own hard disk partitions. It cannot be
+which uses the whole disk and you want to stick &debian; on the same disk, you will need to repartition
+it. &debian; requires its own hard disk partitions. It cannot be
 installed on Windows or MacOS partitions. It may be able to share some
 partitions with other Unix systems, but that's not covered here. At
 the very least you will need a dedicated partition for the &debian;
-root.
+root filesystem.
 
 </para><para>
 
 You can find information about your current partition setup by using
 a partitioning tool for your current operating system<phrase
-arch="any-x86">, such as fdisk or PartitionMagic</phrase><phrase
+arch="any-x86">, such as the integrated Disk Manager in Windows or fdisk in
+DOS</phrase><phrase
 arch="powerpc">, such as Drive Setup, HD Toolkit, or MacTools</phrase><phrase
 arch="s390">, such as the VM diskmap</phrase>. Partitioning tools always
 provide a way to show existing partitions without making changes.
@@ -52,65 +53,47 @@ backups before doing any repartitioning.  Using the analogy of the
 house, you would probably want to move all the furniture out of the
 way before moving a wall or you risk destroying it.
 
-</para><para arch="hppa" condition="FIXME">
-
-<emphasis>FIXME: write about HP-UX disks?</emphasis>
-
 </para><para>
 
-If your computer has more than one hard disk, you may want to dedicate
-one of the hard disks completely to &debian;. If so, you don't need to
-partition that disk before booting the installation system; the
-installer's included partitioning program can handle the job nicely.
-
-</para><para>
-
-If your machine has only one hard disk, and you would like to
-completely replace the current operating system with &debian-gnu;,
-you also can wait to partition as part of the installation process
-(<xref linkend="di-partition"/>), after you have booted the
-installation system.  However this only works if you plan to boot the
-installer system from tapes, CD-ROM or files on a connected machine.
-Consider: if you boot from files placed on the hard disk, and then
-partition that same hard disk within the installation system, thus
-erasing the boot files, you'd better hope the installation is
-successful the first time around.  At the least in this case, you
-should have some alternate means of reviving your machine like the
-original system's installation tapes or CDs.
-
-</para><para>
-
-If your machine already has multiple partitions, and enough space can
-be provided by deleting and replacing one or more of them, then you
-too can wait and use the &debian; installer's partitioning program. You
-should still read through the material below, because there may be
-special circumstances like the order of the existing partitions within
-the partition map, that force you to partition before installing
-anyway.
+Several modern operating systems offer the ability to move and resize
+certain existing partitions without destroying their contents.  This allows
+making space for additional partitions without losing existing data.  Even
+though this works quite well in most cases, making changes to the
+partitioning of a disk is an inherently dangerous action and should only be
+done after having made a full backup of all data.
+<phrase arch="any-x86">For FAT/FAT32 and NTFS partitions as used by DOS and
+Windows systems, the ability to move and resize them losslessly is provided 
+both by &d-i; as well as by the integrated Disk Manager of Windows
+7. </phrase>
+
+<para arch="x86">
+To losslessly resize an existing FAT or NTFS partition from within &d-i;, go
+to the partitioning step, select the option for manual partitioning, select
+the partition to resize, and simply specify its new size.
+</para>
 
-</para><para arch="any-x86">
+</para><para arch="hppa" condition="FIXME">
 
-If your machine has a FAT or NTFS filesystem, as used by DOS and Windows,
-you can wait and use &debian; installer's partitioning program to
-resize the filesystem.
+<emphasis>FIXME: write about HP-UX disks?</emphasis>
 
 </para><para>
 
-If none of the above apply, you'll need to partition your hard disk before
-starting the installation to create partitionable space for
-&debian;. If some of the partitions will be owned by other operating
-systems, you should create those partitions using native operating
-system partitioning programs. We recommend that you do
-<emphasis>not</emphasis> attempt to create partitions for &debian-gnu;
-using another operating system's tools. Instead, you should just
-create the native operating system's partitions you will want to
-retain.
-
+Creating and deleting partitions can be done from within &d-i; as
+well as from an existing operating system. As a rule of thumb,
+partitions should be created by the system for which they are to
+be used, i.e. partitions to be used by &debian-gnu; should be
+created from within &d-i; and partitions to be used from another
+operating system should be created from there. &d-i; is
+capable of creating non-&arch-kernel; partitions, and partitions created
+this way usually work without problems when used in other operating
+systems, but there are a few rare corner cases in which this could
+cause problems, so if you want to be sure, use the native partitioning
+tools to create partitions for use by other operating systems.
 </para><para>
 
 If you are going to install more than one operating system on the same
 machine, you should install all other system(s) before proceeding with
-&debian; installation. Windows and other OS installations may destroy
+the &debian; installation. Windows and other OS installations may destroy
 your ability to start &debian;, or encourage you to reformat non-native
 partitions.
 
@@ -131,7 +114,10 @@ bootable.) You can delete the placeholder with the &debian; partition
 tools later during the actual install, and replace it with &arch-parttype;
 partitions.
 
-</para><para>
+</para>
+
+<!-- paragraph scheduled for removal
+<para>
 
 If you currently have one hard disk with one partition (a common setup
 for desktop computers), and you want to multi-boot the native
@@ -179,8 +165,15 @@ Boot the &debian; installer to continue installing &debian;.
 </orderedlist>
 
 </para>
+-->
+
+<!-- &nondeb-part-x86.xml; currently includes only outdated information;
+     don't use it for building the manual.
 
 &nondeb-part-x86.xml;
+
+-->
+
 &nondeb-part-sparc.xml;
 &nondeb-part-powerpc.xml;
 
diff --git a/en/preparing/pre-install-bios-setup.xml b/en/preparing/pre-install-bios-setup.xml
index 27d784c0e..1146432c1 100644
--- a/en/preparing/pre-install-bios-setup.xml
+++ b/en/preparing/pre-install-bios-setup.xml
@@ -7,11 +7,10 @@
 
 This section will walk you through pre-installation hardware setup, if
 any, that you will need to do prior to installing &debian;.  Generally,
-this involves checking and possibly changing firmware settings for
-your system.  The <quote>firmware</quote> is the core software used by the
+this involves checking and possibly changing BIOS/system firmware settings for
+your system.  The <quote>BIOS</quote> or <quote>system firmware</quote> is the core software used by the
 hardware; it is most critically invoked during the bootstrap process
-(after power-up). Known hardware issues affecting the reliability of
-&debian-gnu; on your system are also highlighted.
+(after power-up).
 
 </para>
 
@@ -27,12 +26,11 @@ hardware; it is most critically invoked during the bootstrap process
    <title>USB BIOS support and keyboards</title>
 <para>
 
-If you have no AT-style keyboard and only a USB model, you may need
-to enable legacy AT keyboard emulation in your BIOS setup. Only do this if
-the installation system fails to use your keyboard in USB mode. Conversely,
-for some systems (especially laptops) you may need to disable legacy USB
-support if your keyboard does not respond.
-Consult your main board manual and look in the BIOS for <quote>Legacy
+If you have no PS/2-style keyboard, but only a USB model, on some
+very old PCs you may need to enable legacy keyboard emulation in your BIOS setup
+to be able to use your keyboard in the bootloader menu, but this is not an issue
+for modern systems. If your keyboard does not work in the bootloader
+menu, consult your mainboard manual and look in the BIOS for <quote>Legacy
 keyboard emulation</quote> or <quote>USB keyboard support</quote> options.
 
 </para>