First, just a note about re-installations. With Debian, a circumstance that will require a complete re-installation of your system is very rare; perhaps mechanical failure of the hard disk would be the most common case. Many common operating systems may require a complete installation to be performed when critical failures take place or for upgrades to new OS versions. Even if a completely new installation isn't required, often the programs you use must be re-installed to operate properly in the new OS. Under &debian;, it is much more likely that your OS can be repaired rather than replaced if things go wrong. Upgrades never require a wholesale installation; you can always upgrade in-place. And the programs are almost always compatible with successive OS releases. If a new program version requires newer supporting software, the Debian packaging system ensures that all the necessary software is automatically identified and installed. The point is, much effort has been put into avoiding the need for re-installation, so think of it as your very last option. The installer is not designed to re-install over an existing system. Ecco un sommario dei passi che saranno compiuti durante l'installazione. Fare il back up di tutti i dati e documenti presenti sul disco fisso su cui si vuole fare l'installazione. Gather information about your computer and any needed documentation, before starting the installation. Creare spazio partizionabile per Debian sul disco fisso. Localizzare e/o scaricare l'installatore e tutti driver speciali necessari per la propria macchina (tranne coloro che possiedono i CD Debian). Set up boot tapes/floppies/USB sticks, or place boot files (most Debian CD users can boot from one of the CDs). Avviare il sistema d'installazione. Scegliere la lingua dell'installazione. Activate the ethernet network connection, if available. Configurare l'interfaccia di rete. Aprire una connessione ssh al nuovo sistema. Attach one or more DASDs (Direct Access Storage Device). Creare e montare le partizioni su cui si installerà Debian. Watch the automatic download/install/setup of the base system. Installare un boot loader per avviare &debian; ed eventuali altri sistemi operativi. Avviare per la prima volta il sistema appena installato e fare alcune impostazioni iniziali del sistema. Aprire una connessione ssh al nuovo sistema. Installare dei programmi (task e pacchetti) addizionali, a propria discrezione. If you have problems during the installation, it helps to know which packages are involved in which steps. Introducing the leading software actors in this installation drama: The installer software, debian-installer, is the primary concern of this manual. It detects hardware and loads appropriate drivers, uses dhcp-client to set up the network connection, and runs debootstrap to install the base system packages. Many more actors play smaller parts in this process, but debian-installer has completed its task when you load the new system for the first time. Upon loading the new base system, base-config supervises adding users, setting a time zone (via tzsetup), and setting up the package installation system (using apt-setup). It then launches tasksel which can be used to select large groups of related programs, and in turn can run aptitude which allows you to choose individual software packages. When debian-installer finishes, before the first system load, you have only a very basic command line driven system. The graphical interface which displays windows on your monitor will not be installed unless you select it during the final steps, with either tasksel or aptitude. It's optional because many &debian; systems are servers which don't really have any need for a graphical user interface to do their job. Just be aware that the X system is completely separate from debian-installer, and in fact is much more complicated. Installation and trouble shooting of the X window installation is not within the scope of this manual.