path: root/en/hardware/installation-media.xml

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<!-- $Id$ -->

 <sect1 id="installation-media">
 <title>Installation Media</title>

<para>

This section will help you determine which different media types you can use to
install &debian;. There is a whole chapter devoted to media,
<xref linkend="install-methods"/>, which lists the advantages and
disadvantages of each media type. You may want to refer back to this page once
you reach that section.

</para>

  <sect2 condition="supports-floppy-boot"><title>Floppies</title>
<para>

In some cases, you'll have to do your first boot from floppy disks.
Generally, all you will need is a
high-density (1440 kilobytes) 3.5 inch floppy drive.

</para><para arch="powerpc">

For CHRP, floppy support is currently broken.

</para>
  </sect2>

  <sect2 arch="not-s390"><title>CD-ROM/DVD-ROM/BD-ROM</title>

<note><para>

Whenever you see <quote>CD-ROM</quote> in this manual, it applies to
all of CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs and BD-ROMs, because all these technologies
are really the same from the operating system's point of view.

</para></note><para>

CD-ROM based installation is supported for most architectures.

</para><para arch="x86">

On PCs SATA, IDE/ATAPI, USB and SCSI CD-ROMs are supported, as are
FireWire devices that are supported by the ohci1394 and sbp2 drivers.

</para>

<!-- This is not true on today's hardware
<para arch="arm">

IDE/ATAPI CD-ROMs are supported on all ARM machines.

</para>
-->

<para arch="mips">

On SGI machines, booting from CD-ROM requires a SCSI CD-ROM drive
capable of working with a logical blocksize of 512 bytes. Many of the
SCSI CD-ROM drives sold on the PC market do not have this
capability. If your CD-ROM drive has a jumper labeled
<quote>Unix/PC</quote> or <quote>512/2048</quote>, place it in the
<quote>Unix</quote> or <quote>512</quote> position.
To start the install, simply choose the <quote>System installation</quote>
entry in the firmware.

</para>
  </sect2>

  <sect2 condition="bootable-usb"><title>USB Memory Stick</title>

<para>

USB flash disks a.k.a. USB memory sticks have become a commonly used
and cheap storage device. Most modern computer systems also allow
booting the &d-i; from such a stick. Many modern computer systems, in
particular netbooks and thin laptops, do not have a CD/DVD-ROM drive
anymore at all and booting from USB media is the standard way of
installing a new operating system on them.

</para>
  </sect2>

  <sect2><title>Network</title>

<para>

The network can be used during the installation to retrieve files needed
for the installation. Whether the network is used or not depends on the
installation method you choose and your answers to certain questions that
will be asked during the installation. The installation system supports
most types of network connections (including PPPoE, but not ISDN or PPP),
via either HTTP or FTP. After the installation is completed, you can also
configure your system to use ISDN and PPP.

</para><para condition="supports-tftp">

You can also <emphasis>boot</emphasis> the installation system over the
network without needing any local media like CDs/DVDs or USB sticks.  If
you already have a netboot-infrastructure available (i.e.  you are already
running DHCP and TFTP services in your network), this allows an easy and fast
deployment of a large number of machines.  Setting up the necessary
infrastructure requires a certain level of technical experience, so this is
not recommended for novice users.

<phrase arch="mips;mipsel">This is the preferred installation technique
for &arch-title;.</phrase>

</para><para condition="supports-nfsroot">

Diskless installation, using network booting from a local area network
and NFS-mounting of all local filesystems, is another option.

</para>
  </sect2>


  <sect2><title>Hard Disk</title>

<para>

Booting the installation system directly from a hard disk is another option
for many architectures. This will require some other operating system
to load the installer onto the hard disk. This method is only recommended
for special cases when no other installation method is available.

</para><para arch="sparc">

Although the &arch-title; does not allow booting from SunOS
(Solaris), you can install from a SunOS partition (UFS slices).

</para>
  </sect2>


  <sect2><title>Un*x or GNU system</title>

<para>

If you are running another Unix-like system, you could use it to install
&debian-gnu; without using the &d-i; described in the rest of this
manual. This kind of install may be useful for users with otherwise
unsupported hardware or on hosts which can't afford downtime.  If you
are interested in this technique, skip to the <xref
linkend="linux-upgrade"/>. This installation method is only recommended
for advanced users when no other installation method is available.

</para>
  </sect2>

  <sect2><title>Supported Storage Systems</title>

<para>

The &debian; installer contains a kernel which is built to maximize the
number of systems it runs on.
</para><para arch="x86">
Generally, the &debian; installation system includes support for IDE (also
known as PATA) drives, SATA and SCSI controllers and drives, USB, and
FireWire.  The supported file systems include FAT, Win-32 FAT extensions
(VFAT) and NTFS.


<!--
</para><para arch="i386">

Disk interfaces that emulate the <quote>AT</quote> hard disk interface
&mdash; often called MFM, RLL, IDE, or PATA &mdash; are supported.  SATA and
SCSI disk controllers from many different manufacturers are supported. See the
<ulink url="&url-hardware-howto;">Linux Hardware Compatibility HOWTO</ulink>
for more details.
-->

</para><para arch="sparc">

Any storage system supported by the Linux kernel is also supported by
the boot system. The following SCSI drivers are supported in the default
kernel:

<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>

Sparc ESP

</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>

PTI Qlogic,ISP

</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>

Adaptec AIC7xxx

</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>

NCR and Symbios 53C8XX

</para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>

IDE systems (such as the UltraSPARC 5) are also supported. See
<ulink url="&url-sparc-linux-faq;">Linux for SPARC Processors FAQ</ulink>
for more information on SPARC hardware supported by the Linux kernel.

</para><para arch="powerpc">

Any storage system supported by the Linux kernel is also supported by
the boot system.  Note that the current Linux kernel does not support
floppies on CHRP systems at all.

</para><para arch="hppa">

Any storage system supported by the Linux kernel is also supported by
the boot system.  Note that the current Linux kernel does not support
the floppy drive.

</para><para arch="mips;mipsel">

Any storage system supported by the Linux kernel is also supported by
the boot system.

</para><para arch="s390">

Any storage system supported by the Linux kernel is also supported by
the boot system.  This means that FBA and ECKD DASDs are supported with
the old Linux disk layout (ldl) and the new common S/390 disk layout (cdl).

</para>

  </sect2>

 </sect1>