Debian GNU/Linux Installation Guide Debian GNU/Linux Installation Guide Copyright © 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 the Debian Installer team This document contains installation instructions for the Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 system (codename “etch”), for the IA-64 (“ia64”) architecture. It also contains pointers to more information and information on how to make the most of your new Debian system. Note: Although this installation guide for ia64 is mostly up-to-date, we plan to make some changes and reorganize parts of the manual after the official release of etch. A newer version of this manual may be found on the Internet at the debian-installer home page (http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-installer/). You may also be able to find additional translations there. This manual is free software; you may redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License. Please refer to the license in Appendix F. Table of Contents Installing Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 For ia64 .....................................................................................ix 1. Welcome to Debian .........................................................................................................................1 1.1. What is Debian? ...................................................................................................................1 1.2. What is GNU/Linux? ...........................................................................................................2 1.3. What is Debian GNU/Linux?...............................................................................................3 1.4. Getting Debian .....................................................................................................................3 1.5. Getting the Newest Version of This Document....................................................................4 1.6. Organization of This Document...........................................................................................4 1.7. About Copyrights and Software Licenses............................................................................4 2. System Requirements .....................................................................................................................6 2.1. Supported Hardware.............................................................................................................6 2.1.1. Supported Architectures ..........................................................................................6 2.1.2. Graphics Card Support ............................................................................................7 2.1.3. Multiple Processors .................................................................................................7 2.2. Installation Media ................................................................................................................8 2.2.1. CD-ROM/DVD-ROM .............................................................................................8 2.2.2. Hard Disk.................................................................................................................8 2.2.3. Network ...................................................................................................................8 2.2.4. Un*x or GNU system ..............................................................................................8 2.2.5. Supported Storage Systems .....................................................................................9 2.3. Peripherals and Other Hardware ..........................................................................................9 2.4. Purchasing Hardware Specifically for GNU/Linux .............................................................9 2.4.1. Avoid Proprietary or Closed Hardware ...................................................................9 2.5. Memory and Disk Space Requirements...............................................................................9 2.6. Network Connectivity Hardware .......................................................................................10 2.6.1. Drivers Requiring Firmware..................................................................................10 3. Before Installing Debian GNU/Linux .........................................................................................11 3.1. Overview of the Installation Process..................................................................................11 3.2. Back Up Your Existing Data!.............................................................................................12 3.3. Information You Will Need................................................................................................12 3.3.1. Documentation ......................................................................................................12 3.3.1.1. Installation Manual ...................................................................................12 3.3.1.2. Hardware documentation..........................................................................12 3.3.2. Finding Sources of Hardware Information............................................................12 3.3.3. Hardware Compatibility ........................................................................................14 3.3.4. Network Settings ...................................................................................................14 3.4. Meeting Minimum Hardware Requirements .....................................................................15 3.5. Pre-Partitioning for Multi-Boot Systems ...........................................................................15 3.6. Pre-Installation Hardware and Operating System Setup....................................................16 4. Obtaining System Installation Media .........................................................................................18 4.1. Official Debian GNU/Linux CD-ROM Sets ......................................................................18 4.2. Downloading Files from Debian Mirrors...........................................................................18 4.2.1. Where to Find Installation Images ........................................................................18 4.3. Preparing Files for TFTP Net Booting...............................................................................18 4.3.1. Setting up a BOOTP server ...................................................................................19 4.3.2. Setting up a DHCP server......................................................................................19 4.3.3. Enabling the TFTP Server .....................................................................................20 4.3.4. Move TFTP Images Into Place..............................................................................21 iii 4.4. Automatic Installation........................................................................................................21 4.4.1. Automatic Installation Using the Debian Installer ................................................21 5. Booting the Installation System...................................................................................................22 5.1. Booting the Installer on IA-64 ...........................................................................................22 5.1.1. Booting from a CD-ROM......................................................................................22 5.1.1.1. Option 1: Booting from the Boot Option Maintenance Menu..................23 5.1.1.2. Option 2: Booting from the EFI Shell ......................................................23 5.1.1.3. Installing using a Serial Console...............................................................24 5.1.1.4. Selecting the Boot Kernel and Options.....................................................24 5.1.2. Booting with TFTP................................................................................................25 5.1.2.1. Configuring the Server..............................................................................25 5.1.2.2. Configuring the Client ..............................................................................26 5.2. Boot Parameters .................................................................................................................26 5.2.1. Debian Installer Parameters...................................................................................27 5.2.1.1. Using boot parameters to answer questions..............................................29 5.2.1.2. Passing parameters to kernel modules ......................................................30 5.2.1.3. Blacklisting kernel modules......................................................................30 5.3. Troubleshooting the Installation Process ...........................................................................30 5.3.1. CD-ROM Reliability .............................................................................................30 5.3.1.1. Common issues .........................................................................................31 5.3.1.2. How to investigate and maybe solve issues ..............................................31 5.3.2. Boot Configuration ................................................................................................32 5.3.3. Interpreting the Kernel Startup Messages .............................................................33 5.3.4. Reporting Installation Problems............................................................................33