Debian GNU/Linux Installation Guide September 28, 2021 Debian GNU/Linux Installation Guide Copyright © 2004 – 2021 the Debian Installer team 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. Build version of this manual: 20210805. i Contents 1 Welcome to Debian 1 1.1 What is Debian? . 1 1.2 What is GNU/Linux? . 1 1.3 What is Debian GNU/Linux? . 2 1.4 What is Debian GNU/kFreeBSD? . 3 1.5 What is Debian GNU/Hurd? . 3 1.6 What is the Debian Installer? . 3 1.7 Getting Debian . 3 1.8 Getting the Newest Version of This Document . 3 1.9 Organization of This Document . 4 1.10 Your Documentation Help is Welcome . 4 1.11 About Copyrights and Software Licenses . 4 2 System Requirements 6 2.1 Supported Hardware . 6 2.1.1 Supported Architectures . 6 2.1.2 Three different ARM ports . 7 2.1.3 Variations in ARM CPU designs and support complexity . 7 2.1.4 Platforms supported by Debian/armhf . 7 2.1.5 Multiple Processors . 9 2.1.6 Graphics Hardware Support . 9 2.1.7 Network Connectivity Hardware . 9 2.1.8 Peripherals and Other Hardware . 9 2.2 Devices Requiring Firmware . 9 2.3 Purchasing Hardware Specifically for GNU/Linux . 10 2.3.1 Avoid Proprietary or Closed Hardware . 10 2.4 Installation Media . 10 2.4.1 CD-ROM/DVD-ROM/BD-ROM . 10 2.4.2 Network . 10 2.4.3 Hard Disk . 11 2.4.4 Un*x or GNU system . 11 2.4.5 Supported Storage Systems . 11 2.5 Memory and Disk Space Requirements . 11 3 Before Installing Debian GNU/Linux 12 3.1 Overview of the Installation Process . 12 3.2 Back Up Your Existing Data! . 13 3.3 Information You Will Need . 13 3.3.1 Documentation . 13 3.3.1.1 Installation Manual . 13 3.3.1.2 Hardware documentation . 13 3.3.2 Finding Sources of Hardware Information . 13 3.3.3 Hardware Compatibility . 14 3.3.3.1 Testing hardware compatibility with a Live-System . 15 3.3.4 Network Settings . 15 3.4 Meeting Minimum Hardware Requirements . 15 3.5 Pre-Partitioning for Multi-Boot Systems . 16 3.6 Pre-Installation Hardware and Operating System Setup . 16 3.6.1 ARM firmware . 16 3.6.2 Debian-provided U-Boot (system firmware) images . 17 3.6.3 Setting the ethernet MAC address in U-Boot . 17 3.6.4 Kernel/Initrd/Device-Tree relocation issues in U-Boot . 17 ii CONTENTS 4 Obtaining System Installation Media 19 4.1 Official Debian GNU/Linux installation images . 19 4.2 Downloading Files from Debian Mirrors . 19 4.2.1 Where to Find Installation Files . 19 4.2.1.1 Armhf Multiplatform Installation Files . 19 4.3 Preparing Files for TFTP Net Booting . 20 4.3.1 Setting up RARP server . 20 4.3.2 Setting up a DHCP server . 20 4.3.3 Setting up a BOOTP server . 20 4.3.4 Enabling the TFTP Server . 21 4.3.5 Move TFTP Images Into Place . 21 4.4 Automatic Installation . 21 4.4.1 Automatic Installation Using the Debian Installer . 22 4.5 Verifying the integrity of installation files . 22 5 Booting the Installation System 23 5.1 Booting the Installer on 32-bit hard-float ARMv7 . 23 5.1.1 Boot image formats . 23 5.1.2 Console configuration . 23 5.1.3 Booting by TFTP . 23 5.1.3.1 TFTP-booting in U-Boot . 23 5.1.3.2 Pre-built netboot tarball . 24 5.1.4 Booting from a USB stick in U-Boot . 25 5.1.5 Using pre-built SD-card images with the installer . 25 5.2 Accessibility.............................................. 26 5.2.1 Installer front-end . 26 5.2.2 Board Devices . 26 5.2.3 High-Contrast Theme . 26 5.2.4 Zoom . 26 5.2.5 Expert install, rescue mode, automated install . 26 5.2.6 Accessibility of the installed system . 26 5.3 Boot Parameters . 26 5.3.1 Boot console . 27 5.3.2 Debian Installer Parameters . 27 5.3.3 Using boot parameters to answer questions . 29 5.3.4 Passing parameters to kernel modules . 29 5.3.5 Blacklisting kernel modules . 30 5.4 Troubleshooting the Installation Process . 30 5.4.1 Reliability of optical media . 30 5.4.1.1 Common issues . 30 5.4.1.2 How to investigate and maybe solve issues . 30 5.4.2 Boot Configuration . 32 5.4.3 Interpreting the Kernel Startup Messages . 32 5.4.4 Reporting Installation Problems . 32 5.4.5 Submitting Installation Reports . 32 6 Using the Debian Installer 34 6.1 How the Installer Works . 34 6.1.1 Using the graphical installer . 34.