To find the nearest (and thus probably the fastest) mirror, see the list of Debian mirrors.
When downloading files from a Debian mirror, be sure to download the files in binary mode, not text or automatic mode. It's important to replicate the directory structure you find on the mirror to create a local `sub-mirror'. It isn't really necessary to do this if you place all the installation files on floppies; but it still makes it easier to find the files when you need them. You should start your local directory structure at the level under installer-m68k, for example:
current/images/subarchitecture/netboot/initrd.gz |
You don't need to download every file under that level, just those that apply to you (you'll find out which ones apply as you read on). Just name the directories the same as the mirror's, and keep the files in their proper directories.
If your machine is set up to automatically decompress/decode files you download, you must turn that feature off when downloading the installation system files. They will be decompressed just-in-time by the installer. Decompressing in your current system will waste space and time, and if the original compressed archives are deleted by the decompression program, they won't be there later when the installer needs them.
This is particularly true on the Macintosh, where .bin files are interpreted to be MacBinary, and the decoder's attempts to convert them will fail noisily.
For m68k (except VME), the installation system files (rescue.bin, linux.bin, root.bin, and drivers.tgz) have been compiled into one tarball. You may also need the base system installation file basedebs.tar.
If you have a working Ethernet connection on the computer, and your Ethernet card is of one of the types compiled into the installation kernel, you may only need the install system tarball.
If you are installing on a system without a working network connection, or if your network connection is via PPP (using a modem) rather than Ethernet, you will also need to download basedebs.tar before starting the installation.
Installation files include kernel images, which are available for various subarchitectures. Each subarchitecture supports a different set of hardware. The kernel config files for these subarchitectures can be found in their respective directories in a file named kernel-config. The subarchitectures available for Motorola 680x0 are:
There is only one install kernel available for Motorola 680x0 , which should include sufficient functionality to install on all systems. It is unlikely to be optimised for your particular hardware, and you might consider replacing it once installation is complete. In particular, this kernel does not support SMP.
The kernel config files for these kernels can be found in their respective directories in a file named config.gz.
For Amiga, Atari, and 68k Mac, the install system files have been compiled into one tarball. You will download the appropriate tarball listed in Paragraaf 4.2.3.1, “AmigaOS Installation Files”, Paragraaf 4.2.3.2, “Atari TOS Installation Files ”, or Paragraaf 4.2.3.3, “68k MacOS Installation Files”. Only VME machines will need the separate boot, root, kernel and drivers files.
The boot image contains a compressed Linux boot kernel. It is used for both floppy disk booting (when transferred to a floppy) and as the source for the Linux kernel when the kernel is being installed on your machine. The kernel binary vmlinuz is an uncompressed binary kernel. It is used when booting the installer from the hard disk, usb stick, network or CD-ROM, and is not needed for floppy installer booting.
Refer to Paragraaf 4.3, “Creating Floppies from Disk Images” for important information on properly creating floppy disks from floppy images.
The root floppy image root.img contains a compressed RAMdisk filesystem which gets loaded into memory after you boot the installer.
The peripheral drivers may be downloaded as a series of floppy images or as a tarball (drivers.tgz). The installer system will need access to the drivers file during installation. If you have a hard drive partition or connected computer which will be accessible to the installer (see below), the tarball will be more convenient to handle. The floppy image files are needed only if you must install the drivers from floppies.
When downloading files, you should also pay attention to the type of file system you are downloading them to, unless you will use floppies for the kernel and drivers. The installer can read files from many kinds of file systems, including FAT, HFS, ext2fs, and Minix. When downloading files to a *nix file system, choose the largest possible files from the archive.
During the installation, you will erase the partition(s) on which you are installing Debian before beginning the installation. All downloaded files must be placed on partitions other than those on which you are planning to install the system.
Instead of the boot, root, and driver files above, just download .../current/amigainstall.tar.gz .
Unpack .../current/amigainstall.tar.gz into a partition with at least 25MB free. We recommend you unpack it into a directory named debian. The .../current/amigainstall.tar.gz will create an amiga subdirectory.
Write down the Linux partition name for the location where your new debian directory is. See Paragraaf A.4, “Device Names in Linux” for more information on Linux partition naming.
Instead of the boot, root, and driver files above, just download .../current/atariinstall.tar.gz .
Unpack .../current/atariinstall.tar.gz into a partition with at least 25 MB free. We recommend you unpack it into a directory named debian.
After unpacking, you should have an atari subdirectory. Do not rename any files in this directory.
Write down the Linux partition name for the location where your new debian directory is. See Paragraaf A.4, “Device Names in Linux” for more information on Linux partition naming.
Instead of the boot, root, and driver files above, just download .../current/macinstall.tar.gz .
Unpack .../current/macinstall.tar.gz into a partition with at least 25 MB free. We recommend you unpack it into a directory named debian. Use Stuffit Expander (at least version 5.5) or MacGZip to extract it from its archive.
After unpacking, you should have a mac subdirectory. Do not rename any files in this directory. Do not allow your decompression program to decompress drivers.tgz.
Write down the Linux partition name for the location where your new debian directory is. See Paragraaf A.4, “Device Names in Linux” for more information on Linux partition naming.