
	Network Setup You get to choose your hostname (the name for your computer). You can name it whatever you want. I called mine shtick. It will then ask if you are connected to a network. If you are, or if you use a modem to connect to the internet and have a static IP address, choose "yes". If you use a modem and have a dynamic IP address, or are not connected to any type of network, choose "no". You may or may not have to enter a domain for your computer. If you are setting up this Linux box in a school, office, or any place that might have its own domain, use it. If you use a modem to connect, you can set the domain to whatever you want. If you said "yes" to the "Are you connected to a network" you will be asked for an IP address, netmask, broadcast, gateway, and name server addreses. You will also be asked to confirm this information. It will then ask you for your primary interface: eth0 - Ethernet Device 0 tr0 - Token Ring Device 0 ppp - Dialup slip - Serial line connection plip - Parallel port connection That's about it for the kernel and device drivers. Now, find those seven disks that you made earlier. It's time to install the base system. This is also very easy. Choose /dev/fd0 and install all of the disks. After that, you will choose your timezone and whether or not your computer's clock is set to GMT (probably not). Now, if you are also running Windows 3.1/95/98, you can make Linux bootable directly from your hard drive. If you want to do this, instead of using a boot disk, select "Make Linux Bootable Directly From Hard Disk". However, you may not want Linux to be booted by default. If you want Windows to boot by default instead, choose "No" for the question "Do you want Linux to boot on startup?". If you are using Windows NT, DO NOT tell it to boot off of your hard drive! In any case, make a boot disk just in case something goes wrong. Windows NT users check here to find out how to boot Linux on your machine. After you reboot, and all of the memory has been checked, you will see some text that says LILO. That stands for LInux LOader. To boot into Linux hit the control key <Ctrl> at the "LILO", prompt and it will change to something like "LILO:". You can hit <Tab> to see your options (most likely they will be "dos" and "linux"). To boot Linux, you can type in "linux" and hit enter. To boot Windows, you can hit <Ctrl> and type "dos" or just wait a couple of seconds. After Linux boots, it will ask you for a root password. The root user can control EVERYTHING that goes on in your system. So, if I were you, I would not make the password easily guessable. Since Linux is cAsE-sEnSiTiVe your password may contain lower and upper-case letters, numbers, and symbols. Make a good password, like Lnx4Evr!. After you set root's password, you will create an ordinary user, because you do not want to do everything as root. If you do, there is a greater chance of messing everything up. Since my name is Joey A. Mendoza, I made a user called jam. It will then ask you if you want shadow password support. Shadow passwords are more secure so you might as well choose "yes". You are also given the option to remove PCMCIA support, choose "yes" (assuming you didn't install Linux on a laptop). You now have the option of installing different profiles. Here is where things can get tricky. If you are not connected to a network with internet access and don't have a Debian 2.1 CD, you will have to configure your internet connection. The base system has a program called pppconfig which will help you set up PPP (Dialup). Make sure to answer "provider" when it asks you for the name of your dialup connection. Hopefully, the pppconfig program will walk you through a pain-free PPP connection setup. Now for a crash course in editing... The base installation comes with ae and vi. "ae" is very simple to use. You invoke it by typing ae <filename>. Edit /etc/ppp/peers/provider and replace `/dev/modem` with `/dev/ttyS#` where # stands for the number of your serial port. In Linux, serial ports are counted from 0. Your first serial port (i.e., COM1) is /dev/ttyS0 under Linux. The next step is to edit /etc/chatscripts/provider and insert your provider's phone number, your user-name and password. Please do not delete the '\q' that precedes the password. It hides the password from appearing in your log files. Then, as root, run "pon" to start dialing and use "plog" to see what's going on. "poff" will end the session. If you have a Winmodem, you are in trouble. Winmodems will not run in Linux. If you get connected, go read the dselect tutorial, then run the command "dselect" to start Debian's package manager.

Network Setup

You get to choose your hostname (the name for your computer). You can name it whatever you want. I called mine shtick. It will then ask if you are connected to a network. If you are, or if you use a modem to connect to the internet and have a static IP address, choose "yes". If you use a modem and have a dynamic IP address, or are not connected to any type of network, choose "no".

You may or may not have to enter a domain for your computer. If you are setting up this Linux box in a school, office, or any place that might have its own domain, use it. If you use a modem to connect, you can set the domain to whatever you want. If you said "yes" to the "Are you connected to a network" you will be asked for an IP address, netmask, broadcast, gateway, and name server addreses. You will also be asked to confirm this information.

It will then ask you for your primary interface:
eth0 - Ethernet Device 0
tr0 - Token Ring Device 0
ppp - Dialup
slip - Serial line connection
plip - Parallel port connection

That's about it for the kernel and device drivers. Now, find those seven disks that you made earlier. It's time to install the base system.

This is also very easy. Choose /dev/fd0 and install all of the disks.
After that, you will choose your timezone and whether or not your computer's clock is set to GMT (probably not).

Now, if you are also running Windows 3.1/95/98, you can make Linux bootable directly from your hard drive. If you want to do this, instead of using a boot disk, select "Make Linux Bootable Directly From Hard Disk". However, you may not want Linux to be booted by default. If you want Windows to boot by default instead, choose "No" for the question "Do you want Linux to boot on startup?". If you are using Windows NT, DO NOT tell it to boot off of your hard drive! In any case, make a boot disk just in case something goes wrong. Windows NT users check here to find out how to boot Linux on your machine.

After you reboot, and all of the memory has been checked, you will see some text that says LILO. That stands for LInux LOader. To boot into Linux hit the control key <Ctrl> at the "LILO", prompt and it will change to something like "LILO:". You can hit <Tab> to see your options (most likely they will be "dos" and "linux"). To boot Linux, you can type in "linux" and hit enter. To boot Windows, you can hit <Ctrl> and type "dos" or just wait a couple of seconds.

After Linux boots, it will ask you for a root password. The root user can control EVERYTHING that goes on in your system. So, if I were you, I would not make the password easily guessable. Since Linux is cAsE-sEnSiTiVe your password may contain lower and upper-case letters, numbers, and symbols. Make a good password, like Lnx4Evr!. After you set root's password, you will create an ordinary user, because you do not want to do everything as root. If you do, there is a greater chance of messing everything up. Since my name is Joey A. Mendoza, I made a user called jam.

It will then ask you if you want shadow password support. Shadow passwords are more secure so you might as well choose "yes". You are also given the option to remove PCMCIA support, choose "yes" (assuming you didn't install Linux on a laptop).

You now have the option of installing different profiles. Here is where things can get tricky. If you are not connected to a network with internet access and don't have a Debian 2.1 CD, you will have to configure your internet connection.

The base system has a program called pppconfig which will help you set up PPP (Dialup). Make sure to answer "provider" when it asks you for the name of your dialup connection. Hopefully, the pppconfig program will walk you through a pain-free PPP connection setup.

Now for a crash course in editing... The base installation comes with ae and vi. "ae" is very simple to use. You invoke it by typing ae <filename>.

Edit /etc/ppp/peers/provider and replace /dev/modem with /dev/ttyS# where # stands for the number of your serial port. In Linux, serial ports are counted from 0. Your first serial port (i.e., COM1) is /dev/ttyS0 under Linux. The next step is to edit /etc/chatscripts/provider and insert your provider's phone number, your user-name and password. Please do not delete the '\q' that precedes the password. It hides the password from appearing in your log files. Then, as root, run "pon" to start dialing and use "plog" to see what's going on. "poff" will end the session. If you have a Winmodem, you are in trouble. Winmodems will not run in Linux. If you get connected, go read the dselect tutorial, then run the command "dselect" to start Debian's package manager.