Hi Barid --
> I assumed that the logical approach would be to download the source to
> dpkg and dpkg-ftp, install them, and then install some of the more
> critical pacakges via ftp.
Well, the better thing to do is to
-- download boot1440.bin, root.bin,
base14-1.bin, base14-2.bin, and base14-3.bin (or the 1220 equivalents
if you use a 5.25" floppy) from the buzz-fixed/disks-i386/current/
directory, then
-- copy those files to floppies using rawrite (or dd since
you already have Slackware going), then
-- boot with the boot floppy, follow directions in the menu
interface to set up a new partition, and it will install a Debian system
(including dpkg and dpkg-ftp), etc. for you.
> I've been over the FAQ, both the old and the new, at least thirteen times
> and saw nothing of relevance. Do I need to do a 'touch
> /var/lib/dpkg/status' or something? What's the file *for*?
(That means we need to fix the FAQ somehow.)
The file /var/lib/dpkg/status keeps track of what you've got on your system.
It has entries like this:
Package: vim
Status: install ok installed
Priority: optional
Section: editors
Maintainer: D.J. Gregor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Version: 3.0-5
Description: VI iMproved - enhanced vi editor
Vim is an almost compatible version of the UNIX editor vi. Only the 'Q'
command is missing (you don't need it). Many new features have been added:
multi level undo, command line history, filename completion, block operations,
etc. See /usr/doc/vim/difference.doc for more information.
The critical line is the "Status" line. If you were to execute the
command
dpkg --status vim
you'd see that stanza printed out on your screen.
Hope that's some help.
Susan Kleinmann
