On Tue, 8 Dec 1998, Patrice Bertrand wrote: > I have installed Linux on my laptop and i have now to use 'dselect' > to install X and others packages. Problem : i can't find my way and >i'm stuck with dselect from the beginning. I've downloaded the file >'Dselect documentation for beginners' from debian.org but it's not >very helpful. (e.g. : when I go to select i can't understand anything >from the different menus and the differents options. For instance, >what's the difference between 'Install from a hard disk partition >partion (NOT YET MOUNTED)' and 'Install from a filesystem which is >already mounted'. Which one should I pick up since i've just installed >Debian from floppies?) > Basically, I'm looking for : > - a manual which explains carefully and with examples what to do >when using dselect. > - if this is not available, is it possible to have a few >directions about how to install X Windows with dselect, notably the very >first steps -something in plain english for idiots or retardos. (What i >have now on my lap-top computer is plain Linux. I can't use a CD ROM and >can't yet get access to the Internet since I don't know how to setup my >PCMCIA card. For now my priority is to install X Windows, the Mouse and >have some graphical interface to navigate through Linux). > Thanks for your help! >
I don't know of any good documentation, but I might can give you a couple of pointers. dselect is a "front-end" to dpkg. dpkg is the real installer/uninstaller. Apt is the next generation front-end to replace dselect, but it's not quite ready for prime-time. You're right; dselect is not easy to use. In case you don't understand it, you can't use dselect to install software unless it's pointed to a repository of that software. Accordingly, you need to use the Access option to tell dselect how to access that software. When you choose to install from a hardrive (not yet mounted), I believe you'll be given the option to "mount" the hard drive so it can be read by the system. Then that drive has become "an already-mounted file system". Unless you've downloaded .deb files (maybe from a Windows partition, etc) to your local harddrive, these two options probably don't apply to you. However, I see that you can't use a CD or the network, so you're kind of up a tree without a paddle (or whatever the idiom is). Without the appropriate .debs, you can't install X-Windows, etc, just like you can't install Doom or Wordperfect on a Windows machine without the appropriate installation software. You really need to get a CD working and use a Debian CD, or better yet, get your network access up. Maybe someone more knowledgeable on the list can help you with that. -- Kent West [EMAIL PROTECTED] KC5ENO - Amateur Radio: When all else fails. Linux - Finally! A real OS for the Intel PC! "Life is an ongoing classroom." - Capt. James T. Kirk, "Dreadnought"
