I just installed Debian Woody.

Problem 1: APT fails to connect to any of the mirrors (times out). I can manually go to the URL using lynx without problem.

Problem 2: When I type 'startx' or 'startkde', I get 'command not found' and when I type 'init 5,' a message comes on that says 'switching to run level 5' but nothing changes, it's still at the command prompt. The install disk said that KDE and GNOME were going to be installed.

Any advice?

Advice? Install Debian Sarge. (see my signature)

Maybe try apt-get xwindow system or apt-get gnome or kde using cd as source just to make sure it is installed. Or maybe do as seporo says and install debian, unless you have a good reason not to.

1. How does your /etc/apt/sources.list file look like?


2. Debian doesn't use runlevels like e.g. RedHat does. "Everything" runs in runlevel 2 already. Runlevels 3, 4 and 5 doesn't do anything additional.
If you wish to restart the display manager (kdm, gdm, xdm, ...), execute /etc/init.d/kdm restart (replace kdm with gdm or xdm in that command if it is one of those you use)
If X isn't installed (or not quite properly as can happen when installing Debian 3.0 'woody'), execute apt-get install x-window-system


And for desktop/workstation purposes it is recommended currently to use Debian testing ('sarge') instead of that nearly three year old Debian 3.0 ('woody').

I would love to use 'apt-get install [whatever]', but it won't connect to any servers. I'm doing 'apt-setup' and trying them all, using FTP and HTTP.

I reinstalled Red Hat 9 and installed YUM and it won't connect either.

P.S. I'm installing Debian because RPM sucks...

The question is what your /etc/apt/sources.list looks like? That should determine why it can not connect. But everyone else who has stated it is correct, Debian Sarge is about to go stable, so there is really no reason to stay with Woody, it's ancient.

try again, need working network and floppy disk drive and floppy 3EA.

http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/dist...images/floppy/
http://www.debian.org/distrib/floppyinst

boot.img, root.img, net-drivers.img

insert floppy #1
cat boot.img > /dev/fd0

insert floppy #2
cat root.img > /dev/fd0

insert floppy #3
cat net-drivers.img > /dev/fd0

and reboot and boot with boot.img-floppy > root.img > net-drivers

and once installed, you must get familiar with aptitude
apt-get install aptitude
http://aptitude.sourceforge.net/screenshots.html

Wow, I've been using Debian for well over 2 years now and I never knew that!