Ok, i really want to try debian

However i cannot figure out howto download the iso's, i have been to http://www.debian.org/CD/http-ftp/ , just takes me to a page with allot of folders (parent directery etc.) and alot of files.

Its confusing me becouse normally there is only 1 iso per cd (ie. mandrake has 3 iso's),

i do not know what to download.. anyone mind pointing me in the right direction?

Thx, ~ryan

If you've had experience installing linux without a GUI before, look for the sarge netinst iso. It's a net install for Debian Sarge (testing). Otherwise, if you think that's a bit over your head, grab a copy of Ubuntu which is a nice looking debian, without the text based installer.

For the sarge netinst, your local uni or isp should have a copy. For instance, if you were in Australia you could try mirror.pacific.net.au...
You'll also need to know what iso you'll need to download- if you're running a Pentium 4 for example grab i686 iso for best performance.

Hope that helps.
Dave.

AFAIK the Ubuntu installer is based on the Sarge installer, and is a TUI (Text User Interface) and not GUI. But IMO it's as user friendly as GUI installers. Try Debian, installation is the same as Ubuntu, and you'll get the real thing

Also AFAIK there is no i686 iso for Sarge. You'll have to download and install the i386 iso. After the installation you can install a newer i686 kernel.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

non of that really helps me at all guyz...

How do i actually download it? and why is it not all just in acouple of iso's?

Check this link:

http://cdimage.debian.org/pub/weekly/i386/

This contains the weekly snapshots of the ISOs in the testing branch for i386.

Contains 14 CDs. You might also want to check out different mirrors/FTP sites.

How to use those links:

To download, right-click, copy the link, then fire your favourite download manager and start downloading. Heed the warning on the page that you shouldn't really use your browser to download since you cannot resume broken downloads.

Unless you have a slow connection there is no need for all those CDs.
Instead do a net install, in which you download a 100 MB CD which will give you the base install, and than download and install the most updated software (for the "testing" branch).

Download the iso from here: http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-installer/
I guess you should select "i386" under the title: "netinst CD image".

Before you start, look on this forum for 2 posts by "macondo". One on inatalling sarge and the other on post install (this one is a sticky at the top of this forum)...

Good luck.

I think that's its easier to resume a normal ISO download than resume a interrupted netinstall especially in case you live in an area where you might experience frequent power cuts (like I do).

My motto is to keep the duration of installation as short as possible

Anyway, your choice.

well what do you know yotamk, you're right. :S

Apologies. Perhaps i'll go back to being a newb now...

Well, I'm still a newb... It's safer

well im an idiot, i have just read through the stickie and it tells me everything i need to know.

Thx for all the help