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Traditional Computer

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Preparing a USB Boot Disk

We need to create a USB flash drive that has everything required to boot into an operating system installation.  You will need to obtain a USB flash drive that is at least 4GB. We will use Ventoy, an open-source utility that makes it easy to create a bootable USB flash drive.

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First, we will need to download the latest version from their downloads page.  We need to download the Windows ZIP and extract it with the Windows compression utility. Using the Ventoy application, we can install it onto our flash drive.

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They provide more in-depth installation procedures should you need them.

 

Downloading Debian

Next, we need to get an installation disk image for our desires Linux distribution.  For the broadest compatibility we'll be using Debian, the "universal operating system".  This operating system can act as the foundation for many different Desktop Environments, which control the user interface and experience.  This is mostly a matter of personal preference and can affect which applications and services are automatically installed

Common desktop environments include:
GNOME, Plasma, Xfce, LXDE, LXQt, MATE and Cinnamon.  Debian uses the GNOME desktop environment by default and what we will be using for our server.

Before we can install Debian on our computer, we must first download the appropriate installation image.  The full offline installation image for Debian can be used to install it on any machine. Download the appropriate ISO file via HTTP or BitTorrent.

The AMD64 DVD installer will work for most cases. 

 

Finalizing the USB Boot Disk

Once downloaded, it needs to be copied to the USB flash drive. This can be accomplished by opening Windows Explorer and navigating to the USB drive named Ventoy.   Copy the downloaded ISO file to this mounted drive.

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You now have a USB flash drive that can be used to install Debian Linux on most traditional computer systems.

Starting the Installer

In order to install Debian Linux, we need to boot into our newly created Ventoy flash drive.  Due to a lack of standardization, different hardware will go about this differently. 

Refer to your computer or motherboard manual for more information.

Most commonly, the boot device can be selected by hitting a specific key while the computer is starting up. This can be the Delete, Escape, F1, F7, F11 or F12 key. 


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    These

  • are some common keyboard commands to enter the boot menu by manufacturer:


  • F8
  • Acer:

  • HP: 
  • Lenovo: 
  • Samsung: 
  • ASRock:ASRock F11
    Asus F8
    ASUS:Acer Esc, F9 or F12
    Dell:Dell F12
    GigabyteF12
    Gigabyte:HP Esc or F9
    Intel:Intel F10
    LenovoF10 F8 or F12
    MSI:MSI F11
    Samsung Esc or F2
    Toshiba:Toshiba F12

    Some media keyboards require that you press an FN key located along the bottom row in order to activate the function keys.

    Installing Debian Linux

    Hardwire the computer to your router using a cat6e cable. 

    Boot in normal mode

    Graphical install

    Preferred language

    Location

    Keyboard

    Detects hardware and loads required files

    Network connection lan or wifi

    Hostname

    Domain name

    Password - root

    Full name, User name

    Password - user

    Time zone

    Detect disks

    Guided - contiguous, guided - entire, lvm, encrypted lvm, manual

    Contiguous - all files in one partition

    Accept changes

    Use a network mirror

    Usage survey opt in

    Choose interface - Gnome

    Add SSH

    Installing process

    Finish install

    Remove USB and restart

    Finalizing Installation

    Login

    Initial setup screen

    Welcome
    Typing
    Privacy
    Start using Debian Linux

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