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== Download ==
You can download the image from the following url.
http://eeepc.debian.net/debian/images/debian-eeepc.img, size ~16M (md5sum: http://eeepc.debian.net/debian/images/debian-eeepc.img.md5)
== Download installer image and putting it onto a USB stick ==
Download our installer image from http://eeepc.debian.net/debian/images/debian-eeepc.img, size ~16M (md5sum: http://eeepc.debian.net/debian/images/debian-eeepc.img.md5). This small image includes everything needed to start a Debian installation that will get other files over the network.
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Copy it onto your USB stick or SD card in the normal way with {{{dd}}} (making sure any existing filesystems on the device are unmounted with 'umount' first -- check this with 'df'). You need a small USB stick to put the installer on. Data previously on the stick will be destroyed. Copy the image onto your USB stick or SD card with {{{dd}}}. Do '''not''' mount the stick for that. (Make sure any existing filesystems on the device are '''unmounted''' with 'umount' first -- check this with 'df'.)

Translations: [:DebianEeePCFrench/HowTo/Install:French] [:DebianEeePCGerman/HowTo/Install:German] [:DebianEeePCPortuguese/HowTo/Install:Portuguese]

?TableOfContents

Backup

Methods to backup and restore the Eee PC are found here [:DebianEeePC/TipsAndTricks#head-53ebdb32e424e402e323ecd03f15a1d8dfb37f64:?TipsAndTricks]

Determine your model#

Please find the page for your exact model# in [:DebianEeePC/Models] and read it first. While we are trying to make the installer "just work" for all models, Asus releases new models at a dizzying pace, often with deceptively similar-looking model#s that have entirely different hardware in them, and some of these require extra work to get everything working. (See also the [#head-c35393e4066043be24fc767cf2497ad2e6bf2910 Configuring Wireless] section below.)

Selecting the appropriate install method

  1. The usual way to install Debian Lenny on an Eee PC is to install directly to the internal SSD from an USB key, hard drive or SD/SDHC card over the network as described below. If you want more information or the source to build our custom installer see [:DebianEeePC/Source/CustomInstaller:here].

  2. If you want to install to a USB key or SD/SDHC card, read this document first and then follow ["DebianEeePC/HowTo/InstallOnSDcardOrUsbStick"].

  3. If you have special needs not currently addressed by any of the above methods, such as no network access, pppoe, lvm, crypto or accessibility, follow [:DebianEeePC/HowTo/InstallUsingStandardInstaller:standard installer] instead.

  4. If you have no USB key, external hard drive, SD/SDHC card or CD/DVD-ROM, for some models it's possible to boot the standard installer over the network (though you currently need a USB ethernet adaptor). See ["DebianEeePC/HowTo/InstallUsingNetboot"].

Download installer image and putting it onto a USB stick

Download our installer image from http://eeepc.debian.net/debian/images/debian-eeepc.img, size ~16M (md5sum: http://eeepc.debian.net/debian/images/debian-eeepc.img.md5). This small image includes everything needed to start a Debian installation that will get other files over the network.

You need a small USB stick to put the installer on. Data previously on the stick will be destroyed. Copy the image onto your USB stick or SD card with dd. Do not mount the stick for that. (Make sure any existing filesystems on the device are unmounted with 'umount' first -- check this with 'df'.)

dd if=debian-eeepc.img of=/dev/<YOUR-USB-DEVICE>
sync

Note: <YOUR-USB-DEVICE> = the whole device, not a device partition (e.g. /dev/sdX NOT /dev/sdX1). Make sure you use the primary name of the device and not an alias (often used by internal SD card readers, check with dmesg). Make sure the USB/SD is NOT mounted.

Use the following command to find out the proper device name:

ls -l /dev/disk/by-id/usb*

For Windows use dd 0.6 beta 2 for windows http://webconverger.com/dd.exe (official page http://www.chrysocome.net/dd) to copy it onto your USB stick or SD card. X: is the drive letter of your USB stick or SD card

dd if=debian-eeepc.img od=X:

You may have noticed that you are using the entire device without a partition table. This works because the BIOS knows how to boot directly from FAT partitions. This boot mode is called "superfloppy" mode and is supported by the Eee PC BIOS for USB devices and SD cards.

Boot your eeepc with the stick in a port and hit escape to get a menu to chose which device to boot from. Once booted into the install, proceed as you would normally. Just install a standard system, you can add the software you want later on.

Configuring Wireless

Once you get to the network section of the installer you should be presented with two devices to chose from. eth0 is your ethernet and ath0 or ra0 are your wireless devices. Currently for 701, (but not 701SD,) 900, 900A and 901GO users, either open/wep/wpa are options for installing. For users with ra0, (901, 1000, 1000HD,) wep is known not to work, but wpa may work depending on your access point.

Note: if wireless install fails, you can continue the installation normally with ethernet. The installer should now install the correct modules for your wireless card. (wether you use it during install or not. It will not set it up in interfaces file though, unless you successfully install via wireless)

You will need to know the ESSID of your access point as the installer does not give you a list of AP's to chose from. After entering the ESSID it will ask for your wep key if needed or if you chose WPA, then your passphrase. (WPA enterprise is not supported). Remember to preceed with 's:' if its an ascii string for your wep key.

It will then try and get a dhcp lease from the access point, and if that fails, it will give you the option to configure the network manually. (If you have static ip's for your network, I presume you know what to do here.)

From here on in, it's all as per normal for a Debian install.

Partitioning and swap

It is fine to use ext3 as your filesystem, which is the default. See http://wiki.eeeuser.com/ssd_write_limit for a compelling argument that you're not going to kill your flash drive by the small percentage of extra writes that a journaling filesystem will add over the lifespan of the drive. You may wish to do without swap simply because it will save space on the relatively small SSD in the Eee. Also ["DebianEeePC/TipsAndTricks"] links to some tuning tips if after reading this article you're still concerned about write life-span.

If you still need swap for suspend-to-disk, for instance, then you can create a swap file and not use it for swaping. This is explained [http://demenzia.net/2008/02/22/using-suspend-to-disk-with-eeexubuntu-on-a-eeepc there].

Tasksel

  • After a while the installer presents you a list of tasks to install software for.
  • It is OK to install only standard and install other software you might want later on.
  • For a really minimal system you can even omit standard.
  • Lenny D-I RC1 should support task selection as boot option, you can now choose the default desktop task by appending such boot option: 'desktop=lxde' or 'desktop=xfce'.

Further Configuration

When you boot for the first time, wireless will be automatically brought up using the same AP and key that you used during install (provided you installed over wireless). To change the settings for this, you need to edit your /etc/network/interfaces file. See man interfaces for more information on this, or see ["DebianEeePC/HowTo/Wifi"].

After installing the Eee, you may wish to ["DebianEeePC/HowTo/Configure"] the system for some other things to work, e.g. the webcam and Xorg tuning.

Upgrades

Note: When you upgrade, you should keep an eye on ["DebianEeePC/HowTo/Upgrade"] as we will add there any issues that might arise as things change in the archives.

Getting Help

If you have problems please join us on #debian-eeepc on oftc, or you can alternatively ask on the mailing list.