On Sun, Mar 4, 2018 at 10:31 PM, Clifford Ilkay via talk <talk@gtalug.org> wrote:
On Sun, Mar 4, 2018 at 8:53 AM, Steve Petrie, P.Eng. via talk <talk@gtalug.org> wrote:
I likely will be building the new PC at my friend's place. Before I teke the new PC home with me, to do all the work of installing debian Linux for regular use, I want to check the new PC to make sure that at least it can boot Linux and mess around with the hardware (e.g. create files).
 
System Rescue seems perfect to me, for doing this Linux compatibility pre-qualification at my friend's place.
 
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Certainly I could probably use my friend's high-speed link to do a painless install of debian Linux.
 
But I want to perform the debian install in such a way that I am completely independent of any other facilities.


This reminds me of the Gentoo fans who thought that they were somehow more "in control" of their machines just because they were copying/pasting commands from the Gentoo forums and building Gentoo from source. It was an exercise in yak shaving, just as an offline installation when you have access to a broadband connection is and just as configuring a dial-up connection knowing that you're switching to broadband Internet anyway is. Taken to the extreme, I suppose you could get a printout of all the software you intend to install and start transcribing. :)

 
And also to be independent of any need for a network connection to be able to do a fresh installation of debian Linux.


I don't know if you realize that you have spent more time talking/writing about this than it would have to download and install Debian. If you are at your friend's place and your friend has a broadband connection, you'll have Debian running in about 20 minutes with a reasonable network connection. Installing this way does not preclude you from using a dial-up connection to update later. In fact, if you install via a DVD, you're going to have to change /etc/apt/sources.list to point to the online repos that your machine should fetch from when you connect via dial-up. Otherwise, it will check for updates on the DVD. If you install using your broadband connection, you won't have to change a thing in sources.list to update later when or if you get dial-up working.

Have been only following this thread but it has devolved into almost diatribes by those, that to me at least, just don't get one part of the op's problem.

I am on wireless 'high-speed' internet here and 20 minutes for a net-install system is a dream - - - NOT a reality. It seems that those in major urban centers believe that all of the world is able to function as they are and in this case, internet access and speeds, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact I am paying more for my paltry 9 down/ 2 up access than urban connections pay for 75 down. And I'm on 'high-speed' (purportedly even if not in fact!). So if the op is limited to dial-up - - -  for pete's sake cut him some slack. He's already talking about using a friend's access for the initial download but the headache factor, especially with a desktop system, of continuing to rely on outside access - - - well its huge. I empathize because for a period of time just a few years ago I had access that was supposed to be 2 down and 0.5 up yet in fact was most often about 0.3 down and the up was 0.15 or so. Doing an on-line banking transaction was a 5 to 8 minute ordeal - -  a system install was a 12 to 14 hour problem (all the while hoping that the connection wouldn't die).

So perhaps instead of smugly prating about how you would do it - - - perhaps you might actually assist in developing a solution that will work for the op in HIS circumstances - - - - NOT YOURS (yes I meant to yell - - - I'm finding the last serious of comments quite tedious and very infuriating in their arrogance! In fact the suggestions are starting to sounds quite like the government bureaucrats in this same area).

 Dee