5.5 Base OS

Once the installer connects to the network, it then proceeds to download and install a base Debian Linux system with very little application programs included. Once a base operating system is installed, the installer reboots the computer. As the computer reboots, it should boot to the freshly installed Linux system to complete the installation process.

The rest of the installation process involves the use of either tasksel (task selection) or dselect (Debian select). Both programs let you pick optional components (such as a web server) for the operating system. tasksel is a coarse granularity selection program, while dselect is a fine granularity selection program. For beginners, I suggest the use of tasksel first. You can always refine the system later on.

If you plan to upgrade to the testing or unstable distributions, I also suggest to install the least amount of optional components at this stage. Otherwise, there will be more updated packages to be downloaded and installed later.