debian-installer 首先要做的一件事是檢測有效的記憶體。如果記憶體有限，該元件將修改後續的安裝進程，使您可以將 Debian GNU/Linux 安裝到您的系統上。

The first measure taken to reduce memory consumption by the installer is to disable translations, which means that the installation can only be done in English. Of course, you can still localize the installed system after the installation has completed.

If that is not sufficient, the installer will further reduce memory consumption by loading only those components essential to complete a basic installation. This reduces the functionality of the installation system. You will be given the opportunity to load additional components manually, but you should be aware that each component you select will use additional memory and thus may cause the installation to fail.

If the installer runs in low memory mode, it is recommended to create a relatively large swap partition (64–128MB). The swap partition will be used as virtual memory and thus increases the amount of memory available to the system. The installer will activate the swap partition as early as possible in the installation process. Note that heavy use of swap will reduce performance of your system and may lead to high disk activity.

Despite these measures, it is still possible that your system freezes, that unexpected errors occur or that processes are killed by the kernel because the system runs out of memory (which will result in "Out of memory" messages on VT4 and in the syslog).

For example, it has been reported that creating a big ext3 file system fails in low memory mode when there is insufficient swap space. If a larger swap doesn't help, try creating the file system as ext2 (which is an essential component of the installer) instead. It is possible to change an ext2 partition to ext3 after the installation.

It is possible to force the installer to use a higher lowmem level than the one based on available memory by using the boot parameter "lowmem" as described in 節 5.2.1, "Debian 安裝程式的參數".

在大部分情況下，第一個問您的問題將會是安裝程式以及安裝好之後的系統所要使用的本地化選項。選項包括了語言、國家以及地區設定。

您選擇的語言將用於接下來的安裝過程，對話框已經有各種語言翻譯的版本。如果選擇的語言沒有對應翻譯的版本，安裝將預設使用英文。選擇的語言也將助於選擇一個合適的鍵盤配置。

在安裝過程的後面，這個選項還會被用於設置預設的時區和您所處地理位置的 Debian 鏡像站。如果安裝程式預設的建議不合適，您可以做其它選擇。選擇國家，還有選擇語言，都會影響您新 Debian 系統的本地化設置。

首先您將會被要求選擇您偏好的語言。語言清單中，各語言名稱將以英文列出 (左邊)，而語言本身將以適當的文字則列於右邊。清單以英文名稱排序。清單的頂端是一個額外的 "C" 地區選項，選擇 "C" 將使得安裝程序以英文進行；locales 軟體套件將不會安裝在安裝好的系統中，因此系統也不會支援任何地區設定。

如果您選擇的語言屬於多個國家的官方語言(存在於中文，英文，法文，以及其它語言)，您可以在這裡選擇國家。如果您選擇列表底部的 其它，您將看到按大洲分組的全部國家。

預設的地區設定會根據您選擇的語言和國家決定。如果您以中等或是低優先序安裝系統，您將可以選擇預設地區設定以外的設定，並且可以決定系統額外支援的地區設定。

鍵盤經常因不同語言使用的字元不同而有不同的配置。選擇一個適合您鍵盤的配置，或者為沒出現的配置選擇一個接近的。一旦系統安裝完畢，您可以從更大的範圍您選擇鍵盤配置 (在安裝完之後用 root 執行 kbdconfig)。

將反白移動到您選擇的鍵盤，然後按下 Enter。用箭頭移動反白區 — 在所有國家鍵盤配置裡，它們都位於相同的地方，因此獨立於鍵盤配置。'延伸的'鍵盤是在鍵盤上端有一排 F1到F10 按鍵。

當使用 hd-media 方式安裝，將會有尋找和掛載 Debian 安裝程式 iso 映像的動作，用於取得其它的安裝檔案。元件 iso-scan 正是用來完成此任務。

首先，iso-scan 自動掛載具有已知檔案系統的資料塊 (block) 設備 (例如，分割區)，然後按序搜索檔案副檔名是 .iso (或 .ISO 之類)。注意，第一次只嘗試掃瞄位於根目錄和第一層子目錄的檔案 (例如，它找到 /whatever.iso, /data/whatever.iso， 而不是 /data/tmp/whatever.iso)。在 iso 映像檔案找到後，iso-scan 會檢查它包含的內容，確定該映像檔是不是有效的 Debian iso 映像。 如為前者，任務結束﹔如果是後者，iso-scan 會搜索其它的映像檔案。

萬一前面嘗試尋找 iso 映像失敗，iso-scan 會詢問您是否原意進行完整的搜索。這次不只查看最上級目錄，而是真正地搜尋整個檔案系統。

如果 iso-scan 找不到您的安裝 iso 映像檔，請重新啟動返回到您以前的作業系統，檢查映像檔名是否正確 (以 .iso結尾)，是否放在一個能被 debian-installer 識別的檔案系統上，是否損壞 (用 checksum 校驗)。有經驗的 Unix 使用者可以在第二個控制台上完成這些動作，而毋須重新啟動。

到了此步驟，如果系統檢測到您有多於網路設備，您將被要求選擇哪個設備是您的主網路介面，例如，您在安裝中要用的那個。其他的網路介面這時不會被設定。您可以在安裝完畢之後去設定額外的介面﹔請參考 interfaces(5) man 頁。

By default, debian-installer tries to configure your computer's network automatically via DHCP. If the DHCP probe succeeds, you are done. If the probe fails, it may be caused by many factors ranging from unplugged network cable, to a misconfigured DHCP setup. Or maybe you don't have a DHCP server in your local network at all. For further explanation, check the error messages on the fourth console. In any case, you will be asked if you want to retry, or if you want to perform a manual setup. DHCP servers are sometimes really slow in their responses, so if you are sure everything is in place, try again.

手動設定網路會按序詢問一些您網路的問題，值得注意的是 IP 位址、網路遮罩、閘道器、名稱伺服器位址 和 主機名稱。 此外，如果您有無線網路介面，您會被要求提供您的 無線 ESSID 和 WEP 密鑰。從 節 3.3, "一些有用的資料" 中參考應回答的數值。

The installer will first attempt to connect to a time server on the Internet (using the NTP protocol) in order to correctly set the system time. If this does not succeed, the installer will assume the time and date obtained from the system clock when the installation system was booted are correct. It is not possible to manually set the system time during the installation process.

Depending on the location selected earlier in the installation process, you may be shown a list of timezones relevant for that location. If your location has only one time zone, you will not be asked anything and the system will assume that time zone.

If for some reason you wish to set a time zone for the installed system that does not match the selected location, there are two options.

For automated installations the time zone can also be set using preseeding.

If you choose guided partitioning, you may have three options: to create partitions directly on the hard disk (classic method), or to create them using Logical Volume Management (LVM), or to create them using encrypted LVM^[9].

When using LVM or encrypted LVM, the installer will create most partitions inside one big partition; the advantage of this method is that partitions inside this big partition can be resized relatively easily later. In the case of encrypted LVM the big partition will not be readable without knowing a special key phrase, thus providing extra security of your (personal) data.

When using encrypted LVM, the installer will also automatically erase the disk by writing random data to it. This further improves security (as it makes it impossible to tell which parts of the disk are in use and also makes sure that any traces of previous installations are erased), but may take some time depending on the size of your disk.

If you choose guided partitioning (either classic or using (encrypted) LVM) for a whole disk, you will first be asked to select the disk you want to use. Check that all your disks are listed and, if you have several disks, make sure you select the correct one. The order they are listed in may differ from what you are used to. The size of the disks may help to identify them.

Any data on the disk you select will eventually be lost, but you will always be asked to confirm any changes before they are written to the disk. If you have selected the classic method of partitioning, you will be able to undo any changes right until the end; when using (encrypted) LVM this is not possible.

Next, you will be able to choose from the schemes listed in the table below. All schemes have their pros and cons, some of which are discussed in 附錄 C, 為 Debian 分割磁區. If you are unsure, choose the first one. Bear in mind that guided partitioning needs a certain minimal amount of free space to operate with. If you don't give it at least about 1GB of space (depends on chosen scheme), guided partitioning will fail.

If you choose guided partitioning using (encrypted) LVM, the installer will also create a separate /boot partition. The other partitions, including the swap partition, will be created inside the LVM partition.

在選定了分割區方式後的下一個畫面，您會看到關於自己分割區的一張表格，上面標明了分割區是否將被格式化，將以何種方式格式化，以及它們將被掛載到哪裡的相關資訊。

The list of partitions might look like this:

  IDE1 master (hda) - 6.4 GB WDC AC36400L
        #1 primary   16.4 MB  B f ext2       /boot
        #2 primary  551.0 MB      swap       swap
        #3 primary    5.8 GB      ntfs
           pri/log    8.2 MB      FREE SPACE

  IDE1 slave (hdb) - 80.0 GB ST380021A
        #1 primary   15.9 MB      ext3
        #2 primary  996.0 MB      fat16
        #3 primary    3.9 GB      xfs        /home
        #5 logical    6.0 GB    f ext3       /
        #6 logical    1.0 GB    f ext3       /var
        #7 logical  498.8 MB      ext3
        #8 logical  551.5 MB      swap       swap
        #9 logical   65.8 GB      ext2

This example shows two IDE harddrives divided into several partitions; the first disk has some free space. Each partition line consists of the partition number, its type, size, optional flags, file system, and mountpoint (if any). Note: this particular setup cannot be created using guided partitioning but it does show possible variation that can be achieved using manual partitioning.

This concludes the guided partitioning. If you are satisfied with the generated partition table, you can choose Finish partitioning and write changes to disk from the menu to implement the new partition table (as described at the end of this section). If you are not happy, you can choose to Undo changes to partitions and run guided partitioning again, or modify the proposed changes as described below for manual partitioning.

如果您選擇了手動分割區的話，它的畫面和上面介紹的嚮導式分割區大體上相同。不同之處在於，畫面上顯示的是您目前的分割區列表，而且其中並沒有掛載點的資訊。關於如何手動設置您的分割區表，以及新安裝的 Debian 系統將如何使用這些分割區，這些內容將會在本節的後面談到。

If you select a pristine disk which has neither partitions nor free space on it, you will be asked if a new partition table should be created (this is needed so you can create new partitions). After this, a new line entitled "FREE SPACE" should appear in the table under the selected disk.

If you select some free space, you will have the opportunity to create a new partition. You will have to answer a quick series of questions about its size, type (primary or logical), and location (beginning or end of the free space). After this, you will be presented with a detailed overview of your new partition. The main setting is Use as:, which determines if the partition will have a file system on it, or be used for swap, software RAID, LVM, an encrypted file system, or not be used at all. Other settings include mountpoint, mount options, and bootable flag; which settings are shown depends on how the partition is to be used. If you don't like the preselected defaults, feel free to change them to your liking. E.g. by selecting the option Use as:, you can choose a different filesystem for this partition, including options to use the partition for swap, software RAID, LVM, or not use it at all. Another nice feature is the ability to copy data from an existing partition onto this one. When you are satisfied with your new partition, select Done setting up the partition and you will return to partman's main screen.

If you decide you want to change something about your partition, simply select the partition, which will bring you to the partition configuration menu. This is the same screen as is used when creating a new partition, so you can change the same settings. One thing that may not be very obvious at a first glance is that you can resize the partition by selecting the item displaying the size of the partition. Filesystems known to work are at least fat16, fat32, ext2, ext3 and swap. This menu also allows you to delete a partition.

請確保至少分出兩個分割區：其中一個作為 root 檔案系統 (它必須掛載到 /) 另一個用於 swap。若是您忘記了掛載根 (root) 檔案系統的話，partman 會拒絕讓您繼續下面的步驟，直到您改正了這個錯誤。

由於 partman 的功能是透過安裝本套件的各模組功能以延伸和擴展，但是具體又因您的系統的架構而有所區別。因此，如果您發現安裝的實際情況與我們所言不符，缺少了某些功能特性，那麼請檢查一下，確保已掛載了所有必須的模組 (例如 partman-ext3、partman-xfs 或者 partman-lvm)。

對分割區設定感到滿意後，就可以選擇分割區選單中的 結束磁碟分割作業並將變更寫入磁碟中 一項。在這之後，會出現一個清單，列出即將在硬碟上進行的所有操作。此時，安裝程式會讓您確認是否就照此設定進行分割。

如果您有一個以上的硬碟 ^[10] 安裝在您的電腦上，您可以用 mdcfg 配置硬碟以提升效能和 (或) 更好的資料可靠性。這種結果稱為 多磁碟設備 (或者更有名的 software RAID)。

MD 本質上是一組位於部分磁碟上的分割區，組合在一起形成一個 邏輯設備。該設備可以像正常的分割區一樣使用 (例如可以用 partman 格式化，分配掛載點，等等)。

What benefits this brings depends on the type of MD device you are creating. Currently supported are:

To sum it up:

If you want to know more about Software RAID, have a look at Software RAID HOWTO.

為了建立 MD 設備，您需要將欲參與陣列的分割區標記為供 RAID 使用。(透過 partman 命令中的 分割區設定： 選單完成，您應該選擇 用途： → RAID 的物理容量 。)

Next, you should choose Configure software RAID from the main partman menu. (The menu will only appear after you mark at least one partition for use as physical volume for RAID.) On the first screen of mdcfg simply select Create MD device. You will be presented with a list of supported types of MD devices, from which you should choose one (e.g. RAID1). What follows depends on the type of MD you selected.

It is perfectly possible to have several types of MD at once. For example, if you have three 200 GB hard drives dedicated to MD, each containing two 100 GB partitions, you can combine the first partitions on all three disks into the RAID0 (fast 300 GB video editing partition) and use the other three partitions (2 active and 1 spare) for RAID1 (quite reliable 100 GB partition for /home).

按您的需要設定 MD 設備之後，您可以 結束 mdcfg 返回到 partman 去建立 MD 設備的檔案系統並分配掛載點。

如果您做電腦系統管理員工作或者"進階"使用者，您一定遇過磁碟分區 (經常是最重要的那個) 空間不足，同時其他的分割區卻不能平衡使用，然後您不得不被移動檔案或符號鏈結等方法所困擾。

To avoid the described situation you can use Logical Volume Manager (LVM). Simply said, with LVM you can combine your partitions (physical volumes in LVM lingo) to form a virtual disk (so called volume group), which can then be divided into virtual partitions (logical volumes). The point is that logical volumes (and of course underlying volume groups) can span across several physical disks.

Now when you realize you need more space for your old 160GB /home partition, you can simply add a new 300GB disk to the computer, join it with your existing volume group and then resize the logical volume which holds your /home filesystem and voila — your users have some room again on their renewed 460GB partition. This example is of course a bit oversimplified. If you haven't read it yet, you should consult the LVM HOWTO.

LVM setup in debian-installer is quite simple and completely supported inside partman. First, you have to mark the partition(s) to be used as physical volumes for LVM. This is done in the Partition settings menu where you should select Use as: → physical volume for LVM.

When you return to the main partman screen, you will see a new option Configure the Logical Volume Manager. When you select that, you will first be asked to confirm pending changes to the partition table (if any) and after that the LVM configuration menu will be shown. Above the menu a summary of the LVM configuration is shown. The menu itself is context sensitive and only shows valid actions. The possible actions are:

Use the options in that menu to first create a volume group and then create your logical volumes inside it.

After you return to the main partman screen, any created logical volumes will be displayed in the same way as ordinary partitions (and you should treat them as such).

debian-installer allows you to set up encrypted partitions. Every file you write to such a partition is immediately saved to the device in encrypted form. Access to the encrypted data is granted only after entering the passphrase used when the encrypted partition was originally created. This feature is useful to protect sensitive data in case your laptop or hard drive gets stolen. The thief might get physical access to the hard drive, but without knowing the right passphrase, the data on the hard drive will look like random characters.

The two most important partitions to encrypt are: the home partition, where your private data resides, and the swap partition, where sensitive data might be stored temporarily during operation. Of course, nothing prevents you from encrypting any other partitions that might be of interest. For example /var where database servers, mail servers or print servers store their data, or /tmp which is used by various programs to store potentially interesting temporary files. Some people may even want to encrypt their whole system. The only exception is the /boot partition which must remain unencrypted, because currently there is no way to load the kernel from an encrypted partition.

To use encryption, you have to create a new partition by selecting some free space in the main partitioning menu. Another option is to choose an existing partition (e.g. a regular partition, an LVM logical volume or a RAID volume). In the Partition settings menu, you need to select physical volume for encryption at the Use as: option. The menu will then change to include several cryptographic options for the partition.

debian-installer supports several encryption methods. The default method is dm-crypt (included in newer Linux kernels, able to host LVM physical volumes), the other is loop-AES (older, maintained separately from the Linux kernel tree). Unless you have compelling reasons to do otherwise, it is recommended to use the default.

First, let's have a look at the options available when you select Device-mapper (dm-crypt) as the encryption method. As always: when in doubt, use the defaults, because they have been carefully chosen with security in mind.

If you select Encryption method: → Loopback (loop-AES), the menu changes to provide the following options:

After you have selected the desired parameters for your encrypted partitions, return back to the main partitioning menu. There should now be a new menu item called Configure encrypted volumes. After you select it, you will be asked to confirm the deletion of data on partitions marked to be erased and possibly other actions such as writing a new partition table. For large partitions this might take some time.

Next you will be asked to enter a passphrase for partitions configured to use one. Good passphrases should be longer than 8 characters, should be a mixture of letters, numbers and other characters and should not contain common dictionary words or information easily associable with you (such as birthdates, hobbies, pet names, names of family members or relatives, etc.).

If you selected to use methods other than a passphrase to create encryption keys, they will be generated now. Because the kernel may not have gathered a sufficient amount of entropy at this early stage of the installation, the process may take a long time. You can help speed up the process by generating entropy: e.g. by pressing random keys, or by switching to the shell on the second virtual console and generating some network and disk traffic (downloading some files, feeding big files into /dev/null, etc.). This will be repeated for each partition to be encrypted.

After returning to the main partitioning menu, you will see all encrypted volumes as additional partitions which can be configured in the same way as ordinary partitions. The following example shows two different volumes. The first one is encrypted via dm-crypt, the second one via loop-AES.

Encrypted volume (sda2_crypt) - 115.1 GB Linux device-mapper
     #1 115.1 GB  F ext3

Loopback (loop0) - 515.2 MB AES256 keyfile
     #1 515.2 MB  F ext3

Now is the time to assign mount points to the volumes and optionally change the file system types if the defaults do not suit you.

One thing to note here are the identifiers in parentheses (sda2_crypt and loop0 in this case) and the mount points you assigned to each encrypted volume. You will need this information later when booting the new system. The differences between ordinary boot process and boot process with encryption involved will be covered later in 節 7.2, "Mounting encrypted volumes".

Once you are satisfied with the partitioning scheme, continue with the installation.

root 帳戶也被稱為超級使用者。系統中的所有安全防護措施對以超級使用者身份登陸者都是無效的。root 帳戶應該僅用來進行系統管理，而且使用時間應該盡可能短。

您所建立的任何密碼都應該包含至少 6 個字元，同時包含大小寫字母，並且最好帶有標點符號等特殊字元。因為超級使用者具有最高權限，因此在您設定 root 密碼時尤其要小心。請避免採用能夠在字典中查到的單詞或者很容易猜測的個人資訊。

如果他人向您索取您的 root 密碼，您也需要特別謹慎。除非您所管理的系統有多位管理員，否則您通常不應該將超級使用者密碼交給別人。

系統會詢問您現在是否希望建立一個普通帳戶。您將使用該帳戶進行日常登陸操作。切記，平時不要使用 root 帳戶登陸或者將其作為個人帳號使用。

為什麼呢？避免使用 root 特權帳戶的一個原因是，它很容易對系統造成無法挽回的破壞。另一個原因是，您有可能被惡意誘使執行特洛伊木馬程式 — 這是一種在您未知的情況下利用超級使用者權限損害系統安全的程式。任何合格的 Unix 系統管理書籍中都會涉及到這一主題 — 如果您不是很瞭解這方面的內容，建議您找一本書進行學習。

您首先會被要求輸入使用者的全名。然後要求輸入使用者帳號名﹔通常為姓之類的即可，並且會成為預設值。最後，您將要求輸入該帳號的密碼。

如果在安裝完畢後您還希望建立其它新帳戶，請使用 adduser 命令。

One of the tools used to install packages on a Debian GNU/Linux system is a program called apt-get, from the apt package^[13]. Other front-ends for package management, like aptitude and synaptic, are also in use. These front-ends are recommended for new users, since they integrate some additional features (package searching and status checks) in a nice user interface. In fact, aptitude is now the recommended utility for package management.

apt must be configured so that it knows from where to retrieve packages. The results of this configuration are written to the file /etc/apt/sources.list. You can examine and edit this file to your liking after the installation is complete.

If you are installing at default priority, the installer will largely take care of the configuration automatically, based on the installation method you are using and possibly using choices made earlier in the installation. In most cases the installer will automatically add a security mirror and, if you are installing the stable distribution, a mirror for the "volatile" update service.

If you are installing at a lower priority (e.g. in expert mode), you will be able to make more decisions yourself. You can choose whether or not to use the security and/or volatile update services, and you can choose to add packages from the "contrib" and "non-free" sections of the archive.

During the installation process, you are given the opportunity to select additional software to install. Rather than picking individual software packages from the 21500 available packages, this stage of the installation process focuses on selecting and installing predefined collections of software to quickly set up your computer to perform various tasks.

So, you have the ability to choose tasks first, and then add on more individual packages later. These tasks loosely represent a number of different jobs or things you want to do with your computer, such as "Desktop environment", "Web server", or "Print server"^[14]. 節 D.2, "各軟體集所需的磁碟空間" lists the space requirements for the available tasks.

Some tasks may be pre-selected based on the characteristics of the computer you are installing. If you disagree with these selections you can deselect them. You can even opt to install no tasks at all at this point.

Once you've selected your tasks, select Continue. At this point, aptitude will install the packages that are part of the tasks you've selected.

You should be aware that especially the Desktop task is very large. Especially when installing from a normal CD-ROM in combination with a mirror for packages not on the CD-ROM, the installer may want to retrieve a lot of packages over the network. If you have a relatively slow Internet connection, this can take a long time. There is no option to cancel the installation of packages once it has started.

Even when packages are included on the CD-ROM, the installer may still retrieve them from the mirror if the version available on the mirror is more recent than the one included on the CD-ROM. If you are installing the stable distribution, this can happen after a point release (an update of the original stable release); if you are installing the testing distribution this will happen if you are using an older image.

Each package you selected with tasksel is downloaded, unpacked and then installed in turn by the apt-get and dpkg programs. If a particular program needs more information from the user, it will prompt you during this process.

在啟動開機器安裝之前，安裝程式會試著偵測已經安裝到電腦上的其他作業系統。如果它找到支援的作業系統，您將在啟動開機器安裝步驟裡得到提示，與 Debian 一起，電腦也將設定為可以啟動其他作業系統。

注意，從單機上啟動多個作業系統仍然是種魔術。自動偵測和設定 boot-loader 啟動其他作業系統的功能會依硬體架構甚至是子架構而不同。如果它不能運作，您應該參考 boot-loader 的文件以瞭解更多資訊。

The main i386 boot loader is called "grub". Grub is a flexible and robust boot loader and a good default choice for new users and old hands alike.

預設狀況下，grub 會被裝在主開機區 (MBR)。如果裝在那裡的話，它將會完全控制啟動的整個過程。如果您喜歡的話，您可以把 grub 裝在其他地方。若要全面和完整的資訊，請參閱 grub 的手冊。

If you do not want to install grub, use the Go Back button to get to the main menu, and from there select whatever bootloader you would like to use.

第二個 i386 boot-loader 名叫 "LILO"。它是個老派的強大程式，提供很多功能，包括對 DOS、Windows 以及 OS/2 的開機管理。如果有特別的要求的話，請您仔細閱讀 /usr/share/doc/lilo/ 目錄裡的提示和教學，同時，您也可以參閱 LILO mini-HOWTO。

debian-installer offers you three choices on where to install the LILO boot loader:

If you can no longer boot into Windows 9x (or DOS) after this step, you'll need to use a Windows 9x (MS-DOS) boot disk and use the fdisk /mbr command to reinstall the MS-DOS master boot record — however, this means that you'll need to use some other way to get back into Debian!

該選項用於完成安裝而不安裝 boot-loader，這種情況可能是硬體架構/子架構不支援，或是因為不想要 (例如，您想使用已經存在的 boot-loader)。

如果您打算手動設定 boot-loader，您需要檢查安裝在 /target/boot的核心名稱。您還需要檢查 initrd 存在的目錄﹔如果存在，也許需要指定 bootloader 使用它。其相關資訊包括為 / 檔案系統選擇磁碟和分割區，並且，如果您打算安裝 /boot 到一個獨立的分割區，還需要 /boot 檔案系統。

The installer may ask you if the computer's clock is set to UTC. Normally this question is avoided if possible and the installer tries to work out whether the clock is set to UTC based on things like what other operating systems are installed.

In expert mode you will always be able to choose whether or not the clock is set to UTC. Systems that (also) run Dos or Windows are normally set to local time. If you want to dual-boot, select local time instead of UTC.

At this point debian-installer will also attempt to save the current time to the system's hardware clock. This will be done either in UTC or local time, depending on the selection that was just made.

You will be prompted to remove the boot media (CD, floppy, etc) that you used to boot the installer. After that the system will be rebooted into your new Debian system.

If the installation is successful, the logfiles created during the installation process will be automatically saved to /var/log/installer/ on your new Debian system.

Choosing Save debug logs from the main menu allows you to save the log files to a floppy disk, network, hard disk, or other media. This can be useful if you encounter fatal problems during the installation and wish to study the logs on another system or attach them to an installation report.

There are several methods you can use to get a shell while running an installation. On most systems, and if you are not installing over serial console, the easiest method is to switch to the second virtual console by pressing Left Alt-F2^[15] (on a Mac keyboard, Option-F2). Use Left Alt-F1 to switch back to installer itself.

For the graphical installer see also 節 D.6.1, "Using the graphical installer".

If you cannot switch consoles, there is also an Execute a Shell item on the main menu that can be used to start a shell. You can get to the main menu from most dialogs by using the Go Back button one or more times. Type exit to close the shell and return to the installer.

At this point you are booted from the RAM disk, and there is a limited set of Unix utilities available for your use. You can see what programs are available with the command ls /bin /sbin /usr/bin /usr/sbin and by typing help. The shell is a Bourne shell clone called ash and has some nice features like autocompletion and history.

To edit and view files, use the text editor nano. Log files for the installation system can be found in the /var/log directory.

One of the more interesting components is network-console. It allows you to do a large part of the installation over the network via SSH. The use of the network implies you will have to perform the first steps of the installation from the console, at least to the point of setting up the networking. (Although you can automate that part with 節 4.7, "自動化安裝".)

This component is not loaded into the main installation menu by default, so you have to explicitly ask for it. If you are installing from CD, you need to boot with medium priority or otherwise invoke the main installation menu and choose Load installer components from CD and from the list of additional components select network-console: Continue installation remotely using SSH. Successful load is indicated by a new menu entry called Continue installation remotely using SSH.

After selecting this new entry, you will be asked for a new password to be used for connecting to the installation system and for its confirmation. That's all. Now you should see a screen which instructs you to login remotely as the user installer with the password you just provided. Another important detail to notice on this screen is the fingerprint of this system. You need to transfer the fingerprint securely to the "person who will continue the installation remotely".

Should you decide to continue with the installation locally, you can always press Enter, which will bring you back to the main menu, where you can select another component.

Now let's switch to the other side of the wire. As a prerequisite, you need to configure your terminal for UTF-8 encoding, because that is what the installation system uses. If you do not, remote installation will be still possible, but you may encounter strange display artefacts like destroyed dialog borders or unreadable non-ascii characters. Establishing a connection with the installation system is as simple as typing:

$ ssh -l installer install_host

Where install_host is either the name or IP address of the computer being installed. Before the actual login the fingerprint of the remote system will be displayed and you will have to confirm that it is correct.

After the login you will be presented with an initial screen where you have two possibilities called Start menu and Start shell. The former brings you to the main installer menu, where you can continue with the installation as usual. The latter starts a shell from which you can examine and possibly fix the remote system. You should only start one SSH session for the installation menu, but may start multiple sessions for shells.