As a final reminder, try the XF86Setup or xf86config tools for configuring or reconfiguring X for your hardware.
If you have problems during the boot process, such as the kernel hangs during the boot process, the kernel doesn’t recognize peripherals you actually have, or drives are not recognized properly, the first things to check are the boot parameters. They can be found by pressing F1 when booting from the rescue disk.
Often, problems can be solved by removing add-ons and peripherals and then booting again. Internal modems, sound cards, and Plug-n-Play devices are especially problematic.
Tecras and other notebooks, and some non-portables fail to flush the cache when switching on the A20 gate, which is provoked by bzImage kernels but not by zImage kernels. If your computer suffers from this problem, you’ll see a message during boot saying A20 gating failed. In this case, you’ll have to use the ‘tecra’ boot images.
If you still have problems, please submit a bug report. Send an email to [email protected]. You _must_ include the following as the first lines of the email:
Package: boot-floppies Version: _version_
Make sure you fill in version with the version of the boot-floppies set that you used. If you don’t know the version, use the date you downloaded the floppies, and include the distribution you got them from (e.g., “stable” or “frozen”).
You should also include the following information in your bug report:
model your general hardware vendor and model
cd-rom CD-ROM model and interface type, i.e., ATAPI
network card network interface card, if any
Depending on the nature of the bug, it also might be useful to report the disk model, the disk capacity, and the model of video card.
In the bug report, describe what the problem is, including the last visible kernel messages in the event of a kernel hang. Describe the steps you performed that put the system into the problem state.
This appendix describes what happens during the GNU/Linux boot process.
How you boot your system depends on how you set things up when you installed Debian. Most likely, you just turn the computer on. But you may have to insert a floppy disk first.
Linux is loaded by a program called LILO, or LInux LOader. LILO can also load other operating systems and ask you which system you’d like to load.