- Download the beginner's handbook -
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– About this manual –
“The beginner’s handbook” is a simplified manual to install and take-over the Debian system.
You will find in the following pages the answers to your first questions concerning the Debian GNU/Linux system , its history, how to obtain it, to install it, to take-over it, to configure and administrate it.
You will be able to go further and obtain information concerning the privacy protection, the backing up of your data, and the various actors of the Free Software world.
Usually, the manuals begin by teaching you the theoretical basis and the usage of the terminal. This manual takes the very side of the “graphical environment”: it is designed to let you start quickly with Debian, screen powered on, fingers on the keyboard and the mouse nearby .
– The mission of this manual is not to be comprehensive –
A lot of external links are available in this manual. Don’t hesitate to click on them in order to read more detailed information.
For a more detailed documentation, please visit the official Debian Wiki, the "Debian-Reference" manual or the "Debian Administrator handbook".
– How to use this manual? –
It depends on the version you are viewing:
the PDF version includes a summary more than detailed and a table of figures at the end of the guide. This version is included in the debian package.
the Deb package is intended to be installed on any Debian GNU/Linux system. You will have the PDF version (in /usr/share/debian-beginners-handbook-en) as well as a launcher in .desktop format to easily find the beginners handbook in your application menu.
the Web version is a html-archive intended to be extracted. It opens on a single page, which makes it easy to search from your browser using the shortcut [Ctrl]+‘f’. This version also has a detailed summary.
the Print version is an optimization of the PDF version in black and white, intended to be freely printed.