# Using Individual Components

In this section we will describe each installer component in detail. The components have been grouped into stages that should be recognizable for users. They are presented in the order they appear during the install. Note that not all modules will be used for every installation; which modules are actually used depends on the installation method you use and on your hardware.

## Setting up &debian; Installer and Hardware Configuration

Let's assume the &debian; Installer has booted and you are facing its first screen. At this time, the capabilities of &d-i; are still quite limited. It doesn't know much about your hardware, preferred language, or even the task it should perform. Don't worry. Because &d-i; is quite clever, it can automatically probe your hardware, locate the rest of its components and upgrade itself to a capable installation system. However, you still need to help &d-i; with some information it can't determine automatically (like selecting your preferred language, keyboard layout or desired network mirror).

You will notice that &d-i; performs hardware detection several times during this stage. The first time is targeted specifically at the hardware needed to load installer components (e.g. your CD-ROM or network card). As not all drivers may be available during this first run, hardware detection needs to be repeated later in the process.

During hardware detection &d-i; checks if any of the drivers for the hardware devices in your system require firmware to be loaded. If any firmware is requested but unavailable, a dialog will be displayed that allows the missing firmware to be loaded from a removable medium. See loading-firmware for further details.

&module-lowmem.xml; &module-localechooser.xml; &module-kbd-chooser.xml; &module-s390-netdevice.xml; &module-ddetect.xml; &module-cdrom-detect.xml; &module-iso-scan.xml; &module-anna.xml; &module-netcfg.xml; &module-choose-mirror.xml;

## Setting Up Users And Passwords

Just before configuring the clock, the installer will allow you to set up the root account and/or an account for the first user. Other user accounts can be created after the installation has been completed.

&module-user-setup.xml;
&module-clock-setup.xml;

## Partitioning and Mount Point Selection

At this time, after hardware detection has been executed a final time, &d-i; should be at its full strength, customized for the user's needs and ready to do some real work. As the title of this section indicates, the main task of the next few components lies in partitioning your disks, creating filesystems, assigning mountpoints and optionally configuring closely related options like RAID, LVM or encrypted devices.

&module-s390-dasd.xml; &module-partman.xml; &module-partman-md.xml; &module-partman-lvm.xml; &module-partman-crypto.xml;

## Installing the Base System

Although this stage is the least problematic, it consumes a significant fraction of the install because it downloads, verifies and unpacks the whole base system. If you have a slow computer or network connection, this could take some time.

&module-base-installer.xml;

## Installing Additional Software

At this point you have a usable but limited system. Most users will want to install additional software on the system to tune it to their needs, and the installer allows you do so. This step can take even longer than installing the base system if you have a slow computer or network connection.

&module-apt-setup.xml; &module-pkgsel.xml;

## Making Your System Bootable

If you are installing a diskless workstation, obviously, booting off the local disk isn't a meaningful option, and this step will be skipped.

&module-os-prober.xml; &module-x86-grub-installer.xml; &module-powerpc-grub-installer.xml; &module-arm-flash-kernel-installer.xml; &module-nobootloader.xml;

## Finishing the Installation

This is the last step in the &debian; installation process during which the installer will do any last minute tasks. It mostly consists of tidying up after the &d-i;.

&module-clock-setup-finish.xml; &module-finish-install.xml;

## Troubleshooting

The components listed in this section are usually not involved in the installation process, but are waiting in the background to help the user in case something goes wrong.

&module-save-logs.xml; &module-cdrom-checker.xml; &module-shell.xml;
&module-network-console.xml;