Well, maybe you don't want to install Debian. I just downloaded 3 CD's of Debian Sarge (testing) only to find out that its installer isn't all there. (Sid is also that way.) You get past the basics - language and keyboard selection - and then you're summarily dumped to an "ash" shell.

Apparently I was just supposed to know, somehow, to download the (separate) beta installer CD image and use that. D'oh! What other major distro puts out CD images without prominently telling you somewhere (big bold letters, in red, flashing) that the installer doesn't work?

So I installed Woody (stable) and am still trying to upgrade it to testing and get it all working.

So, Knoppix on the hard disk has its pros and cons. The biggest thing against it is that it's difficult to upgrade its "plumbing" (kernel + modules) because all the init scripts are tied to kernel 2.4.24-xfs. The biggest thing for it is its ease of installation.

I might have a go sometime at "full" debian. But the dl's will be a problem. I am dialup at home. Have been dling these isos here & there at work but not being in IT anymore my dling is regarded a little suspiciously. I wouldn't dare shoot for 11 or so (by the time I got them all, there would be a new release, well with debian maybe not icon. And going with a base debian and having to install over the dialup at home isn't much more appealing than my latent career in kernel compiling.
Ugh, upgrading is slow even with a broadband connection. Grabbing and burning CDs is no big deal for me, though, so if you want to pay for postage, I can burn you whatever you want.