Satyendra

BongiSatyendra.

Engineer
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Student
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Developer
satya@web:
/docs/iiitkota/nfc/preparing-a-computer
$
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Preparing a computer for handling NFC

Read every single line before you click or type anything. Do not skip steps.

Phase 1: Prepare the USB Drive

  1. Get a empty USB drive that is at least 4GB.
  2. Go to the official Debian website and download the NetInst ISO (Network Installer). It should be a file ending in .iso.
  3. Download a tool called Rufus (if you are on Windows) or BalenaEtcher (if on Mac/Linux).
  4. Plug the USB into your computer.
  5. Open Rufus or Etcher. Select your USB drive. Select the Debian .iso file you just downloaded.
  6. Click Start or Flash. Wait until it is 100% finished. Do not pull the USB out early.

Phase 2: Booting into the Installer

  1. Shut down the computer completely.
  2. Turn the computer on and immediately start tapping the boot menu key repeatedly like a maniac. This is usually F12, F8, F2, or Del depending on the laptop brand.
  3. A menu will appear. Use the arrow keys to select your USB drive and hit Enter.
  4. The Debian installer menu will show up. Use the arrow keys to highlight Graphical install and hit Enter.

Phase 3: The Setup Screens (Click exactly this)

  1. Language: Select English. Click Continue.
  2. Location: Select your country. Click Continue.
  3. Keyboard: Select American English. Click Continue.
  4. Network: It might ask you to connect to Wi-Fi. Pick your network and enter the password.
  5. Hostname: Type debian. Click Continue.
  6. Domain name: Leave this COMPLETELY BLANK. Click Continue.

Phase 4: Passwords and Users (Crucial Step)

  1. Root Password: LEAVE THIS COMPLETELY BLANK. Do not type a single space. Leaving it blank gives your normal user sudo privileges automatically. Click Continue.
  2. Full name for the new user: Type nfc. Click Continue.
  3. Username for your account: Type nfc. Click Continue.
  4. Choose a password for the new user: Type the password(yes, create a strong password and place here. in this docs, i am using satya as example. dont copy paste blindly.).
  5. Re-enter password to verify: Type satya. Click Continue.

Phase 5: Wiping the Drive (Point of No Return)

  1. Partitioning method: Select Guided - use entire disk. Click Continue.
  2. Select disk to partition: Select your main hard drive (it will be the one that is NOT your USB). Click Continue.
  3. Partitioning scheme: Select All files in one partition. Click Continue.
  4. Select Finish partitioning and write changes to disk. Click Continue.
  5. It will ask “Write the changes to disks?”. Select YES. Click Continue. Your old OS is now dead.

Phase 6: Package Manager Setup

  1. Scan extra installation media? Select NO. Click Continue.
  2. Use a network mirror? Select YES. Click Continue.
  3. Pick your country, then select deb.debian.org. Click Continue.
  4. HTTP proxy: Leave this COMPLETELY BLANK. Click Continue.
  5. Participate in package usage survey? Select NO. Click Continue.

Phase 7: Software Selection (Do exactly as told)

  1. You will see a list of software with checkboxes.
  2. UNCHECK “Debian desktop environment”.
  3. UNCHECK “GNOME”, “XFCE”, or anything else that might be checked under it.
  4. ONLY LEAVE CHECKED: “Standard system utilities”.
  5. Nothing else should be checked. Click Continue. Wait for it to install.

Phase 8: Finishing the Base Install

  1. Install the GRUB boot loader to your primary drive? Select YES. Click Continue.
  2. Device for boot loader installation: Do NOT select “Enter device manually”. Select the hard drive listed there (it will look like /dev/sda or /dev/nvme0n1). Click Continue.
  3. When it says “Installation complete”, unplug the USB drive from the computer.
  4. Click Continue to reboot.

Phase 9: Installing the GUI (LightDM)

  1. The computer will turn on and stop at a completely black screen with white text that says debian login:. Do not panic.
  2. Type nfc and hit Enter.
  3. It will ask for Password:. Type satya. WARNING: It will not show asterisks (*) or dots while you type. The screen will look like nothing is happening. Just type satya and hit Enter.
  4. You are now logged in to the terminal. Type exactly this command and hit Enter: sudo apt update
  5. It will ask for your password again. Type satya (again, no dots will show) and hit Enter. Wait for it to finish downloading the lists.
  6. Type exactly this command and hit Enter: sudo apt install lightdm xfce4 -y
  7. Text will start flying on the screen. Let it run.
  8. If a screen pops up asking you to choose a “Default display manager”, use the arrow keys to highlight lightdm and hit Enter.
  9. When the text completely stops and you see the nfc@debian:~$ prompt again, type this and hit Enter: sudo reboot

Phase 10: You are done

The computer will restart. Instead of a black screen, you will now see the LightDM graphical login screen. Type satya to log in. You now have a clean Debian system.

Now, go to https://github.com/s4tyendra/nfc-gatekeeper and follow the instructions in readme to install the drivers and start the reader system.