Debian resource

[Tech Writer]

I'm trying to update a chart of simple commands, using several flavors of Linux.  I'm familiar enough the Red Hat and SuSE to get those done quickly.  But, now I'm trying to install Debian (which I've never used before).  It isn't going as easily as the others, and I'm trying to figure out if it's my hardware, or my lack of knowledge.

The install is on an HP Pavilion laptop.  Here are some of the things I've run into... First, I can't use the laptop's keyboard for responding to customization prompts during the install.  I had to add a USB keyboard, and was then okay.  After I completed the install, I realized that there is no "default" GUI, so I had to add and configure GNOME.  During the install, I got an error message about a missing package.  Once the install was done, and GNOME was finished, it wouldn't open a terminal (apparently, that's what was missing).

I just pulled the latest release from the debian.org site, so I'm guessing that the missing GNOME terminal software is an oversight on my part.  I've got The 'Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 Bible' from Amazon, and the "Survival Guide" available from the Debian site.  But, neither of these mentioned the install roadblocks I'm running into.  Also, the "Survival Guide" has an entire section on a utility called "wajig" but the Debian Bible doesn't even mention it (is this utility newer than my 2005 guide?). 

Can any of you Debian users recommend a good reference or startup guide, or should I just stick with what I've got and continue to learn through trial-and-error?

Peg
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