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Installing Debian
This wiki page describes how to set up a new Debian installation using Linux Deploy.
Linux deploy works by installing Arm supporting Linux distributions into a '.img' file stored on your flash disk. The distributions run within a 'chrooted' environment, they are not run on an emulator. This means they use the Android kernel, you won't be able to do anything on your installation that you couldn't in theory do with a root-enabled Android application (e.g. you can't use aircrack-ng).
Linux deploy at present needs root access to your Android machine. This means you must first root your device before installing any distribution.
Once you've rooted your device, install Linux Deploy off the Play store.
To access our Linux installation we'll be using either SSH or VNC. SSH gives us access to just the terminal. Using VNC we can run and control GUI applications too. As VNC is a little easier to demonstrate, we'll be using that in this tutorial. You can use any VNC server you like, but the free Jump VNC client is what I'll be using.
When you first open Linux Deploy you'll be presented with the 'Profiles' screen. You can have multiple versions of linux installed if you want to, though you can only run one at a time. Press the plus button on the toolbar, call your deploy 'Debian', and press OK.
You should now have a single profile called Debian. Double tab the name and you should be taken to a new screen with 'Debian' up the top along with start, stop, 'down arrow', and menu buttons.
The first thing we have to do on a new Linux Deploy install is to set up its operating environment in Android. To do this, press the menu button and choose 'Settings'. Scroll down to the 'Operating Environment' section and press the 'Update Environment' button. You only need to do this when you update Linux Deploy, not when you add a new profile.
Once Linux Deploy has set itself up it's time to install our distribution. Press the down arrow icon and you'll be presented with the configuration for your current profile. You can choose things like what distribution you want to install, the size of your '.img', and so on. For the purposes of this tutorial the defaults will be fine, though you may want to change the location of the '.img' file where Debian will be installed, look for the 'Installation path' setting.
Once you're happy with everything, scroll to the top of the list and press 'Install'. Linux Deploy will now start downloading the distribution and installing it. Once it's finished the last line will read '<<< end: install'.
Once we're installed we can start Debian by pressing the start button up the top of the profile window. A couple of seconds later the text output should read '<<< end: start'. If you don't want to do this every time there is an option under the menu -> Settings screen to automatically start linux on Android boot.
Now all we need to do is access our machine. Open up your VNC client and set the host address to 127.0.0.1. Connect to the machine. You should be asked for a password, to which 'changeme' is the default.
You should now see a 'LXDE' desktop signed in as the 'android' user (who has the password 'changeme'). If you need to do root tasks you can use 'sudo'.