Debian Etch
It was working so well too.
I have been using Debian Etch now for a number of weeks. Recently I decided to load it onto an additional two computers. I used the same netinstall CD I had used for a prior install but the install failed. The failure was an Xwindows server problem. Actually, there were several Xwindows server problems. The mouse and kbd modules could not be found and the sim links to the font files lead to never land.
I figured it was something having to do with the stuff that was downloaded after the base system was installed. Either the Xwindow package got hosed or the installation program got hosed. I was more interested in installing Debian on the new computers than I was interested in troubleshooting something that broke for no reason. So I downloaded the first full .iso file for CD number 1 and burned a disk. Then used that disk to start a new installation.
That worked. I still don’t know why it worked or why the netinstall failed. At least now I have an installation disk that can’t be screwed with.