set up; if so, just press Enter.

Next you have the option to scan the entire partition for unreadable disk
blocks caused by defects on the surface of the hard disk platters. This is
useful if you have MFM, RLL, or older SCSI disks, and it never hurts
(although it can be time-consuming). Properly working disks in most modern
systems don't require this step, because they have their own internal
mechanisms for mapping out bad disk blocks.

Finally, there is a confirmation message because initialization will
destroy any data previously on the partition. If all is well, select
``Yes.'' The screen will flash as the initialization program runs.

Initialize a Linux Partition

At this point, the next menu item presented should be ``Initialize a Linux
Partition.'' If it isn't, either you haven't completed the disk
partitioning process, or you haven't made one of the menu choices dealing
with your swap partition.

You can initialize a Linux partition, or alternately you can mount a
previously initialized one. Note that dbootstrap will not upgrade an old
system without destroying it. If you're upgrading, Debian can usually
upgrade itself, and you won't need to use dbootstrap. The Debian 2.1
release notes contain upgrade instructions.

If you are using old disk partitions that are not empty, i.e., if you want
to just throw away what is on them, you should initialize them (which
erases all files). Moreover, you must initialize any partitions that you
created in the disk partitioning step. About the only reason to mount a