The main reason why people don't get into GNU/Linux and especially Debian is; the think they can't do the same as on there MS-W*****s environment.
I always tell them; "just when it goes a little different doesn't mean it is not possible!"
One of those things a lot of people think is impossible on linux, is downloading files from newsgroups and extract them with rar and, when it's needed repair the files with par (par2).
That is why I wrote this howto.
I'm going to describe the process step by step, from the installation (The debian way) of the needed applications to the burning of the CD or DVD.
I assume you have a working installation of GNU/Linux (Debian) and you are able to burn CD's or DVD's. When not, fix this first.
Step 1
When we want to read or download posts from a news server, we need a newsreader. There are loads of newsreaders availible, use google to find a list of newsreaders. My favorite is Pan, so I'm going to install Pan in this example.
First we have to get root privilages and than we install Pan. Type :
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$ su
password
# apt-get install pan
Now that we have the newsreader installed we can start with the downloading.
Put al your wanted files in the que list and get it down!
Step2
Now that you are downloading the files you want you can prepare your PC for the second stage in the process: Un-rar-ing the part*.rar files.
For this we need to install unrar. Do this by getting back in the terminal window with root privilages and type :
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# apt-get install unrar
do this by typing:
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apt-get install par2cmdline
So a few hours have past and your downloads are ready.
go to the directory (in your terminal with root privilages) where the rar files are by typing:
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# cd /path/where/your/rar/files/are
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unrar e NameOfTheFile.part01.rar
When everting goes well your iso image wil be build.
Step4
Unfortunately the files can be damaged or incomplete. But don't worry here's where the wonderfull tool parchive comes in.
When you need to repair the files you can do this by typing:
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par2repair *par2
Now you can try unrar again:
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unrar e NameOfTheFile.part01.rar
Have Fun!!
Mark