Bug#226400: installation-reports: fails to install nic-extra-modules
Package: installation-reports
Severity: grave
Justification: renders package unusable
Hi,
I think I found two unrelated bugs in the Sarge installer beta1. I have
filed two previous installation reports using this exact same CD image -
both successful, albeit with minor gripes (please configure apt to
default to NOT deleting cached debs!).
Anyway, here is my 3rd install, on a much older machine (had to boot
from floppy):
Package: installation-reports
INSTALL REPORT
Debian-installer-version: beta1 (17 Nov 03)
uname -a: n/a (failure)
Date: 05 Jan 2004, 23:08
Method: Used two floppy images (bootfloppy-image and floppy-image), then
used ftp to get to the installer CD
Machine: home made Asus PCI/I486-SP3G
Processor: Intel 486DX4-100
Memory: 32MB FPM RAM
Root Device: /dev/sda (but didn't get that far!)
Root Size/partition table: Feel free to paste the full partition
table, with notes on which partitions are mounted where.
- I won't bother this time, since we never got to do any local hard disk
access!
Output of lspci: can't give you that either!
Base System Installation Checklist:
Initial boot worked: [yes] BUT please put the bootfloppy-image onto
the Sarge ISOs!! I had to download it separately!
Configure network HW: [yes]
Config network: [yes] I found how to skip dhcp by choosing Go
Back
Detect CD: [don't know]
Load installer modules: [most of them] failed on
nic-extra-modules-2.4.22-1-386-di "unknown reason" (in syslog it said
something about "end tar, corrupt" - didn't write it down, sorry, but I
did check the md5sum of the package against md5sum.txt and it's fine)
Detect hard drives: [don't know]
Partition hard drives: [n/a]
Create file systems: [n/a]
Mount partitions: [n/a]
Install base system: [n/a]
Install boot loader: [n/a]
Reboot: [n/a]
[O] = OK, [E] = Error (please elaborate below), [ ] = didn't try it
Comments/Problems:
Right, three problems here. First is mentioned above - the installer CD
does not contain the crucial boot floppy image (though bizarrely it DOES
contain all the other floppy images - the "second floppy"
(floppy-image.img) and the net_drivers and cd_drivers images). Please
make sure the boot floppy image is part of the beta2 CD!
Second is that Download Installer Components failed on nic-extra-modules
as described above. This is really odd, because both my previous
installs FROM THE SAME CD didn't have this problem. So there's no
problem with the file on the CD. I wondered if the machine was out of
RAM, so I switched to vc2 and had a look (cat /proc/meminfo) but there
was still over 8Mb free. Also, it already detected both my NICs from the
two boot floppies (which is how I was able to configure the ftp install
in the first place) - the machine has a Netgear FA31x (natsemi.o) on
the LAN and a 3c59x Boomerang talking to the cablemodem. So I don't
understand why it failed on nic-extra-modules at all.
Third - when it aborted it offered me "Continue" or "Go Back". I tried
each once, and BOTH DID THE SAME THING! Go Back did not go back to the
main menu - surely an error. What they both did was proceed with the
install of various modules, getting trapped in an endless loop:
info: attempting to enable linux framebuffer
unable to insmod vesafb.o
unable to insmod usbkbd.o
unable to insmod kbdev.o
[at this point the screen would flash red and blue]
info: attempting to enable linux framebuffer
.... and so on round that loop. Nothing to do except reboot and try
again.
I don't think this third problem is related to the nic-extra-modules
issue. This machine has only a 1Mb PCI video card (ALS1000). The VGA16
frame buffer works fine (it uses that for the main installer menu,
right?) - so why is it trying to insmod vesafb.o? I shouldn't try.
Anyway, right now I can't install Sarge on my most important machine
(the one connecting me to the internet!), so I hope you can help.
Thanks for all the good work on Debian - I'm a true convert (originally
from Slackware back in 1.2 kernels, then RedHat from 3.0.3 to 7.2). I
hope the installer goes well,
CC
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