Re: Bug#263157: debian-installer: Tries to install quik on RS/6000 PReP system
On Wed, Aug 04, 2004 at 02:23:58PM +0200, Jens Schmalzing wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Sven Luther writes:
>
> > Not sure, but is this not kernel-package defaulting to quik for prep
> > boxes ?
>
> It was definitely quik-installer, since it proudly announced its
> failure via a debconf box.
>
> > We really need a prep-installer, i had contributed the needed stuff
> > to parted to create a prep bootable partition, not sure i commited
> > it though.
> >
> > We would then need a partman-prep, like the partman-palo, and a
> > prep-installer which moves the kernel to the right place, after
> > having called mkvmlinuz on it.
>
> "The right place" may be anything, for example a bootp server, some
> other machine with a CD burner, or any of the installed hard disks.
> Before dumping the thing on the first available hard disk, you must
> ask the user for confirmation and allow them access to a shell.
As i understand this, partman-prep would be in charge of either making sure
there is a prep partition, and this one will be used for moving the kernel to,
or to decide that the user don't want to have a prep partition on the disk
(and then, you would find some trick to move the kernel away later on).
I think the off-disk kernel method is not supported right now, but i belive
that maybe nobootloader could be modified to make this trick. After all it
already knows what the kernel is, and could provide some hooks for moving the
kernel off the machine (via a wput kind of stuff, or the new ssh .udeb ?).
still partman-prep would be the best place to ask the user about it, and then
setting the right variables in the debconf database to either use
prep-installer and move the kernel to a partition, or to move the same kernel
somewhere off-disk.
> Booting those things is not trivial anyway (among other things, you
> have to type the boot args into the kernel at boot), so leaving some
> manual interaction to the user is perfectly alright IMO. It sucked a
See the new nobootloader .udeb (in svn still, not uploaded), for an example of
how d-i can provide specific boot instructions to the user for these cases,
including the boot args you mentioned above.
> lot more when I had to sit through all the d-i questions again before
> I could finally escape to a shell and dd the kernel where I wanted it.
> BTW, would DEBCONF_PRIORITY=low on the kernel command line have saved
> me?
Probably. But still i don't understand this. D-i is supposed to ask you before
rebooting, which is what i get. I get the nobootloader informing me about the
place of the kernel and the args to use, and then a question asking if it is
ok to to finish and reboot.
I guess i am using debconf priority high, but may you maybe use critical ?
> > i believe that mkvmlinuz is already called on prep during base-installer.
>
> Yes. And the result works nicely.
But isn't directly accessible for booting, right ?
Friendly,
Sven Luther
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