Bug#263963: installation-reports: d-i beta 4
Package: installation-reports
Debian-installer-version: Beta 4, obtained on 2004-08-02 from www.mirror.ac.uk
uname -a: Linux panther 2.4.25-1-386 #2 Wed Apr 14 19:38:08 EST 2004 i686 GNU/Linux
Date: 2004-08-03 20h00
Method: Boot off CD ISO image, install via HTTP from www.mirror.ac.uk
Machine: Dell Latitude CPt laptop
Processor: Intel Celeron (Mendocino) 466MHz
Memory: 256MB
Root Device: /dev/hda, IDE
Root Size/partition table: One partition mounted at /, one swap partition
Output of lspci:
0000:00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corp. 440BX/ZX/DX - 82443BX/ZX/DX Host bridge (rev 03)
0000:00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corp. 440BX/ZX/DX - 82443BX/ZX/DX AGP bridge (rev 03)
0000:00:03.0 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCI1225 (rev 01)
0000:00:03.1 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCI1225 (rev 01)
0000:00:07.0 Bridge: Intel Corp. 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 ISA (rev 02)
0000:00:07.1 IDE interface: Intel Corp. 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 IDE (rev 01)
0000:00:07.2 USB Controller: Intel Corp. 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 USB (rev 01)
0000:00:07.3 Bridge: Intel Corp. 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 ACPI (rev 03)
0000:00:08.0 Multimedia audio controller: ESS Technology ES1978 Maestro 2E (rev 10)
0000:00:0d.0 Ethernet controller: 3Com Corporation 3c905C-TX/TX-M [Tornado] (rev 78)
0000:01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc Rage Mobility P/M AGP 2x (rev 64)
Base System Installation Checklist:
Initial boot worked: [O]
Configure network HW: [O]
Config network: [O]
Detect CD: [O]
Load installer modules: [O]
Detect hard drives: [O]
Partition hard drives: [O]
Create file systems: [O]
Mount partitions: [O]
Install base system: [O]
Install boot loader: [O]
Reboot: [O]
[O] = OK, [E] = Error (please elaborate below), [ ] = didn't try it
Comments/Problems:
Install was performed by my wife, an experienced "user" but by no means technical (she has never before installed *any* OS, that's my dept). Issues she experienced:
- She wasn't sure what the partitioning screen was all about, but decided to let the installer do its thing
- She did not understand the questions about keymaps, but selected the correct (default) option
- The Exim config screen confused her; she had specified only a desktop installation, and was concerned that a mail server was being installed
- Questions about PCMCIA confused her - she didn't know what PCMCIA was. I told her it stands for "People Can't Memorise Computer Industry Acronyms". She nonetheless selected the correct (default) option.
- X configuration - she was unable to select the correct X server, so chose the VESA (default) server; this resulted in the wrong resolution for the TFT display, and the correct options not being available. She was unable to fix this, so I had to.
Other than that, she proceeded confidently; on her own, she completed an installation that included KDE and office software, connected to the network correctly, sound drivers working etc. She was really pleased, but kudos to the debian-installer team.
Although she quickly figured out the navigation of the screens, it might be useful to have a launch page explaining what the cursor, tab, space and enter keys do. She didn't think graphics/text mode would make much difference.
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