Bug#584297: Installation fails if usibng an existing /var partition
Package: other (installation)
Version: lenny/squeeze/...
I tried to reinstall my whole system keeping my older /var and /home
partitions where there was some data I'd liked to keep.
When "installing the base system", deboostrap crashed (at "chroot /target
dpkg --install base_files"), the error console stating that there was no
user "root" in stateoverride file.
Using another console, "whoami" returned an "unknown user ID 0".
When I tried the reinstallation *without* mounting the /var and /home
partition immediately (and doing it by hand later), things worked smoothly.
This bug was present with both the netinst and buisnesscard installer in
both lenny and squeeze.
My guess is that /var kept info about the existence of root, hence
debootstrap did not recreate the user thus causing troubles later...
--
Hypocoristiquement,
Jym.
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