Re: Notebook install
Anthony Towns <aj@azure.humbug.org.au> writes:
> * The INSTALL directory on the CD contains some of the stuff from
> disks-i386/current, but not all of it. What's with that? In particular
> it means you've still got to copy disks-i386 to C: as well as whatever
> else.
Please direct this to the debian-cd folks, and/or submit a bug
against slink-cd.
> * The "hard disk" install option doesn't autodetect VFAT drives. It'd
> be nice if it did.
Please submit a wishlist bug against boot-floppies.
> * Extracting the drivers from drv1440.bin with the "mounted" option fails
> with ".../sed: No such fi...". /bin/sed seems to exist, though. Using
> the "fd0" option seems to work, though.
> * Gah. The mounted option seems to be looking for the file base2_0.tgz
> instead of base2_1.tgz. Fortunately cp exists and works.
Gah. Sounds like no one ever tested the mounted option! Maybe you
could submit and *important* bug against boot-floppies or whatever?
> * kbd's postinst seems to get run on the first reboot, and asks me
> in about as confusing terms as possible whether I have a us keyboard,
> which I've already told dinstall.
Yes, well, kbd configuration has to be redone this way since it has
more options that the dbootstrap (the new name for dinstall) stuff.
> * It seems my system doesn't need PCMCIA? Maybe it doesn't *need* it,
> but I definitely want it. I even configured it specifically with
> dinstall.
Yes -- it asks whether you want to remove it -- just say "no". What's
the bug here?
> * In the "you may use preselections" step, the prompt "Do you want to
> perform this step? [Y/n]" has a newline after it, so the cursor is
> on the next line. Ewww.
Bug already submitted.
> * PCMCIA didn't work first go. For some reason cardmgr seems to think
> both my network cards are actually memory cards. Silly thing.
Sounds like a PCMCIA bug? File it, please. (Yes, I know the BTS is
down -- new bug requests should be queued, however).
> * Not having the default lilo.conf include the existing windows partition
> seems a strange thing to do.
> * the default lilo.conf doesn't include an entry for /vmlinuz.old. Maybe
> it should. Maybe it shouldn't.
Yeah, we suck for lilo configuration. This is an area where we need a
dedicated volunteer. Many lilo problems to fix -- we already have bug
reports for this.
> * /etc/conf.modules isn't automatically generated on install. Why not?
Hmm.. should be... submit bug?
> * pcmcia-modules weren't installed by default?
Uh, no such package.
> * pcmcia-cs seems to be on the second CD. Feh.
Its part of base and installed automatically. Why would it need to be
on CD#1?
> * pcmcia-modules-2.0.34.deb doesn't match the symbols in the default
> kernel.
Why should it? The default kernel is 2.0.36.
> * And, of course, this machine has problems with the pcmcia version in
> slink. Dammit. *sigh* The Linux Laptop page is a *wonderful* resource,
> at any rate.
I don't know what I can tell you, other than "work with the pcmcia
Debian maintainer".
> * Anyway. Copying the CD to the Windows 98 drive and pointing apt at
> that seems to work, although using dpkg-scanpackages is a bit of
> a pain. I hear rumours dpkg-mountable handles that better, but I
> just like Apt.
I think there's a way in potato apt to just stuff your local
/var/cache/apt/archive or some such.
> * Why is emacs19 installed as well as emacs20 by default? emacs19 is
> fairly buggy too.
"By default" makes no sense. You'll have to clarify which
tasks/profiles you installed.
> * Another thing that's been bothering me about X is the funny fuzzy
> borders that appear every now and again: most notably in the scroll
> bars of some xterms, in the display of xcalc, and in xapm. It's
> really ugly, and it doesn't appear in some other distributions. What's
> the deal?
Sounds like your xserver has a problem. I don't see this behavior on
any of my 3 Debian boxen.
> Summary? There are a whole bunch of stupid mistakes left in slink, or at
> least the version that got burnt and sent to me. Apart from that, the
> major problems with the install were getting all the weird things they
> put in laptops these days to work: and, apart from the PCMCIA problems,
> these all fell into place remarkably well.
My diagnosis is that (a) dbootstrap "mountable" stuff seems to be
broken, and that is very bad, and (b) you have some PCMCIA stuff which
isn't supported by the slink pcmcia* packages.
I assure you the system works like a champ on most (non-Adaptec)
systems, and our reports so far have been very good.
Thank you so much for your very detailed report. Please file bugs as
appropriate. I know it's a pain, but that's the only way to make sure
it gets fixed (eventually).
> The boot-floppies team might like to put some of the above items on their
> todo list. Or they might like to make up a `bug report drinking game' --
> a sip for bugs fixed in unstable, and a shot for bugs fixed in stable,
> say -- and just get good and drunk.
Heh. How about a drink for every bug *fixed* ?
--
.....Adam Di Carlo....adam@onShore.com.....<URL:http://www.onShore.com/>
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