Bug#239781: installer bug

[David Hugh-Jones <hughjonesd@yahoo.co.uk>]

Package: installation-reports

Debian-installer-version: beta 3
uname -a: Linux Portege 2.4.18-4GB #1 Wed May 29 15:47:24 UTC 2002 i686 
unknown
Date: 23 March 2004
Method: Installed via hard drive as described in INSTALL-HOWTO

Machine: Toshiba Portege 7020CT
Processor: Pentium II
Memory: 192M
Root Device: SCSI (/dev/hda2)
Root Size/partition table: 
# fdisk -l

Disk /dev/hda: 255 heads, 63 sectors, 789 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 bytes

   Device Boot    Start       End    Blocks   Id  System
/dev/hda1             1        25    200781   82  Linux swap
/dev/hda2   *        26       789   6136830   83  Linux


Output of lspci:
# lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corp. 440BX/ZX/DX - 82443BX/ZX/DX Host bridge (AGP 
disabled) (rev 03)
00:04.0 VGA compatible controller: Neomagic Corporation [MagicMedia 256AV] 
(rev 12)
00:05.0 Bridge: Intel Corp. 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 ISA (rev 02)
00:05.1 IDE interface: Intel Corp. 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 IDE (rev 01)
00:05.2 USB Controller: Intel Corp. 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 USB (rev 01)
00:05.3 Bridge: Intel Corp. 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 ACPI (rev 02)
00:07.0 Communication controller: Lucent Microelectronics 56k WinModem (rev 
01)
00:09.0 Communication controller: Toshiba America Info Systems FIR Port (rev 
23)
00:0b.0 CardBus bridge: Toshiba America Info Systems ToPIC95 (rev 07)
00:0b.1 CardBus bridge: Toshiba America Info Systems ToPIC95 (rev 07)
00:0c.0 Multimedia audio controller: ESS Technology ES1978 Maestro 2E (rev 10)
00:0d.0 Multimedia controller: C-Cube Microsystems Cinemaster C 3.0 DVD 
Decoder (rev 02)

Base System Installation Checklist:

Initial boot worked:    [ O]
Configure network HW:   []
Config network:         []
Detect CD:              []
Load installer modules: [O]
Detect hard drives:     [E]
Partition hard drives:  []
Create file systems:    []
Mount partitions:       []
Install base system:    []
Install boot loader:    []
Reboot:                 []
[O] = OK, [E] = Error (please elaborate below), [ ] = didn't try it

Comments/Problems:

I downloaded sarge-i386-netinst.iso from 
http://people.debian.org/cdimage/testing/
and initrd.gz and vmlinuz from 
ftp://ftp.uk.debian.org/debian/dists/unstable/main/installer-i386/current/images/hd-media

I checked the ISO against md5sum, then placed all 3 files in my root 
directory.

I added the following section to lilo.conf , then ran lilo
  image = /vmlinuz
  label = newinstall
  initrd = /initrd.gz

I rebooted and chose newinstall at the lilo prompt. After a bit of work I 
discovered that I needed to add the options

root=/dev/ram devfs=mount,dall

at the prompt. (See my previous email to debian-boot.) Could the following 
paragraph be added to the INSTALL-HOWTO section 2.5?

"If you have lilo installed, add the following lines to /etc/lilo.conf:
  image = /vmlinuz
  label = newinstall
  initrd = /initrd.gz
  root=/dev/ram
  devfs=/mount/dall
then run /sbin/lilo. Then reboot and choose (or enter) 'newinstall' at the 
lilo prompt."

Similarly, could the root and devfs options be specifically mentioned in the 
lilo section for booting from the hard drive in the installer manual?

With these options added, the system rebooted into the installer. I was able 
to choose language and keyboard options. Detection of hardware and module 
loading proceeded normally. But during hard drive detection, the system hung. 
The job was "16% complete" and the message was "Mounting 
/dev/discs/disc0/part1"

Any questions to hughjonesd@yahoo.co.uk - the mailing list is a bit high 
volume for me. 

Cheers
David