Bug#240415: i386: Success, some issues
Package: installation-reports
Debian-installer-version: 25.03.04 from Debian website (normal netinst)
Date: 26.03.04
System is the same as in #231083.
The install process worked without a hitch and left me with a bootbale
and working system. d-i has certainly come a long way since beta2!
However, I noticed the following things during installation including a number
of regressions from the woody installer:
(1) Initial screen before booting
I didn't get the graphical screen. I have a 1.5 years old ATI Radeon 9000 Pro.
Graphical boot screens work for other CDs, e.g. Knoppix. Odd.
Also, the text screen that appears should at least say something along the
lines of 'Welcome to the Debian Sarge Installation CD' (or whatever it says on
the graphical boot screen). Just the ISOLINUX line, F1 help and a boot prompt
is a bit terse I believe.
Finally, there is still no boot image 'rescue'. This is not only inconvenient
but also a regression from the woody installer.
(2) DHCP failure screen
I feel that this screen should at least explain that if the user does choose
not to retry DHCP s/he will be asked to provide anIP address manually. To me
the text on the screen sounds a bit like 'You can retry DHCP and if it doesn't
work you're on your own' because it does not mention the alternative of
specifying an IP address manually which is just around the corner. It should
therefore really have buttons saying: <retry DHCP> <manual IP> or similar.
As a side note: Having read the FAQ I still think it would be worth considering
a boot parameter 'debian-installer/dhcp=false' to turn off DHCP.
(3) Partitioner
As has been raised by others, there should be an automatic option that leaves
an existing Windows installation intact. A Windows installation should be
bootable after installation. Debian should be a good neighbour to other OSes.
There is still no possibility to do a badblock scan on partitions. There is a
wishlist bug for this (#231108) which I feel is not good enough as this is a
regression from the woody installer. I therefore think the bug should be 'normal'.
I agree there is a need to keep the installer as easy to use as possible and also
think that the vast majority of drives do not have bad blocks. My suggestion would
therefore be to have a boot parameter 'debian-installer/badblockscan=true' for
this and to also make it part of expert mode.
The partitioner while a great addition to d-i feels a bit clumsy. I can't think
of a better overall concept at the moment, so I just mention two things that
would IMHO improve things:
When selecting a partition for modification, the partioner jumps to the partition
screen and defaults to 'Done setting up the partition'. Cleary, if I select a
partition, I want to do something with it, so my suggestion would be to make it
default to 'Usage method' which is at the top and has a reasonably high
probability of being wanted by the user.
Secondly, the partitioner should not offer mount points that have already been
assigned. This would avoid user errors and speed up selecting a moint point.
This is by the way what the woody installer does, so it's really a regression.
(4) Debian source configuration
d-i ignores that it has been told twice that I am in Australia: language = en_AU,
timezone = Sydney, and selects the US for mirrors. Really the list of mirrors
should be organised using the time zone information, so that 'Australia' is
preselected when the user chooses Sydney as her/is time zone.
(5) Creating normal user account
d-i (or base-config?) asks twice for a user name.
General
On the d-i screens, the <back> button doesn't take you back to the previous
screen but to the installation main menu. I find this confusing. It should either
be changed to actually take the user back or be called <main menu> or similar.
Having more things configurable via debian-installer boot parameters would be great.
Expert mode is certainly cool, but often one only needs one single feature that the
otherwise slick standard installer doesn't have.
Best regards
Andree
--
Andree Leidenfrost
Sydney - Australia
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