Bug#244884: Sarge Installation Report
Package: installation-reports
Debian-installer-version:
Downloaded CD image from mirror on 4/17:
-rw------- 1 100 100 14360320 Apr 17 06:51 sarge-i386-netinst.iso
uname -a: Linux debian 2.4.25-1-386 #1 \
Tue Feb 24 08:11:13 EST 2004 i686 GNU/Linux
Date: 4/17-l8
Method: Downloaded CDROM-image (100MB one), booted, installed to spare partition using http://linux.csua.berkeley.edu
Machine: Desktop clone from parts.
Processor: Celeron 1.3 GHz
Memory: 512 MB PC133
Root Device: Western Digital Ultra ATA HD
Root Size/partition table:
hda1 10908103 W95 FAT32 (LBA)
had2 69416865 W95 Ext'd (LBA)
hda5 10908103 W95 FAT32
hda6 787153 W95 FAT32
hda7 2562336 ext3
hda8 20539071 ext3
had9 30812638 ext3
hda10 3807373 ext3
Output of lspci:
pcilib: Cannot open /sys/bus/pci/devices
0000:00:00.0 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8601 [Apollo ProMedia] (rev 05)
0000:00:01.0 PCI bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8601 [Apollo ProMedia AGP]
0000:00:07.0 ISA bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C686 [Apollo Super South] (rev 40)
0000:00:07.1 IDE interface: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C586A/B/VT82C686/A/B/VT823x/A/C/VT8235 PIPC Bus Master IDE (rev 06)
0000:00:07.2 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT6202 [USB 2.0 controller] (rev 1a)
0000:00:07.3 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT6202 [USB 2.0 controller] (rev 1a)
0000:00:07.4 Bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C686 [Apollo Super ACPI] (rev 40)
0000:00:07.5 Multimedia audio controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C686 AC97 Audio Controller (rev 50)
0000:00:09.0 SCSI storage controller: Adaptec AHA-2940U/UW/D / AIC-7881U (rev 01)
0000:00:0b.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL-8139/8139C/8139C+ (rev 10)
0000:01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: Trident Microsystems CyberBlade/i1 (rev 6a)
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:
1. First off, on boot the word "Install" didn't appear. It was easy to
get the help menus, but they offered to "boot" or "troubleshoot". It
would be nice to have a big, obvious button that says "Install Debian
GNU/Linux".
2. The menus were easy to use, and figure out, but I'm not a newbie and
I didn't see any help text such as "use the tab and arrow keys to
highlight your selection, then press Enter". We should have two kinds of
help available throughout the process: One that tells you how to use the
keys, another that provides context-sensitive help.
3. The partitioner didn't guide me through the process very well, and
when I returned to screens I'd visited before the default highlight was
frequently not a sensible choice. It was confusing that the option to
assign mount points didn't appear until you elected to format a
partition. Better to have this visible but disabled.
4. You weren't told that you had to assign a root mount point until you
tried to proceed and got an error message.
5. At one point I hit the "back" button, and got to a screen I hadn't
encountered yet, a long list of things to do in an approximately
sensible order.
6. I can't help comparing this experience to the RedHat installer. It's
not so much that they use X-Windows, it's that they do a great job of
telling you where you are in the process and the goal of each step.
7. Nice to have aptitude in addition to tasksel and dselect, but I've
never used it before and I didn't figure it out, bailed and used
dselect. Later tried tasksel, very nice for the newbie. What I'd really
love to be able to do would be be to use tasksel to make selections,
then dselect to refine them.
8. Grub! Outstanding.
9. Disclaimer: This is being written two days after the install, I'll do
another tomorrow and review these comments while running it.
PS: You're doing outstanding work, thank you!
--
Paul Mackinney
paul@mackinney.net
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