Hi, just my thoughts (I am trying to install to 486/DX2 50 MHz with 20 MB of memory and PCMCIA ISA NIC without CD-ROM.) Summary: With minor change and text based prompting, d-i memory requirement can be lowered to 8-16 MB instead of current 32 MB. Details: Currently, 32 MB or so of RAM is needed for the normal debian-installer experience. Most of these new system with so much memory come with CD or network card as bootable media. But such huge needs for the memory is mostly because we run debian-installer root image on memory. As I booted from floppy, it seems much less than 16 MB is needed as long as we enable swap immediately after mounting root.img. I failed when partitioning started. (I think it was because partitioning disabled swap.) Better than original report but not good enough. http://bugs.debian.org/256547 In order to make lowmem install with floppy more usable, following action maybe desirable (no rush for immediate test release but we should think about it): (1) Include followings in the initial floppy boot.img. (Optional but this may bring memory requirement really low.) * (fdisk if possible) * swapon, (insmod is there already) * ide-disc.o ide-detect.o modules (maybe SCSI ones too) (2) Include followings in the floppy root.img. * fdisk * (swapon and insmod are there already) * ide-disc.o ide-detect.o modules (maybe SCSI ones too) If these are heavy, providing way to install them from floppies such as net-drives.img or cd-drivers.img when detecting lowmem condition automatically and prompt user to use them from vt2 to activate swap will be sufficient. (3) Add features to auto partition script. If active swap is detected, show warning and ask user to use fdisk for further partitioning carefully in vt2 if needed. Then just handle mounting only and do not touch swap situation from the partitioning script. If we do all (1) - (3), we may bring lowmem limit around 8MB. If we do (2) and (3), we may bring lowmem limit around 16MB. If fdisk (~80KB as is) in (1) is not possible as is, make an simple fdisk.img which has busybox and fdisk on interactive shell with ide-disc.o ide-detect.o modules (maybe SCSI ones too). Then we can just manually partition system before installation. Considering many odd configuration, these partitioning do not need to be menu driven, I think. I think 32MB is a bit too much for old system. If we insist, we may as well start compiling for 586 only (joking). I really hate to see d-i being more memory hungry than old woody-boot-floppies. Osamu PS: Different idea of lowmem is not to use RAMDISK for installer root. NSF mounted root image may be alternative way to install system on low memory system. After all, these lowmem installer are for experts anyway. (This may be easier if network is accessible. But my NIC is on PCMCIA which makes it impossible to have access in early phase. This is for old tower PC, I guess.)
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