Bug#259373: comments on installation-report
Hello,
I wrote the installation report below exactly one month ago, and have
since come to the realization that it probably requires some more
comments. This is attempt to give some further explanation and comments.
First off - the installation report itself. I have learned that a lot of
people misunderstood and put X's in stead of O's and E's on the checklist.
I did so myself until I read the instructions *below* the checklist. I
then corrected this, but seem to have missed the last one. I think it
would help if the instructions were located above the checklist.
What struck me as a general problem going through the different windows
was the amount of text on each one. A lot of text, some it explanatory
and some if it quite not as explanatory. I think that the texts should
be briefer and more to the point. I didn't read all of them because of
this.
Then I felt that if I deviated from the path I had a hard time getting
back on it. Finding my way to the main menu was only possible if
something went wrong or if I canceled something, which it interpreted as
if something had gone wrong. I don't really know how to improve this,
but some sort of "escape back to main menu" option would be nice I
suppose.
Something a bit more specific was the fact that never got to choose
country. I suspect this had to do with the fact that I chose Language
en_US. However, just because I live in Sweden doesn't necessarily mean
that I want my OS in Swedish and just because I want it in American
English doesn't mean I live in the US. I'm suspecting that this
assumption was also what lead to the presentation of only US timezones
later on.
Where I work I sometimes deploy a server into a subnet with a DHCP
server present. Obviously, DHCP on a server is not normally what you
want. For at least this scenario, and probably others, I think that
having a manual IP-address or not should be a choice.
Getting up towards Grub/Lilo i had some difficulty actually choosing
Lilo, as stated. I've never fully understood Grub and Lilo works fine, so
I've never seen the reason to switch. With Grub the default option it
could be a bit easier to choose Lilo instead.
I realize that after the first reboot it's not D-I anymore, but I wasn't
aware of this at the time and was a bit puzzled about why it asked me
about hostname again, for instance.
I installed with D-I from a CD, or rather from an image of a CD in
VMWare. With very few exceptions, I always install Woody with B-F from
floppies, and really have no other option, since a lot of disk is more
important that a CD-reader in the machines I install. From what I gather
the number of driver disk is not *4* in D-I as in B-F, which of course
is nice.
I realize that one of your top design goals is to create an installer
that is actually possible to maintain, but I can't really comment on
that since I don't develop and don't really wish to. I can't really
comment on how it appears to the new debian user either, since I'm not
one. All I can say is that, sure, it did its job, kinda just like B-F
always did, with a few quirks but all in all all right. I'm not as
excited about it as I have heard a lot of people are, but maybe that's
symptomatic; I'm more excited about Debian itself than actually
installing it. If need ever be, I guess I actually will install it by
putting a tarball onto an empty filesystem, run lilo and rejoice.
So, did D-I did anything for me that that B-F didn't? Well, it probed my
network card. That has never bothered me much since I usally know the
hardware in the machines I install. What was more interesting to me was
whether it could install on a mirror set or not. Thus far, with B-F,
I have installed Woody on one disk and then manually copied data and
created the mirrors.
Improvement over B-F? Some more features I suppose, yes, but
easier/faster/better for me to use? Well, if I don't have to load
four driver disks and set up my mirror sets manually, perhaps.
/Martin
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 11:35:13 +0200 (CEST)
From: Martin Domeij <martin@domeij.org>
To: submit@bugs.debian.org
Subject: installation-reports
Package: installation-reports
Debian-installer-version: Dowloaded it 2004-07-13. See Method.
uname -a: Linux sid 2.4.25-1-386 #2 Wed Apr 14 19:38:08 EST 2004 i686
GNU/Linux
Date: 2004-07-13 and 2004-07-14
Method: Booted off sarge iso-image downloaded from
debian.org/devel/debian-installer, installed base from it, the rest from
http://ftp.se.debian.org.
Machine: VMWare
Processor: 1.67 GHz
Memory: 192 MB
Root Device: SCSI (VMWare)
Root Size/partition table: Automatic partitioning of 4GB drive
Output of lspci:
0000:00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corp. 440BX/ZX/DX -
82443BX/ZX/DX Host bridge (rev 01)
0000:00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corp. 440BX/ZX/DX - 82443BX/ZX/DX AGP
bridge (rev 01)
0000:00:07.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corp. 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 ISA (rev 08)
0000:00:07.1 IDE interface: Intel Corp. 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 IDE (rev 01)
0000:00:07.3 Bridge: Intel Corp. 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 ACPI (rev 08)
0000:00:0f.0 VGA compatible controller: VMWare Inc [VMWare SVGA II] PCI
Display Adapter
0000:00:10.0 SCSI storage controller: BusLogic BT-946C (BA80C30)
[MultiMaster 10] (rev 01)
0000:00:11.0 Ethernet controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] 79c970
[PCnet32 LANCE] (rev 10)
Base System Installation Checklist:
Initial boot worked: [0]
Configure network HW: [0]
Config network: [E]
Detect CD: [0]
Load installer modules: [0]
Detect hard drives: [0]
Partition hard drives: [E]
Create file systems: [0]
Mount partitions: [0]
Install base system: [0]
Install boot loader: [E]
Reboot: [X]
[O] = OK, [E] = Error (please elaborate below), [ ] = didn't try it
Comments/Problems:
2004-07-13:
First attempt, fast runthrough. Chose 'Go Back' on the choose location screen
which led to it not being shown again. Overall impression: What just happened?
2004-07-14:
Second attempt.
Press enter to boot
Language is en_US
Keyboard layout Swedish
It's detecting hardware to find CD-ROM drives
It's detecting network devices
It won't let me set an IP-address because there is a DHCP-server on my subnet.
Hm.
Detecting disks and other hardware
Starting up the partitioner
Manually edit
I choose the drive
The text is a bit confusing. First a major warning, then a "you will be able
to undo this operation". Right.
"Create new empty partition table on this device?" - and NO is the default
option. Didn't I actually go here to partition the drive?
Go back, go back - RED SCREEN - an installation step failed. Err, no actually,
it didn't *fail*, I just didn't *do* it, but went back in stead...
I'm thrown into the main menu.
Ah, here is the Configure network - let me just put an IP-address in there.
Great, now I get to choose not to use DHCP.
Back in the Partitioner , but now seemingly I can't choose automatic
partition...
Weird text here, "Configure the Logical Volume Manager" - I guess this means
that I can create something that has to do with LVM if I already have created
partitions. Choosing it asks if I want to save changes made to "partitioning
scheme" (I guess that means partition table). I haven't made any changes to
it. Choosing no gets me back to partitioning menu. Choosing yes lets me
create Volume Groups and Logical Volumes. I say crate VG - red screen. No
usable physical volumes found. Fine, there is only one disk with no
partitions yet. "Go Back". Back into Partitioner. Still no automatic thingy.
OK, so I stumble in to "Guided" finally and choose Erase entire disk. Fine.
All files in one partition - great, except that I will want a swap partition
as well. Hopefully it will do this. Finish partition, write to disk.
Partition #1 and #5? So, just one primary and then a logical? Err.. right.
Installing base system.
Install the GRUB boot loader. No thanks, I want Lilo. I choose No. Wrong
answer. It asks again where to put it, (hd0) is the default option. hd0? Is
that what GRUB calls sda? OK, Go Back then.
Back on the main menu. Hm. Up there is a Choose country I'm pretty sure
I haven't done... Anyway, install LILO. On master boot record. Lucky I know
what those things are. OK, all done then. Rebooting.
Configuring base system.. "The following are common time zones in the United
States" So, since I never got to choose country it assumes that I live in
the US? Oh god.
Set root password, create user account. Hm, full name before user name.. A bit
un-orthodox, but ok...
For some reason I have to choose every step from the menu. I think I said
go back somewhere and this is what I get for it.
Set the hostname? Again? That was one of the first things I did...
Add apt sources. It scans CDs for some reason. Now I get to choose http-
sources.
No more apt sources thank you.
Security updates? Sure, although I've just said I didn't want any more
sources.
Select packages to install. tasksel, aptitude, dselect or nothing. Oh god.
Hm, I'll try tasksel. Whoa, funky interface on that one.. Ok, Desktop
environment I suppose. Localization... No Swedish? Hm. So, just Desktop
environment then...
Install selected packages. I guess that selection gave me a lot, because
it takes a lot of time.
Then the usual stuff, debconf and stuff, a lot of text, some of it good, some
of it bad.
System seems OK.
If I understand things correctly, the only way for me to get into the main
menu
is if something goes wrong, which apperently it does if I choose "Go Back".
Since there is stuff on the main menu that lets me do stuff I can't otherwise,
such as setting a static IP-address in a subnet with a DHCP-server, this
strikes
me as odd.
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