Re: tasksel fails because base-config doesn't add a Debian mirror to /etc/apt/sources.list
Dear FJP,
--- Frans Pop <elendil@planet.nl> wrote:
> On Friday 23 March 2007 20:05, s s wrote:
> > Comments/Problems:
> > tasksel failed because the /etc/apt/sources.list file written by
> > base-config contained references only to the binary installation
> > CDs and security.debian.org. Because /etc/apt/sources.list did
> > not contain a regular Debian mirror URL, the aptitude command
> > executed by tasksel exited with the following error:
>
> This could well be a real issue. However, Etch is on the point to be
> released and has, since fairly recently, good support for PPPoE
> installations [1]. There is no chance that this will get fixed in Sarge.
>
> (I'm assuming here you are using PPPoE; if you're not, the cause of this
> problem is most likely a (temporary?) network configuration or connection
> problem when base-config was being run.)
>
Your assumption is not correct. I apologize for giving incomplete information.
First and foremost, I am trying to install Debian 3.1r5 (Sarge) from the first
two CDs.
My ADSL modem is connected to the Internet via DSL and has ethernet ports.
My computer is connected to one of the ethernet ports and gets its local
area network address via DHCP. The modem handles PPPoE (or PPPoA for that matter),
not my computer. The problem is not that my connection is temporary - it is
very stable. (There is no problem with getting the package lists from Debian's
security mirror. The installer even installs a new version of gpg from the
security mirror.) The problem is that base-config does not add a Debian mirror
line to /etc/apt/sources.list by default. It only adds a security mirror.
After the installation fails (or succeeds depending on which tasks one
has selected in tasksel), the /etc/apt/sources.list file contains only
the security mirror and not a regular Debian mirror. This is a serious
bug for people who, rightfully, expect things such as the installation
and the automatic apt-get updates to work properly.
If you have similar setup, (e.g. a computer with permament internet
connection via ethernet) simply try to install Sarge on a computer
with such an internet connection and you will see what I mean.
(Please do not forget to select "Web server" in the tasksel menu.)
> It should be easy enough to manually add an extra source line in
> /etc/apt/sources.list to solve the issue.
It is indeed easy for a user like me. But I can't even think what people
who are not as knowledgeable as I am can do in such a situation where
a major part of the installation cannot be completed. Plus, the setup
I have is not an uncommon one. An important majority of DSL subscribers
have a permanent internet connection and use modems which are connected
to their computer(s) via ethernet.
> Thank you for your report, but it looks like a corner case. The issue is
> not relevant for Etch and there is no chance it will get fixed in Sarge.
Let me say again: this is not a corner case. Please spend some time on this
bug, and let's try to fix it together.
> Cheers,
> FJP
Regards,
situert
> P.S. Next time, please submit the installation report to the Bug Tracking
> System [2] instead of just mailing it to the debian-boot list.
>
> [1] http://www.debian.org/releases/etch/i386/apds05.html.en
> [2] http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/ch05s03.html.en#submit-bug
>
I will do that next time. Thank you for your time
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