--- Begin Message ---
Package: installation-reports
Debian-installer-version: http://gluck.debian.org/cdimage/testing/sarge_d-i/i386/beta3/sarge-i386-netinst.iso d/l on 3/20/2004
uname -a: Too late, I was installing on a toasted machine. I HAD been running a self built 2.4.25 kernel with testing alsa-drivers
Date: 3/20/2004 midday to 3/21/2004 evening (MST)
Method: netinst CD-ROM, no proxy, simple home network setup
Machine: PC
Processor: Intel Pentium 4 2.40GHz
Memory: 512MB DDR
Root Device: /dev/hda
Root Size/partition table: See below
Output of lspci:
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corp. 82865G/PE/P Processor to I/O Controller (rev 02)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corp. 82865G/PE/P Processor to AGP Controller (rev 02)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corp. 82801EB USB (rev 02)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corp. 82801EB USB (rev 02)
00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corp. 82801EB USB (rev 02)
00:1d.3 USB Controller: Intel Corp. 82801EB USB (rev 02)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corp. 82801EB USB2 (rev 02)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corp. 82801BA/CA/DB/EB PCI Bridge (rev c2)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corp. 82801EB LPC Interface Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corp. 82801EB Ultra ATA Storage Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corp. 82801EB SMBus Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.5 Multimedia audio controller: Intel Corp. 82801EB AC'97 Audio Controller (rev 02)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc: Unknown device 4150
01:00.1 Display controller: ATI Technologies Inc: Unknown device 4170
02:01.0 Multimedia video controller: Miro Computer Products AG DC20 ASIC (rev 01)
02:02.0 SCSI storage controller: Adaptec AHA-2940UW Pro / AIC-788x (rev 01)
02:05.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Texas Instruments TSB43AB23 IEEE-1394a-2000 Controller (PHY/Link)
02:08.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corp.: Unknown device 1050 (rev 02)
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: [E]
Create file systems: [O]
Mount partitions: [O]
Install base system: [E]
Install boot loader: [O]
Reboot: [O]
[O] = OK, [E] = Error (please elaborate below), [ ] = didn't try it
Comments/Problems:
Since I learned the sarge installer supported LVM I have been itching to
try it; LVM representing the feature that hooked me on SuSE some years
back. I was planning on doing the evaluation on a 'non-production'
machine, but it turns out I toasted my main desktop and that pressed the
issue. Note also, that I was not planning on submitting installation
report, so my pre-installation data is incomplete; once I began
encountering errors, I kept reasonably good notes.
In general, the partitioning scheme I'm looking for is:
/dev/hda1 24.6M /boot - format ext3
/dev/hda2 254.9M swap
/dev/hda3 838.9M / - format ext3
/dev/hda4 extended partition
/dev/hda5 838.9M PV
/dev/hda6 1.6G /usr/local - 'keep & use' (ext3)
/dev/hda7 3.2G /home - 'keep & use' (ext3)
/dev/hdb1 4.3G PV
/dev/system/usr 3.2G /usr - format ext3
/dev/system/var 973M /var - format ext3
My original partition settings were:
/dev/hda1 24.6M /boot - ext3
/dev/hda2 254.9M swap
/dev/hda3 838.9M / - ext3
/dev/hda4 extended partition
/dev/hda5 838.9M /var - ext3
/dev/hda6 1.6G /usr/local - ext3
/dev/hda7 3.2G /home - ext3
/dev/hdb1 4.3G /usr - ext3
So my desired changes don't require any partition table changes per
se, just using the current partitions differently. As it turns out,
I misread the /usr/local/man/man error below as /usr/man/man. Because
of this I wound up re-running the installer *alot* before I realized the
obvious solution to my woes. Most of the things I would not have
noticed if I had read 'local' correctly the first time.
Scenario Defects:
1. My first attempt failed inside of the LVM Volume Group creation
dialog. On this occasion I was also attempting to setup root as an
LVM LV (on a whim, simply to see if it would work). The virtual
console errors suggested that pvcreate had not been run on the LVM
PV designated volumes. I rebooted, respecified my partition
settings, wrote them, and before requesting an LVM VG creation,
I went to the virtual console and ran pvcreate by hand on the
appropriate partitions. This seemed to solve the problem. I have
since attempted to RELIABLY reproduce this without success. However,
the error occassionally does occur, and on each occasion I've been
able to resolve the issue by ALT-F2'ing and pvcreate'ing the
appropriate partitions. Sometimes I have noticed that only one of the
partitions (/dev/hdb1) needs to be pvcreate'd (/dev/hda5 is OK),
othertimes (after a reboot), both partitions still belong to the
'system' volume group (from the previous boot), so I have to
pvcreate -ff them.
2. The base-files package would fail to install:
:
Setting up base-files (3.0.13) ...
ln: `/usr/local/man/man': File exists
dpkg: error processing base-files (--install):
subprocess post-installation script returned error exit status 1
Errors were encountered while processing:
base-files
This was because I was mounting my /usr/local as 'keep & use' and it
had a pre-existing man/man. I had to ignore my pre-existing
/usr/local to complete an installation. Should the base-files
package do this?
Generic Defects:
1. In 'Method for using this partition', if you accidentally choose 'Use
partition as a PV for LVM', you can't change to 'Keep and use the
existing data in the partition'. You must back out of and re-enter
the partitioning phase. I tried reproducing this, I could not, but
I did notice that if you keep changing the 'Method for using'
setting, that 'keep & use' COULD be mysteriously absent from choices.
Sometimes it was there, sometimes not. If the current usage is 'PV
for LVM', 'keep & use' always seemed to appear. Which does not seem
to jiv with my first experience. I was able to reproduce this with
any IDE partition. I could NOT reproduce this with a LVM LV, in
which case the 'method of using' seemed flawless, always giving the
'format', 'keep & use', or 'do not use' choices.
2. More than once, after setting up my partititions, after filesystems
are created, I got two 'The ext2 filesystem passed a basic check.
For a more comprehensive check, use the e2fsck program'. Which may
very well have been true, but it made me go back and double check my
partitioning because I thought I had mistakenly specified ext2 vs
ext3. Unfortunately once you go into partitioning, all settings are
lost (see #4) and you have to respecify them anyways to move on.
I suspect this is from my two 'keep & use' partitions, in which case
the message was slightly inaccurate (the partitions are ext3, not
ext2). Listing the mount point or partition in the message would
provide alot of clarity. I never *consistently* got these messages,
though 99% of the time I had two ext3 'keep & use' partitions.
4. Setting a partition to PV for LVM, return to partition table
overview, then change it back to 'keep & use'. Returning to
partition table overview does not display the detected filesystem
type anymore. You must exit 'Partition Disks' and reenter it again,
which also looses all your previous partition setup.
5. I could not determine the distinction between the 'martian man' and
the 'smiley face' icon in the partition overview. I realize I could
read the documentation, but more to the point: I always configured
the partition settings identically, and the use of these icons seemed
random (for both IDE partitions as well as LVM PV). Note the normal
vs reverse video mode (how I interpretted it) was consistent.
Comments:
1. From a usability standpoint, I think it would be prudent to list
which drive & partition you are editting the install settings for
when you are in the 'Partition Settings:' dialog. I needed to keep
two partitions of user data from being touched during the install (I
live dangerously don't I), and I kept backing out of 'Partition
Settings' just to be sure I wasn't wiping out the wrong partition.
2. Partition settings are lost after you setup your LVM configuration.
I would notoriously forget this so the first couple install attempts
I kept having to restate my /boot and / partition desires after my
LVM config. Couple this with my comment above, and it turned into
a longer (and more tedious) affair than it needed to be. Perhaps
a instructions to LVM users suggesting to
- FIRST do the 'size' partition,
- THEN the LVM configuration, and
- FINALLY the filesystem & mount point settings would be helpful.
I would think users that desire LVM are the same users who would be
happy and content if the ideal steps were simply stated, instead of
having to glean this from experience.
--
Keith Hellman #include <disclaimer.h>
khellman@mcprogramming.com from disclaimer import standard
"Every man knows he is a sissy compared to Johnny Cash."
-- Bono (U2)
--- End Message ---