Bug#685681: Successful install on old Acer Aspire One ZG5 laptop
(The installation report bug I am replying to is my own, where I tried
the beta-1 installer many months ago. I now tried the RC1 installer on
the same computer. To make this report more clear, I wrote it as a new
standalone installation report, instead of trying to refer to the
previous one. So please ignore the original installation report in this
bug and read this one instead.)
Boot method: CD image written directly to USB stick
Image version: http://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/wheezy_di_rc1/i386/iso-cd/debian-wheezy-DI-rc1-i386-netinst.iso
Date: from Sat 2 Mar 2013 09:40 UTC to about 12:10 UTC
Machine: Acer Aspire One ZG5 mini-laptop (bought around 2008)
Processor: Intel Atom N270, 1.6 GHz (arch i386)
Memory: 1.5 GB
Partitions:
Disk /dev/sdb: 320.1 GB, 320072931328 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 38913 cylinders, total 625142444 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000984a6
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 2048 499711 248832 83 Linux
/dev/sdb2 501758 625141759 312320001 5 Extended
/dev/sdb5 501760 625141759 312320000 83 Linux
Output of lspci -knn:
00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GSE Express Memory Controller Hub [8086:27ac] (rev 03)
Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device [1025:015b]
Kernel driver in use: agpgart-intel
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GSE Express Integrated Graphics Controller [8086:27ae] (rev 03)
Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device [1025:015b]
Kernel driver in use: i915
00:02.1 Display controller [0380]: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS/GME, 943/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller [8086:27a6] (rev 03)
Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device [1025:015b]
00:1b.0 Audio device [0403]: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family High Definition Audio Controller [8086:27d8] (rev 02)
Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device [1025:015b]
Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
00:1c.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family PCI Express Port 1 [8086:27d0] (rev 02)
Kernel driver in use: pcieport
00:1c.1 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family PCI Express Port 2 [8086:27d2] (rev 02)
Kernel driver in use: pcieport
00:1c.2 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family PCI Express Port 3 [8086:27d4] (rev 02)
Kernel driver in use: pcieport
00:1c.3 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family PCI Express Port 4 [8086:27d6] (rev 02)
Kernel driver in use: pcieport
00:1d.0 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #1 [8086:27c8] (rev 02)
Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device [1025:015b]
Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd
00:1d.1 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #2 [8086:27c9] (rev 02)
Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device [1025:015b]
Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd
00:1d.2 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #3 [8086:27ca] (rev 02)
Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device [1025:015b]
Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd
00:1d.3 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #4 [8086:27cb] (rev 02)
Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device [1025:015b]
Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd
00:1d.7 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB2 EHCI Controller [8086:27cc] (rev 02)
Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device [1025:015b]
Kernel driver in use: ehci_hcd
00:1e.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge [8086:2448] (rev e2)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge [0601]: Intel Corporation 82801GBM (ICH7-M) LPC Interface Bridge [8086:27b9] (rev 02)
Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device [1025:015b]
00:1f.2 IDE interface [0101]: Intel Corporation 82801GBM/GHM (ICH7-M Family) SATA Controller [IDE mode] [8086:27c4] (rev 02)
Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device [1025:015b]
Kernel driver in use: ata_piix
00:1f.3 SMBus [0c05]: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family SMBus Controller [8086:27da] (rev 02)
Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device [1025:015b]
Kernel driver in use: i801_smbus
02:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8101E/RTL8102E PCI Express Fast Ethernet controller [10ec:8136] (rev 02)
Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device [1025:015b]
Kernel driver in use: r8169
03:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Atheros Communications Inc. AR242x / AR542x Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) [168c:001c] (rev 01)
Subsystem: Foxconn International, Inc. Device [105b:e008]
Kernel driver in use: ath5k
04:00.0 System peripheral [0880]: JMicron Technology Corp. SD/MMC Host Controller [197b:2382]
Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device [1025:015b]
Kernel driver in use: sdhci-pci
04:00.2 SD Host controller [0805]: JMicron Technology Corp. Standard SD Host Controller [197b:2381]
Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device [1025:015b]
04:00.3 System peripheral [0880]: JMicron Technology Corp. MS Host Controller [197b:2383]
Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device [1025:015b]
Kernel driver in use: jmb38x_ms
04:00.4 System peripheral [0880]: JMicron Technology Corp. xD Host Controller [197b:2384]
Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device [1025:015b]
Base System Installation Checklist:
[O] = OK, [E] = Error (please elaborate below), [ ] = didn't try it
Initial boot: [O]
Detect network card: [O]
Configure network: [O]
Detect CD: [O]
Load installer modules: [O]
Detect hard drives: [O]
Partition hard drives: [O] (I cancelled the Erasing data step)
Install base system: [O]
Clock/timezone setup: [O] only because my RTC was correct (see below)
User/password setup: [O]
Install tasks: [O] (but a few surprises, see below)
Install boot loader: [O] (except for the GRUB issue already in errata)
Overall install: [O]
Booting installed system: [O]
Comments/Problems:
I selected the KDE text-mode expert installer from the boot loader.
*****
"Configure the clock": I selected "No" to the NTP question (as my
firewall blocks NTP), and expected to be asked to set the date and time
manually or at least to have been shown the time so I could check it -
but I was never even shown the time. (But I knew that I could use the
syslog in virtual console 4 to check that it was correct.)
I was also not asked whether the RTC is in UTC or local time, except at
the very end in "Finish the installation". The default was "set to UTC",
which was correct, since I already had Debian on the computer. But if my
system clock hadn't been set to UTC, and because there was no easy way
to set the time manually, then I guess that all dates on modified files
in the installed system would have been incorrect because they were in
the wrong timezone. (I.e., shouldn't this question be asked at the
start?)
I reported these two issues as bugs #702093 and #702113.
*****
"Partition hard drives": I used the guided partitioning with encrypted
LVM option (wanting to test it), with default partitions, and it worked
well, except that I cancelled the "Erasing data" step since it would
have taken many hours (see my old comment to bug #678015, which is still
open). I was a bit unsure as to whether the "Cancel" button would abort
the installation (so that I would have to restart the same step), but
no, it continued and worked well after pressing Cancel.
*****
"Install tasks" and the desktop environment: I knew what was coming so I
was less surprised than on my first install. But it still seems very
strange to me that the desktop environment would be special enough to
need to be selected in the boot loader instead of during the
installation process. It would seem much more logical to me to just have
four tasks:
- "Debian GNOME desktop environment"
- "Debian KDE desktop environment"
- "Debian XFCE desktop environment"
- "Debian LXDE desktop environment"
(I found wishlist bug #618915 about this, though I didn't quite
understand the rationale for wontfix.)
*****
"Install tasks" and Print server: The Laptop task seems to install most
of the Print server task: I deselected Print server, since I won't be
printing from this test installation, but I got the CUPS server
installed and running anyway. The problem is that task-laptop Recommends
bluetooth which Depends on cups, which ends up installing most of what
the "Print server" task would install. I reported this in more detail as
bug #702081.
(On my previous install, I also thought that "Print server" is not the
ideal name to give to a non-technical end user, but bug #696658 already
discusses renaming it.)
*****
"Install boot loader" worked fine, when I took the suggestion mentioned
in the installer errata: I replied No to "Install the GRUB boot loader
to the master boot record?" and used "fdisk -l /dev/sdb" from the shell
to check that /dev/sdb was the correct disk.
(This was the most serious problem I encountered in my previous install.
Then it ended up overwriting the boot loader of my other Debian
installation that I didn't want to touch at all (it was on the laptop's
internal drive, while I was test-installing to an external USB drive). I
was surprised that it didn't detect the presence of another standard
Debian installation on a separate disk. The first message in this bug
report has details, if you're curious.)
*****
In summary, the installation now went quite smoothly, except for the
GRUB problem mentioned in the errata. I found and/or reported separate
bug reports for all the minor and/or rare issues I mentioned above (the
bug numbers are given above).
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