Bug#979386: debian-installer: Install Annoyance

[David <bouncingcats@gmail.com>]

On Wed, 6 Jan 2021 at 11:42, Mike McCulley <solitaire@centurylink.net> wrote:

> Debian installer displays messages about the necessity of having GRUB
> installed, which implies it's possible to not install GRUB, but that option is
> not available. After installing Debian it's necessary to boot the primary OS
> and reinstall the custom GRUB. Life would be better if there was an option to
> skip the 'install GRUB' step.

> Debian installer formats swap, which changes the UUID, and not formatting is
> not an option. After installing Debian it's necessary to edit any other fstabs
> and update the swap UUIDs. Life would be better if there was an option to not
> format swap.

Hi Mike, I am not the maintainer but have a couple of suggestions from the side
lines which your message does not indicate that you are aware of.

I wonder if you have tried either 'priority=medium' or 'priority=low'
as mentioned
on this page:
https://www.debian.org/releases/buster/amd64/ch06s01.en.html

and with more info here:
https://www.debian.org/releases/buster/amd64/ch05s03.en.html#installer-args

Using that provides more control over the installation process. If I
recall correctly the
installer menu allows to skip any major step, including installing a bootloader.

Regarding the swap annoyance, an easier workaround might be to install
without swap
and later use the 'mkswap' command (or edit /etc/fstab) after you boot into the
new system to specify the same swap area that is already used by other systems.