Hi Adrian, Rick, On 10/31/2017 09:00 PM, John Paul Adrian Glaubitz wrote:
On 10/31/2017 08:38 PM, Rick Thomas wrote:The only way I can contribute to this effort to get grub2 working on powerpc is if I get a clear, succinct set of instructions at the level of detail of, for example, “at this point in the installation, open a console window and download this file then run this command; when it asks for x, be sure to> answer y; then continue with the installation”.If we had a clear list of instructions on what to do to get the grub-installer component of debian-installer work properly on PowerPC_NewWorld, then I wouldn't ask you to type in the commands manually, but I would just turn the individual commands into code.If I can follow the instructions, I promise to provide full and complete information on the results.Sorry, but this makes no sense. You are basically saying "Please give me a full list of steps on how to make grub-installer work on this environment properly so I can confirm something that you already know."
No, I think what Rick meant was that he needs to have some instructions on how to get the modified code into an installation environment as he wants to help us by testing the modifications on his systems.
I can describe how I did this with [d-i/grub-installer] as example:[d-i/grub-installer]: https://anonscm.debian.org/cgit/d-i/grub-installer.git/tree/
It's possible to change at least parts of Debian-Installer components during a running Debian installation. The key is to find the place where parts of a d-i component are installed - Adrian gave me the pointer to the `grub-installer` script some time ago. For the relevant parts of d-i/grub-installer the following paths are of interest:
* `/usr/bin/grub-installer` - This is the main script of the d-i/grub-installer. Can be edited directly (e.g. with `nano`). Is executed by the `[...]postinst` script.
* `/var/lib/dpkg/info/grub-installer.postinst` - This is the same file as `debian/postinst` in the d-i/grub-installer repository. Can be edited directly. Is executed after the GRUB installation step is selected and executed.
* `/var/lib/cdebconf/templates.dat` - this file holds - possibly - all debconf templates (e.g. "grub-installer/with_other_os" from [2]) for all d-i components. I assume the templates are inserted there during the udeb installation. I'm still unsure if this file can maybe just be modified by e.g. adding new templates at the end of the file, so I asked Adrian to build a new grub-installer udeb with my debconf templates added instead to be on the safe side.
[2]: https://anonscm.debian.org/cgit/d-i/grub-installer.git/tree/debian/grub-installer.templates
To get my modified files into a running Debian installation, I used a local web server. I uploaded my modified files to a directory served by my web server and then downloaded the files via wget from a running shell in the Debian installation. Sounds cumbersome, but works reliably.
Existing files should be moved out of the way before downloading the modifications as wget will store the file with a modified name if a file with the original name exists, which might led to confusion later on. It is also important to apply the exact same FS permissions of the original files to the modified files (most likely execute permissions, etc.) after downloading.
Modification of the original files (either via direct editing or download) has to be done before the corresponding step is executed from the installation menu but after the corresponding udeb was installed. So to be on the safe side, modifications to a d-i component should be made directly before selecting and executing the corresponding step. E.g. for d-i/grub-installer the modifications should be made after the "Select and install software" step.
When doing an "expert" installation the described steps can be repeated as often as needed (or until everything is broken - yes, been there ;-)) before finishing the installation. Just return to the menu and reselect and execute the corresponding step after making some modifications to its parts and so forth.
****Sorry for not getting back to you earlier, but I was fixing remaining issues with my modifications and creating missing parts.
I hope to be able to provide the results between tomorrow morning and the weekend.
Cheers, Frank