Re: Installation Failing Sun V100
Hi Brandon,
On Wed, 5 Jan 2005, Brandon Mercer wrote:
http://ftp.au.debian.org/pub/debian-cd/images/3.0_r2/sparc/debian-30r2-sparc-binary-1.iso
And what you just said doesn't make any sense. First off I'd like to state
that debian is about the most disorganized distro/website/documentation mess
I've ever seen. if you read this web page:
http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-installer/ it tells you:
*If you just need an installation that works*, we recommend you use the rc2
release of the installer, after checking its errata
<http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-installer/errata>. The following images
are available for rc2:
Now, if you click the like:
http://cdimage.debian.org/pub/cdimage-testing/sarge_d-i/sparc/rc2/sarge-sparc-netinst.iso
you can see very clearly that the image comes from cdimage-testing which DOES
NOT USE the rc2 installer. I know because I've tried this image and it FAILS
EVERY TIME. I don't understand why they recommend rc2 if you need an
installer that works if that's what they're already using. (yes, I KNOW that
this installer installs testing, but it doesn't make sense because testing
doesn't use the rc2 installer. My feeling is that you should be testing ALL
of the testing release).
Well, it seems a little frustrating if you don't know all the ins and outs
:-). I'll try to explain how it works. The Debian's current stable
version, which has codename 'woody' and version number 3.0, has been
released a while ago. From time to time it's getting security updates, but
no major changes, as such as Debian's policy. The updated versions are
numbered 3.0r1, 3.0r2, etc. Note that it is 'r', not 'rc'. Currently
Debian is in process of preparing another stable release, which will have
the codename 'sarge' and version number 3.1. It has not been released yet,
so currently 'sarge' is also referred to as 'testing' distribution, which
will become the new 'stable' once its bugs are fixed and it is released.
The RC2 (Release Candidate 2) version of the installer I was referring to
is the one from http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-installer. This is
a more or less working snapshot of an installer which is going to be
released when 'sarge' aka 'testing' will become 'stable', given that we
will be able to fix (most of) the bugs. Currently all the efforts are
concentrated on improving the 'sarge' installer, as the 'woody' installer
will not be updated anymore. Note, that you should not submit the
installation report with 'woody' installer, as it will not help to make
the new installer any better. Does that make any sense? :-)
Ok, now about the installation. When I first booted the WOODY 3.0rc2
installation CD ISO IMAGE I did at the prompt:
linux ide=nodma
And after the initial reboot I did the same thing. This tells me that this
buggy chipset is still buggy HOWEVER... my openbsd 3.6 didn't have ANY
trouble getting itself installed so you developers CAN MAKE THIS BETTER!
This project is run by volunteers, donating their personal time and
(generally, rather limited) resources. Personally, as much as I would
like the installer and kernel to work better on Sun hardware, I don't have
a possibility to purchase newer Sun machines just to be able to debug the
installer and the kernel. And not 'you developers', but WE can make it
better. As I don't have access to the hardware, I need to collect
information first. Like, what images work, whether the problems are
experienced with 2.4 or 2.6 kernels (or both), etc. On a few occasions now
I have given you the exact URLs of the installation media I would like you
to try, along with the pretty clear instructions on what to do and which
information to collect. Every time you come back with a different report
which I need to followup with additional questions just to extract any
useful information from it. I have to admit, I've been not very successful
with it so far.
Really, honestly, for as upset as I sound in this email I'm very thankful for
your help, and having debian to work with. My frustration comes from the
disorganization of this stuff. I will devote some efforts to helping other
people figure out how to do what I'm doing and that is run a great, stable
linux distro on sun hardware so they can kick butt on the web too. I will
also do the report-template thingy so you guys have something to work with.
Just so you konw I will have approximately 20 sun V100's running this so I
will be more than happy to help you developers to get bugs knocked out.
This is very good, we really can use more testers, especially on the
newer hardware. However, just popping a CD in and saying "I booted this
thing and it died with an error, help!" without mentioning anything
about the error is not constructive. If you want to be a really good
tester and bug reporter, you should collect as much information as
possible, enabling someone else with the similar hardware to at
least reproduce the problem. Exact version of the installer used, various
debugging information, relevant pieces from the logs, theories about
possible bug origins - that's what I would like to see in a good bug
report. I understand, that if you don't know anything about how things
work, it might be tricky at first, but don't be afraid to ask (not
necessarily on this list).
Thanks so much for your help,
Brandon
Best regards,
Jurij Smakov jurij@wooyd.org
Key: http://www.wooyd.org/pgpkey/ KeyID: C99E03CC
Reply to: