Minimal Woody Installation Disk and Serial Console

[Martin McCormick <martin@dc.cis.okstate.edu>]

	I am using the Serial console method of installing Woody
on a new, or at least, new to me, Dell system.

	For those who haven't done this, you just insert the
Debian boot CD and boot the system but type the following where
most people just hit Enter:

linux console=ttyS0,9600n8

and the Com1 port begins to send and receive all of the
installation messages.

	This works for me until I get to the end of the first
part of the configuration sequence at the point where you have to
configure the Base system.

	At that point, you have to reboot the system and that's
where things go wrong.

	Interestingly enough, if you build a system like that,
the inittab file gets modified to make ttyS0 or which ever port
you used, in to a tty login port which is very neat.  Now for the
bad news!

	What I immediately get is the remainder of the
configuration sequence where one sets the time zone, host name,
network acquisition method such as dhcp or ppp, etc.  The problem
is that now, the system seems to have forgotten that I am using a
VT100.

	I get a very bad screen full of escape sequences and
garbage like one gets when looking at a vt100 session with the
wrong terminal type.

	When I get to the screen to set the root password, I am
in an endless loop in which the system tells me that I entered an
empty password which is bogus.  It then proceeds to be stuck in
that mode forever until I die and stop trying to enter a
password.:-( GRRR!

	I don't fully understand what is wrong since I use
Kermit's vt100 emulation on the P.C. which serves as the
terminal, but I am awash in 8-bit characters and their ill
effects on Kermit's operation.

	I can actually continue to muddle through the mess to set
the time zone and system name, but that password screen is as
good as a lockup since you can't get past it.

	I have installed earlier versions of Linux on other
systems and run in to some of the same problems, but never this
bad.

	Any ideas as to how to make the base configuration send
proper vt100 codes and let me finish this installation?

	For computer users who happen to be blind, this is one of
the best methods for installation since everything you need is on
the CD, but I am stuck.  The last thing that got successfully set
was the time zone and I was able to bring up the network card,
but all that gets lost each time I have to bring it down since it
is dhcp and there isn't enough of a system up yet to safely put
it on the network anyway.

	I did make a boot floppy when given the opportunity and
it works perfectly and puts me right back at the start of the
remainder of the configuration.  That is fine if I can ever get
proper communication with it and complete it.

	Any ideas please?

Martin McCormick WB5AGZ  Stillwater, OK 
OSU Center for Computing and Information Services Network Operations Group