I do understand your frustration, the Manual option for the
Debian Installer is complex.
It took me a while to absorb, and understand... see further
comment below
Hello all
It is good to see a few comments and help following my original post. I had set aside a few days to try out the Debian system and repositories but sorting out the effect on my main system and finding the cause has used up those days. I now have to return my kit to normal set-up and ready for action.
Other than Pascal’s ‘feature’ - I assume he does not like it either - we still do not have a valid reason.
Linus said ‘ don’t break users’. I don’t like being broken but I also think of this as a failure in duty of care and a failure of trust that an application will do what I want, not what a developer thinks I want. But I am also aware that this is my first real look (in about 10 years) at raw Debian. I cannot be too critical of something I do not fully understand so I will stick with the versions filtered via Ubuntu/Mint for a while longer.
In leaving this topic and just in case someone else finds it later – please take a look at https://wiki.debian.org/Swap – the Note towards the end of the page. If this is correct, then any swap partition on any drive in the kit will be compromised.
Yes, that note is correct, but let's isolate Two sentences that are on point:
1. "In order for the installer not to format a swap partition, it
must manually be marked "Do not use" during partitioning."
*this is correct, Key is that any swap partition that you don't
want formatted Must be marked "Do not use" during the install
process.
2. "The installer will format any swap partition not marked "Do
not use" and use it for swap space on the installed system."
this you already know... and is the problem you are having: The
installer searches all partitions, finds All swap partitions, and
flags them to be Formatted and included in your fstab to be
mounted on boot... that default is maddening and causes extra
work.
*** this part is tough, I would prefer a screen shot or two, but
bear with me working from memory.
you will be presented with a list of all existing partitions.
one by one, select partitions indicated as swap
now my memory fades... click on it and choose edit/change or
something
select swap, scroll down and see "Do not use",
choose that, save that choice, resume and attack the next existing
swap partition.
It is tedious, but it does work Exactly as described, once you
understand ;-)
I will try to come back later ... I will run the installer and
make copious notes on point.
Hang in, once you get it, it is a Oh Duh! thing.
If one of the maintainers of the excellent Installation Guides is watching, could you include a warning in the relevant section (6.3.4) please. A comment on the screens relating to setting up the swap may also help future users.
I hope to come back to Debian (probably via LMDE) later.
Regards
CT