Re: Installation and other problems ... [20 questions game].
On Sat 06 Mar 2021 at 11:46:33 (+0000), Andrew M.A. Cater wrote:
> Hi Richard,
>
> Looking at the threads from you over the last year+: I think I see a common
> pattern.
>
> * You're the person that buys DVD sets from [somewhere] to install from, I
> think
Thats right.
https://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2020/06/msg00225.html
"As I have restricted bandwidth and DVD set are available on flash
devices, I recently purchased Debian 10.0 for AMD64."
https://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2021/02/msg00002.html
"I have just installed Debian 10.7 to my Lenovo T510 Thinkpad having
copied debian-10.7.0-amd64-DVD-1.iso to a flash drive [the machine is
intentionally isolated from the internet]."
> * You have issues with the install processes
That's right, for example,
https://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2019/04/msg00076.html
> * You're prepared to stick to old software that works but have difficulty
> getting the newer software to stick on any machine.
Not so much newer software as newer methods. I want to use netinst,
but I'm not networked.
https://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2021/03/msg00135.html
"2. a laptop onto which I wish to install Debian using a netinst.iso ."
> * Everybody who is trying to help on the list is using newer software
Not so much newer software as networked hardware.
https://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2018/06/msg00435.html
"Ethernet is *NOT* involved …"
> * The issues you bring to the list tend to end up in a huge pile of mutual
> misunderstandings
True. Enough said.
> * You don't like WiFi?
I did, https://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2015/07/msg00405.html
"I'm looking for a USB modem for cell network (preferred) or a WiFi
hot spot (minimally acceptable)."
but not anymore, https://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2018/10/msg00597.html
"I have an 8-port switch but no physical space for it.
I connect to the internet via a USB connected T-Mobile Hotspot.
WiFi is disabled as it is a possible security problem contributing
to unnecessary spectrum pollution."
> * You have more than one machine such that references to them get confusing.
Yes, in https://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2021/03/msg00094.html
I perhaps gave the impression that "the first machine [Dell Latitude
E6410]" was not the machine I wanted to install to (which was "a
second machine". But now, in
https://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2021/03/msg00237.html
I've decided that it will be the Latitude after all.
"That will be my Dell Latitude E6410 which I use everyday. At the
moment I'm running the i386 flavor of Debian 9.13. It also has the
AMD64 flavor of Debian 10.0 . Both installed from relevant DVD1."
Oh, it's already running buster. Just 10.0 rather than 10.8.
But let's see, I don't have a network in the conventional sense,
so it's hard to upgrade like everyone else. So I'll try a fresh
install from netinst; that's NETinst. Keep up.
> Let me try and help narrow down some of the scope of what you're asking and
> then see if we can help you on the debian-user list. Maybe you could:
>
> Pick one machine that you're wanting to install Debian on. [Just Debian,
> for the moment].
>
> This is a game of twenty questions
>
> What's this machine going to be FOR?
>
> 1. What's the end goal for that machine? What do you want to use it for?
I'm always shooting "Towards a customizeable installer", building
a customised preseed.cfg to churn out Debian installations.
> 2. What desktop environment do you want on it?
Too easy mate. MATE.
> 3. What other software are you likely to need?
> [If you've some idea of this up front and it's a defined goal - we can break
> it into steps]
I've played with LibreOffice Calc but it takes a lot of space.
I didn't get on with its Base or Writer. Perhaps Mariadb/MySQL.
Apache. TCL at one time. Bibletime. Lots of installer stuff,
like debootstrap. Don't forget BASIC, of course. Old if possible.
I've probably forgotten some.
Oh, compilations of reading lists.
But really, just as little as possible. Minimal. Minimalist.
(Remember the data cap.)
> 4. ** Will it need to dual boot another OS eventually **
Other customised Debians, yes. (I've abandoned M$.)
> [5. Give it a friendly name we can refer back to in subsequent exchanges :-) ]
[–expletive deleted–]
> The physical machine:
>
> 1. What model is it? Any idea how old? Laptop/desktop?
>
> 2. Is it capable of running 64 bit software?
>
> 3. How much memory does it have [RAM]?
>
> 4. How much disk does it have [GB]? How many disks?
>
> 5. What video controller does it have [if known]
>
> 6. What ports or connectors does the machine have externally?
My field service tech will get back on all that.
> Installation:
>
> Internet provider
> -----------------
>
> 1. What internet bandwidth do you have available to you to do this? [Claimed
> max speed / real speed you get]
Does anyone ever know?
> 2. That bandwidth gets to you how? Wired? Satellite? 4G connectivity?
4G, IIRC.
> 3.Is that bandwidth shared between lots of devices - can you spare
> bandwidth/time for installation for this new machine?
Well, I can only use one at a time really.
For the new machine? Well, I think I actually have everything except
the last point release, but it would be nice to find out how to
download it all again by using netinst. And then I can write this
bug report against https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/amd64/
because nowhere does it tell you how to set up this "ethernet"
device that isn't an Ethernet device.
> 4. Do you have an all inclusive plan for data/phone?
Phone? What's that? PDA? Now you're talking.
> 5. Do you have a data cap?
Is the pope a catholic?
> [Or a practical limit where you can only download
> X MB of data in six hours or so so large downloads are impractical].
> Connecting to the ISP supplied device - the Alcatel?
>
> 1. What interface is provided by the device that the ISP has given you?
USB. It's a bit like ethernet, but not.
> 2. How do you control the ISP device to change settings / check connectivity?
An app, but I'm not sure whether it runs on a smartphone, windows, or what.
> 3. Do you have a second device which you can use to connect to the ISP's device to check
Well, there's WiFi, but I won't turn it on in the Alcatel, or
anywhere else.
> Given that we can't actually sit by your side to do this: answers to some of
> these in order may help us figure out exactly how to go from here.
Well, I thought I might try out the method under section 4 of the
universe, that some kind fellow nearby had suggested in
https://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2021/03/msg00151.html
but then I got very confused. I thought the Latitude was the
machine that worked with the Alcatel, and was used to download
the netinst image. That's how I read the first two paragraphs of
https://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2021/03/msg00094.html
But then I looked back and found
https://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2021/02/msg00002.html
where I read that Debian 10.7 had just been installed on a
Lenovo T510 Thinkpad using debian-10.7.0-amd64-DVD-1.iso on a stick.
I wondered whether this was the machine that couldn't successfully
install 10.8 from the netinst image.
> All the very best,
Yes, me and my mate could do with a stiff drink.
Cheers,
David.
Reply to: