CC'ing util-linux maintainer(s) to get his/her/their advice as /etc/init.d/hwclock belong to this package.
This is about d-i "2nd stage" (after the reboot) failing on Dell Dimension 8400 machines (a fairly common end user machine) as well as some other systems, because of hwclock call. Before I reassign part of this bug report to base-config and/or util-linux, more input is needed, though. > For the first one, follow the instruction of > http://craige.mcwhirter.com.au/blog/archive/2005/01/25/issues_installing_ubuntu_410_w#body > You must edit the following files: > /etc/init.d/hwclock.sh > /etc/init.d/hwclockfirst.sh > /usr/sbin/tzsetup > Add `--directisa' option to every occurence of `hwclock' command. I wonder whether always adding this would harm. From the hwclock man page, it should not: --directisa is meaningful only on an ISA machine or an Alpha (which implements enough of ISA to be, roughly speakâ ing, an ISA machine for hwclockâs purposes). For other machines, it has no effect. This option tells hwclock to use explicit I/O instructions to access the Hardware Clock. Without this option, hwclock will try to use the /dev/rtc device (which it assumes to be driven by the rtc device driver). If it is unable to open the device (for read), it will use the explicit I/O instructions anyway. Something else not related (so, util-linux people, you can skip): > > For the second one, you have to remove tg3 driver from and install > bcm5700 to the kernel. Get the `bcm5700-source' package and install > it. Then reconfigure kernel to remove both `tg3.ko' and `eth1394.ko' > modules. Append `alias eth0=bcm5700' to the /etc/modutils/arch/i386 > and run update-modules and depmod. Hmmm, this seems to imply that this driver is not available in the d-i kernel package. I have no material nor competences to investigate this, but this should be investigated, indeed.