Ok Julian, you dragged me out again, and made me bite on another piece of bait... So this is my last-last comment on this thread.
Yes, it's well acknowledged that installing Linux can, and will destroy the contents of your hard drive. It's also well documented, so it shouldn't be such a surprise! So will Redmond, so will Solaris, so will BSD, so will AIX, so will HP-UX, etc., etc., etc.. Linux is not unique in that respect (Don't anyone say it! I KNOW AIX & HP-UX won't run on Intel platforms. But they surely will overwrite the contents of a hard-drive upon install, which was the point I was trying to make). Some of these OS's though will allow you to install along-side another os, and play nicely. Linux is just such a good neighbor. But it must be done with care & caution. Once the partition table, OR the MBR has been written to, it cannot be "canceled". The Linux installer (and the install documentation) are a little light on documentation about that. Also, in the expert mode install, the point of no return in where it places Lilo can go by very quickly, and unnoticed if you're not really paying attention (it gets evern trickier when the folks at Mandrake change the installer...). So, that much I'll concede to. Maybe Mandrake could take a look at the section in the installer where it confirms where to put lilo. I will admit to blasting my MBR more than once from having missed this on a newly revised installer. Messed with my whole week-end the last time. Takes a fair amount of work to fix the MBR when it had System Commander on it, and multi booting 5 different OS's! So I'll lay down me guns. I've wounded meself a time or two with this stuff. But then, that's how I learned to fix it! :) But it's like learning to drive. You _do_ need to practice, and be careful. You can't blame the car because you didn't see the stop sign, or know the rules of the road. Nuff said. I'm puttin my guns back in the holster before I piss anyone else off, and I'm SOL the next time I need help. <G> Ric PS: Julian; You're good sport. You'll do OK with this stuff! :) Julian Opificius wrote: > Jeez, what's with all this heavy artillery. I didn't say it was junk. I > offered the installer wasn't well written. > You came at me with guns a'blazin, Ric! > I've been in this business a long time, and I don't appreciate > judgemental crap about "lame" options, not R'ing TFM, etc. > >> I actually do have a great deal of patience. I spend a lot of time >> helping folks, who demonstrate a desire to help themselves, and are >> trying to learn. > > > I know you do. We all appreciate that. But don't be uncivil. Offering a > less-than-shining opinion about a piece of code does not warrant > personal attacks. > >> Yes, Linux is an advanced operating system. It does require spending >> some time learning it. No experienced Linux user, or admin would say >> differently. > > > And neither would I. We all have to start somewhere, and unfortunately > the installer is that "somewhere". > >> To get the most out of Linux, and this list, spend some time >> educating yourself before proclaiming Mandrake to be junk because it >> won't install right, when the install error was yours. >> > > > > Nobody's proclaiming any such thing. If you'd stop being so blasted > defensive on everyone else's behalf we'd get something done. > > The problem was this: > I DID use the expert mode. I had created partitions using System > Commander before starting the Mandrake install. After some minor > adjustments in the installer I wrote the partition table and continued > with the install. At some point I realized the installer was taking me > somewhere I didn't want to go, but the cancel button wouldn't work, and > I couldn't identify a backout strategy from the buttons on the dialog. > > Civelene's comment about expectations was probably right on the mark :- > > > At the moment we are having more bad results from veteran installers > than > > 12-year-olds who have never seen an installer before. So we are learning > > that there is a definite expectation induced by prior experience that > may > > distort perceptions of users into assuming they see things they do not. > > Thank you, Civilene. I think you've got it in a nutshell. > > Let's all get back to helping each other out and not defending Linux - > it doesn't need it. > > Julian. > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? > Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com > -- Ric Tibbetts Linux registration number: 55684 If you want to help advertise Linux - point your friends to http://counter.li.org/
Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
