Bug#470027: installation report
Package: installation-reports Boot method: downloaded DVD-1 from torrent, booted and installed Image version: http://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/weekly-builds/amd64/bt-dvd/debian-testing-amd64-DVD-1.iso.torrent Date: March 8th 2008 Machine: custom Gigabyte GA-945GCMX-S2 Processor: Intel 2140 Memory: 2gig Kingston dual channel Partitions: SDA=ntfs Vista, SDB1 ext3 Ubuntu 7.10 25 GB, SDB2 ext3 Debian lenny 2.6.22-3-amd64 Output of lspci -nn and lspci -vnn: Attached Base System Installation Checklist: [O] = OK, [E] = Error (please elaborate below), [ ] = didn't try it Initial boot: [O] OK Detect network card:[O] OK Configure network: [O] OK, prefer auto ethX to allow-hotplug in network/interfaces Detect CD: [O] OK Load installer modules: [O] OK Detect hard drives: [O] OK Partition hard drives: [O] OK Install base system:[O] OK from DVD-1 only Clock/timezone setup: [O] OK but need a choice in case dual boot User/password setup:[O] OK Install tasks: [O] OK Install boot loader:[O] Installed OK but TRASHED by Vista mbr. Ignores BIOS Boot drive Overall install:[E] GDM segfaults when I logoff Comments/Problems: Add a request for additional hosts before writing /etc/hosts? First, gdm segfaults when I log off. It doesn't hang but I see the segfault and RIP every time. Sessions seem unaffected so It's probably late in the logout process, possibly ATI driver related although the initial driver is VESA @ 1024x768 on ati r500 chipset. Installing the fglrx driver below has no effect on the segfault. Next, something in X causes window resizing to be really slow, especially when playing a video and the effect is carried over to 3D if I install Compiz-fusion. I have an ATI X1650 PCIe card that requires fglrx which installs fine from the ATI installer. However, I have to install ia32-libs and build the kernel source. The gui version (./ati-driver-8.02---.run) install fails to get and build the appropriate packages. Probably due to the testing status in sources.list but "apt-get upgrade -f" gets current kernel sources and finishes the process but I must build the source using package manager to successfully install the driver. It's a bit presumptuous to just grub install (hd0) without an opportunity to change drive. Debian is usually installed as a server but it's becoming more popular as a desktop and dual boot The grub install ignored the BIOS boot order and installed to the first drive, not the current boot drive :( :( :( Big hassle to fix! The sound driver does not allow me to set the speaker mode and defaults to the "front" speaker, should be PCM I have only 4 speakers but cannot set the output correctly using the volume control. It's very fast, to the point and has enough detail to get the job done. Two issues come to mind over and over again for me, having run this 20+ times. Those two issues are time zone and grub installer, as noted above. Thanks for listening Tom Bailey http://www.trbailey.net 00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation 82945G/GZ/P/PL Memory Controller Hub [8086:2770] (rev 02) 00:01.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82945G/GZ/P/PL PCI Express Root Port [8086:2771] (rev 02) 00:1b.0 Audio device [0403]: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) High Definition Audio Controller [8086:27d8] (rev 01) 00:1d.0 USB Controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 [8086:27c8] (rev 01) 00:1d.1 USB Controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 [8086:27c9] (rev 01) 00:1d.2 USB Controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 [8086:27ca] (rev 01) 00:1d.3 USB Controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 [8086:27cb] (rev 01) 00:1d.7 USB Controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller [8086:27cc] (rev 01) 00:1e.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82801 PCI Bridge [8086:244e] (rev e1) 00:1f.0 ISA bridge [0601]: Intel Corporation 82801GB/GR (ICH7 Family) LPC Interface Bridge [8086:27b8] (rev 01) 00:1f.2 IDE interface [0101]: Intel Corporation 82801GB/GR/GH (ICH7 Family) SATA IDE Controller [8086:27c0] (rev 01) 00:1f.3 SMBus [0c05]: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) SMBus Controller [8086:27da] (rev 01) 01:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: ATI Technologies Inc Radeon X1650 Pro [1002:71c1] (rev 9e) 01:00.1 Display controller [0380]: ATI Technologies Inc Radeon X1650 Pro (Secondary) [1002:71e1] (rev 9e) 02:05.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL-8110SC/8169SC Gigabit Ethernet [10ec:8167] (rev 10) 00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation 82945G/GZ/P/PL Memory Controller Hub [8086:2770] (rev 02) Subsystem: Giga-byte Technology Unknown device [1458:5000] Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0 Capabilities: [e0] Vendor Specific Information Kernel modules:
Bug#470027: installation report
On Saturday 08 March 2008, Tom wrote: First of all, thank you for your report. > Configure network: [O] OK, prefer auto ethX to allow-hotplug in > network/interfaces Feel free to change it. We chose hotpug because it offers flexibility for laptops and even for servers with hot-replacement capabilities. > Clock/timezone setup: [O] OK but need a choice in case dual boot The installer should automatically detect the presence of Windows and will then set the clock to localtime. It will use UTC if Debian is the only OS. Also, in expert mode you do get the choice. > Comments/Problems: > Add a request for additional hosts before writing /etc/hosts? The purpose of Debian Installer is to install a solid working system, not to cater for every tweak a local sysadmin might want to do to a system. For a single system this can easily be done manually post-install. If you need to do this on a lot of systems, the preseeding infrastructure offers plenty of hooks to automate something like that. > First, gdm segfaults when I log off. It doesn't hang but I see the > segfault and RIP every time. Sessions seem unaffected so It's probably > late in the logout process, possibly ATI driver related although the > initial driver is VESA @ 1024x768 on ati r500 chipset. Installing the > fglrx driver below has no effect on the segfault. > > Next, something in X causes window resizing to be really slow, especially > when playing a video and the effect is carried over to 3D if I install > Compiz-fusion. > > I have an ATI X1650 PCIe card that requires fglrx which installs fine > from the ATI installer. However, I have to install ia32-libs and build > the kernel source. The gui version (./ati-driver-8.02---.run) install > fails to get and build the appropriate packages. Probably due to the > testing status in sources.list but "apt-get upgrade -f" gets current > kernel sources and finishes the process but I must build the source using > package manager to successfully install the driver. All of these are really out of the scope of the installer. Please file bug reports against the relevant packages (if you can identify them). If not, the X.Org packages seem your best bet to start. > It's a bit presumptuous to just grub install (hd0) without an opportunity > to change drive. That's why grub-installer does not do that. You will always get an initial dialog that asks whether if you want to install grub on the MBR of the first disk. If you answer no there, you _can_ choose alternative locations. Even if you do select the MBR of your Windows disk, the installer should detect Windows and grub should get correctly set up for dual boot (even with Vista). This was tested to work before the Etch release. Sounds like the installer may not have detected your Windows installation. If that is the case, please send us the files 'syslog' (gzipped!) and 'hardware-summary' from the /var/log/installer directory. > The sound driver does not allow me to set the speaker mode and defaults > to the "front" speaker, should be PCM I have only 4 speakers but cannot > set the output correctly using the volume control. Again outside the scope of the installer. Cheers, FJP -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Bug#470027: installation report
Frans Pop wrote: On Saturday 08 March 2008, Tom wrote: First of all, thank you for your report. You're welcome. I disagree that the gdm segfault issue is not an installation issue, but let's focus on something more important. It's a bit presumptuous to just grub install (hd0) without an opportunity to change drive. That's why grub-installer does not do that. You will always get an initial dialog that asks whether if you want to install grub on the MBR of the first disk. If you answer no there, you _can_ choose alternative locations. The point is that it assumes the FIRST physical hard drive and that's not a safe assumption. When I enter the BIOS and change the boot order, your installer should respect the intent of the change and assume the current BOOT drive in the BIOS is the first hard drive, regardless of which adapter happens to show up "first". Bypassing the BIOS boot order renders BIOS boot order changes meaningless and is a guarantee you'll trash a working MBR. Sounds like the installer may not have detected your Windows installation. If that is the case, please send us the files 'syslog' (gzipped!) and 'hardware-summary' from the /var/log/installer directory. The installer detected it just fine, then when I said "yes" to "write MBR to the FIRST hard drive", which to me is the BIOS boot drive, it TRASHED my Vista MBR, even though the BIOS boot drive is the the drive I was installing it on. BAD, NASTY, UNNECESSARY. See how Ubuntu installer does it, much more sane... The way it is it's very difficult to understand which drive you are going to write on and that's the problem. If you don't want to change the way it is, at least fetch and display a description of the drive and it's partitions so I know which drive you intend to write a boot sector on. Better yet, display a list of bootable drives and ASK me which one I want to use, and whether or not I want other operating systems included in the Grub menu. It's not too hard for me to change the grub menu but some people get all in a tizzy over such things. Think of it this way: If I enter the BIOS and change the drive order, I expect your installer to respect that change, not decide for me which drive is the first drive. From an installer point of view the first drive is always the drive that the system was booted from or will be booted from next time the system starts, not always drive 0. If I know enough about the system to have changed the BIOS boot drive, it's a safe bet I can figure out that my new Linux won't boot because I just installed it on my drive 1 but my BIOS boots from drive 0. What would also work better is to use a UUID in fstab so you can find the appropriate partition, but that's a feature request, not a bug or an error. The bottom line is that to run this installer on a drive other than hard drive 0 and have it work correctly, I need to disable any "other" adapters or they end up part of a semi-permanent "whole machine" Grub boot scheme. That's the issue. The sound driver does not allow me to set the speaker mode and defaults to the "front" speaker, should be PCM I have only 4 speakers but cannot set the output correctly using the volume control. Again outside the scope of the installer. Huh? Installer just blindly installs packages? Ok, I guess that's the way it works but that default got there from somewhere and if I reinstall the sound driver from the same distribution as the installer, it shows up CORRECTLY. So, something is amiss in the installation process A possible BUG? Maybe it's an Aunt Betty... Or an Avuncular Frankshire Relative... :) -Tom
Bug#470027: installation report
On Mon, Mar 10, 2008 at 02:02:14PM -0700, Tom wrote: > I disagree that the gdm segfault issue is not an installation issue, but let's > focus on something more important. > […] > Huh? > […] > A possible BUG? > Maybe it's an Aunt Betty... > Or an Avuncular Frankshire Relative... The general tone of your reply is *way* out of place. Debian is a volunteer run project. We care about our users, but I won't take care of someone spitting of the huge amount of work we are all doing, usually on our spare time, usually for free. If the changes you ask for are *that* important to you, please provide patches. That's the beauty of free software, but you might have overlooked it. Cheers, -- Jérémy Bobbio.''`. [EMAIL PROTECTED]: :Ⓐ : # apt-get install anarchism `. `'` `- signature.asc Description: Digital signature
Bug#470027: installation report
Op 10-03-2008 om 14:02 schreef Tom: > The point is that it assumes the FIRST physical hard drive and > that's not a safe assumption. When I enter the BIOS and change the boot > order, your installer should respect the intent of the change > and assume the current BOOT drive in the BIOS is the first hard drive, > regardless of which adapter happens to show up "first". Bypassing the > BIOS boot order renders BIOS boot order changes meaningless and is a > guarantee you'll trash a working MBR. Tom, Your assumption that a computer is as simple a knive or a hammer is wrong. Please consider a computer at least as advanched technology like a modern car. There is also much of the engineering converted to something comfortable usable and it is still high tech. You are wrong by using the term 'first disk'. Please use names like 'sda' or 'master disk at ide control 0'. Also use your imagination for what happens when disk are changed in the BIOS setup. Re-addressing IDE controllers is the very same as swapping disk from IDE-cables. Now back to the debian-installer: What you name "it assumes the FIRST physical disk" is in fact just a list of visable physical disks with the cursor on the first disk and waiting for a confirm. Please understand that an installed Debian system only needs one bootable device and it up to the BIOS to decide which from which device should be booted first. There is NO need to mix those two functions. On another level: You speak about "your installer", you are welcome the speak about "OUR installer" Geert Stappers Debian Developer, member of the Debian Install System Team -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Bug#470027: installation report
Geert Stappers wrote: Op 10-03-2008 om 14:02 schreef Tom: The point is that it assumes the FIRST physical hard drive and that's not a safe assumption. When I enter the BIOS and change the boot order, your installer should respect the intent of the change and assume the current BOOT drive in the BIOS is the first hard drive, regardless of which adapter happens to show up "first". Bypassing the BIOS boot order renders BIOS boot order changes meaningless and is a guarantee you'll trash a working MBR. Tom What you name "it assumes the FIRST physical disk" is in fact just a list of visable physical disks with the cursor on the first disk and waiting for a confirm. If I understand what you are saying. Yes, that would be a more useful grub install option. A list of all bootable drives and partitions with type of partition. Like this: I found 2 physical drives: SATA0=sda, SATA1=sdb Your BIOS boot drive is SATA1:=sdb Please choose a boot drive for grub install: * * Then: === I found 2 physical drives: SATA0=sda, SATA1=sdb BIOS boot drive is SATA1:=sdb You chose to install the Grub bootloader to drive SATA1=sdb With the following operating system options: *Linux 2.6.22-3 amd-64 (sdb1) Vista/Longhorn (sda1) Ubuntu 7.1 Gutsy (sda3) (*=Default boot drive) * *== Please understand that an installed Debian system only needs one bootable device and it up to the BIOS to decide which from which device should be booted first. There is NO need to mix those two functions. Have I clearly described what I think is a possible bug issue? All I know is that every time I run this installer I end up with an mbr on the wrong drive and it doesn't seem to matter what option I choose. Maybe it's specific to my system or maybe I misunderstand the options. I'm not sure. I'm experienced, if I misunderstand them, others will too. -Tom -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Bug#470027: installation report
Op 10-03-2008 om 22:52 schreef siggma: > Geert Stappers wrote: >> Please understand that an installed Debian system only needs one bootable >> device and it up to the BIOS to decide which from which device should be ~> device and it up to the BIOS to decide from which device should be >> booted first. There is NO need to mix those two functions. >> > Have I clearly described what I think is a possible bug issue? Frankly: No. The "possible bug" is based on a wrong assumption, at least on a false expection. > All I know is that every time I run this installer I end up with an mbr on > the wrong drive and it doesn't seem to matter what option I choose. Maybe > it's specific to my system or maybe I misunderstand the options. Try again. This time don't touch BIOS setting. And once again, with still no changes in the BIOS to learn what is going on when grub writes to the MBR. > I'm not sure. I'm experienced, if I misunderstand them, others will too. Yes, everybody has to learn. Tom, thank you for reporting things that didn't work as you expected. Cheers Geert Stappers -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Bug#470027: installation report
reassign 470027 grub-installer severity 470027 wishlist retitle 470027 Please display a list of all bootable drives and partitions thanks On Mon, Mar 10, 2008 at 10:52:40PM -0700, siggma wrote: > >What you name "it assumes the FIRST physical disk" is in fact just a > >list of visable physical disks with the cursor on the first disk > >and waiting for a confirm. > > > If I understand what you are saying. Yes, that would be a more useful > grub install option. > A list of all bootable drives and partitions with type of partition. > > Like this: > > > > I found 2 physical drives: SATA0=sda, SATA1=sdb > Your BIOS boot drive is SATA1:=sdb > > Please choose a boot drive for grub install: > > > * * > > > > > > Then: > > === > > I found 2 physical drives: SATA0=sda, SATA1=sdb > BIOS boot drive is SATA1:=sdb > > You chose to install the Grub bootloader to drive SATA1=sdb > With the following operating system options: > > *Linux 2.6.22-3 amd-64 (sdb1) > Vista/Longhorn (sda1) > Ubuntu 7.1 Gutsy (sda3) > > (*=Default boot drive) > >* > *== > > >Please understand that an installed Debian system only needs one bootable > >device and it up to the BIOS to decide which from which device should be > >booted first. There is NO need to mix those two functions. > > Have I clearly described what I think is a possible bug issue? Yes. I have reassigned your proposal to the right package as a wishlist. Cheers, -- Jérémy Bobbio.''`. [EMAIL PROTECTED]: :Ⓐ : # apt-get install anarchism `. `'` `- signature.asc Description: Digital signature
Bug#470027: installation report
I hope this is the right way to add to a bug report. I would also like to have the installer tell me which drive it is going to install GRUB on when you choose MBR. Most of the time it is ok. But I have learned on some machines it put it in strange places. Example, on a DELL blade if I have a USB floppy drive attached when I install Debian it will write GRUB on the floppy disk not on the hard drive. I boots fine until you unplug the floppy drive. -- Stephen Frazier Information Technology Unit Oklahoma Department of Corrections 3400 Martin Luther King Oklahoma City, Ok, 73111-4298 Tel.: (405) 425-2549 Fax: (405) 425-2554 Pager: (405) 690-1828 email: stevef%doc.state.ok.us -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
