Greetings Xubuntu team,
Feedback on the Xubuntu 24.04 LTS installer...
The updates made to the installer have made it somewhat more easy to arrive at
my desired partition scheme for client / node machines. My current scheme is as
follows:
/dev/sda1 on /boot/efi type vfat 500 MB size
/dev/sda2 on / type xfs All the rest
The added / completed dependencies to have GParted working happily on the
LiveDVD is a very nice accommodation. Thank you.
Between GParted and the Xubuntu installer, I need to remember to update the
partition flags of the EFI partition, else the Xubuntu installer will refuse to
accept it as the mandatory EFI partition.
Just a couple of weeks ago I was able to bless our retired auto mechanic (he was our mechanic for probably 30 years) with a hardware refresh. He surprised me by implying that any machine he ended up
with, he wanted me to "do the Linux fix to". So he now has two brand new laptops with Xubuntu 24.04. One of them I ended up with FAT16 for the first partition, the other FAT32. Otherwise they are
identical. And the one that ended up with EFI as FAT32, that one still has on the Grub menu some extra item for "Windows Boot Menu Options" or something along those lines. (sssiiiggghhh.... the one
blemish on the refreshed hardware).
For my consulting, for the foreseeable future, I am standardized on using xfs
file system. That has been my standard for the past 21 years.... and I do not
see my preference being shifted anytime soon.
And with the new fangled BIOS's that insist on requiring EFI partition to be
able to boot... that means I cannot make just a root partition for the entire
drive any longer.
Improvement ideas:
1) On the automatic partitioning workflow.... accommodate choice of filesystem
for the Linux partition, include xfs as one of the available options.
2) Accommodate the Xubuntu installer will flip the partition flags to more easily take over a first partition for its needed EFI needs. This way I would still launch GParted first, partition and
format the drive, just NOT have to remember to update the partition flags of the EFI partition so that the Xubuntu installer would be willing to recognize my intent. For this idea, I envision some
concept of the Xubuntu installer flagging one of the partitions for its required EFI use. So I would first set the assignment of the first partition that I want the Xubuntu installer to use that
partition for its EFI needs. That should indicate to the Xubuntu installer it needs to make sure the partition flags are set the way they need to be in order for EFI use of that partition to be
successful. Also with this workflow, GParted allows me to set labels on the partitions. So I set "efi" and "root" as labels. I seem to recall a long time ago the Ubuntu or Xubuntu installer
partitioner would allow assignment of partition labels while configuring / mapping the partitions. I seem to recall one useful benefit of setting partition labels is when you boot off the Live DVD to
perform maintenance to the system, then the Live DVD knows the names of the drive partitions from those labels.
Also, feedback on another aspect of the 24.04 installer.... it is more understanding of a completely disconnected from any network installation. The first installation I performed as a proof of
concept was before the USB Ethernet adapter had arrived. The installer did not stall for a LLLLOOOONNNNGGGGG time searching for the Internet. Prior LTS releases have had such a stall when the machine
was not Internet reachable.
I am thankful,
--
Michael Lueck
Lueck Data Systems
http://www.lueckdatasystems.com/
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