On Sun 20 Mar 2016 at 12:02:14 +0000, Lisi Reisz wrote: > On Saturday 19 March 2016 01:27:33 David Wright wrote: > > > > At this point, you also mentioned repartitioning, reformatting and > > wiping a disk thoroughly. > > > > In the last post (which I commented on when the second paragraph was > > quoted in Adam Wilson's post) you said that trying to use CD1 to do a > > net install made you realise that "if you want to format an existing > > partition properly, so the stuff on it actually goes, use Gparted not > > the partitioner in the Jessie installer." > > > > Maybe I'm thick, but I can't see why the Debian installer's performance > > at re-partition/format/wipe would cause the reported download > > problems, checksum failures, corrupt files and old firmware.
I'd agree with that. Unless this stage is completed satisfactorily it is highly unlikely the installer will progress to the next stage, getting the base system. > No, of course not. But continuing to use the original files, from the > original failed installation, because they were still there, might, might it > not?? I am open to suggestions. The original message from the installer was: Warning: file:///cdrom/pool/main/g/gnupg/gnupg_1.4.18-7_amd64.deb was corrupt The base system was being installed by debootstrap from the CD, not from any external mirror. Being under pressure to complete the task set doesn't lend itself to considered action and burning a CD can be fraught. The quality of the disk, the burning and the accuracy of reading the burnt disk are things to take into account. I'd have booted the installer from something completely different (such as a USB stick) to get a better picture of the situation. A repeat performance would have justified alarm bells ringing. Success eventually came; probably because the writing and reading processes of the CD-ROM acted correctly. Coming after using GParted was likely a coincidence; other changes might have been factors. There is nothing to underpin the advice not to use d-i's partitioning methods. (As an aside, d-i has fdisk; there was no need to use GParted). > > Sorry. > > I'm no great fan of the d-i partitioner, but I haven't had it fail to > > do what it promised. > > Previously nor have I. But, after the first time, it did not appear to be > formatting anything, and in the end the disk did not appear to be formatted. It was impossible for formatting not to have happened. The next stage would not have run and a big red screen with "No root file system defined" would have been displayed. > Note appear. And it was by then very late and I was tired, and am not beyond > making mistakes of interpretation at the best of times. For whatever reason, > when I formatted with GParted, something appeared to be happening, and the > result appeared to be successful. Linking the use of GParted with success gives the impression it was the cause of the success. It probably wasn't. > > (Not that I understand precisely the term "wipe".) > > Sorry. It is not a precise term. Reformat thoroughly I suppose I meant. > > I am about to install again on another computer. Unfortunately, I can't > reuse > the original CD because I destroyed it when I thought it was faulty. I would > have liked to reuse it to see what happened! 99.9% of used CDs go to landfill after a single use. I've contributed my share. It is unknown for a USB stick to end up in the same place after one Debian image has been put on it. A single CD is indeed cheaper and easier to label. It is possibly easier to store (but not in your pocket), Parting with a USB stick is less easy than giving away a CD, (unless the giver is the generous type). Flexibility? About 5GB storage with the cheap DVDs. Compared with..... Rewritable? Maybe. Can go through a complete cycle in an automatic washing machine wihout harm? Needs testing. :)
