Re: d-i bug: spurious checksum error?
On 4/18/23 23:52, Charles Curley wrote: I started a test installation with a preseed file. I launched d-i with the following command line: expertgui auto file=/media/preseed.cfg DEBCONF_DEBUG=developer When I told d-i to get the preseed file, it replied with a screen about an incorrect checksum for the preseed file. The screen showed a checksum string of "". (I took a screen shot of the error message, then failed to preserve it. Sorry.) I had recently added several items to my preseed file, one of which was: # The installer can optionally verify checksums of preconfiguration files # before using them. Currently only md5sums are supported, list the md5sums # in the same order as the list of files to include. #d-i preseed/include/checksum string 5da499872becccfeda2c4872f9171c3d I deleted those lines entirely, and re-ran the installation. I did not get the checksum error on the second try, and the preseed file was properly located and run. Did I hit a bug? I doubt it is the way the last line is commented out, because there are plenty of other lines that are similarly commented out (no space between the # and the d). syslog and preseed.cfg files are attached. Unless I'm missing something, the file is to be checksummed before the content is available to d-i, the lines would simply be there to document what the installer can do. I would assume that it would work as kernel boot parameter. -- John Doe
Re: Net boot auto install failure with "No device for installation media was detected"
On 7/21/2022 5:02 AM, Shane Gibson wrote: Greetings, We have an automated installation system that has been humming along beautifully from Debian 6 through 10. Recently attempted to add support of net boot/pxe and autoinstall via d-i of Debian 11.4.0. Our current Boot arguments and preseed config is producing a stop error of: "No device for installation media was detected." I saw notes that there should be netinst changes to boot and preseed directives - but I have been unable to unearth the changes. Any pointers to documentation about the boot and preseed directive changelog changes, or any other hints related to this error message are greatly appreciated. To date, I've spent a couple of days grubbing through searches, doc reading, etc... no dice. I'm not quite sure to understand your set up, so my answer/feedback might not be what you are looking for. PXE booting will use the network to boot the machine and preseeding to install Debian. You could use a cacher proxy (EG: 'apt-cacher-ng') to avoid fetching everytime from the internet. To me the issue you are seeing might be coming from the fact that you are exploding/using an ISO file in the first place. -- John Doe
Re: debian over pxe
On 3/13/2022 3:49 PM, Rishi Saini wrote: Hi, I have setup pxe boot environment to install my customize iso created using simple-cdd profiles.I am able to install standard ISO but how to instruct debian install to install using my own simple-cdd profiles over pxe. You cant' use PXE booting and iso file. To boot Debian using PXE you will need a netboot image. If you want 'preseeding' in your iso file, see (1). 1) https://wiki.debian.org/Simple-CDD/Howto -- John Doe
Re: Having a d-i boot timeout for enabling speech?
On 2/28/2022 12:17 AM, Holger Wansing wrote: Hi, Samuel Thibault wrote (Sun, 13 Feb 2022 02:28:48 +0100): Users on the debian-accessibility mailing list reported that they found it very useful that the MacOS X installation image automatically starts a speech-enabled installer when the boot menu is left untouched for 10 seconds, so that blind people have really nothing more to do than plugging the installation USB key and turning the computer on to get a speaking installer (and notably in the case when the computer does not have a hardware speaker for beeping at the boot menu). It happens that syslinux supports this, the attached patch implements it. What do debian-boot people think about the idea? This seems to be only in interest for a limited group of people, however from my point of view the pro's beat the con's, so my vote would be "why not". Increasing the wait time to something like 60sec might not be a bad idea to avoid this being a distraction to the vast majority of users. Even better would be to aline with what other OSes are doing (docs welcome). For what it is worth, I could not find documentation backing up a wait time in other OSes. -- John Doe
Re: How to get preseed to ASK me for hostname + strange partitioning behaviour
On 1/20/2022 5:11 PM, Jonas Bygdén wrote: Ok, now it looks like this: # Any hostname and domain names assigned from dhcp take precedence over # values set here. However, setting the values still prevents the questions # from being shown, even if values come from dhcp. d-i netcfg/get_hostname string unassigned-hostname d-i netcfg/get_domain string unassigned-domain d-i netcfg/get_hostname seen false d-i netcfg/get_domain seen false # If you want to force a hostname, regardless of what either the DHCP # server returns or what the reverse DNS entry for the IP is, uncomment # and adjust the following line. #d-i netcfg/hostname string somehost #d-i netcfg/hostname seen false # Disable that annoying WEP key dialog. #d-i netcfg/wireless_wep string # The wacky dhcp hostname that some ISPs use as a password of sorts. d-i netcfg/dhcp_hostname string debian d-i netcfg/get_hostname seen false d-i netcfg/get_domain seen false But still - it goes directly to the partitioning after choosing keyboard layout, without any hostname question. Maybey setting the 'priority' to 'high' instead of 'critical'. -- John Doe
Bug#1002976: installation-reports: Installer Does Not Provide Screen Reader in Accessible Installation
On 1/17/2022 1:13 AM, D.J.J. Ring, Jr. wrote: Here's the message, i didn't include the bug address. I'm new We've all been there!!! :) Please understand that it is as frustrated for you as it is for us. P.S. Apologies for the crossposting, from now on I will only send to this bug report. -- John Doe
Re: Bug#1002976: installation-reports: Installer Fault Accessibility No Screen Reader Heard
On 1/3/2022 9:59 AM, D.J.J. Ring, Jr. wrote: John Doe, Someone told me of a method of saving log files from the installer before it writes to the hard drive it's going to install to. The error occurs prior to writing to any partition. If these errors are kept in system RAM until the partitions are formatted and then written to that partition, all is OK, But the errors precede writing to disk. I've asked already, maybe you answered with your "debug d-i" comment but I have no idea what it means or how to use it to help the boot and installer developers. From (1): "These messages can also be found in /var/log/syslog. After installation, this log is copied to /var/log/installer/syslog on your new system. Other installation messages may be found in /var/log/ during the installation, and /var/log/installer/ after the computer has been booted into the installed system." This should alleviate your conserns. 1) https://www.debian.org/releases/buster/amd64/ch06s01.en.html -- John Doe
Re: Bug#1002976: installation-reports: Installer Fault Accessibility No Screen Reader Heard
On 1/3/2022 9:06 AM, D.J.J. Ring, Jr. wrote: On Mon, Jan 3, 2022, 02:09 john doe wrote: On 1/3/2022 12:18 AM, D.J.J. Ring, Jr. wrote: On Sun, Jan 2, 2022 at 8:25 AM john doe wrote: On 1/2/2022 1:56 PM, D.J.J. Ring, Jr. wrote: On Sun, Jan 2, 2022, 03:59 Holger Wansing wrote: Hi, Am 2. Januar 2022 02:40:16 MEZ schrieb "David J. Ring, Jr." < n...@arrl.net : lspci -knn: 00:03.0 Audio device [0403]: Intel Corporation Broadwell-U Audio Controller [8086:160c] (rev 09) As I already wrote: my best guess for this one would be https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/debian-installer/#errata So is this fixed? Does the daily our weekly installer with firmware allow speech to be heard during installation? No it is not. Pick the desired architecture at (1) and remember that this is a work in progress! Feedback from the comunity will eventually make this workable for all of us. 1) https://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/unofficial/non-free/cd-including-firmware/daily-builds/sid_d-i/current/ -- John Doe Hello John Doe, I picked the correct architecture, downloaded, checked the sha250sum, then used dd to make a usb bootable usb stick. It detected my sound card, but after that no sound was heard in the accessible install. I remember that someone told me there was a switch to somehow save log files while installing and a way to upload them to pastebin web site, but I have forgotten how to do that, and I cannot find any documentation to help me. I need something to tell the developers about the problems with the installer without actually installing Debian, as I have already installed Debian and I have the installer logs. How are you able to "Install Debian With Speach' if the installer does not speak after having detecting your sound card? -- John Doe I use a magnifier glass to read the screen. Best to you, David Okay. I'll say a fiew things: - While you certainly can debug d-i (debugging Debian installer), the easiest way to access logs is to tar up '/var/log/installer' after installation and to provided it as an attachment. - The utility 'dd' is not required to copy the iso onto the USB key, 'cp *.iso /dev/sdb' is enough. - If you reinstall Debian many times, you should maybe consider using a 'preseed' file. - As far as I understand it, everything is working fine on Buster but not on Bullseye, tarring the logs from a Buster installation and from Bullseye might give us some clues on where this is failing. -- John Doe
Re: Bug#1002976: installation-reports: Installer Fault Accessibility No Screen Reader Heard
On 1/3/2022 12:18 AM, D.J.J. Ring, Jr. wrote: On Sun, Jan 2, 2022 at 8:25 AM john doe wrote: On 1/2/2022 1:56 PM, D.J.J. Ring, Jr. wrote: On Sun, Jan 2, 2022, 03:59 Holger Wansing wrote: Hi, Am 2. Januar 2022 02:40:16 MEZ schrieb "David J. Ring, Jr." < n...@arrl.net : lspci -knn: 00:03.0 Audio device [0403]: Intel Corporation Broadwell-U Audio Controller [8086:160c] (rev 09) As I already wrote: my best guess for this one would be https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/debian-installer/#errata So is this fixed? Does the daily our weekly installer with firmware allow speech to be heard during installation? No it is not. Pick the desired architecture at (1) and remember that this is a work in progress! Feedback from the comunity will eventually make this workable for all of us. 1) https://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/unofficial/non-free/cd-including-firmware/daily-builds/sid_d-i/current/ -- John Doe Hello John Doe, I picked the correct architecture, downloaded, checked the sha250sum, then used dd to make a usb bootable usb stick. It detected my sound card, but after that no sound was heard in the accessible install. I remember that someone told me there was a switch to somehow save log files while installing and a way to upload them to pastebin web site, but I have forgotten how to do that, and I cannot find any documentation to help me. I need something to tell the developers about the problems with the installer without actually installing Debian, as I have already installed Debian and I have the installer logs. How are you able to "Install Debian With Speach' if the installer does not speak after having detecting your sound card? -- John Doe
Re: Bug#1002976: installation-reports: Installer Fault Accessibility No Screen Reader Heard
On 1/2/2022 1:56 PM, D.J.J. Ring, Jr. wrote: On Sun, Jan 2, 2022, 03:59 Holger Wansing wrote: Hi, Am 2. Januar 2022 02:40:16 MEZ schrieb "David J. Ring, Jr." : lspci -knn: 00:03.0 Audio device [0403]: Intel Corporation Broadwell-U Audio Controller [8086:160c] (rev 09) As I already wrote: my best guess for this one would be https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/debian-installer/#errata So is this fixed? Does the daily our weekly installer with firmware allow speech to be heard during installation? No it is not. Pick the desired architecture at (1) and remember that this is a work in progress! Feedback from the comunity will eventually make this workable for all of us. 1) https://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/unofficial/non-free/cd-including-firmware/daily-builds/sid_d-i/current/ -- John Doe
Re: Bug#1002921: installation-reports: No Screen Reader, Cannot boot into MATE GUI, Root only can
On 1/2/2022 1:20 AM, D.J.J. Ring, Jr. wrote: I made a new partition for /home and I reinstalled Debian, this time I could lot in to MATE and I could log into the CLI. But the issue remains of after the Installation disk detects my sound card, it seems to find my sound card, but immediately after finding it, no further sound is heard. This remains. That would be lovely if you could bottom post instead of top posting. The only thing that we can help you with is an issue with the Debian installer. I must say, I lost track of what is the issue you are having so please do the following: 1) Install Debian from scratch That is, let d-i wipe the all content of your drive, this will result in a fresh install of Debian. 2) Attach all files from '/var/log/installer' to this bug report. Please attached all of those files in one e-mail or create a tarball and attached it: $ tar -C var/log -cf installer.tar.bz2 installer 3) Take the time to describe one issue you are having per bugreport The more explicit you are and stick to the point the better we will be able to help you. Granted, this will take sometime to do but that is the only way we will be able to fix the issue! P.S. By 'we' I mean the comunity. -- John Doe
Re: At what time of the install process a script is executed with 'preseed/run'?
On 12/29/2021 4:35 PM, Holger Wansing wrote: Hi, Am 26. Dezember 2021 19:18:26 MEZ schrieb john doe : On 12/26/2021 5:44 PM, Holger Wansing wrote: Am 26. Dezember 2021 17:30:03 MEZ schrieb john doe : Can someone confirm when 'preseed/run' is executed? In other words, what is the best way to download and execute a script at the end of the install process. [...] Actually I was more hoping for an equivalent of 'preseed/run' to the 'preseed/late_command'. The late_command will not per default download the *.sh file. The preseed/run part is documented in chapter B.5.3 "Chainloading of preconfiguration files": https://d-i.debian.org/manual/en.amd64/apbs05.html So I guess this not a functionality to be executed at the end of installation, it only makes sense somewhere at the beginning. Thank you for this, I guess you are refering to: " # Most flexibly of all, this downloads a program and runs it. The program # can use commands such as debconf-set to manipulate the debconf database. # More than one script can be listed, separated by spaces. # Note that if the filenames are relative, they are taken from the same # directory as the preconfiguration file that runs them. #d-i preseed/run string foo.sh" In the description text, to me at least, it is not clear at what stage this command is executed!!! :) Having played a bit more, I can confirm that this command is not executed at the end of the installation process. While I was looking to understand what was going on, I came across (1) and this is where Ubuntu differs from Debian: "on a web server. In this example, if the preseed file sets preseed/run to /scripts/late_command.sh then the file will be fetched from http://autoserver.example.com/d-i/focal/./scripts/late_command.sh.; I would love to see a rewording of the above text which would clearly state at what time the command is executed!!! :) I realy appreciate your help. 1) https://help.ubuntu.com/lts/installation-guide/s390x/apbs02.html -- John Doe
Re: At what time of the install process a script is executed with 'preseed/run'?
On 12/26/2021 5:44 PM, Holger Wansing wrote: Am 26. Dezember 2021 17:30:03 MEZ schrieb john doe : Debians, From a preseed file I need to download and execute as the last command a script. I'm playing with 'd-i preseed/run string foo.sh' the script execute successfully but does not look to be executed as the last command in the install process. Can someone confirm when 'preseed/run' is executed? In other words, what is the best way to download and execute a script at the end of the install process. Not exactly answering your question, but the installation-guide has a chapter about this, see https://d-i.debian.org/manual/en.amd64/apbs05.html I guess, "preseed/late_command is what you want... Actually I was more hoping for an equivalent of 'preseed/run' to the 'preseed/late_command'. The late_command will not per default download the *.sh file. Thanks alot for your answer. -- John Doe
At what time of the install process a script is executed with 'preseed/run'?
Debians, From a preseed file I need to download and execute as the last command a script. I'm playing with 'd-i preseed/run string foo.sh' the script execute successfully but does not look to be executed as the last command in the install process. Can someone confirm when 'preseed/run' is executed? In other words, what is the best way to download and execute a script at the end of the install process. Any help is appreciated. -- John Doe
Re: moving graphical installer to GTK 3
On 5/20/2021 12:54 AM, Steve McIntyre wrote: On Tue, May 18, 2021 at 01:27:56AM +0200, Cyril Brulebois wrote: Simon McVittie (2021-05-17): Even if was decided to recommend that new users use live media for installations, the flexibility of d-i is massively powerful, and we shouldn't give up on it. The ability to support everything from a serial terminal up to a graphical installer on the same media is lovely. I concur. -- John Doe
Re: Speed up installation: activate eatmydata-udeb by default and include eatmydata package in /pool
Please send through the list, so other can react to your answer/feedback. On 4/7/2021 11:32 AM, Philip Hands wrote: john doe writes: This move should be documented somewhere and maybe emit a warning to that effect before starting the installer: "Incase of failure during the installation, it is recommended to restart from scratch." Could d-i verify that the installation was successfull and tell it to the user? That warning is valid (although perhaps redundant) whether using eatmydata or not. Trying to continue a partial install that was interrupted by a power failure is either an amusing experiment (I suspect I've done it at some point on that basis) or either foolhardy or pointless depending on where the failure happened (well, unless the install was actually done). I guess the "Instalation Complete" step of the installer could include running a sync before announcing itself, but beyond that if you think additional testing is required simply because something called "eatmydata" was in use at some point, then you've not understood what it does. Cheers, Phil. P.S. I am fully in favour of this change, and hope to have some time to help with the effort shortly. -- John Doe
Re: Speed up installation: activate eatmydata-udeb by default and include eatmydata package in /pool
On 4/6/2021 11:46 PM, Lennart Sorensen wrote: On Tue, Apr 06, 2021 at 05:35:19PM -0400, Cmdte Alpha Tigre Z wrote: Pardon my ignorance. I could not resist to answer to this proposal. I read this page: https://www.flamingspork.com/projects/libeatmydata/ It looks like it is not good idea to use it for critical information. However, your results show that it would be relevant to include such package into the first ISO, if it is not so big, of course. It sounds like a good idea to speed up the instalation process for some cases. But, I would not enable it by default. If the package really behaves as its name suggests, I would not risk every user of Debian to have a faulty installation. What would happen if someone wants to install Debian an suddenly, the installer eats some data it shouldn't have. Even if it does not access wrong places, in the worst case you could have installed an ill OS and don't notice it will someday fail, and not gracefully. My humble opinion is that it should be available to use, but not enabled by default. The only time eatmydata does any harm is if the system looses power or resets during the install since the data isn't constantly flushed to disk to maintain a consistent state. During an install, there is nothing of value on the system yet, so doing everything as quickly as possible and then when everything is done, then you issue a sync command to ensure everything is flushed to disk saves a ton of time with no risk at all (in fact since the install takes less time, the changes of a power interruption happening during the install is lowered). This move should be documented somewhere and maybe emit a warning to that effect before starting the installer: "Incase of failure during the installation, it is recommended to restart from scratch." Could d-i verify that the installation was successfull and tell it to the user? -- John Doe
Re: Unlock system through Tor on boot
On 3/15/2021 12:31 AM, Amuza en Hackea wrote: Hello! I have been asking around about this topic but I have not managed to have my problem solved (partly because of my limited knowledge). I subscribed to this mailing list to see if I could get some help here. Apologies if this is not the right place for this kind of questions. With software like dropbear-initramfs and cryptsetup-initrafs I can remotely unlock a Debian system that is trying to boot but has its root partition encrypted with LUKS. That is possible because there is an SSH server (Dropbear) running on the unencrypted boot partition, so I can SSH it to enter the passphrase which unencrypts the root partition so that the system completely boots up. In order to do so, since I do not have a static public IP address, I have to configure a Dynamic DNS service and redirect ports. What I would like to have now is an onion service running in the boot partition too. That way I could remotely unlock the root partition without caring about NAT, ports or DNS, and would get a more private connection too. How could I install tor in the boot partition? I guess, you would need to install it from source specifying required directories relative to the boot partition. You will also need to take the dependencies into consideration. -- John Doe
Bug#983835: base-installer: hostname= is ignored if reverse-dns exists
On 3/2/2021 6:15 PM, Phil Dibowitz wrote: On 3/2/21 1:58 AM, Holger Wansing wrote: Am 2. März 2021 09:52:06 MEZ schrieb Cyril Brulebois : The preseed doc[2] suggests the former is behind the (bare) hostname alias. Try setting the latter? Yes, the installation-guide under https://www.debian.org/releases/bullseye/amd64/apbs04.en.html even explicitly states this, indeed: # If you want to force a hostname, regardless of what either the DHCP # server returns or what the reverse DNS entry for the IP is, uncomment # and adjust the following line. #d-i netcfg/hostname string somehost Thanks for pointing that out! Don't know how I missed that. However, that requires a per-host preseed, where as with kernel command line I can have the same preseed for all my hosts (or at least all hosts in a certain category) and simply just pass in a hostname in the tftpseed (which has to be host specific anyway and for me is already generated by my provisioning system). So perhaps it would be useful to have a like netcfg/hostname_priority flag where one can choose a priority order? +1 -- John Doe
Re: Bug#982640: [d-i] finish-install: improve understandability of reboot screen
On 2/12/2021 9:55 PM, Brian Potkin wrote: On Fri 12 Feb 2021 at 21:26:50 +0100, Holger Wansing wrote: John Paul Adrian Glaubitz wrote (Fri, 12 Feb 2021 21:08:14 +0100): On 2/12/21 9:00 PM, Holger Wansing wrote: I have prepared a small patch, to improve the understandability of the screen. "+ Then, choose to reboot.". I think that sentence sounds a bit weird. The comma isn't needed It's probably better to write just "Please choose to reboot." Yes, but why change anything? ...Installation is complete, so it is time to boot into your new system. Isn't that clear enough? The only other choice is . Yes, maybe. The link the OP quoted also has Switch to another console... I find that very clear too. Both points were recently reported as being confusing by a user. I too understand what those action will do but being less technical might not hurt. -- John Doe
Re: Unexpected reboot after powerpc install
On 2/9/2021 10:27 AM, Jeffrey Walton wrote: Hi Everyone, I was trying to follow John Paul Adrian Glaubitz instructions for installing Debian 10 on a PowerMac G5. The instructions are at https://lists.debian.org/debian-powerpc/2021/02/msg00011.html. The instructions say to forgo the reboot after installation and perform some extra steps. At the end of the installation, the last screen told me a reboot was needed. The last screen gave me two choices - or . I selected because I had the extra steps to perform. I planned on reboot after performing the extra steps. Actually, at the reboot step, you need to "Switch to another console". See (1) on how to do that. 1) https://www.debian.org/releases/buster/amd64/ch06s01.en.html -- John Doe
Re: Bug#977194: installation-reports: Installation stalls on network devices search when wifi key plugged in
On 12/12/2020 11:37 PM, Mathieu Van Nieuwenhuyse wrote: Acknowledge. There are now two options: A: Closing this bugreport B: Keep this bugreport open for "fix bug" Option A is a clear path. What do you expect from option B? Closing the case is fine with me. I would have expected the installation to skip the "unknown" device to use the known one, that's why I wanted to report this, but it's more up to you to choose if it's worth the time to check this . I can confirm this as well and don't understand why this bug has been closed. To 'Mathieu Van Nieuwenhuyse', does it help if you use the kernel boot parameter 'interface' (1) to specify the desired interface? 1) https://www.debian.org/releases/jessie/amd64/ch05s03.html.en -- John Doe
Re: bullseye alpha3: graphical installer activated for arm64
On 12/7/2020 5:18 PM, Alper Nebi Yasak wrote: On 06/12/2020 23:11, Holger Wansing wrote: + + +For this architecture the supports two different user interfaces: a +graphical one and a character-based one. The graphical interface is +used by default unless you select an Install +option in the boot menu. For more information about the +graphical installer, please refer to . Is it for consistency that 'character' is used instead of 'text'? To me, 'text' is more descriptive than 'character'. -- John Doe
Virt-install setting hostname as extra args not working
Debians, I'm trying to install debian buster using libvirt, this works well withthe the exception of being able to set the hostname in the guest. virt-install --debug --name=try05 --ram=1024 --noreboot --disk=path=/var/lib/machines/try/try05,size=6 --graphic none --os-variant=debian10 --boot menu=on,useserial=on --network bridge=br0,mac=RANDOM --location https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/installer-amd64/ --extra-args "console=ttyS0,115200n8 DEBIAN_FRONTEND=text auto=true priority=critical hostname=try05 url=tftp://tftpserver; After installation, the hostname (try05) is not defined in the guest. What am I missing? P.S. I have already posted this to the debian-user list but to no avail. So I'm hoping that someone will be able to help me out in hear. -- John Doe
Re: Debian user/password
On 10/31/2020 6:13 PM, astur leon wrote: Hola, para empezar diré que no soy demasiado experto Estoy intentando probar las diferentes versiones de debian live 10.6.0 y antes de arrancar me pide en formato texto user y Password. La unica version que he logrado hacer funcionar y que lo hace automaticamente es Debian live 10.6.0 XFCE. Me podriais decir el user y la password de las otras versiones ? Gracias por adelantado https://live-team.pages.debian.net/live-manual/html/live-manual/customizing-run-time-behaviours.es.html#526 The mailing list debian-user is more appropriate for those kind of questions. Note that this list is in English. HTH. -- John Doe
Re: Does mdadm in the installer read its config file?
On 9/14/2020 6:45 PM, Andy Smith wrote: Hello, On Mon, Sep 14, 2020 at 08:08:39AM +0200, john doe wrote: Not realy an answer to your question, you could rebuild the package to your liking then fetch it from a local mirror. Since my strace did show that it tries to also open /tmp/mdadm.conf.d, maybe I could make that directory and put a file in there? That wouldn't get clobbered by mdcfg and should get read by mdadm, without having to alter the mdadm udeb or the mdcfg component. Looks way simpler indeed, the below two URLs might be of interest to you: https://www.debian.org/releases/stretch/amd64/apbs04.html.en#preseed-partman https://www.debian.org/releases/jessie/amd64/apbs05.html.en -- John Doe
Re: Does mdadm in the installer read its config file?
On 9/13/2020 11:33 PM, Andy Smith wrote: Hello, I did work out that mdadm in d-i uses a config file of /tmp/mdadm.conf instead of the usual /etc/mdadm/mdadm.conf. I thought this meant that if I put the things I needed into that file then that would work out. Unfortunately I see that any time you go into mdcfg it clobbers any existing /tmp/mdadm.conf: https://salsa.debian.org/installer-team/mdcfg/-/blob/master/mdcfg.sh#L443 So, I guess you could do it by switching to another virtual console as soon as you enter mdcfg and make your config change then. In my case I was on a serial console so didn't have any virtual consoles to switch to. I could still do it by loading the netconsole component and SSH'ing in. At that point though I may as well create all the MD arrays entirely by hand in the d-i shell, which is what I was trying to avoid. I don't see an easy way of having d-i's mdadm respect a config file of my choice, unless I have missed something. Not realy an answer to your question, you could rebuild the package to your liking then fetch it from a local mirror. -- John Doe
Bug#950830: #950830 installation-reports: Preseeding language+country+locale not working in Buster
On 8/2/2020 3:10 PM, Holger Wansing wrote: Hi, one wrote (7 Feb 2020 08:39:02): d-i debian-installer/language string en d-i debian-installer/countrystring CH d-i debian-installer/locale string en_US.UTF-8 From my testing this should be basically the correct parameters, however when looking at https://d-i.debian.org/doc/installation-guide/en.amd64/apbs04.html there are just spaces between the fields, no tabs. Maybe that's the problem? Do you have a chance to give it a try? (Maybe also try a bullseye image? However, the format of the preseeding parameters did not change between Buster and Bullseye.) For me the below preseed snippet works on Buster and Bullseye: # The values can also be preseeded individually for greater flexibility. d-i debian-installer/language string C d-i debian-installer/country string EN d-i debian-installer/locale string C # Optionally specify additional locales to be generated. d-i localechooser/supported-locales multiselect en_US.UTF-8, ... -- John Doe
Bug#961125: vga= deprecated with grub2
Package: debian-installer Version: debian-bullseye-DI-alpha2-amd64-netinst.iso qemu-system-x86_64 -cdrom debian-bullseye-DI-alpha2-amd64-netinst.iso -nographic -vga none -m 1024 At the Debian install prompt pressing the escape key get me to the boot prompt. boot: install console=ttyS0,115200n8 DEBIAN_FRONTEND=text gfxpayload=text Undefined video mode number: 314 Press to see video modes available, to continue, or wait 30 sec If I use 'vga=none' the above is suppressed but Debian will not start properly after installation by saying that 'vga=none' is deprecated and that 'set gfxpayload=text' should be used instead. How can I specify 'set gfxpayload=text' to the boot prompt above? In other words, how can i emulate 'vga=none' when this argument is deprecated when installing Debian. -- John Doe
Re: Emulate 'vga=none' by gfxpayload as kernel boot parameter
On 5/15/2020 6:31 PM, john doe wrote: Debians-boot, I'm trying to troubleshoot what I'm doing rong when trying to install Debian through serial console. If I start a Qemu VM like so: qemu-system-x86_64 -cdrom debian-bullseye-DI-alpha2-amd64-netinst.iso -nographic -vga none -m 1024 At the Debian install prompt pressing the escape key get me to the boot prompt. boot: install console=ttyS0,115200n8 DEBIAN_FRONTEND=text gfxpayload=text Undefined video mode number: 314 Press to see video modes available, to continue, or wait 30 sec If I use 'vga=none' the above is suppressed but Debian will not start properly after installation by saying that 'vga=none' is deprecated and that 'set gfxpayload=text' should be used instead. How can I specify 'set gfxpayload=text' to the boot prompt above? In other words, how can i emulate 'vga=none' when this argument is deprecated. This issue originated from a host on which I'm facing this issue and reproduced here for testing purposes with Qemu. Does anyone has any feedback on this, is this a kernel issue, a grub issue? I'm not sure which package I should file a bug against? -- John Doe
Emulate 'vga=none' by gfxpayload as kernel boot parameter
Debians-boot, I'm trying to troubleshoot what I'm doing rong when trying to install Debian through serial console. If I start a Qemu VM like so: qemu-system-x86_64 -cdrom debian-bullseye-DI-alpha2-amd64-netinst.iso -nographic -vga none -m 1024 At the Debian install prompt pressing the escape key get me to the boot prompt. boot: install console=ttyS0,115200n8 DEBIAN_FRONTEND=text gfxpayload=text Undefined video mode number: 314 Press to see video modes available, to continue, or wait 30 sec If I use 'vga=none' the above is suppressed but Debian will not start properly after installation by saying that 'vga=none' is deprecated and that 'set gfxpayload=text' should be used instead. How can I specify 'set gfxpayload=text' to the boot prompt above? In other words, how can i emulate 'vga=none' when this argument is deprecated. This issue originated from a host on which I'm facing this issue and reproduced here for testing purposes with Qemu. -- John Doe
Re: Bug#960390: x86_64: No serial port output
On 5/13/2020 12:28 PM, Alper Nebi Yasak wrote: On 13/05/2020 03:43, Punit Agrawal wrote: Incidentally, this does not work if '-m 1024' is missing. Kernel boot fails to find 'init'. I suspect that the Qemu default RAM configuration is not sufficient to unpack the initrd. Thanks, that's it. I haven't noticed it the first time around because I normally run virtual machines with virt-manager... The default RAM is 128MiB and the messages also say "Initramfs unpacking failed: write error". Based on this, updated version of Alper's instructions now launch the DI without the need to extract the kernel / initrd. $ qemu-system-x86_64 -cdrom *.iso -nographic -vga none -m 1024 Edit the 'Install' option (by removing 'quiet' and 'vga=788') into: /install.amd/vmlinuz initrd=/install.amd/initrd.gz --- console=ttyS0 (BTW, we need console=ttyS0 here because /proc/consoles only has tty0. The exact opposite happens on arm64 VMs: there /proc/consoles only has ttyAMA0 so debian-installer only launches on the serial console and not on the graphics window.) I also'd like to point out that instead of modifying grub at the install prompt, pressing the escape key and typing at the boot prompt the below works for me (pressing the 'escape' key instead of the 'tab' key): boot: install console=ttyS0,115200n8 DEBIAN_FRONTEND=text vga=none From Buster onwords, /etc/default/grub does not need to be modified at all after installation. What transpired in this thread is that modifying grub at installation time is not reflected at run time. -- John Doe
Re: Bug#960390: x86_64: No serial port output
On 5/12/2020 12:02 PM, Punit Agrawal wrote:
john doe writes:
On 5/12/2020 11:36 AM, Punit Agrawal wrote:
john doe writes:
[...]
This does not start the Debian installer. The issue reported is that the
grub shipping with DI does not output to serial console and hence can't
be used with "-nographic". It's maybe that the same issue is faced when
installing on hardware with no display but I have not confirmed this.
The aim is to be able to install debian in a VM using the iso images
That is exactly what I'm doing! :)
Thanks for clarifying. Sorry I misunderstood your reply.
-nographic -cdrom *.iso -kernel kernel-path -append
"console=ttyS0,115200n8 ..."
Okay, you want something working out of the box but note that what you
want is already possible if you use the proper arguments.
The above parameters do not launch the installer from the iso here. I am
not quite sure what the right arguments are. I wonder if
"root=" to the kernel will do the trick. Will give that a
try.
I did get what you were complaning about, I was simply providing a
workaround to get you going.
I worked around this by using the graphical install and enabling serial
output in the installed image but I think this can be made to work
out-of-box and we shouldn't need a workaround. Fingers crossed.
The below command get me directly to the language selection screen which
I belaeve is what you want?:
qemu-system-x86_64 -drive file=debian.img,format=raw -m 1024 -boot d
-nographic -cdrom debian-bullseye-DI-alpha2-amd64-netinst.iso -kernel
vmlinuz -append "console=ttyS0,115200n8 DEBIAN_FRONTEND=text" -initrd
initrd.gz
I extract all files ('vmlinuxz','initrd.gz') from the iso but they can
also be found online.
--
John Doe
Re: Bug#960390: x86_64: No serial port output
On 5/12/2020 11:36 AM, Punit Agrawal wrote: john doe writes: On 5/12/2020 11:01 AM, Colin Watson wrote: [...] Unless I'm missing something, it does work for me with something like: -nographic -cdrom *.iso -kernel kernel-path -append "console=ttyS0,115200n8 ..." This does not start the Debian installer. The issue reported is that the grub shipping with DI does not output to serial console and hence can't be used with "-nographic". It's maybe that the same issue is faced when installing on hardware with no display but I have not confirmed this. The aim is to be able to install debian in a VM using the iso images That is exactly what I'm doing! :) (e.g. [0]) without requiring graphical UI. This is already possible when using arm64 and armhf DI images but seems to be missing some configuration in the installer for x86_64. Okay, you want something working out of the box but note that what you want is already possible if you use the proper arguments. Hope this clarifies the report. I did get what you were complaning about, I was simply providing a workaround to get you going. [0] https://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/bullseye_di_alpha2/amd64/iso-cd/debian-bullseye-DI-alpha2-amd64-netinst.iso Again it is working if you specify the kernel boot parameter that Debian requires. -- John Doe
Re: Bug#960390: x86_64: No serial port output
On 5/12/2020 11:01 AM, Colin Watson wrote: Control: reassign -1 debian-installer On Tue, May 12, 2020 at 05:32:51PM +0900, Punit Agrawal wrote: Package: grub2 Grub does not output to serial port when running in a VM launched using Qemu when run as part of the Debian Installer. This prevents installation of Debian in a VM when running without a GUI. In this specific instance, I was trying to install Debian in a VM over ssh. To reproduce the problem, run $ qemu-system-x86_64 -cdrom debian-10.3.0-amd64-netinst.iso -nographic The BIOS / Firmware outputs to the serial port but no further progress is seen on the serial console. Dropping the `-nographic` shows that Debian Installer is launched in a graphical window waiting for input. Once installed without `-nographic`, the following changes to /etc/default/grub and running `sudo update-grub` enabled serial output. GRUB_TERMINAL=console GRUB_SERIAL_COMMAND="serial --speed=11520 --unit=0 --word=8 --parity=no --stop=1 The behaviour was seen on both Buster and Bullseye based Debian Installer images on x86_64. It was also consistent for both legacy and UEFI firmware. The installer supplies its own GRUB configuration for the installer images themselves; and its "grub-installer" component then has code to at least attempt to configure the installed system's GRUB to use serial output if the installer itself was using serial output. So I think either way this is something that would need to be fixed in the installer. Reassigning there. Unless I'm missing something, it does work for me with something like: -nographic -cdrom *.iso -kernel kernel-path -append "console=ttyS0,115200n8 ..." '-serial' might also be needed. -- John Doe
Re: building a custon talking debian installation image with build essential and other packages on the disc as well as the mate accessible desktop
On 4/24/2020 9:29 PM, Nick Gawronski wrote: > Hi, I am totally blind and know about pressing s to start the installer > with speech as I do this then go back to the main menu and set debconf > priority to low so I have the most control during the installation > process. I looked into the simple-cdd package for building a debian > installation image but could not find out how to include the full mate > debian desktop with orca the screen reader setup for speech as well as > build-essential and other development packages. What would be the best > process for building such an image that starts automatically at low I guess including a preseed file might be useful there. > priority with speech running and a highor volume level then normal for > systems where you would like speech to be not so soft during the > installation process? > You can increase the volume of 'espeakup' a bit but if the volume of the detected sound card could be set to the max as default that would be awsome. -- John Doe
Re: buster preseed autoinstall - possible bug or feature ?
Please post through the list. On 3/24/2020 3:02 PM, tim taler wrote: > thnx, > > what is your > > d-i apt-setup/use_mirror boolean (true|false) > > line look like? > only when I set it to false I get a minimal installation '#d-i apt-setup/use_mirror boolean false' The only thing that I can suggest you is to start from scratch with the belo preseed file (1). 1) https://www.debian.org/releases/buster/example-preseed.txt -- John Doe
Re: buster preseed autoinstall - possible bug or feature ?
On 3/24/2020 10:54 AM, tim taler wrote: > Hi all, > > I experience a strange behaviour of the debian buster installer. > > I want to do a preseeded installation of a minimalistic buster system > with only one partition (no swap even). > > What ever I try, if I don't configure: > "d-i partman-auto/choose_recipe select multi! > in the preseed file > tasksel is completely ignored and d-i will install 1370 > packages, including the desktop (and libre-office :-)) ... > > I tried all combinations of partition and tasksel with the same result: > > d-i partman-auto/choose_recipe select multi --> minimal installation > as desired > d-i partman-auto/choose_recipe select (atomic|home) --> desktop install > d-i partman-auto/expert_recipe string (any configuration with and > without swap, same config as "multi" from above) --> desktop install > > Haven't found anything about that yet on the net? > Can somebody confirm? > I use 'atomic' and only the pkgs I choose are installed but no 'desktop'. > My setup is a manual installed minimalistic buster with apache2 > serving the preseed file > and a second instance trying to do the auto install by: >>From the boot menu choose: "Advanced options" --> "Automated install" > and than providing the preseed location. > > see me puzzled, > any hint is welcome! I have those lines in my preseed file to insure that no 'desktop' is installed: ### Package selection tasksel tasksel/first multiselect standard -- John Doe
Re: Bug#954200: DI encrypted LVM, discard option crypttab file
On 3/18/2020 3:44 PM, Ben Hutchings wrote: > On Wed, 2020-03-18 at 11:27 +0100, john doe wrote: >> Package: debian-installer >> Version: debian-10.3.0-amd64-netinst.iso >> >> After installing debian-10.3.0-amd64-netinst.iso with encrypted LVM, the >> crypttab file is populated with the discard' option in the fourth field. >> >> According to (1), the discard option has security implication: >> >> "discard >> Allow discard requests to be passed through the encrypted block device. >> This improves performance on SSD storage but has security implications." > > As I recall, the security implication is a minor information leak - it > makes it possible to determine how much, and which parts, of the disk > are used. Hardly anyone should care about that, so this is a > reasonable defualt. > Reading (1), I don't see that has a reasonable default. You clearly need to understand when to use this flag. 1) http://asalor.blogspot.com/2011/08/trim-dm-crypt-problems.html > Ben. > >> I would suggest that the debian-installer populates the first two >> mandatory fields of '/etc/crypttab'. Changing 'luks,discard' to 'key-slot=0' would be more appropriate. -- John Doe
Bug#954200: DI encrypted LVM, discard option crypttab file
Package: debian-installer Version: debian-10.3.0-amd64-netinst.iso After installing debian-10.3.0-amd64-netinst.iso with encrypted LVM, the crypttab file is populated with the discard' option in the fourth field. According to (1), the discard option has security implication: "discard Allow discard requests to be passed through the encrypted block device. This improves performance on SSD storage but has security implications." I would suggest that the debian-installer populates the first two mandatory fields of '/etc/crypttab'. 1) https://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/crypttab.html -- John Doe
Re: Next d-i bullseye alpha: March 9-15 (tentatively)
On 3/8/2020 9:40 PM, Cyril Brulebois wrote: > Hi, > > Holger Wansing (2020-03-08): >> Cyril Brulebois wrote: >>> If you're waiting for some updates to reach bullseye, feel free to >>> mention them in this thread (bonus points for cc-ing me) so that we >>> can figure out whether their transition to testing can be arranged. >> >> I just noticed this change in tasksel: >> "Remove task-print-service - CUPS is now the de-facto only print server and >> is already pulled by the concerned desktop environment." >> >> Maybe this should be reviewed and uploaded to go live in the next >> alpha? > > Good call! I remembered Didier asked before pushing, I hadn't realized > it hasn't been uploaded; done now, also including the 10th MR. > Sorry to jump in, but when using a preseed file, with 'tftp://hostname/...' 'buster' is used instead of 'bullseye'. Has this been addressed? -- John Doe
Re: boot-time accessibility issues
On 3/2/2020 5:35 PM, Samuel Thibault wrote: > john doe, le lun. 02 mars 2020 17:24:48 +0100, a ecrit: >> On 3/2/2020 5:13 PM, Samuel Thibault wrote: >>> john doe, le lun. 02 mars 2020 17:02:49 +0100, a ecrit: >>>> Prompting the user with a question asking if accessibility is desired >>>> would go a lon way. >>> >>> But we don't necessarily want to ask the question on all Debian systems >>> at all boot. >>> >>> I'm not saying that there is no solution. I'm saying that it's not just >>> a matter of adding a question, but rather to determine a reasonable way >>> to have it asked. >> >> One way could be to emit that prompt when the "low" priority is used. > > You are here talking about the Debian Installer. Such a menu is in the > TODO-list, yes, we have already discussed about it. > Looks like I forgot that it will eventually be implemented, thanks Samuel. I'll be happy to test that out when you get the time to work on this. > But what Rich is after is an already-installed system, apparently. I > don't know if in his situation he can preseed some parameter. But again, > AIUI he would not be using the debian-installer but raspi etc. so > debian-boot and debian-accessibility can't do much about it. > Yes, I clearly mist the point here. >> That way, the question would not be asked for regular user but could be >> triggered by choosing the low priority or preseeded in a preseed file. > > Note that low priority and preseed still need to be set somehow, so it > doesn't solve the bootstrap question like the 's' boot shortcut does. > Actually, creating a new cd iso that would have accessibility in mind could be one option. EG: debian-10.3-accessibility-netinst.iso Note that I don't have a clue of this could be feasable. -- John Doe
Re: boot-time accessibility issues
On 3/2/2020 5:13 PM, Samuel Thibault wrote: > john doe, le lun. 02 mars 2020 17:02:49 +0100, a ecrit: >> Prompting the user with a question asking if accessibility is desired >> would go a lon way. > > But we don't necessarily want to ask the question on all Debian systems > at all boot. > > I'm not saying that there is no solution. I'm saying that it's not just > a matter of adding a question, but rather to determine a reasonable way > to have it asked. > One way could be to emit that prompt when the "low" priority is used. That way, the question would not be asked for regular user but could be triggered by choosing the low priority or preseeded in a preseed file. -- John Doe
Re: boot-time accessibility issues
On 3/2/2020 4:57 PM, Samuel Thibault wrote: > Rich Morin, le lun. 02 mars 2020 07:40:42 -0800, a ecrit: >> In another forum, I've been told that Orca is a rather heavyweight solution >> for providing boot-time speech generation. It was recommended that I >> consider Fenrir, instead. > > Fenrir is also quite heavy-weight, since it brings python. Brltty would > be much less heavy-weight (but still bring e.g. libicu) > >> So, recasting my question, what would it take to make these changes to the >> default Debian installation? >> >> - include Fenrir, with some sort of key combination to activate it > > On the Linux console there is currently no way to activate a program > through a key combination. > > What is the installation use case, actually? Is it again the raspi case? > As mentioned previously the raspi team handles it, so it'd rather have > to be discussed with them. > >> More generally, is there a better way to provide accessibility at boot time? > > The question is how to detect that it is needed. We can't just install > and run a screen reader by default on all Debian systems, so something > needs to trigger the screen reader startup. > Prompting the user with a question asking if accessibility is desired would go a lon way. -- John Doe
Re: Preseed URL expanding to Buster instead of Bullseye
On 2/18/2020 9:41 PM, john doe wrote: > Hi all, > > I'm installing Bullseye using > debian-bullseye-DI-alpha1-amd64-netinst.iso with a preseed file. > When no path is specified in the preseed file URL, it expands to > '/./buster/preseed.cfg' ant not to '/./bullseye/preseed.cfg'. > It expands to 'd-i/buster/./preseed.cfg' and not to 'd-i/bullseye/./preseed.cfg'. > Is this a bug or am I missing something? > To me it is a bug, to which package should I file a bug against? -- John Doe
Preseed URL expanding to Buster instead of Bullseye
Hi all, I'm installing Bullseye using debian-bullseye-DI-alpha1-amd64-netinst.iso with a preseed file. When no path is specified in the preseed file URL, it expands to '/./buster/preseed.cfg' ant not to '/./bullseye/preseed.cfg'. Is this a bug or am I missing something? -- John Doe
Re: [cdrom-detect] Change template proposal
On 12/10/2019 9:03 PM, Holger Wansing wrote: > Hi, > > Justin B Rye wrote: >>> "You may want to switch to the shell on the second terminal (CLTR+ALT+F2 in >>> the " >>> "graphical installer, ALT+F2 for the text-based variant) to check the " >>> "available devices in /dev with \"ls /dev\". You can return to this screen " >>> "by pressing CLTR+ALT+F5 respective ALT+F1." >>^^ >>> >>> >>> Comments? >> >> "Respective" is never ever a conjunction in English. Just say "or". >> >> And it's CTRL, not CLTR. > > > > john doe wrote: >>> "You may want to switch to the shell on the second terminal (CLTR+ALT+F2 in >>> the " >>> "graphical installer, ALT+F2 for the text-based variant) to check the " >>> "available devices in /dev with \"ls /dev\". You can return to this screen " >>> "by pressing CLTR+ALT+F5 respective ALT+F1." >>> >> >> "> by pressing CLTR+ALT+F5 respective ALT+F1." >> >> At the very least the above line should be: >> >> "by pressing CLTR+ALT+F5 and ALT+F1 respectively." > > > Summarizing your comments into one patch, would this be ok? > > > > diff --git a/debian/cdrom-detect.templates b/debian/cdrom-detect.templates > index 2058b0b..ba50e89 100644 > --- a/debian/cdrom-detect.templates > +++ b/debian/cdrom-detect.templates > @@ -55,9 +55,10 @@ _Description: Device file for accessing the installation > media: > the device file that should be used. Non-standard CD-ROM drives use > non-standard device files (such as /dev/mcdx). > . > - You may switch to the shell on the second terminal (ALT+F2) to check the > + You may want switch to the shell on the second terminal (CTRL+ALT+F2 in the Should be one or the other: 'You may want to switch to ...' or 'You may switch to ...' The latter seems more appropriate in this context. > + graphical installer, ALT+F2 for the text-based variant) to check the > available devices in /dev with "ls /dev". You can return to this screen > - by pressing ALT+F1. > + by pressing CTRL+ALT+F5 or ALT+F1 respectively. > I would use 'and' instead of 'or' in the above line: 'by pressing CTRL+ALT+F5 and ALT+F1, respectively.' -- John Doe
Re: [cdrom-detect] Change template proposal
On 12/8/2019 11:00 PM, Holger Wansing wrote: > Hi, > > one more proposal for a template change: > (debian-l10n-english in CC for template review) > > > > Template: cdrom-detect/cdrom_device > Type: string > Default: /dev/cdrom > # :sl2: > _Description: Device file for accessing the installation media: > In order to access your installation media (like your CD-ROM), please enter > the device file that should be used. Non-standard CD-ROM drives use > non-standard device files (such as /dev/mcdx). > . > You may switch to the shell on the second terminal (ALT+F2) to check the > available devices in /dev with "ls /dev". You can return to this screen > by pressing ALT+F1. > > > > This template is from the time where we only had the text-based installer, > and it does not work exactly for the graphical one. > Therefore, I would like to change the second part like this: > > > "You may want to switch to the shell on the second terminal (CLTR+ALT+F2 in > the " > "graphical installer, ALT+F2 for the text-based variant) to check the " > "available devices in /dev with \"ls /dev\". You can return to this screen " > "by pressing CLTR+ALT+F5 respective ALT+F1." > "> by pressing CLTR+ALT+F5 respective ALT+F1." At the very least the above line should be: "by pressing CLTR+ALT+F5 and ALT+F1 respectively." -- John Doe
Re: Can we boot from CD-ROM ISO for QEMU MIPS systems?
On 11/19/2019 10:49 PM, Jun Sun wrote: > Thanks for the pointer, John. I tried that before (btw. see my comments > under "monkey-jsun" name at the end. ;0) > > The CD-ROM part does not work at all. The net installer still goes out to > the network and fetch the latest release and install. > > To prove my points, I ran with debian 10.2 net installer and mounted a > debian 9.5 CD. In the end it is the buster that gets installed. > > BTW, the main reason I asking for CD/DVD install is that, after a while old > net installer are not available anymore. And even if you dig them out from > archive CD's, they don't work anymore (probably due to some bits not > available online). That prevents me from re-producing some old bits and > potentially fixing some bugs there. If anybody knows how to work around > this, I'd appreciate it. > Note that if you use a netinstall cd, the new version will be fetched from the internet; what happens if you use 'dvd1' instead? -- John Doe
Re: Can we boot from CD-ROM ISO for QEMU MIPS systems?
On 11/16/2019 6:28 PM, Jun Sun wrote: > Obviously this method works for x86_64 and i386, probably because they have > bios. > > I tried the obvious combinations on MIPS with no luck so far > >- add "-boot d" option; and >- also supply the kernel/initrd in the hope they might recognize "-boot >d" and read from CD-ROM > > Just want to check to see if I'm heading to a dead wall or not. > > Cheers. > According to (1), that should be possible. HTH. 1) https://gist.github.com/extremecoders-re/3ce9416fc8b293198cd13891b68c -- John Doe
Re: apt-setup/security and apt-cacher-ng
On 10/29/2019 6:12 PM, john doe wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm installing Debian using preseeding, in my preseed file I have the
> following lines:
>
> d-i mirror/http/hostname string proxy:3142
> d-i apt-setup/security_host string proxy:3142
>
> I can install Debian from my apt-cacher-ng server (line one above)
> without issue but everytime I try to update/upgrade the pkgs (line two
> above)
>
> What URL format do I need to use as string for apt-setup/security for
> being able to update/upgrade/full-upgrade/... pkgs in combination with
> apt-cacher-ng?
>
I have filed a bugreport regarding this (1).
In a nutshell, the secdeb remap rule is missing the "directory spec".
Adding the directory spec ('/debian-security') wright before the first
semicolon (';') fixes the issue, so the secdeb line should look like:
Remap-secdeb: security.debian.org /debian-security ; security.debian.org
deb.debian.org/debian-security
1) https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=944114.
--
John Doe
Re: debian 10 installer
On 11/4/2019 5:49 PM, Vlastik Krejčí wrote: > Hello, > > I am using Debian for decades, but honestly, this is too much for me. > > I was installing Debian 10 right now and I am really disappointed. > > You guys did not give me as a user ANY option to install the Grub yes or > no, where to install etc. > > It was just installed WITHOUT any questions... > > I NEVER met such IGNORANCE like the Debian 10 installer... > What is missing in the expert mode (1)? 1) https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/amd64/ch06s01.en.html -- John Doe
Re: netinst sums and signatures?
On 11/2/2019 6:59 AM, Richard Hector wrote: > On 2/11/19 6:56 PM, Richard Hector wrote: >> On 2/11/19 4:04 AM, john doe wrote: >>> On 11/1/2019 2:13 PM, Richard Hector wrote: >>>> Hi all, >>>> >>>> I usually install using a netinst image, which I find here: >>>> >>>> https://www.debian.org/CD/netinst/ >>>> >>>> I figured I should verify the checksum and signature, though, and looked >>>> at this page: >>>> >>>> https://www.debian.org/CD/verify >>>> >>> >>> The checksum files and signature files are here: >>> >>> https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current/amd64/iso-dvd/ >>> >>> >>> Granted , it is not easy to find them! :) >> >> And not the netinst ones; only the first three main DVDs. > > Sorry, I didn't check the contents. The 16 main (amd64) DVD iso sums are > there, but still not the netinst ones. > > The netinst ones are here: > > https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current/amd64/iso-cd/ > Yeah, I didn't provide the correct URL, sorry about that! :) > So all that's needed is a link to that page from the one I originally > mentioned. > I agree, has ilustrated here, it is hard to find the corresponding checksum/signature files maybe (1) is the place for this. 1) https://www.debian.org/devel/website/ -- John Doe
Re: netinst sums and signatures?
On 11/1/2019 2:13 PM, Richard Hector wrote: > Hi all, > > I usually install using a netinst image, which I find here: > > https://www.debian.org/CD/netinst/ > > I figured I should verify the checksum and signature, though, and looked > at this page: > > https://www.debian.org/CD/verify > The checksum files and signature files are here: https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current/amd64/iso-dvd/ Granted , it is not easy to find them! :) -- John Doe
finish-install warning
Hi, Looking in the log after a fresh install of Debian Buster, I'm seeing the following in /var/log/installer/syslog: "... finish-install: dpkg-divert: warning: diverting file '/sbin/start-stop-daemon' from an Essential package with rename is dangerous, use --no-rename" I tried to look at (1) but couldn't find where to correct the above warning. 1) https://salsa.debian.org/installer-team/finish-install -- John Doe
apt-setup/security and apt-cacher-ng
Hi, I'm installing Debian using preseeding, in my preseed file I have the following lines: d-i mirror/http/hostname string proxy:3142 d-i apt-setup/security_host string proxy:3142 I can install Debian from my apt-cacher-ng server (line one above) without issue but everytime I try to update/upgrade the pkgs (line two above) What URL format do I need to use as string for apt-setup/security for being able to update/upgrade/full-upgrade/... pkgs in combination with apt-cacher-ng? -- John Doe
Bug#942028: Bootloader file located in same directory as ldlinux.c32
Package: debian-installer-10-netboot-amd64 Version: 20190702+deb10u1 Following the recommendation of (1) and (2) the pxelinux.0 (bootloader) file should be in the same directory as the ldlinux.c32 library: "On the TFTP server, create the directory "/tftpboot", and copy "pxelinux.0" (from the Syslinux distribution) and any kernel or initrd images that you want to boot. [5.00+] Also copy "ldlinux.c32" from the Syslinux distribution to the "/tftpboot" directory on the TFTP server." Sadly, Debian does not follows those guidelines and creates an issue if you want to install Debian 10 (Buster) using PXE boot with the local tftp server of Qemu for Windows. The issue only manifest itself on Windows, steps to reproduce: - Copy the text directory from this very package into the root directory of Qemu's local tftp server - For sake of completeness, recreate the symlinks Windows way: del /q ldlinux.c32 del /q pxelinux.0 rmdir /q /S pxelinux.cfg mklink ldlinux.c32 debian-installer\amd64\boot-screens/ldlinux.c32 mklink pxelinux.0 debian-installer\amd64\pxelinux.0 mklink /D pxelinux.cfg debian-installer\amd64\pxelinux.cfg - Start Qemu with the following command: qemu-system-x86_64 -boot n -net user,tftp=,bootfile=pxelinux.0 - Error message "Failed to load ldlinux.c32 Boot failed: press a key to retry, or wait for reset..." - Workaround: Given that ldlinux.c32 is in 'debian-installer/amd64/boot-screens' and not in the root directory of the tftp server the only workaround is to copy ldlinux.c32 in the root directory of the tftp server by doing: del /q ldlinux.c32 echo F|xcopy /S /Q /Y /F debian-installer\amd64\boot-screens\ldlinux.c32 If ldlinux.c32 is in the same directory as pxelinux.0 it works. See also (3) and (4) for more context. Note that all commands are to be executed in the tftp root directory. 1) https://wiki.syslinux.org/wiki/index.php?title=PXELINUX 2) https://www.syslinux.org/archives/2019-September/026536.html 3) https://lists.debian.org/debian-boot/2019/09/msg00152.html 4) https://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2019/09/msg00817.html -- John Doe
Re: how to setup a small local Debian mirror to install a VM without an internet access
On 10/6/2019 7:49 PM, Robert Paschedag wrote: > The early and partman commands run too early, as the final filesystems (where > chroot will run) dues not yet exist and late_command starts *after* the base > installation. > > I would need another commands that starts after the target filesystem > (/target) is mounted but before the base installation starts. > > Then I could manually download (via curl or wget) my custom key into > /target/etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/. > I would open a feature request/bug report to include such capability or if I could I would look at patching it up myself! :) -- John Doe
Re: how to setup a small local Debian mirror to install a VM without an internet access
On 10/6/2019 7:25 PM, john doe wrote: > On 10/6/2019 5:10 PM, Robert Paschedag wrote: >> I also tried to include my custom gpg key into the initrd That did not >> work. >> >> The gpg key was there, but it was missing within the chroot within /target >> >> Looks to me as if the keys get installed via the "debian-archive-keyring" >> package. >> > > Did you try to modify the debian archive keyring pkg to include your gpg > key? > Also, can't you use one of the listed command at (1)? 1) https://www.debian.org/releases/wheezy/amd64/apbs05.html.en -- John Doe
Re: how to setup a small local Debian mirror to install a VM without an internet access
On 10/6/2019 5:10 PM, Robert Paschedag wrote: > I also tried to include my custom gpg key into the initrd That did not > work. > > The gpg key was there, but it was missing within the chroot within /target > > Looks to me as if the keys get installed via the "debian-archive-keyring" > package. > Did you try to modify the debian archive keyring pkg to include your gpg key? -- John Doe
Re: how to setup a small local Debian mirror to install a VM without an internet access
On 10/5/2019 8:51 AM, David wrote: > On Thu, 3 Oct 2019 at 02:23, Fred Boiteux wrote: > >> I'm trying to install automatically (using preseed) a Debian Buster 10.1 >> system on a VM hosted on a system without internet access, using a netboot. > >> Thanks to Steve McIntyre explanations (see #940801), I know how to >> update the netboot's initrd to include the virtio_blk driver, and the >> debian installer is now well detecting the VM's disk, and after >> partitionning it, it tries to download some Debian packages to install a >> minimal system on this new disk. For this purpose, i've setup a local >> Debian mirror copying the files on DVD-1 debian installer, but the >> debian-installer refuse to use it, because it's not GPG-signed, and so >> fails to install any package : > > Hi Fred, > > I am unsure from your message exactly how much network access you > may or may not have for your required VM install operations, so the > below suggestion might be useless for you, but I will send it anyway > on the chance it helps you. > Approxy/apt-cacher-ng could be installed as an vm and the preseed file would reference that mirror. > On my main PC (just a desktop with some TB HDD) on my LAN I run > an 'approx" server[1]. In every /etc/apt/sources.list (on that machine and > every other machine) there are only references to that server (nothing > outside the LAN, no deb.debian.org or security.debian.org), so every > Debian package that I install on any machine is then cached by the > approx server and after that can be served to any other machine. > > The approx server config file is the only place where deb.debian.org > and security.debian.org is written. It can work with other repos, for example > I configured mine to also cache raspberrypi.org. It does not download > the entire repo, it just caches what is used and downloads the misses. > apt-cacher-ng includes the ability to add from an iso file. If you need to use your own pkgs, the following URL might help you: https://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/NetbootInstall That is, include your gpg key in initrd.gz. -- John Doe
Re: Avoiding low-memory warning in preseed mode
On 10/2/2019 1:11 PM, Samuel Thibault wrote: > Hello, > > Fred Boiteux, le mar. 01 oct. 2019 16:09:05 +0200, a ecrit: >> d-i lowmem/low note >> >> Does someone can tell me which sentence is supposed to be used in preseed >> file to skip this manual validation ? > > As suggested in the "Creating a preconfiguration file" section of the > installation manual, the easiest way is to install by hand in these > conditions and then use debconf-get-selections --installer > Have a look at (1). 1) https://wiki.debian.org/DebianInstaller/Preseed#Custom_preseed_files -- John Doe
Re: pxe booting qemu
On 9/23/2019 1:26 PM, john doe wrote: > Hi Michael, > > On 9/23/2019 12:41 PM, Michael Kesper wrote: >> Hi John, >> >> On 23.09.19 10:27, john doe wrote: >>> I'm currently using the netinst.iso file to install Debian as a guest VM >>> using Qemu. >>> This approach works fine if you want to install multiple VM on the same >>> host. >>> My goal with using PXE booting is to test how to install from the >>> network using Qemu, that way, I can get everything the way I like before >>> implementing PXE booting on my network. >> >> I'd start with a real tftp server on a Debian box (You wrote that you were >> on windows). >> Configuration of tftp server with qemu and without are different and >> probably so different that it makes no sense to try the qemu one first. >> > > Last note on Windows, and Qemu, all required files are to be in the root > directory of the qemu tftp server without symlinks. > From now on, I'm done with Windows/Qemu with regard to PXE booting. > >>> What I want is: >>> - Fully install Debian from the network using a preseed file (the less I >>> do on the host on which I want to install Debian the better) >> >> preseed.cfg is the next step. You need to be able to get your boot media >> via network first. >> > > I already have the preseed file working, for now, I do install Debian > from a usb key and at the boot prompt I fetch the preseed file from http > with something like: > > boot: auto console=ttyS0,115200n8 interface=auto url= > > The all purpous of this is to avoid having to type the above line > everytime I install Debian! :) > Actually, I'm stuck at this very step, How do I go from having my boot > media from the network? > I have installed 'apt-cacher-ng' and and use that local mirror in the preseed file. Now I need to understand how to add those argument: console=ttyS0,115200n8 interface=auto url=tftp:///x.cfg The first step is to avoid having to type the above arguments and make that the default If I don't select anything. I'll also would like to thanks all the participent in this thread your intput/help is valuable. -- John Doe
Re: pxe booting qemu
Hi Michael, On 9/23/2019 12:41 PM, Michael Kesper wrote: > Hi John, > > On 23.09.19 10:27, john doe wrote: >> I'm currently using the netinst.iso file to install Debian as a guest VM >> using Qemu. >> This approach works fine if you want to install multiple VM on the same >> host. >> My goal with using PXE booting is to test how to install from the >> network using Qemu, that way, I can get everything the way I like before >> implementing PXE booting on my network. > > I'd start with a real tftp server on a Debian box (You wrote that you were on > windows). > Configuration of tftp server with qemu and without are different and > probably so different that it makes no sense to try the qemu one first. > Last note on Windows, and Qemu, all required files are to be in the root directory of the qemu tftp server without symlinks. From now on, I'm done with Windows/Qemu with regard to PXE booting. >> What I want is: >> - Fully install Debian from the network using a preseed file (the less I >> do on the host on which I want to install Debian the better) > > preseed.cfg is the next step. You need to be able to get your boot media > via network first. > I already have the preseed file working, for now, I do install Debian from a usb key and at the boot prompt I fetch the preseed file from http with something like: boot: auto console=ttyS0,115200n8 interface=auto url= The all purpous of this is to avoid having to type the above line everytime I install Debian! :) Actually, I'm stuck at this very step, How do I go from having my boot media from the network? >> What I don't want: >> - Using a phisical media (usb key, cd/dvd rom ...) >> >> As far as I understand it, PXE booting is the only way to avoid using a >> usb key to install Debian, is that correct? > > Yes. > Okay, thanks. > But in my opinion it's better to start from solid grounds: > A reliable DHCP and TFTP server on a Debian system. > Best if you start in a seperate network (or at least network segment) so you > don't risk influencing your productive systems. I'll create a small test network isolated from my production one to play with all of this! :) The PXE server will use Dnsmasq for PXE boot and the integrated TFTP server. > Maybe it's even easier to start with an integrated solution like > fai, I didn't try that yet. > Interesting... > Oh, and by the way: If you try to pxeboot via UEFI, many tutorials etc. > are plain wrong: You don't use pxelinux.0 in that case at all! > You'll be loading bootnetx64.efi which then will load grubnetx64.efi. > This enables (but does not depend on) secure boot. > > This guide is relatively good because you can verify that each step worked. > No mentioning of UEFI pxe boot, though: > > https://wiki.debian.org/PXEBootInstall > > NB also this (from that guid): > > If the kernel in the netboot image gets out of sync with the kernel module > packages, > then the modules won't load and the install will fail, > the usual symptoms are that messages about "missing symbols" appear > in the ctrl-alt-f4 console. > > To fix this, update the kernel and initrd on the netboot server. > By doing 'apt-get update && apt-get upgrade'? In other words, I can't provide PXE booting for Stretch hosts when the PXE server is on Buster. > About UEFI PXE, hava look at this thread: > https://lists.debian.org/debian-boot/2019/02/msg00285.html > > FAI: http://fai-project.org/features/ > I will take a look at all of this I realy appriciate your help Michael, many thanks. -- John Doe
Re: pxe booting qemu
Hi Michael, thanks for your answer. On 9/23/2019 8:57 AM, Michael Kesper wrote: > Hi John, > > On 22.09.19 09:47, john doe wrote: >> Hi, >> >> I'm trying to install Debian 10.1 using pxe and qemu. > > Is pxe booting a strong requirement for you? > It's much easier to start booting from a cdrom image. > > A "netinst" image is sufficient: > https://www.debian.org/CD/netinst/ > I'm currently using the netinst.iso file to install Debian as a guest VM using Qemu. This approach works fine if you want to install multiple VM on the same host. My goal with using PXE booting is to test how to install from the network using Qemu, that way, I can get everything the way I like before implementing PXE booting on my network. What I want is: - Fully install Debian from the network using a preseed file (the less I do on the host on which I want to install Debian the better) What I don't want: - Using a phisical media (usb key, cd/dvd rom ...) As far as I understand it, PXE booting is the only way to avoid using a usb key to install Debian, is that correct? -- John Doe
Re: pxe booting qemu
On 9/22/2019 4:22 PM, Geert Stappers wrote: > On Sun, Sep 22, 2019 at 09:47:11AM +0200, john doe wrote: >> Hi, >> >> I'm trying to install Debian 10.1 using pxe and qemu. >> I've downloaded the netboot.tar.gz, extracted it and use the following >> qemu command: >> >> ... -boot n -net user,tftp=,bootfile=pxelinux.0 >> >> "Failed to load ldlinux.c32 >> Boot failed: press a key to retry, or wait for reset..." > > That looks like output at client side. > > What is logged at server side? > > > What is visible on the wire? > > > > That is where I'm stuck, how do I go about getting the log from the local tftp server of Qemu? The file 'pxelinux.0' is downloaded but the next step fails with the above error. -- John Doe
pxe booting qemu
Hi, I'm trying to install Debian 10.1 using pxe and qemu. I've downloaded the netboot.tar.gz, extracted it and use the following qemu command: ... -boot n -net user,tftp=,bootfile=pxelinux.0 "Failed to load ldlinux.c32 Boot failed: press a key to retry, or wait for reset..." This is on Windows, any hint(s) on what's going rong is appriciated? -- John Doe
Re: Downloading
On 8/27/2019 3:00 AM, Moonowl gaming wrote: > I want to download the os but when I click the download link it won’t load > the page > Which URL are you having issue with? -- John Doe
Re: Specifying hostname as kernel boot parameter preseed file
On 7/20/2019 4:08 PM, Postel's law for the win wrote: > On Sat, Jul 20, 2019 at 03:38:48PM +0200, john doe wrote: >> Ping -- can anyone help me here? > > https://lists.debian.org/debian-boot/2019/07/msg00046.html says it is DHCP > server. > Okay, I fail to understand how the above URL is relevent to my question. -- John Doe
Re: Specifying hostname as kernel boot parameter preseed file
Ping -- can anyone help me here?
On 6/18/2019 3:48 PM, john doe wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm trying to comprehend in which conditions the hostname and domain can
> be specified as kernel boot parameter:
> As far as I understand it there are three ways to specify a hostname/domain:
> - Kernel boot parameter (boot: hostname=)
> - By DHCP
> - Static hostname in a preseed file ('d-i netcfg/hostname string
>
> I use a common preseed file for the debian installer with the exception
> of the hostname that needs to be changed for eatch hosts.
> So for example I would do something like:
>
> boot: auto interface=auto url= hostname=try
>
> On the installed system the hostname is always sed to 'bad'.
>
> I would expect that 'hostname' in the above command would take
> precedence over other hostnames that are specified by other means (DHCP
> ...).
>
> What am I missing?
>
>
> In other words: what is the best way to specify a hostname as kernel
> boot parameter.
>
--
John Doe
Specifying hostname as kernel boot parameter preseed file
Hi,
I'm trying to comprehend in which conditions the hostname and domain can
be specified as kernel boot parameter:
As far as I understand it there are three ways to specify a hostname/domain:
- Kernel boot parameter (boot: hostname=)
- By DHCP
- Static hostname in a preseed file ('d-i netcfg/hostname string hostname=try
On the installed system the hostname is always sed to 'bad'.
I would expect that 'hostname' in the above command would take
precedence over other hostnames that are specified by other means (DHCP
...).
What am I missing?
In other words: what is the best way to specify a hostname as kernel
boot parameter.
--
John Doe
Bug#924037: Please add anacron back to task-desktop and task-laptop
On 3/8/2019 7:17 PM, Holger Wansing wrote: > Hi, > > Ian Jackson wrote: >> Package: task-desktop >> Version: 3.49 >> >> The rationale for this change is IMO not correct. >> >> Michael Biebl wrote: >> | all important cron jobs have a corresponding .timer unit >> >> This is not a sufficient condition. Firstly, it is necessary for all >> cron jobs, not just ones considered `important', to have a >> corresponding timer unit, for this change to be correct. >> >> Secondly, this change simply breaks systems without systemd. If >> (which I deny) it is a good idea to change this for systemd systems, >> measures should be taken to arrange that non-systemd systems still get >> anacron. For example, a dependency on systemd-sysv | anacron >> >> (Thirdly, and tangentially, for reasons explored further in the >> debian-devel thread, systemd timer units are not a suitable >> replacement for many applications.) >> >> Also I think that when changes are being made which might break >> non-systemd systems, the Debian Ecosystem Init Diversity team >> debian-init-divers...@chiark.greenend.org.uk >> should be consulted so that the appropriate fixes can be developed. > > I tend to follow this proposal (also looking at the corresponding > discussion on d-devel). > >> Finally, this change is rather late wrt the freeze. > > Since this is just a revert of a recent change, this can be considered > causing no harm. > > > Any objections? > kibi? > I'm probably missing something here, this change have never had the green light to go ahead in the first place. -- John Doe
Re: default desktop
On 2/9/2019 7:21 PM, Mewtamer wrote: > This is just a suggestion, but perhaps, instead of having "Debian > Desktop Environment" as an alias for the default without any > explanation, perhaps it would be better to restructure the software > selection menu to something like: > > 1. Gnome Desktop Environment(Debian Default) > 2. Mate Desktop Environment(Recommended for Accessibility). > 3. LXDE(recommended for systems with limited resources) > 4. No Desktop Environment(System will be command-line only) > > Etc., adjusting numbers to accomodate whatever other desktop > environments can be installed at that point. And I suggest including > the no desktop environment option to simplify things for those who'd > rather start with a basic system and handle most software installation > manually afterward. Might just be me, but this feels much more > self-documenting, informs everyone who doesn't already know what the > default is, gives those who need accessibility or are setting things > up for accessibility a heads up that the default might not be best, > etc. > +1 -- John Doe
Re: Collecting Wayland issues [Was: default desktop]
On 2/9/2019 3:16 PM, Samuel Thibault wrote: > Hello, > > Could people raise the issues they have had when trying Wayland? > How do I go about testing wayland? Should I tested on Mate or on Gnome? -- John Doe
Re: default desktop
On 2/9/2019 2:05 AM, Jeremy Bicha wrote:
> On Fri, Feb 8, 2019 at 7:37 PM Samuel Thibault wrote:
>> As mentioned earlier in the thread, the default desktop for
>> accessibility is already MATE. I'm here talking about the choice of
>> default desktop for Debian indeed. IIRC one of the reasons for the
>> choice of gnome was its general accessibility, and I'm just saying I
>> believe that part has changed.
>
> Ok, then you need to discuss this with the rest of the Debian GNOME
> team. I suggest the debian-gtk-gnome list. (And I think it would have
> been more polite to talk to them before talking to the tasksel team.)
>
> It's a bit late to be talking about reverting Wayland by default for
> everyone since this has been enabled for Testing since soon after the
> Stretch release.
>
> Thanks,
> Jeremy Bicha
>
Something that is confusing is that when installing Debian with the
kernel boot parameter 'DEBIAN_FRONTEND=text', 'Debian desktop
environment' is not the desktop that is "accessible".
Furthermore, while I value the talking installer ("install Debian with
speatch"), the default desktop environment should be the one propose by
Debian.
A warning should be displayed saying something like "the 'debian desktop
environment' is currently less accessible then Mate".
I'll go back to a point I already raised, that is, the Debian talking
installer shouldn't presume the Debian defaults and ask for any changes
that involve accessibility.
--
John Doe
Re: default desktop
On 2/8/2019 7:25 PM, Samuel Thibault wrote: > john doe, le ven. 08 févr. 2019 19:09:39 +0100, a ecrit: >> On 2/8/2019 6:47 PM, Samuel Thibault wrote: >>> Holger Levsen, le ven. 08 févr. 2019 17:42:42 +, a ecrit: >>>> On Fri, Feb 08, 2019 at 06:07:17PM +0100, Samuel Thibault wrote: >>>>> Re-opening the question of the default desktop just a bit to provide >>>>> updated information: the current gnome-with-wayland default is a concern >>>>> for accessibility. Accessibility on Wayland has a lot of glitches in >>>>> all kinds of places, and nobody is working on fixing them yet. Also, >>>>> MATE+Compiz now provides very nice zoom support. >>>> >>>> are you suggesting to change the default install or the default install >>>> if accessibility boot options have been selected? >>> >>> Well, we already do the latter since years :) >>> >>>> if the former, I think you'd need to bring this up to a wider audience. >>>> (and it might also be too late), like -devel or -release. >>> >>> Well, I don't really have the time to coordinate such a discussion. Just >>> providing the information. >>> >> >> What information are you refering to? > > That now that gnome uses wayland by default, it is quite less accessible > than previously. > If my understanding is correct, Mate will eventually favor wayland; that is according to (1). 1) https://wiki.debian.org/Wayland#Unsupported -- John Doe
Re: default desktop
On 2/8/2019 6:45 PM, Samuel Thibault wrote: > john doe, le ven. 08 févr. 2019 18:39:39 +0100, a ecrit: >> What about Orca? >> The last time I checked Mate, it wasn't as usable as 'Debian desktop >> environment' (Gnome). > > When was that time? > A lot of things happened on the Mate side :) > A fiew months back. Do you have any pointers on where I can find what happened in Mate with regard to blindness? -- John Doe
Re: default desktop
On 2/8/2019 6:47 PM, Samuel Thibault wrote: > Hello, > > Holger Levsen, le ven. 08 févr. 2019 17:42:42 +, a ecrit: >> On Fri, Feb 08, 2019 at 06:07:17PM +0100, Samuel Thibault wrote: >>> Re-opening the question of the default desktop just a bit to provide >>> updated information: the current gnome-with-wayland default is a concern >>> for accessibility. Accessibility on Wayland has a lot of glitches in >>> all kinds of places, and nobody is working on fixing them yet. Also, >>> MATE+Compiz now provides very nice zoom support. >> >> are you suggesting to change the default install or the default install >> if accessibility boot options have been selected? > > Well, we already do the latter since years :) > >> if the former, I think you'd need to bring this up to a wider audience. >> (and it might also be too late), like -devel or -release. > > Well, I don't really have the time to coordinate such a discussion. Just > providing the information. > What information are you refering to? I'm also with 'Holger Levsen' on that one. -- John Doe
Re: default desktop
On 2/8/2019 6:07 PM, Samuel Thibault wrote: > Hello, > > Re-opening the question of the default desktop just a bit to provide > updated information: the current gnome-with-wayland default is a concern > for accessibility. Accessibility on Wayland has a lot of glitches in > all kinds of places, and nobody is working on fixing them yet. Also, > MATE+Compiz now provides very nice zoom support. > What about Orca? The last time I checked Mate, it wasn't as usable as 'Debian desktop environment' (Gnome). P.S. Keeping 'task...@packages.debian.org' in the loop, not sure if it is useful. -- John Doe
Re: Don't enable/install accessibility per default
Resending this e-mail in the hope that someone will be able to implement it in d-i or give some feedback. On 9/17/2018 4:26 PM, john doe wrote: > Hi, > > I had posted on 'debian-accessibility' the below e-mail but didn't gain > much traction there. > > The options "Install with speach" is used to install Debian. > > - Volume not loud enuf: > > When installing Debian with speach the volume of the voice is not loud > enuf even when using espeakup command to increase the volume. > That makes it "hard" to hear properly when you are not in a quiet > environment. > > > - Prompt for configuring accessibility: > > Accessibility includes speach and brail! > > I find myself installing Debian for sited users. > They don't need the accessibility feature(s) to be installed or enabled > at boot. > > It would be nice if something like the following could be implemented: > > Do you want to add support for accessibility?: > 1) Configure accessibility but don't start at boot. > 2) Do not configure accessibility. > 3) Configure accessibility at boot for console. > 4) Configure accessibility at boot for login screen. > 5) Configure accessibility at boot for desktop manager. > > The default value would be: '3 4 5'. > > This prompt could be available when the kernel boot parameter 'priority' > is set to 'low'. > > > In other words, using accessibility at install time does not mean that > accessibility should be enabled/installed on the installed system. > > > If you have more questions do not hesitate to ask them! :) > -- John Doe
Re: [package][debian][udhcpd] : Package missing on debian website
On 11/6/2018 11:26 AM, Luc Novales wrote: > Hi, > > Busybox provides a dhcp client (udhcpc) and a dhcp server (udhcpd). > > On packages website, first is referenced as : > > https://packages.debian.org/stretch/udhcpc > > The server udhcpd have not specific debian package. Is it possible to > create a virtual package as the client udhcpc ? > > It could help to solve a mistake in french webpage of udhcpc. > I'm more leaning toward an mistake in translation because to my understanding udhcpc is only a client (1). Can you give us the URL of the page in question? https://udhcp.busybox.net/README.udhcpc -- John Doe
Don't enable/install accessibility per default
Hi, I had posted on 'debian-accessibility' the below e-mail but didn't gain much traction there. The options "Install with speach" is used to install Debian. - Volume not loud enuf: When installing Debian with speach the volume of the voice is not loud enuf even when using espeakup command to increase the volume. That makes it "hard" to hear properly when you are not in a quiet environment. - Prompt for configuring accessibility: Accessibility includes speach and brail! I find myself installing Debian for sited users. They don't need the accessibility feature(s) to be installed or enabled at boot. It would be nice if something like the following could be implemented: Do you want to add support for accessibility?: 1) Configure accessibility but don't start at boot. 2) Do not configure accessibility. 3) Configure accessibility at boot for console. 4) Configure accessibility at boot for login screen. 5) Configure accessibility at boot for desktop manager. The default value would be: '3 4 5'. This prompt could be available when the kernel boot parameter 'priority' is set to 'low'. In other words, using accessibility at install time does not mean that accessibility should be enabled/installed on the installed system. If you have more questions do not hesitate to ask them! :) -- John Doe
Re: Status and open questions for debian-installer with backports support
On 8/13/2018 1:57 AM, Steve McIntyre wrote: Apologies for taking a while to get back to you here... :-/ Also adding a CC to the -kernel list. On Thu, Aug 02, 2018 at 10:56:59AM +0200, Cyril Brulebois wrote: It's probably a good idea to consider building matching unofficial image(s) with firmwares embedded. I'm not an expert regarding debian-cd so help is much welcome. Tweaks might be needed to get firmwares installed and/or upgraded from the backports repository, be it to embed them on the image, or to make them available to the installed system. Ah, good catch. The code to force firmware inclusion will also need an update to also use backports firmware when a backports kernel is included. That should be really easy. In terms of config, we're already building netinst and DVD#1 versions with firmware. We'll keep that same config. => Choice: support unofficial firmware-enabled image(s)? Yes, people will need them. I'm one of those people which needs from time to time "unofficial firmware-enabled image", so thanks for keeping that available. -- John Doe
Re: Problem reading data from CD-ROM, failed to copy.
On 1/31/2018 12:11 AM, James Byrnes wrote: This dilemma is a result of a hackjob, something that normally shouldn't be able to run: loading Linux on a $59 WinBook TW-700. I downloaded a copy of debian-9.3.0-amd64-netinst via torrent and extracted it to a bootable USB. I had to replace bootx64.efi with bootia32.efi as this tablet uses a 32bit EFI while also having a 64bit OS, otherwise it would not boot from USB. Halfway through load installer components from CD, the process fails to read the USB and crashes without ability to recover. Since this tablet only has 1 USB port, I am relegated to using a hub for keyboard input. I believe this issue stems from the fact that the iso was downloaded via torrent, and the data could have possibly be corrupted. Hopefully I'll be able to obtain a copy from dead-slow HTTP download (forced to use 128kb/s cellular data for download). To insure that the iso is not corrupted you need to checksum the iso using sha512sum utility and verify that iso using gpg. - If the checksum is successful your iso is not corrupted. - If verifying the signature is successful your iso has not been tempered with. Here's what I wrote earlier on the list: To checksum a file you will need to use the corresponding checksum utility: md5sum for MD5SUMS sha1sum for SHA1SUMS sha256 for SHA256SUMS sha512sum for SHA512SUMS On the download page for the desired iso file you have also 'SHA512SUMS' and 'SHA512SUMS.sign'. You download both files using for instance 'wget'. The first step is to verify the signature in 'SHA512SUMS' using 'gpg --verify *.sign'. When you see 'good signature from ...', you have successfully verified the iso. To checksum SHA512SUMS you would do: $ sha512sum -c SHA512SUMS 2>&1 | grep -i ok If you see something ending with ': ok', you have successfully checksummed the iso. -- John Doe
Re: Bug#888513: huge graphical bug
On 1/26/2018 8:11 PM, Samuel Thibault wrote: john doe, on ven. 26 janv. 2018 20:02:09 +0100, wrote: On 1/26/2018 7:21 PM, Samuel Thibault wrote: melissa M., on ven. 26 janv. 2018 19:12:32 +0100, wrote: despite the different options, there is no change, the bug persists... If there is no change, there must be an error in passing the kernel arg, how do you pass them? vga=normal fb=false Isn't vga=* deprecated? I don't know, but with syslinux it does have the effect of keeping a very trivial text mode. Probably grub has some kind of such option. https://wiki.debian.org/GrubTransition What I don't understand is how to emulate vga=* that is accepted by grub2 and supported by the Debian installer. -- John Doe
Re: Bug#888513: huge graphical bug
On 1/26/2018 7:21 PM, Samuel Thibault wrote: melissa M., on ven. 26 janv. 2018 19:12:32 +0100, wrote: despite the different options, there is no change, the bug persists... If there is no change, there must be an error in passing the kernel arg, how do you pass them? vga=normal fb=false Isn't vga=* deprecated? should get you to a pure textmode, there's no way you can get the split image you sent to the bug, or your graphic card is *seriously* broken if it can't even properly display pure text. Samuel -- John Doe
Re: network-console DEBIAN_FRONTEND?
On 1/21/2018 5:19 PM, Jack Bates wrote: Thank you both for your help, I'll keep working on it and post here when I have more information or questions. My guess would be that the D-I would need to be modified to owner the value of DEBIAN_FRONTEND. Support for ssh keys has been added and could maybe help on how to implement the desired frontend. https://wiki.debian.org/DebianInstaller/NetworkConsole https://wiki.debian.org/debconf Note that the preseed file could be used to do all the step before starting remote access. https://wiki.debian.org/DebianInstaller/Preseed -- John Doe
Re: network-console DEBIAN_FRONTEND?
On 1/19/2018 11:35 PM, Jack Bates wrote: Thanks for your help, but when I boot with DEBIAN_FRONTEND=text, it affects only the *local* console ... In other words, when I boot with "DEBIAN_FRONTEND=text modules=network-console", the local console does display the text frontend, but when I ssh in, I still get the default frontend (newt). How do I choose the network-console frontend? It's not realy an answer (sorry). I tryed the following to no avail: $ export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=text $ ssh installer@<ip|hostname> -o SendEnv=DEBIAN_FRONTEND Shell prompt in the installer: - Exporting DEBIAN_FRONTEND=text - There are no file related to ssh that I can find. From what I gather online you might have more chances with the following (untested): https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/amd64/apbs03.html.en Please let me know if you find a way to get the frontend as text when installing Debian using ssh. P.S. You might be better of asking on debian-user! :) -- John Doe
Re: network-console DEBIAN_FRONTEND?
On 1/19/2018 5:44 PM, Jack Bates wrote: How do you set the network-console DEBIAN_FRONTEND? When I boot the installer with modules=network-console and ssh in, I get the default frontend (newt). How do I switch to DEBIAN_FRONTEND=text? From: https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/ch05s03.html.en "DEBIAN_FRONTEND This boot parameter controls the type of user interface used for the installer. The current possible parameter settings are: • DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive • DEBIAN_FRONTEND=text • DEBIAN_FRONTEND=newt • DEBIAN_FRONTEND=gtk The default frontend is DEBIAN_FRONTEND=newt. DEBIAN_FRONTEND=text may be preferable for serial console installs. Some specialized types of install media may only offer a limited selection of frontends, but the newt and text frontends are available on most default install media. On architectures that support it, the graphical installer uses the gtk frontend." EG: boot install DEBIAN_FRONTEND=text -- John Doe
Re: Fwd: Headless installer boot
On 1/17/2018 10:22 AM, Mike Hosken wrote: Also implement the serial console as primary console after installation. Mike Hosken Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message: From: Mike Hosken <m...@purple-cat.net> Date: 17 January 2018 at 22:17:51 NZDT To: debian-boot@lists.debian.org Subject: Headless installer boot Hi Team, Just a quick question I wish to use serial port as console to install servers. I’m not familiar with grub etc as I’ve only ever used palo. Could someone point me in the right direction as to implement console=/dev/ttys0, for the AMD64 port and I386. I assume it would be a change when building the install media. I also use a DB9 Serial Rs232 cable to install Debian 9.3 amd64. I just grab the iso from debian.org and it does not need any modification. If you use console mode during installation it will also be properly set up when Debian is installed (no need to mess with grub...). The only parameter I need to pass to the kernel is: console=ttyS0,115200n8 Note that it is 'console=ttyS0' and not 'console=/dev/ttyS0'. Just in case you get the following (Don't use 'vga=*' to skip that part): "Undefined video mode number: 314 Press to see video modes available, to continue, or wait 30 sec" Simply press the bar or wait 30 sec. See '5.3.1. Boot console' on the following page: https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/ch05s03.html.en -- John Doe
Using kernel boot parameter that is deprecated in grub2
Hi list, This mailing list seems more appropriate for this type of questions than debian-user. I'm booting and installing debian 9 using a serial console. After entering the boot command: "install console=ttyS0,115200n8" the following appeared: "Undefined video mode number: 314 Press to see video modes available, to continue, or wait 30 sec" This can be suppressed by adding 'vga=off'. However, vga=* is deprecated in grub2 and will make your newly installation unbootable. I would prefer not to have to manually correct this issue using rescue mode or so on... The error given by grub2 after installation is: "Loading Linux 4.9.0-4-amd64 ... text is deprecated. Use set gfxpayload=vga=off before linux command instead. error: unrecognized number. Loading initial ramdisk ... error: you need to load the kernel first." Does anyone has any idea on how to avoied that prompt while keeping grub2 happy? In other words: how can I use kernel boot parameter if they are deprecated in grub2? -- John Doe
