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#1 2003-04-04 18:03:17

apeiro
Daddy
From: Victoria, BC, Canada
Registered: 2002-08-12
Posts: 771
Website

Suggestions for Installer improvements?

Hello Archers,

We've tricked someone into volunteering to revamp the installer script, and we'd like some input from you as to what you'd like to see in a new installer.

Please keep in mind that we're not aiming to build a RedHat/Mandrake/Windows two-clicks-and-you're-done installer here, but something robust enough to please the newer users and the experts in a true Arch fashion.  Functionality and simplicity.

I'd personally like to see these two features in the next version:

kickstart-style support
Very helpful for adminstrators who build large numbers of boxes.  This will allow the admin to create/generate a config file that can automate the entire install process from partition creation to bootloader configuration, without the need for ghost images

support for multiple CDs
Factoring in the unofficial repository, Arch Linux now has enough packages for 2 CDs and it's growing all the time.  It would be nice to be able to install packages from multiple CDs through the installer.  Currently, users would have to install from the main CD, then boot into the system and mount a second CD and pacman -A from there.
What else would everyone like to see?

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#2 2003-04-04 18:42:50

netkrash
Member
From: Viña del Mar, Chile.
Registered: 2003-03-19
Posts: 95

Re: Suggestions for Installer improvements?

shorter selection of packages...

yeah i know i'm lazy but it would be nice to have 2 choices of install..

1) select one by one

2) or select group of packages (similar to slackware)

i mean base, gnome, kde, network, office, multimedia and so on..

all with asociated packages already selected.

this way you can cover the 2 kind of users..

1) the i-want-to-know-everything-about-every-single-package user
2) and the i-don't-give-a-damn-i-just-wan't-to-try-out-this-distro :twisted: user

i think arch linux install really need this.


GNU/Linux: Share & Enjoy!

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#3 2003-04-04 19:16:09

netkrash
Member
From: Viña del Mar, Chile.
Registered: 2003-03-19
Posts: 95

Re: Suggestions for Installer improvements?

good point..

after i posted the message i started to think about the same thing.. it would be nicer to deselect some packages inside a group..

oh my, this is gonna be great smile


GNU/Linux: Share & Enjoy!

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#4 2003-04-05 07:25:57

xirus
Member
Registered: 2002-12-01
Posts: 113

Re: Suggestions for Installer improvements?

The possibility to choose the keyboard... (eg be-latin1,...)
The qwerty now is very annoying for azerty users tongue

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#5 2003-04-06 13:17:13

netkrash
Member
From: Viña del Mar, Chile.
Registered: 2003-03-19
Posts: 95

Re: Suggestions for Installer improvements?

hey you can do that in the instalation..

in the latest part when you edit your config files in the rc.conf file..

KEYMAP=en | es | fr | etc..

hey.. another good thing should be to choose the bootloader LILO or GRUB.


GNU/Linux: Share & Enjoy!

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#6 2003-04-06 13:35:12

xirus
Member
Registered: 2002-12-01
Posts: 113

Re: Suggestions for Installer improvements?

netkrash: I know...
But you have to type a lot during the installation... the installation itself should be done in whatever keymap you choose

I also agree that grub should be supported by default

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#7 2003-04-06 18:38:57

xirus
Member
Registered: 2002-12-01
Posts: 113

Re: Suggestions for Installer improvements?

metal_dragen: I happen to have installed mandrake (9.1) just yesterday, and it gives you the option (not as default though) to use grub now

(and to the arch developers: don't worry, arch is MUCH better smile)

sarah31: I don't understand what you are complaining about? I'm using the grub from the unofficial tree (which seems to be a very recent grub release) and it's working like a charm... I'm also using it to test multiple kernels and it doesn't have any problems with that??

there are so many people that don't like lilo and that are using grub without any problems, so why would it be a problem to let us pick that during the installation (even if it wouldn't be the default)?

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#8 2003-04-16 04:21:05

Sp00n
Member
Registered: 2002-09-14
Posts: 23

Re: Suggestions for Installer improvements?

i think support for software raid would be very very very nice. big_smile

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#9 2003-06-03 21:12:08

supa
Forum Fellow
From: United States
Registered: 2003-05-19
Posts: 28
Website

Re: Suggestions for Installer improvements?

The current installer asks if it should format partitions.  There's no option for "don't format this partition".

The formatting option should be moved IMHO, to where it asks what filesystem the partition uses.

I.E.  Pick ext3.  Then gives format yes/no option.


With arch 0.4 I had to pick format, then manually mount the other partitions so the installer didn't format them.

Also, If I picked format=no, and formated the partition via alt+f5... I still couldn't get the install to complete.

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#10 2003-06-03 22:54:37

Xentac
Forum Fellow
From: Victoria, BC
Registered: 2003-01-17
Posts: 1,797
Website

Re: Suggestions for Installer improvements?

It'd also be kinda nice to be able to type in a device to put a partition on.  That way when user mode linux uses /dev/ubd/0 no one (like me!) will cry...


I have discovered that all of mans unhappiness derives from only one source, not being able to sit quietly in a room
- Blaise Pascal

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#11 2003-06-04 00:00:20

jlvsimoes
Member
From: portugal
Registered: 2002-12-23
Posts: 392
Website

Re: Suggestions for Installer improvements?

do you think that the possibility off building a default kernel pkg during the instalation process is usefull "for me it is" and if yes do you think that it can be done on the furure


-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version: 3.1
GU/ d- s: a- C L U P+ L+++ E--- W+
N 0+ K- W-- !O !M V-- PS+ PE- V++ PGP T 5 Z+ R* TV+ B+
DI-- D- G-- e-- h! r++ z+ z*
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------

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#12 2003-07-17 14:47:00

Xentac
Forum Fellow
From: Victoria, BC
Registered: 2003-01-17
Posts: 1,797
Website

Re: Suggestions for Installer improvements?

That was with 0.4, right?


I have discovered that all of mans unhappiness derives from only one source, not being able to sit quietly in a room
- Blaise Pascal

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#13 2003-07-17 16:40:47

Xentac
Forum Fellow
From: Victoria, BC
Registered: 2003-01-17
Posts: 1,797
Website

Re: Suggestions for Installer improvements?

I don't think there is.  I know there's an 0.5beta, I thought maybe you'd used that.  The 0.4 installer had the problems you listed, but I thought they'd been fixed in 0.5, that was my reason for asking.


I have discovered that all of mans unhappiness derives from only one source, not being able to sit quietly in a room
- Blaise Pascal

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#14 2003-07-17 16:44:00

apeiro
Daddy
From: Victoria, BC, Canada
Registered: 2002-08-12
Posts: 771
Website

Re: Suggestions for Installer improvements?

The images in ftp://ftp.archlinux.org/images are current as of 0.5, and the updated installer asks permission to erase parititions individually, so you can skip the ones that should remain intact.

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#15 2003-08-13 22:08:47

phunni
Member
From: Bristol, UK
Registered: 2003-08-13
Posts: 768

Re: Suggestions for Installer improvements?

Currently I can't use my usb keyboard once the CD  kernel has booted - support for that would be good...

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#16 2003-08-24 01:06:48

dp
Member
From: Zürich, Switzerland
Registered: 2003-05-27
Posts: 3,378
Website

Re: Suggestions for Installer improvements?

NTFS 5.1 : it would be nice to have some tools on the installer-linux, to be able to resize the existing NTFS5.1(winXP) partition, so there is enough place to make new ones

linux-ntfs.sourceforge.net for the tools

(maybe also usefull to have in archlinux)

unfortunately they need a patched kernel (the NTFS-support in the 2.4.21-R is too old)

-> for future: what about including this tools (on CD) with the 2.6.0 kernel? --- then there is no patch needed ... i will for sure make a package then, for using in archlinux --- but the most usefull timepoint for such things is while installing arch on a new machine (unfortunately quite all are, at least here in switzerland, with win XP preinstalled ... 1 partition, the whole disk, strange format (NTFS5.1) --- very unlogical, stupid, and not userfriendly)

i know that there is a nice option to format the whole drive --- but sometimes, a small partition with winXP can be usefull if you need it for compatibility (i'm saying that??? i cant still believe it, to have written something like this!)


The impossible missions are the only ones which succeed.

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#17 2003-08-30 23:22:24

dp
Member
From: Zürich, Switzerland
Registered: 2003-05-27
Posts: 3,378
Website

Re: Suggestions for Installer improvements?

i dont need a gui, i dont need nice pictures while installing an OS (also no eye-candies ... sober like sarah31 wink )

[X]but what is needed, is a clear and easy part where you can specify what you want to format (this is not really done in 0.5 but works if you plan your installation and know exactly what you must have prepared for installation --- let the installer format things like it will ... you can after copy your data back if you like ... format=no works not yet in 0.5)

-> the ISO of arch0.5 has a small bug in the format-tool :
it says:
/dev/discs/disc0/disc1 to /dev/discs/disc0/disc11
instead of:
/dev/discs/disc0/part1 to /dev/discs/disc0/part11

[X]what is needed also, is a clear screen where you can specify what partition you want to mount where ... if you are used to the dialog in the 0.5-installer, this works, but it has some disadvantages:

- it asks you the first partition you choose to mount as / (you can change it!)
- then the second
-...
-> there is not a clear table where you can see what is to be mounted where ... where you can realize: ups i forgot to specify, that i want /boot in a special partition or similar things

clear would be:

/dev/discs/disc0/part1     ->    /boot
/dev/discs/disc0/part2        ->    /
...                    ->
...                    ->

[Apply] [clear and specify again]

this will give a nice overview, where you can check what you are doing and compare with the thinking you had at the begining :-)

this are only some


The impossible missions are the only ones which succeed.

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#18 2003-10-01 10:54:41

nifan
Member
Registered: 2003-04-10
Posts: 102

Re: Suggestions for Installer improvements?

it would be nice to have some kind of description of the packages, at the packages select. we dont know all the packages and its usefull to some newbies get used to the programs names and what they are used for .


______
"Ignorance, the root and the stem of every evil." - Plato

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#19 2003-11-08 17:20:54

Guest
Guest

Re: Suggestions for Installer improvements?

i've mentioned this before, but since this is a specific thread for suggestions (announcements???), i'll include a link to where i originally made my suggestion.

"problem with installing a /tmp partition" - see here

#20 2003-11-08 17:22:23

jf/
Member
Registered: 2003-10-26
Posts: 79

Re: Suggestions for Installer improvements?

Anonymous wrote:

i've mentioned this before, but since this is a specific thread for suggestions (announcements???), i'll include a link to where i originally made my suggestion.

"problem with installing a /tmp partition" - see here

ok sorry there - forgot to login.

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#21 2003-11-10 22:04:57

kakabaratruskia
Member
From: Santiago, Chile
Registered: 2003-08-24
Posts: 596

Re: Suggestions for Installer improvements?

Support for serial ATA. I've seen Dell PCs that come with this HDs.


And where were all the sportsmen who always pulled you though?
They're all resting down in Cornwall
writing up their memoirs for a paper-back edition
of the Boy Scout Manual.

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#22 2003-11-11 14:44:51

Nickm
Member
From: Netherlands
Registered: 2003-02-25
Posts: 106

Re: Suggestions for Installer improvements?

I don;t know if it's still the same as in 0.4, but once you exit the installer you need to select all packages again, this really bothered me once.
I also edited my /etc/devfsd.conf for access right on several devices for normal users and:

REGISTER        ^usb/lp0        CFUNCTION GLOBAL mksymlink $devname usblp0
UNREGISTER      ^usb/lp0        CFUNCTION GLOBAL unlink usblp0

to make cups understand my usb printer

That's all smile just wanted to thank al arch developers for the greatest distro ever

PS
Count me in for grub as well, don't like lilo, remember having a discussion about it before. just please include the old version that does compile

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#23 2003-12-07 11:47:38

Guest
Guest

Re: Suggestions for Installer improvements?

A short description of packages
would be nice. A line would be
enough. Sometimes I read a package
name and I feel like "mmm I heard
this one somewere. What the hell's
for? Do I need it?" or "I wish to
install an mpeg player, which
package do I need?" Of course one
can install only base system and
then check the site, but to know
what one's doing at install time
would be handy.
EmaRsk

#24 2005-08-25 19:11:20

raztos
Member
Registered: 2005-07-11
Posts: 26

Re: Suggestions for Installer improvements?

Hi there Archers.

It's a little OT (Off Topic) but I feel that I must to say that:)
Don't destroy Archlinux with "double-clicker" installer and also enviroment.
It's a cool distro, after time I have found that. Good Luck to future.

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#25 2005-08-25 19:28:43

jerem
Member
From: France
Registered: 2005-01-15
Posts: 310

Re: Suggestions for Installer improvements?

The most important features I expect from the new installer are :

- more modules built into the livecd kernel (ipw2100,2200, and a few other common wireless and network devices, which are VERY important to perform a ftp install.)

- automatic keymap handling on the isolinux CLI.

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