Re: Trying to install current from a memory stick and then a DVD and got a new and strange installer.

On 07/24/11 19:11, Claude Buisson wrote:
> On 07/24/2011 23:33, Nathan Whitehorn wrote:
>> On 07/24/11 16:29, eculp wrote:
>>> I have been hearing about a new installer but I obviously have not
>>> payed enough attention, I am afraid. I started running freebsd at 2.0
>>> and never really had a problem with understanding the installation
>>> program.  There is always a first time, I guess.
>>>
>>> ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/snapshots/201105/
>>>
>>> When booting I seem to get a screen that makes me remember installer
>>> screens of the 1980s.  (They were not exactly intuitive.)
>>>
>>> I somehow got the idea that the new installer was graphic.  Maybe
>>> something like PCBsd that is not bad at all.  I use it on all our
>>> employees computers.  Actually, after seeing this, I would love to
>>> have the old installer back.  Is their an option for that?
>>>
>>> Does this new ASCII installer have a "how to" with a bit of
>>> information on the flow of the installation.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>
>> Can you please describe what you didn't like about it, and what you
>> would prefer be changed? "Reminiscent of the 1980s" is not really
>> helpful, especially given that the new installer in fact looks very much
>> like sysinstall, which you seemed to like.
>> -Nathan
>
> Recently I installed a system from the "official" memory stick May 
> snapshot
> (FreeBSD-9.0-CURRENT-201105-amd64-memstick.img). here are a few remarks:

Thank you for testing!

> - the 1st thing I need to do is to configure the keyboard, as I am not 
> in the
> US. This is needed for an install, but also for using it as a live 
> system. And
> the keyboard configuration dialog is only a part of the installation 
> procedure.

Which is why this is the very first screen of the installer?

> - the partition tool is too simple/rudimentary, compared to the old 
> sysinstall
> dialog. I always want to have a total control of the partitions e.g. 
> to have a
> proper alignement. So one must use the shell escape or the live 
> system, which is
> a regression.

The alignment is done to match the disk stripe size automatically, and 
the partition editor has many, many more features than the sysinstall 
one. Is there something in particular you wanted?

> - extracting the tarballs lead to (cryptic) errors: I discovered the 
> hard way
> that I needed to execute a newfs.

This is what the directions at the top of the partitioning shell say.

> - I followed a succession of screens asking me to do the usual 
> configuration
> steps (hostname, clock, network - IPv4 only ?? -, users) and at the 
> end I get
> back a screen asking me if a wanted to do the steps I had done just 
> before...

The network configuration also allows IPv6 in newer versions -- that 
snapshot is 2 months out of date. The final screen says at the top that 
is there to modify earlier choices. Can you suggest a clearer wording?

> - booting the installed system, I found that the hostname disappeared, 
> the
> keyboard was not configured, nor the network, and so on

This is inexplicable. This has worked perfectly for everyone else -- 
it's possible you made a mistake in the partitioning, but I can't 
imagine how it would have caused this. Are you able to reproduce the 
problem?

> - during the whole process the screen was scrambled by the occurence 
> of a number
> of LORs displayed on top of the dialogs/messages of the installer.

The actual 9.0 CDs will not have WITNESS enabled. It would be nice if 
the LORs in question were actually fixed, however.

> - the file system of the installer/live system seems to be too small, 
> leading to
> a number of "system full" messages as soon a few files are written to it.

The live system is designed more as a fixit medium. What were you trying 
to do with it?

>
> Referring to a thread I found recently a propos the documentation on 
> the install
> media, I also want to say that a proper installer must be able to do 
> its work
> without any Internet connectivity. There exist systems which are not 
> connected,
> and networks without any communication with the Internet.

Which is why it behaves in exactly the way you suggest.
-Nathan