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

[Claude Buisson]

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:

- 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.

- 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.

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

- 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...

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

- 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 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.

So the sole value added of the installer was the extraction of the tarballs..

It seems that (on a memory stick which is writable) that every aborted attempt
to do a configuration step leaves a "trace" in some files used by the installer,
which is able to show it (e.g. the hostname) at the following attempts, but
without garantee that it will effectively be used.

(On the other hand, the advantage of the memory stick is that the system on it
can be configured at will)

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.

Claude Buisson