v6.06 CD installation problems

[marc]

Joe Hart said...
> marc wrote:
> > First, the installation process only being possible from within a Live 
> > CD boot is strange and a bit tedious. Why is there no install option 
> > from the menu after booting?
> >
> >   
> Not with the CD that you have.  There is an alternate CD that has the 
> same installer that Breezy used, and it allows for more options that the 
> "Live" installer (which is indeed primitive).

Okay. It would be better if this had been communicated to me when I 
ordered the CDs. The 5.1 Ubuntu CDs came with two CDs, of course, which 
was fine.

I hand these CDs out to customers and potential clients, so to propagate 
good Kubuntu karma, the path of least resistance is essential.

As it stands, these CDs are of very limited use.

Karma: -1, poor communication.

> > Next, the disk setup process needs clearer descriptions to cover the 
> > options. I had no problem doing a DIY, since I wanted to use an unused 
> > Debian partition, but had I not known what I was being asked, then I 
> > doubt that I could have understood it from the scribblings.
>
> Partitioning the disks is one of the most difficult things for new linux 
> users to understand.

Yes, I can understand that.

> It's not something that the average user ever does.

Indeed.

> Most people come from the windows world with just a C: drive.  If 
> they do have a D:, then it's usually created by the manufacture.

Okay, in the majority of cases, but your typical XP user is not going to 
contemplate installing Linux without some hand holding.

My point is that the partitioning dialogue is poorly executed - though 
it's an improvement over the text version, of course.

> I agree that the installer is a bit terse on explaining things, but you 
> (and anyone else) could just pick the option to use the whole disk.

And trash other partitions, I don't think so. And this is part of my 
concern: XPers (or anyone with little or no exposure to Linux) brave 
enough attempt an install will likely have data on their disks that they 
wish to preserve.

I uphold my point that this area of the install process needs to be made 
clearer or much simpler.

Karma: -1, poor communication

> > During the installation, at the 'Ready to install' stage, a message box 
> > appears saying 'Scanning the mirror'. Some explanation might be useful 
> > at this point. In any case, this step never got beyond 1%, and there are 
> > no options present to cancel it. After a while I closed the box, at 
> > which point, the only option is to cancel the installation - which is 
> > kind of discouraging, since no feedback regarding any problem was 
> > forthcoming.
> >
> >   
> <snip>
> > The same 'Scanning the mirror' box appeared and sat at 1% - I presume 
> > that it wants an Internet connection, but nothing appeared to indicate 
> > or request this.
> >
> > So, what's the trick to install Kubuntu from the CD?
> >
> >   
> Yes, it's looking for the Internet.  It's wants to check to see if your 
> country has a mirror (copy) of the archives.  It checks the mirror for 
> updates to the CD (I think).

Indeed, it wasn't hard to diagnose this, but the point needed to be 
made.

Karma: -1, poor communication

Actually, there appear to be some serious knock-on effects from this 
issue. Since the installation had progressed a certain distance, and 
files copied to disk, and Internet communications attempted, I later 
discovered that sources.list had multiple items commented out due to the 
URLs being absent. Again, no communication of this fact was made by the 
install process. Someone moving to Linux will be unable to diagnose 
this, wonder why they can't install software, and potentially expose 
them to security risks.

Karma: -1, poor communication
 
> You shouldn't need a network connection to install, but I think the 
> installer just assumes you have a dhcp server sitting nearby and it will 
> configure your network card and set up your internet for you.

"assume"! Yup, a big problem. As it happens, dhcp was close by - and 
worked fine - but talking to the outside world was verboten.

> Almost  everyone who has broadband access has a DHCP server built into the 
> router that they use to connect, so this assumption isn't totally 
> without merit.

Any assumption is inexcusable. The installation process should attempt 
actions and inform the user when they fail, offering options to solve 
the problem or to gracefully degrade.

Karma: -5, poor communication

> In any event, it sounds to me like you want the Alternate Install CD, 
> which you can download from:
> 
> http://mirror.cs.umn.edu/ubuntu-releases/kubuntu/6.06/

Good to know it's there. But... it would have been good to know before - 
nothing to do with you, of course.

All in all, I think that the installation is very poor. It was easy 
enough to fix, due to having Linux and Debian knowledge, but a user new 
to Linux/Debian would have been left dangling.

Kubuntu installation: 3/10

-- 
Best,
Marc