CD integrity checking (Re: Colony 3, Test report)

Matt Zimmerman mdz at ubuntu.com
Sun Aug 28 14:49:14 CDT 2005


On Sun, Aug 28, 2005 at 09:22:50PM +0200, HC Brugmans wrote:

> I install ubuntu/debian fairly regularly, read docs, mailing lists etc.
> I've never come across an option to verify the integrity of the disc in 
> the menu/installer. If it is there as this thread says it is, I've 
> managed to overlook it at least 10 times.
> 
> I've had multiple misburns messing up installs, so if I had known, I 
> would have used it every time.

It is on the main menu.  To get to the main menu, you can select "Go back"
from the first screen.  By default, the menu is not displayed and the
installer goes directly to the first step of the installation process.

> So please, do at the the very least make it more obvious, allow the user 
> to type 'check' in the prompt just like you type 'server' for a basic 
> install

isolinux boot options are something of a "user-hostile" interface.  They can
only be described in a single language in a very limited amount of screen
space, and they require that the user type their response to a prompt very
early in the installation process (when we haven't had a chance to configure
the keyboard, for example, and rely on BIOS functionality).

We will be minimizing the amount of functionality which is accessed through
this interface until such time as there is a way to make it more usable (for
example, using GRUB or a newer isolinux, each of which has graphical menu
capabilities).

> or perhaps ask the user to verify the cd on default install (and warn
> about the time this would take)

Every question asked adds to the complexity of the installation process,
both for the user and for the development team.  Even a simple question can
cost a lot, when you consider that _every_ Ubuntu user will need to spend
time reading and answering it, that translators will spend time translating
it into dozens of languages, and that it adds another logical branch which
needs to be tested thoroughly.

A better option would be to offer to verify the CD if an installation step
fails.  While this could result in suggesting a check for cases where the
failure was obviously not caused by a bad CD, it will not result in any
additional overhead for good CDs, which are far and away the common case.

-- 
 - mdz



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