Installation Program for Windows

[michael]

David Bain wrote:
> There's a guy at our office who we could put on this project tomorrow
> (if you're interested).

Have you had a chance to show this to your friend?  If so, what does he
think?
Best, Michael


> On Tue, 2005-07-12 at 16:45 -0700, michael wrote:
> 
>>For a while, I've thought that if Windows users could install Linux as 
>>easily as they can install any Windows program, they might be more 
>>likely to give Linux a try. When found out that WINGRUB allows a 
>>computer to boot linux from a Windows partition, I realized that it 
>>could be fairly simple to create such an installation program using 
>>existing tools. I've created a wiki page at 
>>https://wiki.ubuntu.com/InstallUbuntuWithoutRemoveableMedia describing 
>>how to do the process manually. Here's a rough sketch of how such an 
>>installer might work.
>>
>>intro explanation
>>automatic (or guided) installation?
>>determine (confirm) language
>>determine time, date, timezone, keyboard layout
>>guess (confirm) good amount of space for linux partition
>>create installation script based on previous information
>>prompt to close programs, eject media, click restart
>>determine whether windows=NT or =9x
>>if NT
>>append WINGRUB to boot.ini, set as default boot option
>>copy kernel, initrd, linux.iso, boot.lst to \boot
>>if 9x
>>something similar with GRUB4DOS , never done it myself
>>reboot
>>user selects or defaults to WINGRUB/GRUB4DOS
>>linux boots and autodetects hardware (logged)
>>script removes WINGRUB/GRUB4DOS from boot.ini (if installation fails, 
>>computer will not keep booting into linux)
>>installation program runs using install script, auto-detected hardware 
>>settings, installs GRUB to MBR (all logged)
>>reboot
>>next boot (windows or linux)
>>check installation log
>>ask to send results to database
>>delete \boot
>>first linux boot
>>set up user
>>
>>Let me explain the installation process in plain English. In the first 
>>step, I imagine that the installer will give the user the choice between 
>>accepting all of the installer's guesses or having a chance to modify 
>>those choices. The installer would then examine the registry to 
>>determine the user's language, the system time/date/timezone, and the 
>>keyboard layout. It would then determine the amount of free space on the 
>>hard drive and, based on the amount of space needed for an installation 
>>and the amount of free space remaining, make a guess as to the proper 
>>amount of space to partition away for linux. Based on all this 
>>information, the installer would then create an installation sript for 
>>anaconda or the debian-installer or whatever the distro uses. It would 
>>place this script, the kernel, initrd, and installation program, the 
>>distro's base installation packages, and either WINGRUB or GRUB4DOS 
>>(depending on what version of Windows the user is running) in the \boot 
>>directory, and modify the user's startup files to boot into linux. On 
>>reboot, the computer would start up into linux and run the installation 
>>program using the installation script. In case something goes wrong and 
>>the installation cannot finish, the installer should set the computer to 
>>boot into Windows on the next boot as soon as possible. The installer 
>>would then partition the disk, install the base packages, install GRUB 
>>to the master boot record, and reboot. At startup, GRUB would greet the 
>>user and ask whether to boot into Windows or linux. Regardless of which 
>>OS the user boots, a program would run that would check the installation 
>>log to see if everything went well with the installation. With the 
>>user's permission, it would send a copy of the log to a database that 
>>would allow the distro to better assess it's installer. The program 
>>would then delete the installation program and the supporting files 
>>(like the kernel, initrd, and packages that were still on the windows 
>>partition). On the first linux boot, the user would be prompted to 
>>create a user. At this point, the user would have a workable linux 
>>distribution that would dual-boot with windows, all without having to so 
>>much as burn a CD.
>>
>>Unfortunately, although I am computer literate, I have only the most 
>>basic programming skills and do not have the knowledge necessary to 
>>create this system. Obviously a lot of the work is already done: WINGRUB 
>>and GRUB4DOS can facilitate a diskless installation, the Nullsoft 
>>Scriptable Install System could serve as the base for the Windows part 
>>of the installer, and debian-installer linux part of the installer 
>>(perhaps the work being done for an OEM installer will help) . The only 
>>thing left to do is to put these pieces together. If anybody actually 
>>reads this far, what do you think? Is this even a good idea? Would you 
>>be willing to work on this? Do you have any suggestions on other places 
>>to post this message (so far, I've only posted it to the Ubuntu users 
>>list and Breezy Forum)? Is there an install team for Ubuntu that I could 
>>propose this idea to? Thank you for taking the time to read and consider 
>>this idea.
>>Best, Michael
>>