[Lubuntu-qa] People do not understand the desktop installer
Elfy
ub.untu at btinternet.com
Sat Nov 23 07:47:54 UTC 2013
On 23/11/13 06:43, Nio Wiklund wrote:
> It happened again :-(
>
> See this link
> http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1769482&page=79&p=12855281#post12855281
>
> and oldfred's reply in the following post.
> -----
> "I have never trusted any of the auto install options. Generally they
> seem to work, but often then when things start to go wrong, they just
> snowball.
>
> I find that Something else or manual install has always worked, but then
> you have to know more than most new users. You have to manually
> partition, choose partitions format like ext4 and mount like / (root).
> Only users that have previously installed or know about partitions could
> do that.
>
> I also find it safer to have Windows on one drive and Linux on other
> drives, but many users today have laptops, so they do not have that
> option unless they use an external drive. "
> -----
> I think this another way of describing the problem. There are not enough
> warnings in the desktop and alternate installers. And it should be easy
> to fix it.
>
> Best regards
> Nio
>
> On 2013-10-24 23:42, Dale Visser wrote:
>> I noticed a similar lack of warning in my upgrade install. I was on a VM
>> with snapshot backup in place, but still... I noticed that of you don't
>> read *everything* *carefully* before clicking, you could quickly pave
>> something important.
>>
>> As an aside, I couldn't figure if it was possible for me to pave my '/'
>> partition, but leave my '/usr/local' and '/home' partitions alone.
>>
>> Sent from my Windows Phone
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> From: Andre Rodovalho <mailto:andre.rodovalho at gmail.com>
>> Sent: 10/24/2013 5:05 PM
>> To: Iberê Fernandes <mailto:ibere.fernandes at gmail.com>
>> Cc: ubuntu-qa at lists.ubuntu.com <mailto:ubuntu-qa at lists.ubuntu.com>; JM
>> <mailto:meets at gmx.fr>; lubuntu-qa at lists.launchpad.net
>> <mailto:lubuntu-qa at lists.launchpad.net>; Lubuntu Comms
>> <mailto:lubuntu-comms at lists.launchpad.net>; lubuntu user list
>> <mailto:Lubuntu-users at lists.ubuntu.com>
>> Subject: Re: [Lubuntu-qa] People do not understand the desktop installer
>>
>> I checked Ubiquity, when you choose dual boot option, next window on
>> wizard show the "graph", lubuntu and Windows alongside... But if the
>> replace option is selected, there is nothing but the Install now
>> button... Once you hit that, it's all gone!
>>
>>
>> 2013/10/24 Iberê Fernandes <ibere.fernandes at gmail.com
>> <mailto:ibere.fernandes at gmail.com>>
>>
>> 2013/10/24 Nio Wiklund <nio.wiklund at gmail.com
>> <mailto:nio.wiklund at gmail.com>>
>>
>> On 2013-10-24 17:36, JM wrote:
>> > On Thu, 24 Oct 2013 15:26:19 +0200
>> > Nio Wiklund <nio.wiklund at gmail.com
>> <mailto:nio.wiklund at gmail.com>> wrote:
>> >
>> >> Hi everybody,
>> >>
>> >> Today, there is another person, who misunderstood the
>> partitioning
>> >> dialogue of the desktop installer.
>> >>
>> >> http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2183287
>> >>
>> >> 'When I went to install 13.10 I chose the option to remove
>> windows and
>> >> replace with Ubuntu. I had two partitions when I chose this.
>> One with
>> >> files I wanted to keep and the other being the windows 7
>> partition. When
>> >> I chose to remove windows I assumed it would be placed on my
>> C drive and
>> >> not my other one. But what actually ended up happening was all my
>> >> partitions merged into one deleting everything. Now I only
>> have Ubuntu
>> >> on my drive. I need help retrieving my files please!'
>> >>
>> >> -o-
>> >>
>> >> This is what I have been telling, when describing the One
>> Button Installer
>> >>
>> >> '...
>> >> Case 1: Tool that is easy to use and just works
>> >>
>> >> The normal linux installers that come with iso files are
>> complicated to
>> >> use or freeze during the installation process, and you want a
>> tool that
>> >> is easier to use and just works.
>> >> ...
>> >> a. The Desktop Installer is flexible and looks nice, and is
>> generally
>> >> easy to understand, but the partitioning page can make people
>> confused.
>> >> There are several threads at the Ubuntu Forums describing
>> installations,
>> >> where a previous system has been overwritten by mistake. ...'
>> >>
>> >> It is really too bad, and something that should be improved
>> in 14.04
>> >>
>> >> Best regards
>> >> Nio
>> >
>> > Hi,
>> >
>> > A window with a warning in big and red could be added before
>> the person can access to the
>> > "apply" button. Something such as:
>> >
>> > WARNING YOU MIGHT DESTROY YOUR DATA : HAVE YOU DONE A BACKUP
>> OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA BEFORE
>> > PROCEEDING?
>> >
>> > ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO PROCEED?
>> >
>> > Followed by a "Yes" and a "Quit" button. (Perhaps not all in
>> high case... I don't use
>> > html in mails).
>> >
>> > And the installer has a partitionning tool which IS really
>> confusing. I would suggest to
>> > request that it be removed and calling Gparted which is much
>> easier to understand,
>> > imo, or it should be graphically improved and made perfect
>> before being provided to
>> > everybody.
>> >
>> > I anwered to the person at the forum and provided links to
>> testdisk and tutorials.
>> >
>> > Regards,
>> > Mélodie
>> >
>> Thanks Mélodie for providing help to the poor fellow who
>> misunderstood
>> the installer!
>>
>> I was so absorbed by reporting the problem, that I forgot to
>> help ... I
>> will follow the case, and if testdisk does not work, and nobody
>> else is
>> faster than I, [I will] suggest PhotoRec.
>>
>> -o-
>>
>> Yes a warning screen is a good thing. Also a description of what
>> will be
>> wiped or overwritten (for each particular case). I agree that
>> gparted is
>> easier to understand, and available in the desktop iso file.
>>
>> Best regards
>> Nio
>>
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>>
>>
>>
>> From the Facebook posts to our list:
>> http://amjjawad.blogspot.com/2013/10/ubiquity-and-installing-ubuntu-and-its.html
>>
>> Interesting user experience.
>>
>> Thank you Ali!
>>
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>>
>>
>
I'm not sure that this is as big a problem as it is made out to be.
If we assume that 100,000 thousand people have installed and 1 person
failed to read or take notice or understand - do we really have to do
anything?
I read the thread the last time it appeared on the quality list, but
haven't gone back to read it this time - vaguely remembering some
calling for video's to show/be available - bad idea in my opinion.
Perhaps ubiquity could be reworded. The way to deal with that is with a
bug - it might get worked on, it might get marked opinion, it might get
marked wishlist - but talking about the same thing over and over in a
few mailing lists isn't the way forward.
As far as I can see this could happen
We do nothing - the few people that fail to take any notice of warnings
continue to do the same and continue to cause themselves problems.
There's a video - the few people that fail to take any notice continue
to do so - the video becomes a series and STILL the people that fail to
take any notice continue to do so ...
We reword things - the few people that fail to any notice continue to do
so - the rewording becomes a book - the few people that fail to any
notice continue to do so.
At some point we have to recognise that not everyone should be let loose
with an installer - and it isn't our job to cater for them.
Elfy
ps - not sure who started the ball rolling - but I'm not sure that
Ubuntu Qatar really want to be CC'd in - so can they stop including
ubuntu-qa at lists.ubuntu.com unless they're sure they want the messages ;)
--
Ubuntu Forum Council Member
Xubuntu QA Lead
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