Novell & Open Source

[Charles Curley]

On Tue, Feb 22, 2005 at 05:32:50PM -0700, Eric Jensen wrote:
> In Suse 9.2 when going to normal install mode it searches for an install 
> disk.  If no disk is found then a quick message pops up saying it is 
> switching to manual mode.  Not to say it wont detect some NICs, but I've 
> always had to specify mine.
> 
> I just spent the last 5 and a half hours babysitting a Suse install and 
> I didn't even make it to the partitioning portion of the install.  For 
> some reason it would crank for 30+  minutes after every single dialog 
> box.  This is installing from a USB drive as well as HTTP.    My NIC/HD 
> lights are always active so it is doing something, just not very well 
> apparantly.  I've ran through the install process about 5 times today.  
> Did a quick Slackware install from CD-ROM in less then an hour.  Having 
> a hard time convincing myself that Suse's install procedure isn't a 
> smoldering cauldron of liquid garbage right now.  Sounds like they have 
> an impressive distro, sure wish they would let me install it.  I'll 
> probably have to bring in my own DVD-ROM drive tomorrow and give the DVD 
> ISO a try that way.  Also bringing in Ubuntu and FC3 as back-up.  The 
> hardware detection and dual monitor lovin' that Suse claims to have is 
> the only thing keeping my interest right now.  Ability to install is a 
> pretty neat feature as well though, so we'll see.

Five hours without getting to partitioning is a bit much.

By way of comparison, I'm testing some installation software for a
client on Red Hat 9. (I know, I know. Never mind, that's what the
client wants.) The product goes on top of a minimal installation. I
have a kickstart file and CD-ROM images on an NFS server.

I reset the computer and insert the CD-ROM. When the CD-ROM boots, I
type in "linux ks". A few seconds later, I pull the CD-ROM, and walk
away. 7 minutes after hitting CTL-ALT-DEL, I can log in over SSH and
start my test installation.

And a two year old Anaconda detected all the hardware on the same box
the first time.

-- 

Charles Curley                  /"\    ASCII Ribbon Campaign
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