Lenny reviews pouring in

Story: 'Lenny': Debian for the masses?Total Replies: 4
Author Content
Steven_Rosenber

Feb 16, 2009
8:22 PM EDT
This one wasn't too bad. What I either missed or didn't see was whether it's possible to boot into the graphical installer without knowing the "secret code" at the boot line.
gus3

Feb 16, 2009
8:37 PM EDT
Well, if they told what the secret code is, it wouldn't be a secret, would it?
Bob_Robertson

Feb 16, 2009
9:46 PM EDT
When booting, it asks, "Install, Graphic Install, Advanced, Rescue" and such.

Under "Advanced" is the option to decide to install another desktop environment by default. KDE, XFCE, etc.

I've been playing with it, finding out what installs with and without network attachment, and I'm running into a serious problem with the NetInstall. It gets to "Select and install software" and gets an unrecoverable error.

At this point, it could be that I'm installing into VirtualBox and something is conflicting, but that just doesn't seem to make sense. I'm going to try the full CD and do the Bootable Business Card image again, just to make sure that it's just the NetInstall that's failing.

Bob_Robertson

Feb 17, 2009
12:24 PM EDT
Ok, installer.

KDE CD#1 works fine, even asks before going to a network mirror. It just works. Debian CD#1 is Gnome, but that isn't mentioned, and XFCE also gets its own CD#1. Since it's Debian, changing later is as easy as "apt-get install KDE" or whatever.

The NetInstall ~150MB CD image continues to give me grief. I will try downloading it again, just to see if somehow, regardless of its own protestations to the contrary, something got scrambled.

The ~35MB Business Card image worked fine. Gnome is still the default (and never named) desktop, but the others are easily found.

The NetInst and BC versions, however, have made impossible one thing that worked way back in Woody days: Minimal install without a network.

Oh sure, what I got from the BC install was so minimal as to be impossible to use to get real work done, but it was near Damn Small Linux sized and a nice way to start building a "only what I really need" system.

However, since the vast majority of people who will use a Debian install disk want, well, a Debian system (everything, the kitchen and mud-room sinks, and the entire contents of the garage), I'll have to call it good.

Thanks, Debian Developers.
vainrveenr

Feb 17, 2009
1:30 PM EDT
Quoting:KDE CD#1 works fine, even asks before going to a network mirror. It just works. Debian CD#1 is Gnome, but that isn't mentioned, and XFCE also gets its own CD#1. Since it's Debian, changing later is as easy as "apt-get install KDE" or whatever.
Two questions one might (or even should?) ask on this, are:

1) How stable and "fine-working" is Lenny 5.0.0 for platforms other than i386 ?? debian-500-architecture-kde-CD-1.iso downloads via http://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/5.0.0/

2) How "fine" does LXDE work on Lenny-stable 5.0.0 (as opposed to KDE or XFCE-only) ?? According to the LXDE Debian wiki, http://wiki.lxde.org/en/Debian,
Quoting:LXDE require Debian testing (Lenny) or Debian unstable (Sid) to satisfy dependencies to libc6.

aptitude update aptitude install lxde

alternative if you want a minimal lxde without its recommended apps:

aptitude install --without-recommends lxde


Posting in this forum is limited to members of the group: [ForumMods, SITEADMINS, MEMBERS.]

Becoming a member of LXer is easy and free. Join Us!