QA Test Proposal: install source test case, usb drive

mike cloaked mike.cloaked at gmail.com
Fri Mar 19 21:08:17 UTC 2010


On Fri, Mar 19, 2010 at 7:18 PM, James Laska <jlaska at redhat.com> wrote:

>> > Then I can use the /dev/usbstick device on any computer that can boot
>> > from USB (anything in the past 10 years). This method is what has
>> > stopped working in F13.
>>
>> It works fine for me, at least it did with Alpha (last point at which I
>> tested). Quite a lot of the 'live image' testing we do is actually done
>> with USB sticks, it's just easier that way.
>>
>> Installing from a live image written to a USB stick is certainly
>> expected to work, if you're having trouble with that please do file a
>> bug.
>
> In this case, Michael is testing by writing the DVD iso to a USB device
> using livecd-iso-to-disk.  I've done this procedure with a boot.iso many
> times in the past.  I'll try with a DVD shortly.

I have used this method to boot the DVD install iso from a usbkey but
there is one watchpoint that may catch the unwary - and that is when
you get to install grub on the mbr by default since the install is
initiated from the usbkey it will usually try to write grub to the MBR
of the stick unless you tell the install to put it on your HD.  It can
be manually corrected after the install but in order to boot the newly
installed system you would have to get to a rescue disk and use
grubinstall to write the MBR - unless you change the settings during
the install.

If this method becomes official then maybe there should be a set of
options but with the default switched to install grub on the MBR of
the first HD ? Or this would need to have some thinking first as to
how to handle the defaults?

-- 
mike c


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