Unable To Complete Fedora 14 HTTP Install

Bob Cochran bcochran13 at verizon.net
Sun Oct 17 03:42:39 UTC 2010


  I decided to install Fedora 14 x86_64 TC1.1 over a url. Short summary: 
and it failed while at the point where dependency checking is done and 
then crashed.

Here is an inexact narrative. I should have kept notes, but didn't. I 
may have time tomorrow to retry and take proper notes. So you will see a 
lot of "I believes" and "I thinks" here as I try to recall the true 
sequence of events. Take it all with a grain of salt.

I downloaded the TC1.1 DVD iso earlier today (about 11:15 a.m. EDT). I 
wanted to try Mike Cloaked's method for testing the latest anaconda 
version with a USB key, but I forgot to pick up a USB key at the store. 
I set up another machine with a web server, put the iso file in it, 
mounted it under the web server document root, and booted the install 
machine with a CD of the boot.iso image. I was installing to a brand 
new, uninitialized hard drive. Hardware is a Dell Latitude E6400.

Used eth0 as the network device for the url installation.

Selected the option to use all available hard drive space.

Clicked option to review and customize hard drive partitioning.

Accepted all hard drive partitioning defaults.

Selected 'encrypt system' and when prompted entered my passphrase.

Noticed the choice to configure additional network adapters, so I went 
ahead and selected my wireless access point and entered security 
details. That's a nice touch.

Anaconda formatted the hard drive, then brought me to the repository 
selection screen. Here I selected "Fedora 14 testing updates" in 
addition to the default choice (the one at the top of the repo 
list...what was that?), then clicked next.

That brought me to the package selection screen. I wanted to add a lot 
of package groups such as 'Electronic Library', so I opted to 'customize 
now' on the package selection. I started with the 'Graphical Desktop' 
choice and then worked down the various package selection menus, picking 
the ones I like and de-selecting the ones I don't like.  I went over the 
package selection for a few minutes before feeling satisfied.

Note to no one in particular: how come the gputils package isn't in the 
Electronic Library group?

Then I clicked 'next' and the dependency checking starts....and up comes 
a warning dialog telling me that dependencies are missing. Clicking the 
Details button reveals a list of packages that require other packages 
(often the same package name is repeated a few times in the list of 
missing dependencies.) For example, ImageMagick requires an libxml2 
package that is missing, and the ImageMagick warning line is repeated a 
few times in the details list. Several other packages make the list, 
too. I have the choice of either exiting the install, or clicking the 
back button to adjust my package selection, or of continuing to install 
without the dependencies.

I decide to click the Back button. That brought me to the package 
selection screen. On that screen, I clicked the Back button again, to 
bring me back to the installation repo list. Here I checked off the 
middle choice in the repo list ("Fedora 14 updates", if memory serves 
me.) A dialog box comes up stating it is gathering information about the 
repo, and it gathers for a very long, long time! I then click the 'next' 
button, which becomes shaded, and a freeze up happens. Things are locked 
up for a minute or two, then if I recall, a dialog box appears and 
informs me that an unexpected crash happened. I'm asked to report the 
crash. I want to do this, and I think a list of reporting choices was 
offered. I checked off Bugzilla, but when prompted for my username and 
password, I realize I've forgotten my password.

So I clicked cancel, and I think that dumped me out of the graphical 
installer and into a text-based "(pdb)" shell. From there, I manually 
ejected the boot.iso CD and powered the system down.

What I believe should have happened is: there should not have been 
missing dependencies for the packages I selected. The process should 
have continued with packages, including dependencies, installed. When 
the user clicks the "Back" button to change an earlier choice, all 
choices should be changeable and anaconda should not crash as a result 
of (apparently...I appreciate the real reason is unknown at this time) 
changing an earlier choice and then clicking the "next" button.

So that is the end of my install experience for this evening. I'll try 
again soon.

Bob Cochran
Greenbelt, Maryland, USA




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