<solved>LMDE installer versus other LM installers

[Makaha]

I've just realized I probably should have posted this in the LMDE forum! IS there a way to move it?

I'm very new to Linux, but over the last 3 weeks have played around comparing different distros which might enable us to replace Windows XP on quite a few old PCs supplied to needy families by a local charity. Hence I've been using a very old PC which I had put away some years ago, and played around mostly with various Ubuntu desktop varieties, Debian, and Linux Mint Mate. I had no trouble installing, and co-installing any of the Ubuntus, but they ran poorly on my PC. The Debian installer left me speechless, so I gave up very early with it. I then read about Linux Mint, and initially tried LM 13 Mate, and it zooms along on my old PC, so I then tried LM 16 Mate, and same result - it is great.

My only concern is the upgrade process LM seems to prefer - backup data/programs, clean install from new LiveDVD, then restore data/programs. We have too many PCs and not enough volunteer techos to visit each home to do this process. So I thought I'd give LMDE 201403 Mate a go, as its semi-rolling upgrade process looks very appealing.

This is when the muck hit the fan! The LMDE installer bears no resemblance to the other LM installers, which assume no partitioning knowledge. The first time the installer didn't recognise the existing LM 16 Mate, just calling it "unrecognised Linux". In trying to enter the correct partition re-sizing, and create new ones for LMDE, I lost everything as the installer creashed half-way through. I then tried to do a clean install of LMDE only, and again this crashed half way through the install. Out of frustration I re-nstalled LM 16 Mate, again with absolutely no problems.

I can only assume I'm not giving it correct partition instructions. Are these fully documented anywhere, in a form a noob can understand?

Also, if I try to use "admin" as the user name during a LM 16 Mate install, its says that's not allowed. You get no such message from the LMDE installer, and that's what I entered - could that be the cause of my problem?

[wayne128]

There are many tutorial.


For a start you can read

Code: Select all

Linux Mint Debian Edition User Guide

Postby borgio3 » Sat Oct 29, 2011 6:10 am 

http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=197&t=84404


and installation procedure
http://livelinux.altervista.org/Guida_L ... zione.html

[kurotsugi]

My only concern is the upgrade process LM seems to prefer - backup data/programs, clean install from new LiveDVD, then restore data/programs. We have too many PCs and not enough volunteer techos to visit each home to do this process. So I thought I'd give LMDE 201403 Mate a go, as its semi-rolling upgrade process looks very appealing.

little bit out of topic...FYI LMDE have worse upgrade process which potentially broke your system. no one can give 100% on next UP. compared to old mint, next mint version will be based on ubuntu LTS. it means that your system won't need any upgrade at least next 2 years and will get supported for 5 years. LMDE's semi rolling upgrade might sounds good but in reality it could be rough and not suitable for non technical user.

[Makaha]

Thanks for the additional food for thought. It's very valid as many of our old machines (and they are old) won't last another 5 years anyway!

[kurotsugi]

if you're running on old hardware xubuntu might be a good start to try. it's light, fast, stable and the LTS support means regarding upggrade it will trouble free for at least 2 years.

[kurotsugi]

if you're running on old hardware xubuntu might be a good start to try. it's light, fast, stable and the LTS support means regarding upggrade it will trouble free for at least 2 years.

[Makaha]

I tried Lubuntu, and it didn't go as well as LM Mate. Mouse/cursor movement in particular was much worse. The only thing it did do better was actually fully shut down my computer when I "shut down". LM Mate seems to shut itself down, but not the computer.

[Makaha]

I've read the user guide suggested, and while it applies to an earlier version of LMDE and doesn't match the current installer screens, it gave me more confidence about the partitioning bit - or so I thought! Two more dismal attempts tonight, each time the installer simply disappearing about 60% along the progress bar.

I think I'll stick to LM Mate until I'm better acquainted with Linux!

[Monsta]

Two more dismal attempts tonight, each time the installer simply disappearing about 60% along the progress bar.

Run the installer from the terminal:

Code: Select all

gksu live-installer

and when it crashes, post the full output from the terminal here (don't forget to use the "code" tag for it).

[Makaha]

I'll give that a go. I'm trying to install it alongside LM Mint 16, so:
A) do I still mount the new partition at /
B) do I still need to let it install GRUB again?

[Makaha]

Yet another crash, although it seemed to happen earlier but can't be sure. Output from terminal:

Code: Select all

mint@mint ~ $ gksu live-installer
glibtop: Non-standard uts for running kernel:
release 3.11-2-486=3.11.0 gives version code 199424

Color: #d4aa00
Image: /usr/share/live-installer/timezone/timezone_11.0.png
Color: #ffe6d5
Image: /usr/share/live-installer/timezone/timezone_10.0.png
 ## INSTALLATION 
Template path: /usr/share/live-installer/slideshow/template.html
Content path does not exist: /usr/share/live-installer/slideshow/office.html
 --> Installation started
EXECUTING: 'mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda3'
 --> Mounting partitions
 ------ Mounting /lib/live/mount/medium/live/filesystem.squashfs on /source/
EXECUTING: 'mount -o loop -t squashfs /lib/live/mount/medium/live/filesystem.squashfs /source/'
 ------ Mounting partition /dev/sda3 on /target/
EXECUTING: 'mount -t ext4 /dev/sda3 /target'
 --> Indexing files
 --> Copying files

(gksu:5021): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_str_has_prefix: assertion `str != NULL' failed
[134]mint@mint ~ $ 

Any thoughts? I told it to mount at / and to install Grub.

In a separate post I commented as follows:
"I downloaded the LMDE 201403 32bit Mate ISO, and did integrity check - all ok.
I burned the image, and it did a validity check - all ok.
I then fired up the liveCD, and as recommended ran the integrity check. I note that it says the checksums are ok, BUT it also says the are 6 incorrectly formatted lines. The LiveCD itself seems to run ok.

I didn't notice this before, and prior attempts to install it ran into problems (separate posting). "


I suppose an obvious step is to reburn the DVD and do the integrity check for the incorrectly formatted lines? The issue I have is if checksums are ok, and integrity check is ok, are the incorrectly formatted lines relevant?

[Makaha]

Success installing in compatibility mode (I hope)! As an afterthought I tried testing the LiveCD in Cmode, and everything worked smoother and faster. So i thought I'd have nothing to loose installing in Cmode. Here's the output of the install:

Code: Select all

mint@mint ~ $ gksu live-installer
glibtop: Non-standard uts for running kernel:
release 3.11-2-486=3.11.0 gives version code 199424

Color: #d4aa00
Image: /usr/share/live-installer/timezone/timezone_11.0.png
Color: #ffe6d5
Image: /usr/share/live-installer/timezone/timezone_10.0.png
 ## INSTALLATION 
Template path: /usr/share/live-installer/slideshow/template.html
Content path does not exist: /usr/share/live-installer/slideshow/office.html
 --> Installation started
EXECUTING: 'mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda3'
 --> Mounting partitions
 ------ Mounting /lib/live/mount/medium/live/filesystem.squashfs on /source/
EXECUTING: 'mount -o loop -t squashfs /lib/live/mount/medium/live/filesystem.squashfs /source/'
 ------ Mounting partition /dev/sda3 on /target/
EXECUTING: 'mount -t ext4 /dev/sda3 /target'
 --> Indexing files
 --> Copying files
 --> Restoring meta-info
 --> Chrooting
 --> Removing live packages
chroot /target/ /bin/sh -c "apt-get remove --purge --yes --force-yes busybox dmraid gdisk gparted imagemagick jfsutils kpartx libdmraid1.0.0.rc16 libgtkglext1 libilmbase6:i386 libopencv-calib3d2.4:i386 libopencv-contrib2.4:i386 libopencv-core2.4:i386 libopencv-features2d2.4:i386 libopencv-flann2.4:i386 libopencv-highgui2.4:i386 libopencv-imgproc2.4:i386 libopencv-legacy2.4:i386 libopencv-ml2.4:i386 libopencv-objdetect2.4:i386 libopencv-photo2.4:i386 libopencv-video2.4:i386 libopenexr6:i386 libqt4-declarative:i386 libqt4-designer:i386 libqt4-help:i386 libqt4-network:i386 libqt4-script:i386 libqt4-scripttools:i386 libqt4-sql:i386 libqt4-svg:i386 libqt4-test:i386 libqt4-xmlpatterns:i386 libqtassistantclient4:i386 libqtwebkit4:i386 libtbb2 live-boot live-boot-initramfs-tools live-config live-config-sysvinit live-installer live-installer-slideshow menu python-geoip python-opencv python-qt4 python-sip wamerican xfsprogs"
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
The following packages will be REMOVED:
  busybox* dmraid* gdisk* gparted* imagemagick* jfsutils* kpartx*
  libdmraid1.0.0.rc16* libgtkglext1* libilmbase6* libopencv-calib3d2.4*
  libopencv-contrib2.4* libopencv-core2.4* libopencv-features2d2.4*
  libopencv-flann2.4* libopencv-highgui2.4* libopencv-imgproc2.4*
  libopencv-legacy2.4* libopencv-ml2.4* libopencv-objdetect2.4*
  libopencv-photo2.4* libopencv-video2.4* libopenexr6* libqt4-declarative*
  libqt4-designer* libqt4-help* libqt4-network* libqt4-script*
  libqt4-scripttools* libqt4-sql* libqt4-svg* libqt4-test* libqt4-xmlpatterns*
  libqtassistantclient4* libqtwebkit4* libtbb2* live-boot*
  live-boot-initramfs-tools* live-config* live-config-sysvinit*
  live-installer* live-installer-slideshow* menu* python-geoip* python-opencv*
  python-qt4* python-sip* wamerican* xfsprogs*
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 49 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
After this operation, 94.4 MB disk space will be freed.
(Reading database ... 148820 files and directories currently installed.)
Removing live-boot ...
Purging configuration files for live-boot ...
Removing live-boot-initramfs-tools ...
update-initramfs: deferring update (trigger activated)
Purging configuration files for live-boot-initramfs-tools ...
Removing busybox ...
Removing dmraid ...
update-initramfs: deferring update (trigger activated)
Purging configuration files for dmraid ...
update-initramfs: deferring update (trigger activated)
Removing live-installer ...
Purging configuration files for live-installer ...
Removing gdisk ...
Removing gparted ...
Purging configuration files for gparted ...
Removing imagemagick ...
Purging configuration files for imagemagick ...
Removing jfsutils ...
Removing kpartx ...
Removing libdmraid1.0.0.rc16 ...
Purging configuration files for libdmraid1.0.0.rc16 ...
Removing python-opencv ...
Removing libopencv-contrib2.4:i386 ...
Purging configuration files for libopencv-contrib2.4:i386 ...
Removing libopencv-objdetect2.4:i386 ...
Purging configuration files for libopencv-objdetect2.4:i386 ...
Removing libopencv-legacy2.4:i386 ...
Purging configuration files for libopencv-legacy2.4:i386 ...
Removing libopencv-calib3d2.4:i386 ...
Purging configuration files for libopencv-calib3d2.4:i386 ...
Removing libopencv-video2.4:i386 ...
Purging configuration files for libopencv-video2.4:i386 ...
Removing libopencv-photo2.4:i386 ...
Purging configuration files for libopencv-photo2.4:i386 ...
Removing libopencv-features2d2.4:i386 ...
Purging configuration files for libopencv-features2d2.4:i386 ...
Removing libopencv-flann2.4:i386 ...
Purging configuration files for libopencv-flann2.4:i386 ...
Removing libopencv-ml2.4:i386 ...
Purging configuration files for libopencv-ml2.4:i386 ...
Removing python-qt4 ...
Removing libqt4-declarative:i386 ...
Purging configuration files for libqt4-declarative:i386 ...
Removing libqt4-designer:i386 ...
Purging configuration files for libqt4-designer:i386 ...
Removing libqt4-help:i386 ...
Purging configuration files for libqt4-help:i386 ...
Removing libqtwebkit4:i386 ...
Purging configuration files for libqtwebkit4:i386 ...
Removing libqt4-xmlpatterns:i386 ...
Purging configuration files for libqt4-xmlpatterns:i386 ...
Removing libqt4-scripttools:i386 ...
Purging configuration files for libqt4-scripttools:i386 ...
Removing libqt4-script:i386 ...
Purging configuration files for libqt4-script:i386 ...
Removing libqt4-sql:i386 ...
Purging configuration files for libqt4-sql:i386 ...
Removing libqt4-svg:i386 ...
Purging configuration files for libqt4-svg:i386 ...
Removing libqt4-test:i386 ...
Purging configuration files for libqt4-test:i386 ...
Removing libqtassistantclient4:i386 ...
Purging configuration files for libqtassistantclient4:i386 ...
Removing live-config ...
Purging configuration files for live-config ...
Removing live-config-sysvinit ...
Purging configuration files for live-config-sysvinit ...
dpkg: warning: while removing live-config-sysvinit, directory '/lib/live/config' not empty so not removed
Removing live-installer-slideshow ...
Removing menu ...
Purging configuration files for menu ...
Removing python-geoip ...
Removing python-sip ...
Removing wamerican ...
locale: Cannot set LC_CTYPE to default locale: No such file or directory
locale: Cannot set LC_MESSAGES to default locale: No such file or directory
locale: Cannot set LC_ALL to default locale: No such file or directory
locale: Cannot set LC_CTYPE to default locale: No such file or directory
locale: Cannot set LC_MESSAGES to default locale: No such file or directory
locale: Cannot set LC_ALL to default locale: No such file or directory
Purging configuration files for wamerican ...
locale: Cannot set LC_CTYPE to default locale: No such file or directory
locale: Cannot set LC_MESSAGES to default locale: No such file or directory
locale: Cannot set LC_ALL to default locale: No such file or directory
Removing xfsprogs ...
Purging configuration files for xfsprogs ...
Removing libopencv-highgui2.4:i386 ...
Purging configuration files for libopencv-highgui2.4:i386 ...
Removing libgtkglext1 ...
Purging configuration files for libgtkglext1 ...
Removing libopenexr6:i386 ...
Purging configuration files for libopenexr6:i386 ...
Removing libilmbase6:i386 ...
Purging configuration files for libilmbase6:i386 ...
Removing libopencv-imgproc2.4:i386 ...
Purging configuration files for libopencv-imgproc2.4:i386 ...
Removing libqt4-network:i386 ...
Purging configuration files for libqt4-network:i386 ...
Removing libopencv-core2.4:i386 ...
Purging configuration files for libopencv-core2.4:i386 ...
Removing libtbb2 ...
Purging configuration files for libtbb2 ...
Processing triggers for initramfs-tools ...
update-initramfs: /boot/initrd.img-3.11-2-486 has been altered.
update-initramfs: Cannot update. Override with -t option.
Processing triggers for man-db ...
locale: Cannot set LC_CTYPE to default locale: No such file or directory
locale: Cannot set LC_MESSAGES to default locale: No such file or directory
locale: Cannot set LC_ALL to default locale: No such file or directory
Processing triggers for desktop-file-utils ...
Processing triggers for mime-support ...
Processing triggers for hicolor-icon-theme ...
Processing triggers for libc-bin ...
Processing triggers for install-info ...
Processing triggers for python-support ...
Processing triggers for dictionaries-common ...
locale: Cannot set LC_CTYPE to default locale: No such file or directory
locale: Cannot set LC_MESSAGES to default locale: No such file or directory
locale: Cannot set LC_ALL to default locale: No such file or directory
 --> Adding new user
chroot /target/ /bin/sh -c "useradd -s /bin/bash -c 'gary' -G sudo,adm,dialout,audio,video,cdrom,floppy,dip,plugdev,lpadmin,sambashare -m gary"
chroot /target/ /bin/sh -c "chown -R gary:gary /home/gary"
chroot /target/ /bin/sh -c "cat /tmp/.passwd | chpasswd"
chroot /target/ /bin/sh -c "chown gary:gary /home/gary/.face"
 --> Writing fstab
 --> Writing hostname
 --> Setting the locale
chroot /target/ /bin/sh -c "locale-gen"
Generating locales (this might take a while)...
  en_AU.UTF-8... done
Generation complete.
chroot /target/ /bin/sh -c "update-locale LANG='en_AU.UTF-8'"
chroot /target/ /bin/sh -c "update-locale LANG=en_AU.UTF-8"
 --> Setting the timezone
 --> Localizing packages
chroot /target/ /bin/sh -c "dpkg -i /debs/*"
Selecting previously unselected package firefox-l10n-en-gb.
(Reading database ... 146960 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking firefox-l10n-en-gb (from .../firefox-l10n-en-gb_27.0~linuxmint1+lmde_i386.deb) ...
Selecting previously unselected package hunspell-en-ca.
Unpacking hunspell-en-ca (from .../hunspell-en-ca_1%3a3.3.0-3_all.deb) ...
Selecting previously unselected package hunspell-en-med.
Unpacking hunspell-en-med (from .../hunspell-en-med_0.0.20080513-1_all.deb) ...
Selecting previously unselected package libreoffice-l10n-en-gb.
Unpacking libreoffice-l10n-en-gb (from .../libreoffice-l10n-en-gb_1%3a4.1.3-1_all.deb) ...
Selecting previously unselected package libreoffice-l10n-en-za.
Unpacking libreoffice-l10n-en-za (from .../libreoffice-l10n-en-za_1%3a4.1.3-1_all.deb) ...
Selecting previously unselected package thunderbird-l10n-en-gb.
Unpacking thunderbird-l10n-en-gb (from .../thunderbird-l10n-en-gb_24.3.0~linuxmint1+lmde_i386.deb) ...
Setting up firefox-l10n-en-gb (27.0~linuxmint1+lmde) ...
Setting up hunspell-en-ca (1:3.3.0-3) ...
Setting up hunspell-en-med (0.0.20080513-1) ...
Setting up libreoffice-l10n-en-gb (1:4.1.3-1) ...
Setting up libreoffice-l10n-en-za (1:4.1.3-1) ...
Setting up thunderbird-l10n-en-gb (24.3.0~linuxmint1+lmde) ...
 --> Setting the keyboard
chroot /target/ /bin/sh -c "rm /etc/default/console-setup"
chroot /target/ /bin/sh -c "mv /etc/default/console-setup.new /etc/default/console-setup"
chroot /target/ /bin/sh -c "rm /etc/default/keyboard"
chroot /target/ /bin/sh -c "mv /etc/default/keyboard.new /etc/default/keyboard"
 --> Configuring Grub
 --> Running grub-install
chroot /target/ /bin/sh -c "grub-install --force /dev/sda"
Installation finished. No error reported.
 --> Running grub-mkconfig
chroot /target/ /bin/sh -c "grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg"
 --> Checking Grub configuration
 --> Found Grub theme: ### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/06_mint_theme ### 
 --> Found Grub theme: ### END /etc/grub.d/06_mint_theme ### 
 --> Found Grub entry: menuentry 'LinuxMint GNU/Linux, with Linux 3.11-2-486' --class linuxmint --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os { 
 --> Found Grub entry: menuentry 'LinuxMint GNU/Linux, with Linux 3.11-2-486 (recovery mode)' --class linuxmint --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os { 
 --> Configuring Initramfs
chroot /target/ /bin/sh -c "/usr/sbin/update-initramfs -t -u -k all"
update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-3.11-2-486
chroot /target/ /bin/sh -c "/usr/bin/sha1sum /boot/initrd.img-3.11-2-486 > /var/lib/initramfs-tools/3.11-2-486"
 --> Cleaning APT
chroot /target/ /bin/sh -c "sed -i 's/^deb cdrom/#deb cdrom/' /etc/apt/sources.list"
chroot /target/ /bin/sh -c "apt-get -y --force-yes autoremove"
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree        
Reading state information... Done
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
 --> Unmounting partitions
EXECUTING: 'umount /target'
EXECUTING: 'umount /source'
 --> All done
 ## INSTALLATION COMPLETE 
mint@mint ~ $ 

It's VERY late here so I won't get a chance to test it fully, but.... watch this space!

[Makaha]

I couldn't resist a little test! Mouse a bit sluggish but I'll sort that out. At least I'm up and running on LMDE at last.

I assume my hardware (or I am) is a challenge for LMDE, Is that why it would only install in compatablity mode?

Anyway I'm

It even shuts down my old PC completely, which many other distros don't do out of the box