On Mon, Feb 19, 2007 at 07:11:49PM +0100, Pablo Ripolles wrote: > >Probably a lot more of these > >are "unnecessary" then you would think -- to minimize your memory > >consumption (which is the point of having a low-memory mode after all), you > >should select *only* those installer components that are needed to get you > >to the next stage, i.e., mounting swap space.
> the next stage (the one which extends the main menu options, i.e. > letting "Detect disks" and "Partition disks" appear) must be "Load > installer components from CD". i have no direct access to the mounting > swap space menu entries from the basic-reduced-initial main menu. i > need to "Load installer components from CD" first to gain access to > them! *that's the problem*. The question is, which installer components did you load from the CD? > >Then, once swap is activated, > >you can go back to the list of installer components for a second pass. > well, the thing is that i cannot opt to select the main installer > components, that's the point! if i want to access the mounting swap > space menu entries, then, first of all, i need to "Load installer > components from CD", however d-i loads *all* main components at once! > and i think that's what eats all the memory up! not the kernel modules > (which i can actually avoid loading them, remember above). Ok, that's not my past experience with the low-mem mode. If it loads all of them without giving you the option of choosing which ones to load, that seems to be the root of the problem. I've tested with the following: - netboot using boot ewa0 -fl "mem=64000000" and the daily netboot image - choose my keymap - let the network configure DHCP automatically (obviously different from what happens here if booting from CD) - choose my mirror - a bunch of additional components are loaded automatically (bad!) - the whole thing explodes with OOM Right, so that's not good. So then I tested a different way: - netboot using boot ewa0 -fl "mem=64000000" - choose my keymap - let the network configure DHCP automatically - choose 'go back' at the mirror selection - choose 'Change debconf priority' and select 'low' - choose my mirror - choose 'Download installer components' And then I get a message that says: All components of the installer needed to complete the install will be loaded automatically and are not listed here. [...] So something has changed, and appears to now be incompatible with lowmem mode. Or maybe netboot was never compatible with lowmem? I would appreciate it if you could double-check what happens in a CD boot context when lowering the debconf priority before proceeding to "Load installer components from CD". > >And I'm the only developer actively working on the Debian installer for > >alpha, > i didn't know that, and perhaps i wouldn't mind to contribute if you > would help me a bit... just to get started... Well, see above. :) > >Even if I were inclined to put a lot > >of effort into improving lowmem on alpha, it's unlikely that many of the > >necessary changes would be suitable for inclusion in etch due to the > >timeline. > is it that difficult? Yes. We're deep in the freeze, trying to push the release out; structural changes to the installer would delay the release, and that's not warranted for alpha lowmem mode (since you're the first person to ask about this, ever). If there are simple bugfixes that would make a difference here, then there should be room for /that/, if allowed by the d-i release schedule. Cheers, -- Steve Langasek Give me a lever long enough and a Free OS Debian Developer to set it on, and I can move the world. [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.debian.org/ -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
