On Fri 04 Jul 2014 at 16:30:28 -0400, The Wanderer wrote: > On 07/04/2014 04:25 PM, Brian wrote: > > > On Fri 04 Jul 2014 at 15:17:14 -0400, Kynn Jones wrote: > > > >> In an installation from CD (or, second best: USB stick) with no > >> internet access, how can I make a preseed.cfg file available to the > >> Debian installer as early as possible in the install sequence? > >> > >> The preseed.cfg originally lives in a separate USB stick. (I don't > >> want to burn the preseed.cfg into the installation CD, since I > >> still want to be able to tweak it easily.) > > > > Not having the preseed file in the initrd rules out making a > > preseed.cfg file available earlier than you aleady do. > > > >> I found one approach, but it's laborious enough to make using a > >> preseed.cfg hardly worth it. Basically, I hit TAB to edit the > >> Graphic Install menu option; I add priority=critical auto=true > >> file=/unavailable/path/to/preseed.cfg; I hit enter and let the > >> installer fail to find the preseed.cfg file; I get a shell and do > > > > Even with file=/path/to/preseed.cfg the installer will fail to find > > the file anyway because the device it is on has to be mounted. This > > you do below. > > > >> mkdir /mnt/usb && mount -t vfat /dev/sdb1 /mnt/usb && exit > >> > >> Then I select to re-read the preseed.cfg file from the installer's > >> menu. > > > > What problem are you trying to solve? > > I expect that (he?) wants to have the process be more-or-less fully > automated - i.e., have the mouting and whatever else is necessary for > the installer to recognize and use the (externally located) preseed file > be handled automatically, preferably without even needing to explicitly > specify the preseed-file location at install time.
Possibly. The OP's response should clarify that. It's achievable wihout touching the initrd. > Assuming the initrd used in the installer environment is customizable / > tweakable, this shouldn't be impossible, but I'd have to do some > research to figure out how to go about it. Basically: gunzip and use cpio on the initrd. Add preseed file. Reverse the previous process. > (Worst-case scenario, you > might have to do a custom build of d-i...) I'd say that is highly unlikely -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: https://lists.debian.org/04072014220115.5b8628030...@desktop.copernicus.demon.co.uk
