Bloody Fedora Installation! (again)

[James Wilkinson]

The discussion is on what the Fedora install is supposed to do if it
encounters media errors.

I wrote:
> So what's it supposed to do?

Trevor Smith replied:
> Give an option that says "quit/power off". Something that leaves the drive 
> bootable and does not wipe grub.

Right. And if the drive isn't in a bootable state? If it needs data from
the CD-ROM that it can't read?

I can't speak to the grub issue. That does sound like a real bug: it
should be possible to read one rpm and either fully install it or back
out. I can't remember whether kernels or grub get installed first, but
in either case, it should be possible to keep the old kernel and
settings.

Of course, if you reboot while files are being written, all bets are
off.

But it's not going to do you much good having a booting kernel if the
rest of the system won't come up. And its very rare to get a media
error between grub and the kernel being installed, so I'm not too
surprised that particular situation is not tested *that* thoroughly.

> I didn't format so everything should have been there either in original form 
> or in the newer update form. So, while things may not have worked properly, 
> the idea that power had to be physically cut (power button) and that the 
> whole drive was crapped out is silly. 

Problem is, if you give people a button, they'll press it. They should
know by now that the power button can be a problem [1], but if there's a
"Stop Install" button anywhere in the install screen, people will press
it, and then complain that their OS doesn't work. Usually, what they
*want* is to "go back to where they were": in the absence of which, the
best option is to finish the upgrade anyway so at least they've got a
working system. A half-way upgraded system is not guaranteed to work, and
there *is* a strong chance it will come up with random errors when the
user least expects it, causing massive amounts of frustration.

Having to press the reset button does at least make sure that the users
only press it if they're sure Something Has Gone Wrong, and they don't
normally expect the OS to work afterwards.

> The first stuff installed could be an emergency kernel/boot loader...
> Then you could at least get to the drive to copy stuff if the install
> barfs.

Well, you've got a separate rescue ISO image on the CD, so even if the
grub install fails, you've got your emergency kernel and enough of a
system to install stuff.

But I'm sorry you've had all this trouble.

James.

[1] If not, it's probably best that they learn when it's not their data
on the line...

-- 
E-mail address: james | ... and watched Richard Stallman ask one of the
@westexe.demon.co.uk  | waiting staff whether the spring rolls did indeed
                      | spring and whether they would bounce.
                      |     -- Telsa Gwynne