information about failed installation

[ddyer]

running the current installer I got to "installation failed" and went back to the main
installer menu. There were three options listed under save debug logs

1) floppy
2) web
3) mounted file system

#1 - gimmie a break. they're extinct.
#2 - it says a web server was started, but no host is apparent at the
quoted ip address - which is the one I assigned it earlier in the installation
#3 - fails with a red screen background using the offered default /mnt
-at this point, the file system has been trashed and I have no idea
what might be a valid file name. What worked was to go to a shell, mkdir /out, go back and save, go back to a shell

[ddyer]

one of the choices in the installation menu is "check the integrity of the cdrom"
nice idea, but this is a stick install, and trying the check anyway just complains
about the absence of the cdrom.

[mm3100]

What installer did you try?

[ddyer]

What installer did you try?

this was debian-live-10.7.0-i386-cinnamon+nonfree.iso

but the overall behavior is the same in all installers. I've tried quite
a few in my current adventure.

[ddyer]

I've teased out a little more information about my situation. The device in question
is an old insignia laptop which needs "nonfree" drivers. I'm working around that
during the installation process by plugging in a wifi dongle, which works.

At the point where the installer wants to use a network mirror, all
the available mirrors fail - apparently because the network is not
working at all - although it clearly has been working prior to this
in the install process.

My working hypothesis is that the install got to a "restart network"
phase, and in the process has seized on the nonworking native wifi.
That could account for the failure of the "web" option.

also, using the shell I see that the file system /mnt is presented as 100% full.
That could account for the failure of the default "save to file" system option.

also, I find that the log files are *already* in /var/log/ so it's not necessary
to write them anywhere at all. Although it's tough to move them anywhere,
you can at least cat them. The recovery options could either show syslog, or
at least mention that they can be viewed.

Seriously though, this is the first point of contact for someone who has decided
to try unix. This whole dance is a pretty awful introduction. I"m an old hand,
doing this on a lark, and I find this pretty awful too.

[Head_on_a_Stick]

What is the purpose of this thread? Do you have a specific question to be answered or are you just whining?

[ddyer]

just winging. hoping to attact the attention of someone who will do something about it.
I didn't see a place for bug reports.

[Head_on_a_Stick]

hoping to attact the attention of someone who will do something about it

This is a user forum. There are no Debian developers here (AFAIK).

I didn't see a place for bug reports

https://www.debian.org/Bugs/Reporting

But please be sure to read through all of the official Debian buster release notes and installation guide before opening a superfluous bug report that wastes valuable developer time.