Re: Manually add firmware (or other) packages for installation?

Hi,

Justin B Rye <[email protected]> wrote (Sat, 27 Feb 2021 17:32:34 +0000):
> If only we knew of a plausible use case for a kind of "additional
> package" that someone might install this way *other* than firmware, I
> suspect that would make this more palatable.  The nearest I can think
> of is that I hear tales of people setting up a local repo with a
> "LAN-standard package-set" metapackage.  Any takers?

In the past, we had the situation that the installer used aptitude for the
tasksel step. That way, you had the possibility via aptitude, to do a very
fine-grained selection of packages you want on your system (select some
tasks, and then additionally two, three, four packages, which are not included
in any task, for example).
This possibility went away, when the installer switched to using apt-get for
tasksel.
There is for example this bugreport:
https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=758096
It claims about exactly this.
The new dialog would - on a very minimalistic level - the possibility, to
install additional packages the user wants.

[...]

> >> Again:
> >> even if they decide to use this non-free installer with the graphics-card
> >> firmware included, this installer *does*not* install the firmware for
> >> graphics cards!
> >> (leaving users with a unusable system at first boot.)
> > 
> > Then you don't need to change debian-installer for that. Just adjust the package
> > lists for the non-free CD.
> 
> I think Holger is saying that the process for detecting the need for
> firmware is less effective than you're assuming.  If so, putting more
> non-free firmware on CDs won't help with this.

It's even worse (!): the current installers (the official ones as well as the 
unofficial with firmware included) will not install firmware for that graphics
cards! 
(only exception: you enabled non-free packages sources, and then later switch 
to second virtual console and install it there via commandline)

Why?
The installer has a conceptional problem here: 
the installer detects, if firmware is needed, when a kernel module is loaded,
and then you are asked to provide the firmware via an usb stick or similar
(if you use official installer; the unofficial installer has the firmware
included).

However the specific kernel modules for those modern graphic cards are not
included in the installer environment. (The installer does not need the
advanced functionality of those drivers, so including those modules would
be a waste of memore.) Because of that the installer is simply unable to detect, 
that you have graphic hardware in your pc, which requires firmware files.


Regards
Holger