fedora 16 requires internet to install?

mrmagcore · #1 23rd November 2011, 01:55 AM

I downloaded the x_64 dvd iso to install. Why does the installer require an internet connection to install? Can I install without being connected to the Internet? I haven't been able to find a way to do that.

kurtdriver · #2 23rd November 2011, 02:23 AM

It does not require the internet. Can you elaborate on your difficulties?

marko · #3 23rd November 2011, 02:46 AM

When you get to the panel that looks like the picture here in section 9.16

http://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/...ction-x86.html

Make sure only the "Installation repo" check box is selected in the additional repositories list, the installation repo is inside the DVD, all the others need internet access

mrmagcore · #4 23rd November 2011, 02:53 AM

the requirement for internet happens before I get a chance to select repositories. It happens after disk configuration, and I have no option to avoid it. I have to configure an internet connection or cancel the install.

The file I downloaded was Fedora-16-x86_64-DVD.iso

marko · #5 23rd November 2011, 03:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrmagcore

the requirement for internet happens before I get a chance to select repositories. It happens after disk configuration, and I have no option to avoid it. I have to configure an internet connection or cancel the install.

The file I downloaded was Fedora-16-x86_64-DVD.iso

I was able to install Fedora 16 without net access on my laptop in a wireless cafe. I made sure it didn't go out by switching off my wireless radio

mrmagcore · #6 23rd November 2011, 04:47 AM

just saying what I'm getting on my box. It's very strange that the install would require internet, but it does, unless someone can tell me how to disable it so that I can do a normal install.

***DBelton*** · #7 23rd November 2011, 07:27 AM

You must have put the DVD image onto a USB stick to install.

For some reason, anaconda is too anal retentive to search the device it was started from for an installation repo, it tries to search a CD/DVD drive instead, and when it doesn't find the install repo there, then it requires a network setup so it can use the online repos..

The devs have said the fix for it is to add the repo=/dev/sdX/<path-to-repo> on the kernel boot line, but I never could get that to work properly, either. I always ended up burning it to a DVD instead.

mrmagcore · #8 23rd November 2011, 03:59 PM

ha! Brilliant detective work! That's exactly my problem. None of my servers have dvd drives, so I figured I could just boot from a USB SSD, but I guess it can't be done. Seems like that might be a bug, since installing from other media besides dvd is a convenient way to work.

***DBelton*** · #9 23rd November 2011, 04:44 PM

I consider it a major bug, however, the anaconda developers don't see it as one. (They put the blame on the application that created the USB image, but that's not the problem)

But it's pretty much a moot issue with the current version of anaconda since it appears a complete rewrite is slated for it. I just hope they take this issue into account when they rewrite anaconda.

Edit:
Just to expand upon why I believe it's not the fault of how the USB image is created.

1: When the USB image is created, there is no way of knowing for certain what device name your USB drive is going to be assigned for the install, so it can't put the repo= option on the image.

2: Even if it puts the device in the repo= option, then it would be for that particular machine, and that particular hardware configuration.

3: This means that a new USB image would have to be created for every machine you wish to use it on. For example, on a few of my systems here... One machine the USB pen drive was assigned the device /dev/sdb during the install, but on another machine, it was assigned /dev/sdp. But using the anaconda developers reasoning, a USB image created on the first machine would have the repo=/dev/sdb/<path-to-repo> hardcoded into the image. So, when it was put into the second machine and the install started, It would try to look on a hard drive for the installation repo instead of the correct /dev/sdp/<path-to-repo>

But, if anaconda would at least scan the device that it was started from for the installation repo, then it would make no difference what the device naming is or how it changed. It would pull the repo location correctly.

***Gareth Jones*** · #10 23rd November 2011, 07:49 PM

Could they not just program Anaconda to search for a filesystem UUID matching the installation image, or am I missing something?

This bug annoys me too.

Gareth

mrmagcore · #11 23rd November 2011, 07:57 PM

Would this bug present a problem if you were trying to install from an external DVD/CD, like one on USB?

Mariusz W · #12 24th November 2011, 01:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DBelton

You must have put the DVD image onto a USB stick to install.

That was a brilliant guess on your side.

It would have helped enormously all the people willing to help the person who started this thread if he cared to provide that crucial piece of information to the rest of us who are less brilliant than DBelton.

***DBelton*** · #13 24th November 2011, 02:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrmagcore

Would this bug present a problem if you were trying to install from an external DVD/CD, like one on USB?

It should pick up an external CD/DVD drive plugged into USB since it would be assigned a /dev/srX device name and anaconda looks at those devices.

And Gareth, it would appear to me that putting some type of search in for the install media instead (especially looking where anaconda was started from) Would appear to me to be the logical way to do it, and probably much easier to implement than what they are currently using.

But, I am just a dumb user and don't know anything, and they are the developers and know everything..

I have been bitten by this same bug for the past few releases now, and really been annoying me.

Link to bugzilla where someone else was having the issue and I added a little more information and got nice responses fro the developer.

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=742612

mrmagcore · #14 24th November 2011, 05:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mariusz W

That was a brilliant guess on your side.

It would have helped enormously all the people willing to help the person who started this thread if he cared to provide that crucial piece of information to the rest of us who are less brilliant than DBelton.

If I was smart enough to realize that it was the appropriate variable, I would have mentioned it. Having never installed fedora from DVD, I had no idea that it would behave differently.

***DBelton*** · #15 24th November 2011, 05:21 AM

You did right, mrmagcore..

You provided what you thought at the time to be useful information, basically all of the information that you had without really digging into the anaconda log files. (and even then the error would be easy to pass over in the logs)

About the only other thing that you possibly could have provided was that you were using a USB stick instead of a burned DVD.

As the LiveCD pretty much works correctly from a USB stick, it probably didn't even register that the DVD might have issues with it.

You could try using the repo= option on the kernel line when you start the installler. Maybe you will have better luck than I had with it.

Format is repo=/dev/sdX/<path-to-repo> (sdX is the actual device that your USB drive was assigned)

When you boot, you can edit the kernel line from the boot menu.