not impressed with 11.3

English Install/Boot/Login
1

I am really not happy with 11.3.

FIrst let me preface by what my setup was under 11.1:

1 HD with 3 partitions - Swap, / , /home.

So I download and verify the download and the burned DVD of 11.3.
I backed up my /home directory.
I start the install process during which I find out that 11.3 will not let me leave my /home directory unformatted. The partitioner can not recognize the linux partition that is my /home (I don’t recall for sure if I may have made it ext2 or ext3 as I had some angst over some unrecovered files a couple of years ago).

SInce I have a newly made backup, I decided the heck with it and just reformatted the whole HD.

so the rest of the install goes relatively painless.

I boot the new system and add the repositories and start the updates.

Then I go to restore the /home directory. Except that right in the middle of the copying the files over The HD totally drops off. It is no longer mounted. When I do dmesg I find a shitload of inode errors. somebody tells me that my ext HD is bad. This means I have may very well have lost my /home directory from the previous setup. I have yet to run ddrescue so I don’t know for sure.

This ext HD had very little usage on it. Yes, I know you can’t blame opensuse for destroying the HD and yes it does happen that HDs fail brand new out of the box. but if suse had recognized the home partition just like it has on numerous previous installs this wouldn’t be an issue.

So far I am not impressed with 11.3.
>:(

2

Not sure, but maybe the system is trying to mount the old partition as ext4 (?)
Try to force ext3 with mount -t ext3 /youroldhome

3

On 2010-07-17 18:26 GMT juntunen wrote:

> I am really not happy with 11.3.
>
> FIrst let me preface by what my setup was under 11.1:
>
> 1 HD with 3 partitions - Swap, / , /home.
>
> So I download and verify the download and the burned DVD of 11.3.
> I backed up my /home directory.
> I start the install process during which I find out that 11.3 will not
> let me leave my /home directory unformatted.

You should have stopped here, to find out why, or ask.

One solution would have been to have only “/” without “/home”, so as
to add it later.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 11.2 x86_64 “Emerald” GM (Minas Tirith))

4

Carlos E. R. wrote:

> On 2010-07-17 18:26 GMT juntunen wrote:
>
>
>> I am really not happy with 11.3.
>>
>> FIrst let me preface by what my setup was under 11.1:
>>
>> 1 HD with 3 partitions - Swap, / , /home.
>>
>> So I download and verify the download and the burned DVD of 11.3.
>> I backed up my /home directory.
>> I start the install process during which I find out that 11.3 will
>> not let me leave my /home directory unformatted.
>
> You should have stopped here, to find out why, or ask.

+1

–
Per Jessen, Zürich (21.2°C)
http://en.opensuse.org/User:Pjessen

5

juntunen wrote:
> I start the install process during which I find out that 11.3 will not
> let me leave my /home directory unformatted.

STOP! this is very unusual! the install script will automatically see
your home and suggest an install solution which keeps it, and will
even ask if you want to use the same user name…

DO not proceed–something is bad wrong either with your hard drive,
controller, cable…something is broken…yes, maybe even your
install disk–even though you say you “verify the download”, i wonder
how you did that? same size as expected, or what?

and, did you do this http://tinyurl.com/yajm2aq before install attempt?

if not i’d guess you took a verified (somehow) iso and burned a faulty
install disk…

> The partitioner can not recognize the linux partition that is my /home

WARNING WILL ROGERS! the partitioner on the 11.3 install disk can read
every /home on any version of Linux i know of in the last 15 years!!

if it can not read yours then something is very bad wrong–STOP until
you know what and why!!

> (I don’t recall for sure
> if I may have made it ext2 or ext3 as I had some angst over some
> unrecovered files a couple of years ago).

the partitioner can read all of those and many more!

> SInce I have a newly made backup, I decided the heck with it and just
> reformatted the whole HD.

bad decision, huh?

> So far I am not impressed with 11.3.

hmmmmmm, sorry, but so far i am impressed with 11.3, but not impressed
with your decisions…

–
Enjoy Packman’s benefits? Show your appreciation by donating at
http://se.unixheads.org/?donate

DenverD
CAVEAT: http://is.gd/bpoMD [posted via NNTP w/openSUSE 10.3]

6

I have four openSUSE computers that I use regularly. I just finished up a new installation of 11.3 on a brand new box and did three upgrades from 11.2 on older retired computers that were given to me. Everything went perfectly on all of them, and they range from a dual core P4 to an old ten year old Athlon box. There’s all kinds of video and audio systems, and it all worked perfectly.

I think 11.3 is the slickest install I’ve ever done, and I’ve done a lot of them. I have so many varied Linux CD’s and DVD’s that I have to go through them periodically and throw out the oldest distros that are hopelessly obsolete.

I have 14 PC computers together and working, mostly old W98-era clunkers, and each has seen many different distros tried out on them. This 11.3 install and upgrade system is by far the best I’ve had my hands on yet. I pity the folks who have genuine hardware compatibility problems, but a LOT of what I read here is pilot error - fog in the cockpit.

7

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These comments would also reflect my own when it comes to OpenSUSE’s
ability to detect the /home partition. So why would it not have done that
in this case? Not having upgraded my laptop yet but thinking about my
drive I wonder if he, too, had some encryption enabled on the drive. If
the installer does not detect that it may see the encrypted partitions as
the gobbledegook that they should look like to something without a key to
decrypt the contents. Was this the case? If so the key is something you
should be able to enter so that recognition is possible and everything can
continue properly. If that is not the case, I’m at a loss (as the other
posters are) as to why your system did not seem to detect /home properly.
In any case you can always customize the partitioning so that /home is
set to the partition it should use but then set it to NOT format. This
has always been available along with being the default when /home is detected.

Good luck.

On 07/18/2010 11:56 AM, draynes wrote:
>
> I have four openSUSE computers that I use regularly. I just finished up
> a new installation of 11.3 on a brand new box and did three upgrades
> from 11.2 on older retired computers that were given to me. Everything
> went perfectly on all of them, and they range from a dual core P4 to an
> old ten year old Athlon box. There’s all kinds of video and audio
> systems, and it all worked perfectly.
>
> I think 11.3 is the slickest install I’ve ever done, and I’ve done a
> lot of them. I have so many varied Linux CD’s and DVD’s that I have to
> go through them periodically and throw out the oldest distros that are
> hopelessly obsolete.
>
> I have 14 PC computers together and working, mostly old W98-era
> clunkers, and each has seen many different distros tried out on them.
> This 11.3 install and upgrade system is by far the best I’ve had my
> hands on yet. I pity the folks who have genuine hardware compatibility
> problems, but a LOT of what I read here is pilot error - fog in the
> cockpit.
>
>
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8

On 2010-07-18 22:12 GMT ab@novell.com wrote:

> These comments would also reflect my own when it comes to OpenSUSE’s
> ability to detect the /home partition. So why would it not have done
> that in this case? Not having upgraded my laptop yet but thinking
> about my drive I wonder if he, too, had some encryption enabled on
> the drive. If the installer does not detect that it may see the
> encrypted partitions as the gobbledegook that they should look like
> to something without a key to decrypt the contents. Was this the
> case?

Linux currently uses LUKS, and these are detectable by the kernel as
encrypted partitions, allowing a user space program to prompt for the
password using the appropriate decoding mechanism.

However, the installer could have a bug and not see this… I doubt it,
but it is a possibility.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 11.2 x86_64 “Emerald” GM (Minas Tirith))

9

My whey-in on this common mistake. When dealing with the partitioner of the install, it gives recommends which may or may not match what you really wanted. Never proceed until the recommends summary shows exactly what you want. Often people will make their custom choices and not choose the accept before continuing, then when the summary comes up and is wrong they just proceed even though it clearly showed their option was not accepted.

ab@novell is right, the installer always has and always will allow to not format /home but you are responcible for not only ticking off the feature and choosing Accept not Back in the installer so it knows you really want this.