Re: Suggestion for boot message on install media

[Brook Milligan <brook%nmsu.edu@localhost>]

> On Aug 7, 2020, at 9:00 AM, Martin Husemann <martin%duskware.de@localhost> wrote:
> 
> On Fri, Aug 07, 2020 at 08:26:03AM -0600, Brook Milligan wrote:
>> I suggest that the install media indicate clearly if booting from
>> BIOS or UEFI as the "real" bootblocks do so that this information is
>> available immediately during installation and it is clear what type of
>> system will be installed.
> 
> I have trouble coming up with a way to display the information so that
> it is prominent enough but not confusing to the majority of people
> who should not need to care. However, I could imagine a x86 specific
> warning if BIOS had been used to boot, like:
> 
> 	It seems your system booted via the legacy BIOS method,
> 	so sysinst will prepare the installed system for BIOS booting
> 	as well.
> 
> 	If this is not what you intended, please abort, reboot,
> 	and fix your firmware setup before trying again.
> 
> ... and say nothing if we got booted by UEFI.

That would have helped me confirm what was being installed.

I'm not really familiar with the difference between the bootblacks on the install media and the "normal" ones, but I'm pretty sure the very first bootblack banner says something like "BIOS" or "UEFI" in the top line.  Am I hallucinating?  Is it possible to show that?

>> It might even be better to allow an option
>> for selecting the type of installation independent of how booting
>> occurred, but this might lead to unbeatable systems I suppose.
> 
> This indeed is a dangerous option, but we could mark it as that.
> It would ease testing of sysinst ;-)

Yes, definitely an "expert mode".  However, with that option I could have installed it as UEFI and later reordered the boot selection.  Ultimately, I did the install, discovered the mistake, reordered the boot selection, and redid the install.  Not a huge deal, but it would have been better to at least make it clear at the outset that the boot order needs fixing.  Whether reordering is done before or after installation depends on the skill/experience of the installer, so caveats are likely also important if the "wrong" installation goes forward.

Cheers,
Brook