[PLUG] "Installing" the Debian installer - How?

[Tom]

As to your question about: "The installer should be in/on its own
partition of the hard disk
and recognizable to GRUB2" :
That certainly can be done to run the installer. However, the installer
would not be able to repartition the disk reliably without destroying
self. That is the reason why the installation comes from different
source than your disk to be installed on.
About your repeated installations and learning:
One way to do that is using something like Fully Automated Installation
(FAI - http://fai-project.org/) and setup an installation server
holding your clients and servers desired configuration and providing
the necessary network services and installation sources - all that over
the network. This method can install one computer thousands of times
repeatedly, with desired and verifiable configuration changes, or
install thousands of different or identical computers. You can use an
old computer, virtual machine or Raspberry-Pi as FAI server.
For FAI to work, you'd need to configure basic networking. I guess you
could run FAI from USB too, but that might just complicate things.
Another convenient way to experiment with installations would be to do
the installation inside a virtual machine. As a virtualization solution
- if your computed supports virtualization (you might need to enable it
in BIOS) - I would recommend VirtualBox for beginners, although KVM
maybe better choice in long term. Your computer would be always in
good/working condition. You could use .iso directly to boot your
virtual machines. To start over you would simply delete the virtual
machine. You could install and use a few of them at the same time,
depending how much CPU cores, RAM and disk space you have available.
And you could have those virtual machines share the virtual network
inside your host PC. If you go that route, just be aware of the fact
that the virtual machines share the computing resources of your host
PC, so expect thing to slow down.
As about your direct ISO file usage - Please realize that .iso is disk
image file format, not a file system where you can access and execute
individual files. As simplification, you can imagine it as a .zip or
.tar file, kind of. Loopback device can mount it as read only and
present the containing file system in a directory for your convenience.
It seems to me that what you are really doing is - you are
experimenting with different configurations on your computer. To do
that you do not need to reinstall, unless you are experimenting with
different disk partitioning schemes. To control and change computer
configuration in repeatable and controllable fashion - I would
recommend using something like Ansible or Puppet. Although not strictly
necessary, for best results, use a configuration server/machine on your
network.
Perhaps, you should see if you can sort your networking and perhaps
download Wikipedia, so that you can look up some things without
internet. These maybe the two most limiting factors for your
development.
Best luck, Tomas
On Mon, 2017-02-20 at 07:28 -0600, Richard Owlett wrote:
> An underlying and/or related question:
> Explanation of the "whys" of the "whats" occurring when Linux is
> "installed".
> 
> 
> _The Background of My Question_
> Historically I've been interested in optimizing a minimal Debian
> install.
> My method has been repeated clean installs, sometimes multiple
> installs in one 
> day. I've made enough progress that use of preseed.cfg files improves
> the 
> mechanics if the installation process.
> 
> Some have questioned why I do this. I've found it a productive
> learning 
> experience. I attempt things the normal user wouldn't. My failures
> force me to 
> ask questions.
> 
> _The Immediate Problem_
> I've become annoyed with the physical mechanics of installing from a
> DVD *or* a 
> flash drive. The installer should be in/on its own partition of the
> hard disk 
> and recognizable to GRUB2.
> 
> The closest approximation to an acceptable solution I've found is
> described at 
> https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Grub2/ISOBoot and related pages.
> 
> That page is unsatisfactory in at least two ways:
> 1. It is unclear what is Ubuntu specific and what applies to Linux
> generally.
> 2. Loop mounting an image of the installation CD/DVD obscures what's
> happening.
>     [An underlying goal *IS* understanding how Linux works.]
> 
> That the loop mounted installer can be launched by GRUB2 indicates
> that the 
> image has everything needed. That a LIVE CD can also launch the
> installer 
> suggests that what I want is possible.
> 
> The only hint I've had of what needs to be done comes from observing
> the output 
> of update-grub reporting:
> Generating grub configuration file ...
> Found background image: /usr/share/images/desktop-base/desktop
> -grub.png
> Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-3.16.0-4-686-pae
> Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-3.16.0-4-686-pae
> done
> 
> Have not been able to correctly apply that hint.
> 
> What should I be reading?
> Is there something simple I've missed?
> Thank you.
> 
> 
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