Using Kickstart under Red Hat 6.2

[Gary Nichols]

Actually kickstart is smart enough to do that on it's own.  In the config
file, the 'install' statement is required which tells kickstart 'do a fresh
install' (which includes a format).

Couple o'things...

* Make sure you're using the latest install disk for 6.2 per this RedHat
advisory:
http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHBA-2000-015.html

* You can edit syslinux.cfg on the floppy and make it look like this:
default ks
prompt 0
label ks
kernel vmlinuz
append ks=floppy initrd=initrd.img

This will boot kickstart automagically (You can grab a soda instead of
waiting to type in the 'linux ks=floppy'. *g*)

If you really want to be c00l, once your kickstart config is perfected, you
can make a bootable redhat cd-rom that boots right into ks and starts the
install immediately.  Great for installing on multiple machines w/o a nfs
server.

* Make sure you're not editing ks.cfg in m$ notepad or some other editor
that is appending cr/lf's to the end of the lines.  The anaconda installer
might not like those.

* Can you provide the output of the error messages?

* Have you tried a different floppy?

Also, did you code the ks.cfg file by hand or use mkkickstart?

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Gary Nichols RHCE         gary@neoplanet.com
Network Operations Mgr       NeoPlanet, Inc.
http://www.neoplanet.com     Penguin Powered
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-




|-----Original Message-----
|From: plug-discuss-admin@lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us
|[mailto:plug-discuss-admin@lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us]On Behalf Of
|proudhawk@uswestmail.net
|Sent: Tuesday, January 30, 2001 5:00 PM
|To: plug-discuss@lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us
|Subject: Re: Using Kickstart under Red Hat 6.2
|
|
|I believe you also need to tell it to format the partitions. thats
|the one command I don't see in your kickstart file.
|
|I've found (especially with redhat) that if you don't format the
|partitions WITH bad-block checking, it will generate error
|messages because the system ran out of space on the swap file.
|
|you might try adding the appropriate commands for formatting the
|partitions. this may remove or minimize the errors a bit.
|
|
|On Tue, 30 January 2001, "Simper, Brian D" wrote:
|
|>
|>
|> I am responsible for producing an installation of Red Hat Linux
|6.2 for my
|> employer.  I am not trying to install anything beyond what comes
|on the CD,
|> but
|> I do have several specific packages that need to be placed on the target
|> machines (i.e., korn shell) and certain packages that should not
|at all be
|> placed on the machines (i.e., games).  I would prefer to have the
|> distribution
|> run using Kickstart rather than use a process that requires an
|engineer to
|> site
|> at a console and select package groups and disk slicing.
|>
|> I have been unsuccessful in getting any kickstart to work yet.  I think I
|> have a
|> reasonable kickstart file, but I am not sure what I might be
|doing wrong.  I
|> am
|> trying to run the install from a CD and floppy first, but may
|try to have it
|> run
|> over the network if I can get at least the CD/floppy combo to work.  I am
|> trying
|> to get this to run on Red Hat 6.2 so far and will try 7.0 in the
|future.
|>
|> I merely added the ks.cfg file to a regular boot floppy created with the
|> rawrite
|> program.  When I get the "boot:" prompt I typed "linux
|ks=floppy" and the
|> process runs for a while then gets to a blue background screen.
|I then can
|> hear
|> the CD-ROM trying to run and the "Welcome to Red Hat Linux" text message
|> appears.  A few seconds after that the system starts pumping out badly
|> formatted
|> error messages which quickly run off the screen then it unceremoniously
|> spits
|> out the CD and halts.
|>
|> I have done lots of RH6.2 installs with this CD including my own
|workstation
|> but
|> I can't seem to get kickstart to run.  The KS.CFG is appended.
|Any ideas?
|>
|> --begin KS.CFG------------------------------------
|> lang en_US
|> network --bootproto dhcp
|> cdrom
|> keyboard us
|> zerombr yes
|> clearpart --all
|> part / --size 1024 --grow
|> part /boot --size 20
|> part /tmp --size 128
|> part swap --size 128
|> part /var --size 256
|> part /usr --size 1280
|> install
|> mouse generic3ps/2
|> timezone --utc
|> xconfig --defaultdesktop=GNOME --startxonboot
|> rootpw --iscrypted $1$2ss5z.mT$H7k5N4b5LpV1g50kupcMM0
|> auth --useshadow --enablemd5
|> lilo --location mbr
|>
|> %packages
|> @ Base
|> @ X Window System
|> @ GNOME
|> @ KDE
|> @ Mail/WWW/News Tools
|> @ DOS/Windows Connectivity
|> @ Networked Workstation
|> @ NFS Server
|> @ SMB (Samba) Server
|> @ Development
|> @ Kernel Development
|> @ Utilities
|> @ Server
|>
|> %pre
|>
|> %post
|> --end KS.CFG-----------------------------------------
|>
|> Thanks,
|>
|> Brian Simper
|> Linux Product Engineer
|> Intel Corporation
|