[Debian-eeepc-devel] Help installing Squeeze on EeePC 901 using rt2860 wireless

[Ben Armstrong]

On 24/02/10 08:57 PM, Craig O'Brien wrote:
> I have tried both documented options (the boot.img.gz/netinst option 
> and the unetbootin/netinst/CD-1 option).  The rt2860 wireless 
> interface does not seem to be detected in either case.  I read 
> (http://www.debian.org/releases/testing/i386/ch06s04.html.en) that the 
> installer was capable of installing non-free firmware.  However, 
> copying the firmware-ralink deb onto the USB flash drive (either to 
> the root of the device or in a directory "/firmware") does not help. 
>  The installer does not prompt for firmware at any time.  Is the 
> rt2860 not supported in the kernel that is used with these methods?

The most likely reason for this is wifi being toggled off in the BIOS.  
Check your BIOS settings.  Don't let the blue light fool you.  Asus has 
made it an indicator both for wireless *and* bluetooth.

> Am I going to have to wait for a debian-eeepc.img that supports Squeeze?

There are no plans for such a thing.  Our goal is to make Debian itself 
install on the Eee, and that includes having the standard installer work 
out of the box.  The custom installer was necessary in the early days of 
the project when the standard installer didn't work well for the Eee, 
but now that the standard installer mostly works, making sure it works 
for everyone is our focus.

> While installing using the updated d-i, I noticed character glitches 
> within its interface - a portion of the right-hand border was 
> misaligned, the buttons had what looked like escape codes all over 
> them...  It didn't render the interface unusable, it just messed it up 
> a bit.  This did not happen with the debian-eeepc.img Lenny installer. 
>  Is this a bug, or am I doing something wrong?

Sounds like a bug.  Please file one against debian-installer.

> Lastly, I have some feedback for the wonderful DebianEEEPC wiki - 
> specifically for the section regarding the Standard Installer 
> (http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEeePC/HowTo/InstallUsingStandardInstaller). 
>  Apologies if this is not the correct channel to go through...  If it 
> is better for me to simply create a wiki account and edit what's 
> there, please say so.

Yes.  Please do.

Thanks,
Ben