Vince McIntyre proposal

If you want to help us test the installer, it is important to understand how the installer team is working. We will make a series of Test Candidate images, each as good as we can make it. When we get a good enough candidate, we will declare a that the new Debian Installer is released, and Debian will have overcome the major hurdle to releasing Sarge.

The current test candidate is N, released on YYYY-MM-DD.

We also make daily "snapshot" images. As bug reports come in, and fixes are applied, the fixes get merged into the daily images.

There are two kinds of daily images. One is built with packages from 'testing' (a.k.a. 'sarge'). This collection of packages will ultimately make up the final release. The other is built with packages from 'unstable' (a.k.a. 'sid'). These packages are less tested than those in 'testing'. Typically fixes get added to 'unstable' and when they have proven themselves they enter the 'testing' collection.

How to test

1. Start with one of the Test Candidate 2 images. Try to install Debian with it, making a note of what worked and did not work.
2. (optional)
   If you experienced problems with the test candidate, please try the latest daily image for 'testing'. Hopefully your problem is already fixed, in this image.
3. (optional)
   If you also experience problems with the daily 'testing' image, please try the latest daily image for 'unstable'.
4. Now file an installation report. This is the most important part of the process! It is only way to get problems fixed; if we don't know about the problem, we can't fix it.
   • If you had problems with the Test Candidate, please explain what they were, and if either the testing or unstable daily image resolved them.
   • It also saves a lot of the d-i team's time if you review the bug reports for the package 'installation-reports' and point out any that you think relate to the problems you experienced. There's no need to review them all, just check those filed since the Test Candidate was released.
   • If you had no problems, that is good to know as well. Though it sounds a bit strange, just go ahead and file a bug against 'installation-reports', using the standard template. The report will be reviewed by one of the d-i team and closed.
   • Clearly written bug reports are like gold to the d-i team. Please take a little time to fill out all sections. If you are unsure what to write, take a look at the existing bug reports. Reports are especially encouraged from people installing on an architecture other than x86.
   • In some cases, you may be asked to submit extra information, usually log files. Instructions on how to get the logfiles can be found here.