Score:1

force installer to require a human

za flag

I'm trying to customize the installer but the documentation doesn't seem to discuss how it all starts up with all the possible options (or I don't see it so pointers to that would be helpful too).

Normally, when you start booting the "live cd" to do an install, the initial screen shows a "keyboard = human" with a timeout. What I'm looking for is to force that to always be true and to remove that option so that the person installing always sees the menu in isolinux.cfg.

I can't find anything to change in boot/grub/grub.cfg to force that or I think that's where it should go. I am using Autoinstall if it matters, but I don't think it should.

Update: To try to clarify, I'm trying to create a custom install and started with ubuntu-20.4.2-live-server-amd64.iso, so the latest LTS release. From what I've read, the debian-installer is deprecated so I'm trying to use Autoinstall, which I can make work based on the work that's on gist.github.com, or at least I can make a basic install work and I'll only need to add some customizations. Note: I need to end up with a full bootable ISO (and I know how to do that with xorriso->mkisofs/isohybrid) so I can put it all on a USB drive to install on real hardware (or VMware for development).

The problem I'm having is that the very first menu on the installer has that brown screen with the "keyboard = human" "chooser" at the bottom, which if you don't hit a key then it starts doing the default in isolinux/txt.cfg (or so I've found in testing). If the user does hit a key before the timeout ends, then the user hast to pick a language before s/he sees the install menu from isolinux/txt.cfg, where they can pick from whatever is on the menu (I plan to have 4 different choices there for different install needs). My desire is to (1) remove that initial brown screen with the "keyboard = human" "chooser" then (2) force it to go to the txt.cfg menu as if there is always a human and make it sit there until a choice is made (or really Timeout=0). But I don't know what makes that brown screen not show up or how to force the installer to go directly to the txt.cfg menu.

I had hoped I could go into boot/grub/grub.cfg and add some switch to the "append" entry (like where I had to add "autoinstall"). I've tried adding "languagechooser/language-name=English keyboard-configuration/layoutcode=us" since when you hit a key it asks you the language questions and I'd hoped that if it already had those answers it'd know to go that direction and even skip those questions, but the brown screen is still there and it still asks me to pick a language.

Besides being stuck there, I can't find this stuff documented anywhere (or least my search ability has failed me so far). The vast majority of docs, Q&A's, etc all talk about v16.04 or even v14.04 (or before) and it appears that things have changed for 20.04 ... then again not even the older stuff talks about removing that brown screen either, but I've found that most of the older stuff tells me to do things I can't really do any more in 20.04 because filenames have changed, I'm using Autoinstall which didn't exist back then, etc.

Nmath avatar
ng flag
More information is required to understand what you are trying to do and the specifics of the problem you are trying to solve. It's really not very clear what you are asking. We don't even know which version of Ubuntu you are working with.
guiverc avatar
cn flag
Ubuntu has 4 installers available and you've provided no specifics as to which you're talking about (I'm not counting the new desktop installer either; though your mention of *live cd* counts 1 as unlikely). Your question is unclear.
KBrannen avatar
za flag
Added an update with more info.
KBrannen avatar
za flag
Update 2: I'm am working under the assumption that boot/grub/grub.cfg gets called first to bring the initial kernal & installer up (and the brown screen gets created there), then isolinux/txt.cfg gets read in and used 2nd. Perhaps that's wrong and is why I'm having trouble, but again I can't find this early part of the process documented anywhere.
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