MX Linux Forum

I have been exploring some other Debian-based distros, and I found that their installers are a pain in the you-know-what compared to the MEPIS-type installer. Especially pure Debian's, which--if I recall--is shared by Devuan (similar if not identical) and possibly others. Much easier to make a catastrophic mistake and erase the wrong partition. Mint's is easier but still slower and more complex than ours. I regret that other Debian-based distros aren't using our installer, that I know of.

In fact, pure Debian's reputation for difficulty might be due only to the installer. The last time I got pure Debian to actually work (a matter of getting through the installer), I saw nothing difficult in it once logged in.

I don't see what's difficult about Debian installer either. It's not really rocket science. Our has nice features like being able to install preserving content in /home (even if it's on the same partition as root) and it's faster but it's also not like you install the OS every other day...

I agree that the MX-Linux installer is a beauty ! It has improved greatly from a couple of years ago, and there is much less chance of a catastrophic error, although one still has to be careful. All credit to the developers !

Adrian wrote: Wed Aug 24, 2022 4:48 pm I don't see what's difficult about Debian installer either. It's not really rocket science. Our has nice features like being able to install preserving content in /home (even if it's on the same partition as root) and it's faster but it's also not like you install the OS every other day...

Our installer is safer. The more complex, the easier to make a careless mistake with. Also, ours doesn't waste the user's time by asking to connect to a network.

21.2 has been the fastest to install (for me anyway) to date!

Whether XFCE or KDE iteration, from click to install and all to login screen: only 3 minutes!!
A huge improvement over previous 5 minutes!

KUDOS to MX team! :)

Most other distros take anywhere from 8 to 12.

Sounds like a personal preference... MX does offer a nice installer. But the easiest is defined by your skillset & preferences.

I liked the the last version of the MX installer better. Like @manyroads said, a matter of preference. But I agree that MX installer is fairly easy when compared to some others. But I think Debian's full text based installer is pretty easy to use and comprehensive. But then I started installing Linux with Slackware, which used a text based menu system also.

Seaken

Oops, forgive me for signing as seaken without the 64. That was my original alias and I've been using it a lot lately on Vintage Computer forums.

I like the latest installer the best because it works with RAID, multiple drives like in my case it can set to install SSD for boot, root, and a large conventional HDD for home which the installer can encrypt them all during the install which all the previous installers couldn't do.

seaken64 wrote: Thu Sep 08, 2022 10:09 pm ... I started installing Linux with Slackware, which used a text based menu system also.

...

No problem with text based installers but slackware's is rather inconvenient for multibooters like me. There is no option to not reformat your already existing swap partition. This changes your swap uuid, which messes with the systemd distros installed on your computer , which go into a 90s delay in boot when the swap uuid isn't the same as that written on the distros' fstab.

I installed Mint, in order to familiarize myself with its installer to better help a family member who wants to install it. Anyway, I was again reminded of what I said in this thread title. Even Mint's installer is a pain compared to MX's. (And why didn't I try to convince him to try MX? Because he's an old man with little patience for computers, and is--sigh--convinced that Mint is easier. It was simpler to give him what he wants and feel pleased that he's using a Linux distro.)

lonesomepoint wrote: Fri Jul 07, 2023 11:38 am I installed Mint, in order to familiarize myself with its installer to better help a family member who wants to install it. Anyway, I was again reminded of what I said in this thread title. Even Mint's installer is a pain compared to MX's. (And why didn't I try to convince him to try MX? Because he's an old man with little patience for computers, and is--sigh--convinced that Mint is easier. It was simpler to give him what he wants and feel pleased that he's using a Linux distro.)

Well, as long as they are at least using Linux, that's far and away better than any other OS...

But MX is definitely better.

lonesomepoint wrote: Thu Aug 25, 2022 10:09 am

Adrian wrote: Wed Aug 24, 2022 4:48 pm I don't see what's difficult about Debian installer either. It's not really rocket science. Our has nice features like being able to install preserving content in /home (even if it's on the same partition as root) and it's faster but it's also not like you install the OS every other day...

Our installer is safer. The more complex, the easier to make a careless mistake with. Also, ours doesn't waste the user's time by asking to connect to a network.

True, but if you ever have tried Debian's netinstall you obviously still need to connect to a network to download the packages to complete the installation. It's nice to be able to do an offline install of MX (in case you don't have the proper firmware for your network device for example) then later connect in order to get the updates.