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sephiroth

Member

From: Fayetteville, NC, USA

Registered: 2025-05-27

Posts: 9  

[SOLVED] Devuan 6.1.0 desktop installer has no options for modern filesystems

I have an issue installing Devuan Excalibur. I am trying this in a VirtualBox VM again. Never got 6.0 going due to a hang. Devuan 6.1.0 is only allowing ext2, FAT16, and FAT32 for filesystems. I pre-configured my drive as an EFI partition, /boot as ext3, / as ext4, swap, and /home as ext4. I am unable to select these types nor am I able to select the partition and simply choose a mount-point with "do not format" selected. I have taken screenshots of the sequence and posted them to imgur at the link below. How can I proceed in this instance?

Screenshots on Imgur

rolfie

Member

Registered: 2017-11-25

Posts: 1,406  

Re: [SOLVED] Devuan 6.1.0 desktop installer has no options for modern filesystems

Known problem (got trapped myself and saw posts from others with the same issue). Sounds like you have used the expert mode and skipped the topic "load extra modules". You need to go through this topic to get the full selection of file systems.

Last edited by rolfie (Yesterday 16:38:36)

sephiroth

Member

From: Fayetteville, NC, USA

Registered: 2025-05-27

Posts: 9  

Re: [SOLVED] Devuan 6.1.0 desktop installer has no options for modern filesystems

Okay, I do not remember needing to load extra modules for core-level things like filesystems, but I can do that. I'll try it after lunch and mark the topic soled if it works. Thank you!

Mercury

Member

Registered: 2024-11-14

Posts: 23  

Re: [SOLVED] Devuan 6.1.0 desktop installer has no options for modern filesystems

skipped the topic "load extra modules"

He didn't "skip" it. He just followed the default route. That step is optional and if I recall it even stated in the instructions that this is probably not necessary to do. It took me a while to figure it out myself, much to my frustration.

Installing modern Linux on ext4 is not some "extra" step, it's bog-standard.

Known problem

So surely it's been documented with an erratum note on the download page? On the installation instructions page? No? Why the bleep not?

greenjeans

Member

Registered: 2017-04-07

Posts: 1,511  

Website

Re: [SOLVED] Devuan 6.1.0 desktop installer has no options for modern filesystems

@Mercury, because Devuan is extremely short-handed and the devs are over-worked and underpaid, sometimes you have to focus on bigger stuff....

Perhaps you could write out a note about it since you seem familiar with the issue, then submit it for inclusion? I believe Xenguy is who you'd need to contact to add documentation to the website.

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fsmithred

Administrator

Registered: 2016-11-25

Posts: 2,823  

Re: [SOLVED] Devuan 6.1.0 desktop installer has no options for modern filesystems

I've never had to load any extra modules on an expert install. I see that screen and just OK it without selecting anything, and I always have the full selection of filesystem types. If just looking at that screen is enough, then I guess the instructions would be "Don't skip any sections or you'll be missing stuff."

Check the sha256sum on the iso to make sure it didn't get corrupted on download.

Update: The item is called "Load installer components from installation media" and it does load stuff you need even if you don't check any of the boxes. So I guess the advice would be "Load installer components if you want to install the system." And I think I might feel insulted if it said that.

Edit2: I just want to add that manual partitioning is available in both expert and regular install. I've noticed that some people think you have to choose expert to do manual partritioning. You don't.

Mercury

Member

Registered: 2024-11-14

Posts: 23  

Re: [SOLVED] Devuan 6.1.0 desktop installer has no options for modern filesystems

Negative. I installed 6.0 and 6.1 several times. The "installer components" screen was always part of the process, but selecting no components gave only the limited filesystem options that the OP mentions. I was confused, because I have been using ext4 as my choice for many years. Experimentation showed that one of the options (I don't recall the name exactly - Volume Manager or something like it) was necessary to enable the full selection of filesystems.

Last edited by Mercury (Yesterday 00:57:23)

fsmithred

Administrator

Registered: 2016-11-25

Posts: 2,823  

Re: [SOLVED] Devuan 6.1.0 desktop installer has no options for modern filesystems

I just did it 10 minutes ago to be sure. I don't know why were getting different behavior.

Mercury

Member

Registered: 2024-11-14

Posts: 23  

Re: [SOLVED] Devuan 6.1.0 desktop installer has no options for modern filesystems

I don't have the installer ready anymore but I might try sometime later. I distinctly remember the same issue as OP. ext4 was simply not an option unless one of the optional components was selected.

ralph.ronnquist

Administrator

From: Battery Point, Tasmania, AUS

Registered: 2016-11-30

Posts: 1,606  

Re: [SOLVED] Devuan 6.1.0 desktop installer has no options for modern filesystems

The expert installer needs to go through the "load components" dialogue with an OK, but with or without selecting any additional components. Doing so will still load the  "default components", which includes various partman packages for different filesystems. Otherwise those "default components" are not loaded.

It's a fairly odd UX design, but the udeb involved is included straight from debian installer and noone has felt the urge to fork it only to deal with that quirk; there is always the issue of maintaining forks.

sephiroth

Member

From: Fayetteville, NC, USA

Registered: 2025-05-27

Posts: 9  

Re: [SOLVED] Devuan 6.1.0 desktop installer has no options for modern filesystems

Lots on this post since I was here yesterday. Sadly, I do not see anything, in any menu, about extra components. The closest thing I see is "Load installer components from installation media" and nothing in there is extra for filesystem-related. The option does not appear to exist for me. I updated my post on imgur with the primary sequence of selections, showing no extra components options. I did every single one of these from start to "partition disks" except for the braille option, as I do not need it.

Updated Imgur Post

sephiroth

Member

From: Fayetteville, NC, USA

Registered: 2025-05-27

Posts: 9  

Re: [SOLVED] Devuan 6.1.0 desktop installer has no options for modern filesystems

Okay, I restarted the installation and this time I have more options both on the main menu and in the partition disks menu. Very odd.

sephiroth

Member

From: Fayetteville, NC, USA

Registered: 2025-05-27

Posts: 9  

Re: [SOLVED] Devuan 6.1.0 desktop installer has no options for modern filesystems

I am marking this solved. After rebooting the VM it appears to work. I restarted yesterday several times and kept getting this issue, but I am not sure why. Today it seems to work every time.

Mercury

Member

Registered: 2024-11-14

Posts: 23  

Re: [SOLVED] Devuan 6.1.0 desktop installer has no options for modern filesystems

closest thing I see is "Load installer components from installation media" and nothing in there is extra for filesystem-related.

I believe it's lvmcfg that worked for me.

ralph.ronnquist

Administrator

From: Battery Point, Tasmania, AUS

Registered: 2016-11-30

Posts: 1,606  

Re: [SOLVED] Devuan 6.1.0 desktop installer has no options for modern filesystems

Yes, one does not need to select any of those options. They are all "extra". But the dialog flow includes installing unmentioned default components, and the dialog must be ok-ed for that to happen.

Thus, one must bring up that dialog and click ok, even though one may opt for not picking any of the pickable additions.