Package: installation-reports
Version: trixie-rc1
Severity: important
Dear Debian Maintainers,
I am reporting a bug encountered during the installation of Debian Trixie using
the debian-trixie-DI-rc1-amd64-DVD-1.iso. The installation fails to produce a
working system when using a Btrfs root filesystem, but succeeds when using ext4.
Summary of the Problem:
When performing a minimal installation ("Standard system utilities" only) and
partitioning the disk with an EFI System Partition and a Btrfs root filesystem
(/), the installation process appears to complete without error. However, upon
reboot, the system is not bootable. Booting into the installer's Rescue Mode
and attempting to chroot into the installed system fails with the error: "no
usable shell was found on your root file system". This indicates the base
system files were not correctly copied to the Btrfs partition during
installation.
Steps to Reproduce:
1. Boot from the debian-trixie-DI-rc1-amd64-DVD-1.iso installer.
2. Proceed to the "Partition disks" step and choose "Manual".
3. Create two partitions on the target drive (e.g., /dev/nvme0n1):
- A ~500 MB partition, set to "Use as: EFI System Partition".
- The remaining space as a partition set to "Use as: Btrfs journaling file
system" with the mount point set to /.
4. Write the changes to the disk.
(Created subvolumes in busy box)
5. When prompted, select YES to "Force GRUB installation to the EFI removable
media path?".
6. Proceed with the installation. At the "Software selection" screen, deselect
all options except for "Standard system utilities".
7. Complete the installation, choosing not to use any network mirrors.
8. Upon rebooting, the system fails to boot.
9. Booting back into the installer's Rescue Mode and selecting the Btrfs
partition as the root filesystem leads to the "no usable shell found" error
when trying to execute a shell in the installed environment.
Working Workaround:
The installation is successful if the exact same steps are followed, with one
single change:
- In step 3, setting the root partition to use "Ext4 journaling file system"
instead of Btrfs.
This proves that the installer image, the hardware, and the rest of the
installation process are functional. The point of failure is specifically the
installer's routine for setting up a Btrfs root filesystem.
Hardware Details:
- Wireless Controller: MediaTek Corp. MT7925 (Device 0717)
- System Firmware: UEFI, which required the "Force GRUB to fallback path"
option to boot successfully even on the working ext4 installation.
This bug is particularly critical as the installer gives no indication of
failure, leaving the user with a system that appears to have installed
correctly but is fundamentally broken.
Thank you for your work on Debian. I hope this report helps improve the
installer for the final Trixie release.
