Bug#425397: tasksel/pkgsel causing Etch netboot install to hang indefinitely

I've hit this exact issue (nice workaround with the "echo" trick) and been doing some more debug. With _loads_ of debug the bug dissappeared :-( But I have now managed to see where the race is.

When the hang occurs, the last few things that debconf does (booted with "install DEBCONF_DEBUG=5" with additional "warn" stuck in:
(I can see dpkg-preconfigure calling "make_frontend()")

read "PROGRESS SET 18"
send "0 OK"
read "CAPB"
send "0 multiselect escape multiselect backup progresscancel"
recv "SUBST debconf-apt-progress/info DESCRIPTION Retrieving file 84 of 84"
send "0"   (no OK FWIW)
recv "PROGRESS INFO deconf-apt-progress/info"
send "0 OK"

With more debug, it didn't hang, but have a look at the message received this time:
read "PROGRESS SET 18"
send "0 OK"

recv "SUBST debconf-apt-progress/info DESCRIPTION Retrieving file 84 of 84"
send "0"   (no OK FWIW)
recv "PROGRESS INFO deconf-apt-progress/info"
send "0 OK"

read "CAPB"
send "0 multiselect escape multiselect backup progresscancel"
read "TITLE"

So the hang occurs when dpkg-preconfigure calls make_frontend _before_ the last PROGRESS_INFO has occured).

I think I'd better leave this to the Debconf guru's now :-)

I have more logs available if they are any help (I suspect not). I was doing a CD based install with desktop package deselected (just base system package selected).

Adrian

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