So Far, So Bad.

So, I downloaded and tried out Fedora 10, 64-bit as a first attempt to set up my system. As a graphical installer it sucks big ones. If you scan the disk for errors, its no longer able to recognize its install disk, and you have to restart. If you select any of the additional repositories, it hangs for 3 hours as it tries each of the 33 URL is knows for each repository, trying 10 times. When it fails, it gives you the option of retrying for another 3 hours, or rebooting.  No option to go back and uncheck the extra repositories.

So that, coupled with a paucity of available options for file systems, led to me download and try installing debian. I selected the "expert's gui" install option and the installer was MUCH nicer than Fedoras. The only problem is that it can't see my hard drive. A bit of googling and I found out that Etch fails to supports several major components of my motherboard, including the SATA controller. So, major fail there.

So, now I'm back to trying Fedora again, as I don't want to spend another full day downloading an other install DVD.