[Anthony Reimer]

[QUOTE][u]Quote by: Allister[/u][p][i]…could you post the relevant part of the debug log and the beginning of the log so we can see the exact version and what you’re running it on? Also, are you setting it up with InstaUp2Date?[/i][/p][/QUOTE]

[code]16:20:52 ###### InstaDMG build initiated ######
InstaDMG version 1.6rc1 (svn revision: )
Host OS: Mac OS X 10.6.5
Host Hardware: Macmini3,1
Output file name: 2010-12-16.dmg
Output disk name: IAML
Host mount folder: /private/tmp/InstaDMG_temp_folder.DOcZhO

[OS install, base updates, and all custom pkgs prior to folder 101 install successfully]

Working on folder 101 (16:49:25)
###### There were no items to install in: ./InstallerFiles/CustomPKG/101 ######
16:49:25 ###### Cleaning up ######
Restoring normal installd daemon
Restoring com.apple.installd daemon
Ejecting images
“disk3” unmounted.
“disk3” ejected.
Unmounted the Target Disk image from /private/tmp/InstaDMG_temp_folder.DOcZhO/mount_point.Kv6sEg
Deleting scratch DMG
[/code]

Folder 101 contained the Firefox 3.6.13 dmg downloaded directly (not self-created).

[QUOTE][p][i]Also, are you setting it up with InstaUp2Date?[/i][/p][/QUOTE]
No.

[Anthony Reimer]

I tried this yesterday and it failed with a “no items to install” error, killing the workflow. I did it with the latest Firefox dmg. Is there any particular version of the script I need to be running? I am running 1.6b2 (listed as 1.6rc1 in the script itself).

[Anthony Reimer]

FYI, it appears you can skip the intermediate 10.6.4 (non-mini) update if you are not using InstaUp2Date. I have created an InstaDMG workflow that has just the Mac mini (mid-2010) 10.6.3 disc image and the 10.6.4 mini-specific updater and have deployed it successfully to a Mac Pro (2006) and an iMac (24″ 2006) in addition to the current Mac mini. I also created a NetInstall Image (using DeployStudio) from this same simple image that successfully booted the aforementioned machines.

I’m not saying that this would be “best practice,” but it does seem to work.

[Anthony Reimer]

Just a brief follow-up for those interested. After getting logged in, I used Workgroup Manager to determine that createUser had changed the ID of my admin account from 501 to 502 (which explains why I couldn’t access files remotely due to permissions issues, even though I could authenticate) — I had let it auto select the ID for that account, so it “created” a new account with 502, but since the short name was identical to 501, it only saw it as one account. Then, my workflow creates a second account with a fixed ID of 502, which, as you now see, caused all sorts of fun and frolic. Using Workgroup Manager on the local machine, I returned the ID of my original admin account to 501 and all was well again.

[Anthony Reimer]

[QUOTE][u]Quote by: tbjorklund[/u]

Press the down arrow so any user is highlighted and then press option+enter. That should give you a login prompt.[/QUOTE]

That was exactly what I was looking for! Thanks. I’ll poke around the Board to figure out how to fix the login list (just because I’d like to know).

Anyone have a similar experience with createUser installing on the build volume?

[Anthony Reimer]

[QUOTE][u]Quote by: nobrainer[/u][p]
If you go to system preferences –> Accounts –> Login Options –> Authenticate via the Padlock –> Change Display login window as Name and password
[/p][/QUOTE]

If I could actually login with any account, this would work, but I can’t. The tip involved a series of keystrokes that you could invoke at the login screen when presented with the list.

[Anthony Reimer]

[QUOTE][u]Quote by: Joy[/u][p]InstallEase uses before and after and shows the file changes/adds.…
How does Composer do the packages?
[/p][/QUOTE]

It can use the snapshot method (like InstallEase), it can monitor files system changes (fsevents), or, if someone has built a “diff” file for use in Composer, it can capture the files from your hard drive that are necessary for a proper installation.

[Anthony Reimer]

I gave this version a go and encountered a new error (for me). Here’s what came up in Terminal:
[code] Encasing installd daemon in a chroot jail
cp: /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.installd.plist: No such file or directory
launchctl: Couldn’t stat(“/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.installd.plist”): No such file or directory
nothing found to unload
###### Unable to unload system installd daemon ######[/code]
I got this error right after the 10.5.0 DVD install (or recognition of the cached image). It recognizes the failure and aborts, but not without trying to remount the LaunchDaemon it didn’t find. If I use the -s option, it works as expected.

Am I missing something (e.g., does 1.6 only run on Snow Leopard?)?

[Anthony Reimer]

Thanks for the reply, knowmad. Sorry for the slow response.

I just realized that I left out one important detail: all machines are using fixed IP addresses (“Configure: Manually”). I have two DNS servers listed in the configuration file (the same two that show up in grey when other local users connect via DHCP). The machines are all desktops (Mac Pro, Power Mac G5, Mac mini) and are connected via Ethernet. They are all on the same subnet. Most are on the same physical switch.

The other possible issue is that I have had to use a hybrid approach, where InstaDMG generates most of the image, but because of time and staffing constraints (I am a one-man show for the most part), I do take that image, install it on a test machine, tweak a few things manually and then clone that for deployment. The network settings are one of the things that gets tweaked — essentially, they all get the same fixed IP address and then we manually change it on first boot (after login). Now that I have had success getting DeployStudio set up, I am going to abandon this tweak and use DS to set it, but I haven’t recreated my image this way yet.

The log files that I have seen have not provided helpful info, but it is rare to catch this problem at the time of failure. Earlier this week, we did have a failure when the user was in the middle of a session with a web-based e-mail client, but that’s the first time I have lucked out in that way.

More ideas welcome (as I try to build a simplified image for long-term testing). Thanks.

[Anthony Reimer]

I spoke too soon. The problem resurfaced on three different machines today. Any ideas — even troubleshooting — would be appreciated.

[Anthony Reimer]

Just an update: zapping the PRAM seems to have solved the problem. No recurrences for a week now. 🙂

[Anthony Reimer]

You can add University of Calgary (Faculty of Fine Arts) in Canada. While not fully implemented yet, I am working towards an image with a 108 GB payload!

[Anthony Reimer]

[QUOTE][u]Quote by: knowmad[/u][p][i]If you partially create the home directory, ie create the Documents folder to put something in it, the rest of it will NOT be created on first login.[/i][/p][/QUOTE]

So simply put! That seems to explain every problem I’ve had with createUser. In my case, that probably means working on a first run script or package that adds those files after the account is created.

[Anthony Reimer]

Just for the record, I had no problem applying SP 2 (12.2.0) and 12.2.1 in my build once I patched the installers with the PatchOfficeUpdate droplet (as I normally do). My original installer is a repack of 12.1.x (I wanted to get rid of Entourage, among other things), so YMMV.

Anthony

[Anthony Reimer]

The problem is solved. For some reason, the package I downloaded directly from Apple’s download site (10.6 MB, mod. August 7 or 8) was different than what I got using Software Update (10.1 MB, mod. Aug. 11). The one from Software Update worked (downloaded after 10.5.8 was installed).

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