Is there room for improvement in rescue mode? (was Re: Goodbye, Fedora)

[Jeff Spaleta]

On 2/22/07, Thomas M Steenholdt <tmus at tmus.dk> wrote:
> In all fairness, I wouldn't have performed that backup neither, as I
> expect is true for a lot of even semi-knowledgable sysadmins and generic
> linux powerusers. Not sor something as simple as this. However - There
> is still the rescue mode that's been mentioned a few times already,
> which could have fixed the issue in a matter of minutes. Without the backup!

In an effort to chart a new course of constructive discussion... is it
worth brainstorming a bit about how to make rescue mode better or more
accessible?

For the purposes of this discussion, we will take it for granted that
at some point in the course of a 3 or 4 releases, many (i dare not say
most..but many) people who are acting as the primary sysadmin for a
fedora install will experience some sort of human error which will
render their system unbootable.  This is an unasailable axiom for the
rest of this discussion.

What can we do in the timescale of an F8 release to make using the
rescue mode easier and more obvious course of action.  Are there ways
we can advertise its existence as part of sysadmin interaction with a
normal operating system? Would it be helpful to slip in a rescue
environment as a grub menu option instead of relying on install media?
Does it make sense to spend some effort making a more featurefull
rescue-like environment with guided troubleshooting characteristics?
What are the top three implementable ideas which would encourage
casual admins to reach for the rescue environment instead of a full
wipe and re-install?


-jef"we ran out of coffee at work, I've resorted to going outside and
rubbing snow on my face to stay awake"spaleta