OEM Install does not seem to like user to be named "oem" again

[Chih-Hsyuan Ho]

Binary package hint: oem-config

After oem-config-prepare, if you create a user named "oem" again, the user would not be created properly (no entry in /etc/passwd) and you would not be able to login as so. Furthermore, oem-id does not get generated under /var/log/installer, either.

Steps to re-produce the bug:
1. F4 to select OEM install mode
2. Click on the shortcut to oem-config-prepare on the desktop
3. Create a user named oem
4. Login fails with the newly created user oem
5. Check the /etc/passwd, no entry on oem could be found
6. Check /var/log/installer, no oem-id could be found

[Loye Young (loyeyoung)]

IYCC confirms that this bug exists. It causes problems with our installation and testing procedures. See also Bug 210779.

[Colin Watson (cjwatson)]

oem-id is clearly a separate problem; it's generated during the first stage of the install, and problems in oem-config can't affect it. Please file a separate bug with full details of the exact installation mode and procedures you used.

[Colin Watson (cjwatson)]

I've arranged for oem-config to disallow the oem user name.

[Loye Young (loyeyoung)]

I don't understand the rationale for this. Using oem as a user name
SHOULD work, as the bug reporter expected. The fact that oem as a user
doesn't work like it did before is a recent regression. Disallowing
completely the oem user name makes the problem WORSE.

We should return to the former behavior that allowed iterative use of
oem-config simply by using the oem user name. The technique provides
great flexibility and efficiency by enabling the system builder to
test and refine the set up for the customer, without having to
reinstall and reconfigure the entire system.

The use oem-config is a dollars-and-cents issue for us because the
margins on hardware sales are so thin. Oem-config's utility is
directly tied to the labor cost savings it provides in customizing
systems. If we cannot iteratively test the system setup after
configuration but before shipment, the labor savings are lost.

Note: Simply rebooting into oem before executing oem-config-prepare is
no substitute. We've often found that the initial user's setup after
firing off oem-config-prepare was not as expected. By running
oem-config iteratively, we've been able to trap mistakes in
configuration and keep product quality high.

Happy Trails,

Loye Young
Isaac & Young Computer Company
Laredo, Texas
http://www.iycc.net

[Loye Young (loyeyoung)]

Change committed enshrines the bug instead of fixing it.

[Colin Watson (cjwatson)]

Would you like me to fix this bug or bug 153311? I think the latter is worse. Bug 153311 is why the oem user is now deleted only after oem-config has finished, which in turn is why you don't get to use the 'oem' user name.

It would be possible to have some more sophisticated system that recreated the oem user on failure, but it's rather complicated.

[Loye Young (loyeyoung)]

@ Colin

>>Would you like me to fix this bug or bug 153311?

There's no reason to choose between them because we can have our cake and
eat it too.

If the new username is to be "oem", don't delete the oem user at all.
Instead, simply delete and recreate the home directory for oem.

[Marcus Tomlinson (marcustomlinson)]

This release of Ubuntu is no longer receiving maintenance updates. If this is still an issue on a maintained version of Ubuntu please let us know.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for ubiquity (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]