How to force a text mode installation in Fedora 21

Question

I am currently trying to install Fedora 21 on top of a proprietary virtualization platform that is based on Xen. I'm assuming the connection to the VM is over VNC viewer. The problem seems to exist with the Anaconda installer not displaying while in the VNC session. For example, I can see the initial Fedora 21 live cd startup screen where you can hit tab to view full configuration options, view troubleshooting, or start Fedora live. However, starting fedora live just goes to a black screen with the disc drive spinning pretty hard. When I try the same live CD outside of the Xen environment, I can boot past the initial screen and into the Anaconda installer where I have the option to use as a live CD or install to hard disk.

I have tried using this guide for boot options in an effort to force a text only install. http://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/Fedora/19/html/Installation_Guide/ap-admin-options.html

However, I can't get anything to work. Every option I pass in just says "failed...no such file or directory". I noticed in the guide that it says, "Boot options are not available during live image installations." Is there another installation type I can use? This is only being used as a workstation, and the current image I have seems to be the only one offered at https://getfedora.org/en/workstation/. Am I right to think I can use these boot options to try and force my install as text?

Thanks for any help!

Answer 1

Some of this was growing pains for the Cloud/Server/Workstation split, which was new in Fedora 21.

The secret trick at that time — not by design but by default, really — was that the Fedora Server netinstall (424MB iso image) could be used as a generic install. Boot that in text mode, and either install a minimal system and build up, or select the desktop environment from there.

We fixed that in Fedora 22, and in all subsequent releases. Now, there is a netinst image for Workstation as well, which you can find at https://getfedora.org/en/workstation/download/ — look over in the right column under "Other downloads".

Disclaimer: I work on Fedora, and to some degree this is my fault. Sorry. :)