hello, I'm just facing a weird problem, as at the very moment I for the first time am installing ubuntu (which I have been using quite a while now) myself. it is as follows:

I got a ubuntu install CD ready and booted from that (without erasing or formatting anything) in order to install breezy. now the partitioner says something like this (extract):

first disk (IDE1-master)
part
#2 primary ext3 hda2 /media/hda2 (and a bootable flag)
#3 primary fat32 hda3 /media/hda3 (/home on this one)
#4 primary swap hda4

now all the sizes add up correctly, but what I find weird is that hda1 isn't displayed at all or is that natrual? I can only believe it is tiny and serves some "higher" purpose (maybe MBR or something??)

but that's not the problem - it's just weird and a question I would very much appreciate an answer to.

main prob ist this: I told the installer (which claims inability of installing over a linux) to format hda2, which automatically led to formatting the swap about which I don't really care anyway (should I? another serious question).

it all looked fine and i entered "finish partitioning and write changes to disk" and it responded something about a missing or not-set-up root file system. well thanks for telling me. If I try again, NOTHING happens. If I try "go back" and select next step (install the base) it (i.e., the installer) starts the partitioner anew. HELP! what can I do? I wouldn't know where to use fdisk from to completely re-format (which might not even help because I still don't know anything about hda1)

well, enough talking, just one more thing: I haven't got a live CD.

well, silly me. don't think twice, do I. we've another computer in the house which I am on now. I think I should be able to make a live-CD from here (if that's what yous guys think might help)

molte gracie, paddy

A reason that Unbuntu did not display hda1 could be because it is already used up and should not be available for installation. Does this make sense to you?

Regarding no action in your partitioning and formatting you need to nominate one partition for the "root" of Ubuntu and it is the "/" of the Linux.

No root partition ----> no intsllation possible. Formatting 1000 partitions do not change it.

which, I'm afraid to say, doesn't help me sufficiently. thing is, the sizes add up correctly, so if that were it, there ought to be some 6 gigs or something missing.

and I still don't know /how/ to "nominate root partition"

You edit it and keep your eye open on what you can do with partition.

The size of the usuable part of a hard disk is always smaller because the area for keeping the filing indice and boot loaders are not counted by you. Also don't forget 1 kb = 1024 byte.

well, I'm happy to say that, although the mystery isn't 100% solved yet, the partitioner was right in it's offered details but not right for not showing hda1, which indeed was a 10MB "boot partition"

thanks anyway, saikee - what I should have done is this: "set mount point" to "/" - well, now I know.