Hello.

I'm trying to install a box with Ubuntu 10.04 LTS server with a typical LAMP system in order to replace my old Ubuntu 8.04 server I have at my school to have a "backup" system and also trying to replace NIS authentication with LDAP. Well I'm getting stuck on the first step: installation of base system.

I want to build a RAID-1 system with the two 320GB SATA HD's the machine has, I have a little experience in installing RAID because I installed my old 8.04 server with RAID-1 aswell.

I boot my box from an USB stick with Ubuntu 10.04 Server 64bit, the systems boots well, asks me about language, keyboard and so, finds the two NIC cards and the DHCP configuration of one of the card is done. Then it starts the partitioner.

One of the HD's already contains three partitions with an installation of a regional flavour of Ubuntu, the other HD only contains a partition for backups, I don't want to preserve all this stuff, so the first thing I do is to replace the partiton tables of both HD's with a new one. This is done without problems.

Then I go to the first disk, by example, and create a new partition, the partitioner ask me for the size, I write 0.5 GB (or 500 MB), then I select that it has to be a Primary partition at the beginning of the disk, all goes OK. Once created I go to the "Use as: " line, type Enter and select the option "Partition for RAID volume", when I hit Enter the error appears: the screen flickers in black for a second or two, then it shows a progress bar "Starting the partitioner..." THAT ALWAYS GET STUCK AT 47%!!!

Sometimes the partitioner allows me progress a little further (for ex. lets me activate the boot bit of the partition, or it allows me to make another partiton, even once the error didn't appeared until the first partiton of the second HD!!) but it always get stuck with the same progress bar at the 47%.

I've tried a lot of things: I downloaded again the ISO and rebuilt the USB, same result. Downloaded the ISO and rebuilt the USB from another computer, same result. Unplugged all the SATA and IDE drives except the two HD's, same result. Built a CD-ROM instead of an USB, same result. Downloaded the 10.10 server ISO (not an LTS), and the USB stick can't boot, is another error, but only to try.

When the error appears, I hit Ctrl+Alt+F2 and get into a root prompt, there I kill two processes: /bin/partman and /lib...don'tremember/init.d/35... and then when I return to the first console the progress bar has gone and the install process asks me at wich step I want to return, I hit "Partition disk" and then the progress bar reappears and STUCKS INMEDIATELY AT 47%!!!

I'm at the edge of give me up!!!! I've been with this problem for a week, I've searched and read a lot, but I haven't found anything useful.

I'm begging you all for some advice. Is the Ubuntu 10.04 LTS server installer wrong?? Please help me!!

Thanks a lot!!

A) Did you verify the checksums of the images after downloading and burning?
B) Can you try zeroing the MBR and partition table of the drives before installing.

I can't imagine that part of the installer being specific to the server version, and I have used it in the past without problems.

My gut feeling when I read your post was that you could have a disk with bad sectors, thus, throwing the installer. Can you run a SMART scan on both disks to check if one of them is at fault. The main HDD manufacturers also offer live CDs that can perform disk checking function.

Also, have you seen this guide. The steps outlined within page slightly differ from the steps you have stated. It could be that you have found a bug with the installer, try following the steps outlined in the link.

Good luck.

No, I don't think this is the error (bad sectors on disk), for many reasons:

1. I have 2 disks and the error appears whenever I choose one or the other. Is very unprobable to get 2 NEW disks with errors.
2. The partitioner gets stuck with the error BEFORE it had actually wrote anything on disk.
3. One of the disks already has a working Ubuntu installation, without RAID.

This is the EXACT guide I'm using, but the error appears in the 5th step! I can't go further.

No, because I'm using Ubuntu for 5 years or more and I never have had any ISO downloaded with errors. But I'm going to learn how to verify the checksums and will do it.

I don't know how to do that. In fact I'm thinking the problem is related with that, because when the partitioner is asking me about the layout of the disks, it actually don't writes anything on disk, because when I get the error, I reset the computer and the Ubuntu installation that was on disk is still there and working, even though on the first step of the partitioner it had deleted the partition table on both disks. I think the partitioner won't write to the disks until the end of the partition process, but I can't never finish the process because it throws me the error at the first steps!!


That part of the installer, the partitIoner IS SPECIFIC TO THE SERVER VERSION, because the partitioner of the desktop version doesn't allow to build RAID arrays!! And, what is more, the whole installer of the server version is not GRAPHIC, it's TEXT BASED, the desktop version is graphical.

At least I've found the error!!!

I'm posting the solution here for hep people in case somebody has the same problem.

It was only the language I chose for the installer!! I chose my language (Catalan) for the installer and it seems that it is wrong. When I chose English as the language, the installer and the partitioner worked fine until the end!!
Now the sustem's language is also English, but it doesn't matter because the box will work as a LAMP server, without local users.

Thanks to all the people.