Jaunty Desktop grub-install screw-up during stage2 install

OS2/-User,

the HD where you'd like ubuntu installed must have some (3-4GB min rec) free space available. what follows assumes an alternate CD install procedure for MANUAL partitioning option

during install, HD partitioning phase, pls point to the available free space and for a basic install first create the / partition of say 3.5GB and select the file system to be installed (usually ext3) AND if you like grub installed to PBR then enable this option (make this partition bootable); pls check B is there on the recap screen before writing changes to disk; pls make note of partition name and number (ex sdxy where x is anything from a ....x and y is 1.....)

then point to remaining free space and create the swap partition

write above changes to disk. system install begins. upon completion at grub install phase when prompted where to install grub

pls DO NOT select MBR but /dev/sdxy noted above.

hope this helps,
peter b

Thanks for your answer, Peter.

I had already created the designated partitions (all extended) from OS/2 in order to avoid OS/2 LVM issues.
/home =1GB, / =4GB, /swap =3.5GB.
I then pointed the installer to use sda8 as /home, sda9 as / and sda10 as /swap and also format the first 2 as JFS.
I further chose in the Extended, Enhanced, Advanced or whatever the exact name of this option is, to put the initial GRUB boot-loader code into the PBR of sda9, in another installation trial into sda8, but neither worked.
The installation, no matter if started from Gnome via the icon or already at the beginning from the CD's boot-options always failed and I ended up with the Live-CD Desktop.

So far I don't see any relevant differences to the steps you suggested.

I may be wrong, but from what I deducted so far, the installation is supposed to go into /target on the HDD, right?
Using Nautilus, there I found /boot but no /grub in it, which AFAIK should be there, shouldn't it?

So apparently the installer is messing up somewhere here:

Apr 29 04:55:16 ubuntu grub-installer: Running "embed /boot/grub/jfs_stage1_5 (hd0,8)"... 18 sectors are embedded.
Apr 29 04:55:16 ubuntu grub-installer: succeeded
Apr 29 04:55:16 ubuntu grub-installer: Running "install --stage2=/boot/grub/stage2 /boot/grub/stage1 (hd0,8) (hd0,8)1+18 p (hd0,8)/boot/grub/stage2 /boot/grub/menu.lst"... failed
Apr 29 04:55:16 ubuntu grub-installer:
Apr 29 04:55:16 ubuntu grub-installer: Error 6: Mismatched or corrupt version of stage1/stage2

That's where I'm always getting caught up in and at this point don't know my way around doing it in a successful way manually.

OS2/-User,

the way mentioned above never gave me any problems installing ubuntu (of the nature you describe), I want to share with you some thoughts re your post

- install CD used, - I always used the alternate CD because it gives me full control of the install; pls use the alternate CD available for download on ubuntu sites; the alternate CD has a full fledged partitioner as opposed to the live CD; the alternate CD is dedicated to special installations; in my case I use the alternate CD for amd64 CPU that's present on my pc's; also used the 386 alternate CD on same pc with no problems at all; mind you none of my pc's uses intel cpu's. I have more confidence in the amd products the inventor of 32/64 cpu - it never let me down.

- I'd recommend to just leave the free space dedicated to ubuntu on HD unpartitioned be it on extended part or just plain free space on the HD - pls do not use any third party partitioning utilities - use the partitioner that the alternate install CD provides. In ubuntu partitioner install you can create either pri or extended partitions if not present with volumes/logical part in it within the free space displayed.

- swap partition, I'd recommend to keep its size to something like 1 GB ; I know the rec practice that is something two times the installed RAM but in my case with 4GB RAM installed 1GB swap is more than enough - my installation barely uses swap at all.

- file system, sure ubuntu supports proprietary IBM JFS file system but the degree of support it is an unknown to me, never used it to install linux on it. like any proprietary software the free linux may have problems because of the very active updating of the proprietary software - if I'm not mistaken IBM just recently in april '09 again updated JFS. I'd recommend to stay with ext3 fs, it is v reliable and proven journaling fs; I never had problems with it.

so, pls give it a try as mentioned above; I'm pretty sure that you'll succeed. keep me posted, I'm quite interested how things are going. one last thought, pls use the alternate CD of either hardy 804 that's an LTS until 2011 or intrepid 810 distros - I used both quite a few times on various pc's models with no problems at all; they are both v stable releases with majority of bugs resolved.

regards,
peter b

-

OS2/-User,

just a small clarification om my last post - it pertains to ....'use the partitioner that the alternate install CD provides'...

it should be added that - pls create and format all partitions to be use by ubuntu with partitioner provided by the alternate CD.

TU and regards,
peter b

Thanks for your suggestions, peter b.
Well in order to get a hold of the Alternate CD I need to spend another some 35h to get it d/l'ed, which I'm not really looking forward to, since it also blocks my phone line during that time. So I really would like to get it done with the Desktop Live CD, if any possible.

This said, I also need to refuse to use the Ubuntu partitioner:
a) because those partitions dedicated for Ubuntu are already created
b) and more importantly, to prevent Linux from messing up my existing OS/2 BM and LVM partition and volume information by adding its own stuff if they weren't.
Had some bad experiences in this area a while ago with an earlier Ubuntu version I tried to install back then, which caused such weird stuff in the partition table or boot records, that OS/2 would crash immediately, whenever the HDD device manager tried to load and access the disk. I couldn't find a way to fix whatever Linux had messed up back then and lost those OS/2 partitions.
So I had to learn the hard way: No Partitioning Other Than From OS/2! Period.
From my current point of view, everything else but the OS/2 partitioning and LVM tools are uncertified 3rd-party ones.

And so far I don't really see why it should be a partitioner problem. Formatting those partitions from Linux works fine, copying the installation files to there works fine.
It's just that for some stupid reason at least /boot/grub doesn't get created and I seriously doubt, that this would be the partitioner's fault.
This assumption is backed up by the fact, that openSuSE 11.0, which I briefly tried last year, didn't have any installation problems, when I used the same preparations made from OS/2.
So my conclusion again: it's not a compatibility issue with the partitions created by OS/2, but something in the Ubuntu installer and its sub-systems that is messed up.

As for swap: since I only have 1GB total possible, and know from OS/2 that FF + TB or SM are easily chewing up 350+MB when being heavily used for a few days with some 40+ tabs open, I'm fairly sure that I could need at least 2 more GB for swap, so that additionally OOorg or something like that also still has a chance of running.

For cross access reasons with my OS/2 JFS partitions, I need those for Linus to be JFS as well. This is not negotiable.

If you look at https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ubiquity/+bug/260001 (apparently all "Title: ubiquity crashed with InstallStepError in configure_bootloader()" bug reports are getting channeled into duplicates of #260001), specifically at the ones starting in April'09, other people, like f.e. citbruce or ricardisimo are also still having the same problem with the Alternate CD as well, besides of course the apparent one with the Desktop one.

Rachel even had to resort to a netboot expert install making use of GRUB2 in order to get the darn thing installed, but something like that is still way over my head..
Joe is missing /grub as well.
Giovanni's workaround by disabling the migration assistant doesn't work for me either.

I can't help it but say, that something is very fishy here.

Peter, I don't think that the basic advice you're giving is helping here. This is clearly a bug (I think the best bug report for this at the moment is bug 185878), and should be dealt with as such rather than in this answers tracker.

@ Colin Watson,

Thank Colin for pointing out the bug; I wasn't aware of it because, as mentioned, never installed ubuntu to JFS fs.

@ OS2/-User,

well, I guess that does it for the time being; Colin Watson is v well positioned within Canonical's org and for sure is aware of the importance of dealing with this issue expeditiously (the importance was set as you could see to high), in your case reconciling IBM's proprietary disk manager with grub's way of doing things. I noticed that you already mentioned your concerns on the above bug and subscribed to it.

about this ticket, I think that the best thing is to leave this ticket open for the time being; I subscribed to both the bug and this ticket because I'm v interested in its resolution. we'll see how things go and probably when there is a resolution chat a little more and if everything fine just close the ticket.

best regards for now,
peter b

Thank you very much, guys.

@Colin: I have no problem at all, to move this issue to bug 185878, now knowing, that it is being actively addressed.
@ both: By doing so, I then consider this question as "Problem Solved"