[SOLVED] Installation failed at disk partitioning

[andrew-lohmann]

I tried to install Mageia 4, XFCE on a known good IDE hard disk (has 162 bad sectors)
I prepared the USB stick using Rufus then windows format that USB stick then put the iso on the usb stick using openSUSE image writer (Rufus will do that as well) but I know openSUSE works.

Both Full installation and the DualArch failed just after the partitions were created. I am not sure of the message, which changed a little on each of my attempts to install, but it was something like SBC has too many errors or another message with a code number suggesting a problem with partition.

I used another USB stick and attempted to install to a second USB stick but this installtion failed similarly. That was with all hard disks unplugged.

It also failed on another IDE Hard disk, which has fewer bad sectors, in a similar way.

But was successful on a SATA drive with no bad sectors sharing the disk with a windows NTFS partition. This was my first try with Mageia 4 and I found the printer works well compared with Mageia 3. I wanted to put a fresh installation on the IDE which had had Mageia 3 and many desktops installed for my evaluation making it also quite cluttered.

I mentioned the Bad sectors because it seems to be relevant but the Mageia 3 installed on the same hard disk and I expect it has had the same number of stable bad sectors for years. Just at the moment I am running Mint XFCE everything works but it exceptionally slow by comparison with Mageia so I don't want to keep running that version of Linux.

[doktor5000]

What partitioning method did you choose? Automatic, existing partitions, custom ... ?

[andrew-lohmann]

Automatic. But I also tried custom making the same Ext4 Ext2 Ext4 type partitions automatic would have.

[doktor5000]

Sounds pretty strange, from your explanation. Only other thing that comes to mind is to precreate partitions and format them (e.g. via Mint or gparted livecd or similar)
and in partitioner only select use existing disks and don't let them be formatted by the installer. Does that work?

Otherwise I'd file a bug against the installer, after searching if it hasn't been reported yet already: https://wiki.mageia.org/en/How_to_report_a_bug_properly

[andrew-lohmann]

I think I tried using Gparted to make partitions as well. The Mageia installation had done that anyway but failed at the point that format or would otherwise I expect had started to write to the disk?

The thing is Mageia 3 does not install either now?

I may try a Seagate or Maxtor tool that repairs the MBR though I think the MBR is fine. I don't really want to do that particularly because the problem is with two disk drives and only with Mageia. Either way I probably won't come back to this thread for a few days whilst I try things and I am out tomorrow on a job interview.

[andrew-lohmann]

Solved the problem - I will proceed to report a bug.

I use a usb boot tool placed on a floppy disk; http://www.plop.at/en/bootmanagers.html

When I have installed linux, early in the process I eject the floppy disk or unplug the USB floppy drive. Because there has been no problem with Mageia installation I had not ejected the floppy disk on this occasion.
That seems to have been the problem because I tried ejecting the floppy disk early in the installation process and found that the installation went through just fine?

There is a possiblity that the IDE hard disk was the problem as I have installed to a different one to the one orginally intended. This one has no bad sectors. But I had tried this other hard disk before unsucessfully.

I also swapped the USB floppy to the second USB port rather than the first. But I managed to update the installation, which is not a conclusive method because steps in the installation would be different. .........

[doktor5000]

The Bug has been reported with more detail including a work arround.

https://bugs.mageia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=13074