can't install alternate without cd

[Jeff D]

Binary package hint: base-installer

Community documentation (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/FromLinux) provides nice details for installing ubuntu-desktop without a CD from the hard drive. This is not adequate for my hardware since the video card prevents the desktop from loading properly. Hence my need to use 'alternate'. When following analogous procedure for 'alternate', substituting the 'casper' directory for 'install', I can boot off the hard drive, but the installer will not proceed as expected-- something in the installer is still looking for a cdrom. I tried fooling it by creating a symbolic link of /dev/cdrom to my install partition, but this didn't work.

[Marcin Wojdyr (wojdyr)]

Confirmed.
Several other people also experienced this problem: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=405008
The first problem is mounting usb stick or disk - initrd in alternative iso (xubuntu-7.10-alternate-i386.iso) doesn't contain vfat/ext2/ext3 kernel modules, only isofs.

[Andreas Moog (ampelbein)]

Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. You reported this bug a while ago and there hasn't been any activity in it recently. We were wondering is this still an issue for you? Can you try with latest Ubuntu release? Thanks in advance.

[Marcin Wojdyr (wojdyr)]

it's still the case in hardy
see http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=4404569&postcount=37
and other posts in this thread

[Andreas Moog (ampelbein)]

Setting to confirmed then.

[Colin Watson (cjwatson)]

Try booting current Intrepid dailies with "cdrom-detect/try-usb=true" as a boot parameter.

[Jeff D (jfd5xte)]

This was my brother's machine who I won't see again until end of
December. I'll make sure he brings his computer and we'll test the
latest at that date. Thanks!!

On Tue, Oct 14, 2008 at 2:55 PM, Colin Watson <email address hidden> wrote:
>
> Try booting current Intrepid dailies with "cdrom-detect/try-usb=true" as
> a boot parameter.
>
> --
> can't install alternate without cd
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/178955
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.