[Errno 5] Input/output error

[Malik Ibrahim]

The installer encountered an error copying files to the hard disk:

[Errno 5] Input/output error

This is often due to a faulty CD/DVD disk or drive, or a faulty hard disk. It may help to clean the CD/DVD, to burn the CD/DVD at a lower speed, to clean the CD/DVD drive lens (cleaning kits are often available from electronics suppliers), to check whether the hard disk is old and in need of replacement, or to move the system to a cooler environment.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 16.04
Package: ubiquity 2.21.63.11
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.15.0-112.113~16.04.1-generic 4.15.18
Uname: Linux 4.15.0-112-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.24
Architecture: amd64
CasperVersion: 1.376.2
Date: Tue Sep 22 21:40:59 2020
InstallCmdLine: file=/cdrom/preseed/ubuntu.seed boot=casper initrd=/casper/initrd quiet splash --- maybe-ubiquity
LiveMediaBuild: Ubuntu 16.04.7 LTS "Xenial Xerus" - Release amd64 (20200806)
ProcEnviron:
 PATH=(custom, no user)
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: ubiquity
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Chris Guiver (guiverc)]

Thank you for taking the time to report this issue and helping to make Ubuntu better.

This package failure looks like it was caused by bad ISO download, corrupted install media, or device failure. eg. look in the logs and you'll see messages like these :-

Sep 23 08:38:32 ubuntu kernel: [ 585.707226] SQUASHFS error: zlib decompression failed, data probably corrupt
Sep 23 08:38:32 ubuntu kernel: [ 585.707230] SQUASHFS error: squashfs_read_data failed to read block 0xcdae75c

Examining the information you have given us, this does not appear to be a useful bug report so I am closing it, as it appears to be a bad ISO or faulty device (inc. bad write-to-device). If you believe I'm in error, please leave a comment explaining why and change the status back to 'New'. I suggest you verify your ISO download, and use the 'check disc for defects' option to validate your media before install to ensure a good download & write.

Possibly useful : https://tutorials.ubuntu.com/tutorial/tutorial-how-to-verify-ubuntu#0 and https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/CDIntegrityCheck (where CD refers to your install media, be it CD, DVD, HDD, SSD, thumb-drive etc)