USB startup disk creator hangs on Finishing

[Damiön la Bagh]

Binary package hint: usb-creator

kat@tabbycat:~$ lsb_release -rd
Description: Ubuntu 10.04.1 LTS
Release: 10.04

kat@tabbycat:~$ apt-cache policy usb-creator
usb-creator:
  Geïnstalleerd: (geen)
  Kandidaat: 0.2.22.1
  Versietabel:
     0.2.22.1 0
        500 http://nl3.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ lucid-updates/universe Packages
     0.2.22 0
        500 http://nl3.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ lucid/universe Packages

What I expected to Happen:
When creating the USB disk, after it was written the Finish Dialog should end and I should get the "please remove the usb disk and put it into the computer you would like to start it with" (or something to that effect)

What Happened Instead:
I was creating a Maverick 32-bit desktop stick from an iso file that I have created sticks with before.
I added 3GB of extra space on the stick with the slider (so that programs will be persistent) (awesome feature thanks!)
Disk gets created normally
After a while it says 99% complete
Then is goes to Finishing...
and hangs.

So I mount and unmount the stick, unplug it and stick it in the computer to be booted and it boots just fine... but I am still staring at this Install Finishing... dialog box on my stick making computer. The cancel button does not click... it's just stuck.

I've attached the output of lsof in the second post as it may help the debug process. (this is with the stick removed and the dialog box still hanging on the screen.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 10.04
Package: usb-creator-gtk 0.2.22.1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.32-26.48-generic 2.6.32.24+drm33.11
Uname: Linux 2.6.32-26-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: fglrx wl
Architecture: amd64
CheckboxSubmission: a3a053998eb48623dd168c329c2dfc37
CheckboxSystem: e704f33cc0866ff0f0256a33de39ea1c
Date: Mon Dec 27 00:12:12 2010
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 10.04.1 LTS "Lucid Lynx" - Release amd64 (20100816.1)
PackageArchitecture: all
ProcEnviron:
 LANG=nl_NL.utf8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: usb-creator

[Yaswant Pradhan (p-yaswant)]

I am experiencing similar problem with Maverick (64bit)

[Kendric Beachey (kendric-beachey)]

Same symptom here on Natty. Trying to make a USB stick with Natty on it, trying to make a persistence file of 3 GB (I think? the maximum anyway). The USB stick itself is a 16GB stick from MicroCenter (their house brand).

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[Greg Faith (gregfaith)]

This bug still exists on Lucid 10.04. If you wait for 3 or 4 minutes the Finish dialog never shows completed. The USB will install an iso but the language and try or install menus are not shown.

[harrychillboy (harrychillboy)]

Same issue on my Lenovo Thhinkpad X1 carbon. The usb disk creator takes 100% of CPU along with its helper. Top command copy paste below:
==============
 6723 root 20 0 29932 1748 1424 R 100.1 0.0 2:28.98 udisks-helper-m
 6709 root 20 0 4293m 2.5g 3224 R 99.4 32.6 2:26.61 udisks-daemon

Sometimes this makes my system unusable due to 100% cpu usage.

[Alf Melin (morthandeus)]

Experienced same issue with 64-bit 13.04.

[teledyn (garym-teledyn)]

also experienced the same trying to create USB image on SanDisk 8G drive and no persistent image using the 64-bit server 13.04 from both a 13.04 64-bit laptop and from a 12.10 32-bit laptop. The process hangs for along time, the light on the USB throbs, and then the application crashes causing apport to file a report on it. I also tried freshly reformatting the drive (FAT32) with the same result; the USB drive appears to have the ISO unpacked into the filesystem, but is perhaps failing on the bootloader stage (and the resulting USB will not boot)

[teledyn (garym-teledyn)]

is there any alternate method for creating a bootable USB? I kinda need one to save a grub-rescue suspended server.

[beli (imnutsdoc)]

This is probably a duplicate - I just tried making a bootable USB with ubuntu-12.04.3-desktop-i386.iso on my Ubuntu 13.04 64 bit, with a new Sony 8 gig stick, twice. The first time I came back to find that it had crashed and launched the bug reporter, and the second it just stuck on "Finishing", and the light on the USB had stopped blinking. All the options are set at their default values.
Someone here http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1625149 had recommended trying the KDE version (usb-creator-kde), I'll try it and get back.

[beli (imnutsdoc)]

And it worked! Where usb-creator-gtk fails, usb-creator-kde works. Incidentally, the filesystem on the USB stick is FAT32.

[corrado venturini (corradoventu)]

Same problem on Zesty
corrado@corrado-z9:~$ uname -a
Linux corrado-z9 4.10.0-14-generic #16-Ubuntu SMP Fri Mar 17 15:19:26 UTC 2017 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

the USB key is:
Bus 003 Device 004: ID 0930:6545 Toshiba Corp. Kingston DataTraveler 102/2.0 / HEMA Flash Drive 2 GB / PNY Attache 4GB Stick

System monitor shows 2 cpu (of 4) at 100%
whole system hangs, I was forced to press power-off button to exit.

after restart the USB drive seems ok:

corrado@corrado-z9:/media/corrado/Ubuntu 17.04 amd64$ ls -al
total 80
dr-xr-xr-x 1 corrado corrado 2048 mar 21 07:33 .
drwxr-x---+ 5 root root 4096 mar 23 08:00 ..
dr-xr-xr-x 1 corrado corrado 2048 mar 21 07:32 boot
dr-xr-xr-x 1 corrado corrado 2048 mar 21 07:32 casper
dr-xr-xr-x 1 corrado corrado 2048 mar 21 07:32 .disk
dr-xr-xr-x 1 corrado corrado 2048 mar 21 07:32 dists
dr-xr-xr-x 1 corrado corrado 2048 mar 21 07:32 EFI
dr-xr-xr-x 1 corrado corrado 2048 mar 21 07:32 install
dr-xr-xr-x 1 corrado corrado 34816 mar 21 07:32 isolinux
-r--r--r-- 1 corrado corrado 21744 mar 21 07:33 md5sum.txt
dr-xr-xr-x 1 corrado corrado 2048 mar 21 07:32 pics
dr-xr-xr-x 1 corrado corrado 2048 mar 21 07:32 pool
dr-xr-xr-x 1 corrado corrado 2048 mar 21 07:32 preseed
-r--r--r-- 1 corrado corrado 222 mar 21 07:32 README.diskdefines
lr-xr-xr-x 1 corrado corrado 1 mar 21 07:32 ubuntu -> .
corrado@corrado-z9:/media/corrado/Ubuntu 17.04 amd64$

/media/corrado/Ubuntu 17.04 amd64/.disk/info shows:
Ubuntu 17.04 "Zesty Zapus" - Beta amd64 (20170321)

corrado@corrado-z9:~$ apt-cache policy usb-creato*
usb-creator-common:
  Installed: 0.3.3
  Candidate: 0.3.3
  Version table:
 *** 0.3.3 500
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu zesty/main amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
usb-creator-gtk:
  Installed: 0.3.3
  Candidate: 0.3.3
  Version table:
 *** 0.3.3 500
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu zesty/main amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

[corrado venturini (corradoventu)]

Boot from USB key just created works fine. Check disk for defects shows NO error, Try Ubuntu without install runs fine, and also install was ok.

[Dongwon Cho (dongwoncho)]

For me, it was just matter of time.
I also thought there is something wrong at the first but it was just taking 10 mins to finish.
The time will depend on which version or model of USB driver you are using.

[Joe Littlejohn (joelittlejohn)]

See https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/usb-creator/+bug/1731977