"Errno 5 Input/Output error" when installing Mint 10

[gringo guy]

Binary package hint: ubiquity

linuxmint-10-gnome-dvd-i386.iso

Mint Linux 10 install to a "no brand" PC with 448MB RAM (512MB
less 64MB for video) into a 41GB partition on an 80GB HDD:
Received "[Errno 5] Input/Output error" and the following dialogs,
but without expected "detail".

Tried three times. Each time the error occurs immediately upon
start of the "Copying files..." step.

The same "Errno 5" also occurs when trying to install Mint 9,
Ubuntu 10.04.1, and Ubuntu 10.10. With these earlier attempts,
the file copy step fails at different points during the copy,
at ether 32% or about 45% complete.

Note that using the Ubuntu Alternate CD to install w/o ubiquity
was successful.

Various attempts to resolve the ubiquity failure did not work:
. replaced an old CD ROM drive with a new CD/DVD RW drive
. burned the CDs and DVDs at a slower speed
. burned a DVD on the same drive used to run the install
. ran badblocks with write mode on the failing partition
     (found 1 bad block, which was added to the BBT)
. ran memtest through several passes
     (found "block move" errors, so swapped memory DIMMs)
. re-ran memtest through 10 complete passes
     (no further memory errors were detected)
. removed half of the installed memory (per other posts)
. confirmed that the computer was not overheating

None of these resolved the problem. Per instructions in the error
dialog box, am filing a new bug and attaching requested log files.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Installation Failed
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.

                                          [Ok]
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Installer Crashed
We're sorry; the installer crashed. Please file a new bug
report at https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ubiquity/+filebug
(do not attach your details to any existing bug) and a
developer will attend to the problem as soon as possible.
To help the developers understand what went wrong, include
the following detail in your bug report, and attach the
files /var/log/syslog and /var/log/partman:

                                          [Close]
------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Manfred Hampl (m-hampl)]

Have you performed an MD5sum check on the .iso file, see also
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/HowToMD5SUM

[Manfred Hampl (m-hampl)]

See also https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SquashfsErrors because of errors from syslog

Jan 8 02:23:15 mint kernel: [ 421.541900] SQUASHFS error: zlib_inflate error, data probably corrupt
Jan 8 02:23:15 mint kernel: [ 421.541910] SQUASHFS error: squashfs_read_data failed to read block 0x1757695
Jan 8 02:23:15 mint kernel: [ 421.541918] SQUASHFS error: Unable to read data cache entry [1757695]
Jan 8 02:23:15 mint kernel: [ 421.541924] SQUASHFS error: Unable to read page, block 1757695, size e121
...
Jan 8 02:23:27 mint kernel: [ 433.898376] SQUASHFS error: zlib_inflate error, data probably corrupt
Jan 8 02:23:27 mint kernel: [ 433.898386] SQUASHFS error: squashfs_read_data failed to read block 0x2e47b7a
Jan 8 02:23:27 mint kernel: [ 433.898393] SQUASHFS error: Unable to read data cache entry [2e47b7a]
Jan 8 02:23:27 mint kernel: [ 433.898399] SQUASHFS error: Unable to read page, block 2e47b7a, size 10b43

[gringo guy (tipo-gringo)]

Manfred, yes I confirmed MD5sum on all of the ISO files that I used to try the install.

Re: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SquashfsErrors
The link you provided does not describe this problem. I am able to boot from all of the various CDs to the desktop.

The ISOs are good, and the hardware is good. The failure does not occur until I try to run the ubiquity installer. Installing from an Ubuntu Alternate CD, which does not use ubiquity, completes successfully.

[Colin Watson (cjwatson)]

I'm afraid we can't support Linux Mint here. Please contact its developers, who will hopefully be able to track this down (I must say it certainly *looks* like a hardware error, but perhaps it's a kernel problem).

[gringo guy (tipo-gringo)]

Okay. All installation attempts that use Ubiquity fail. Installing from the alternate CD which does not use Ubiquity worked immediately. Not sure how that equals hardware or kernel problems, but you're the experts. Thank you for investigating this problem.