12.04 liveCD installer (ubiquity) crashed while "Checking for packages to install..."

[miegiel]

That is the step after the detecting hardware / installing hardware

NOTE : I removed /usr/lib/ubiquity/plugins/ubi-webcam.py to avoid bug #909179

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.04
Package: ubiquity 2.9.31
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.2.0-19.30-generic-pae 3.2.11
Uname: Linux 3.2.0-19-generic-pae i686
ApportVersion: 1.94.1-0ubuntu2
Architecture: i386
CasperVersion: 1.312
Date: Wed Mar 21 23:35:07 2012
InstallCmdLine: initrd=/casper/initrd.lz file=/cdrom/preseed/ubuntu.seed boot=casper quiet splash -- persistent BOOT_IMAGE=/casper/vmlinuz
LiveMediaBuild: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS "Precise Pangolin" - Alpha i386 (20120321)
ProcEnviron:
 TERM=unknown
 PATH=(custom, no user)
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: ubiquity
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[miegiel (nix-miegiel)]

More comments:

I used unetbootin to put the iso on a USB drive

After installing with internet updates and 3rd party on, I also tried installing with them turned off.

[Ubuntu Foundations Team Bug Bot (crichton)]

Exception during installation:
Mar 21 22:34:21 ubuntu plugininstall.py: Traceback (most recent call last):
Mar 21 22:34:21 ubuntu plugininstall.py: File "/usr/share/ubiquity/plugininstall.py", line 1719, in <module>
Mar 21 22:34:21 ubuntu plugininstall.py: install.run()
Mar 21 22:34:21 ubuntu plugininstall.py: File "/usr/share/ubiquity/plugininstall.py", line 55, in wrapper
Mar 21 22:34:21 ubuntu plugininstall.py: func(self)
Mar 21 22:34:21 ubuntu plugininstall.py: File "/usr/share/ubiquity/plugininstall.py", line 200, in run
Mar 21 22:34:21 ubuntu plugininstall.py: self.install_extras()
Mar 21 22:34:21 ubuntu plugininstall.py: File "/usr/share/ubiquity/plugininstall.py", line 1247, in install_extras
Mar 21 22:34:21 ubuntu plugininstall.py: self.do_install(install_misc.query_recorded_installed())
Mar 21 22:34:21 ubuntu plugininstall.py: File "/usr/lib/ubiquity/ubiquity/install_misc.py", line 791, in do_install
Mar 21 22:34:21 ubuntu plugininstall.py: mark_install(cache, pkg)
Mar 21 22:34:21 ubuntu plugininstall.py: File "/usr/lib/ubiquity/ubiquity/install_misc.py", line 492, in mark_install
Mar 21 22:34:21 ubuntu plugininstall.py: assert cache._depcache.broken_count == 0
Mar 21 22:34:21 ubuntu plugininstall.py: AssertionError
Mar 21 22:34:21 ubuntu plugininstall.py:

[miegiel (nix-miegiel)]

I narrowed the cause down to one of the things I did or didn't do listed below:

1) I made the bootable USB liveCD using unetbootin. Unetbootin doesn't clean the USB disk (as ubuntu usb-creator does) and I had not removed the files on the USB disk. Unetbootin does ask if I want to overwrite existing files, but some old files might remain.

2) I had not cleaned (formatted) the root partition I installed to in advance of the installation, but formatted the root partition during the installation.

3) I use a separate /home partition (which I left intact) and the home directory of the user I made during the installation already existed with some files in it.

If I clean the USB disk, root partition and user directory in advance of installing I can complete the installation without problems (after working around bug #966294).

While 1) is obviously my own stupidity, 2) and 3) might be reported as bugs here already. I'll trawl launchpad to see what I can find. If I don't report back, consider this report a fluke.