14.04.2 i386 server fails to install from USB, or ISO file. Hard coded to use CDROM

[Pablo Piaggio]

Ubuntu server installer for 14.04.2 fails to install from a USB stick, or from an ISO file pointed by a custom grub menu entry.

Source ISO: ubuntu-14.04.2-server-i386.iso. md5sum checked correctly.

USB attempt
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USB stick created with 'Disk Creator' on Ubuntu 14.04.2. Details:

$ lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description: Ubuntu 14.04.2 LTS
Release: 14.04
Codename: trusty

$ uname -a
Linux vaughan 3.13.0-46-generic #79-Ubuntu SMP Tue Mar 10 20:06:50 UTC 2015 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

$ usb-creator-gtk --version
0.2.23

Machine boots into the installed, keyboard is assigned, but later it fails with this error: http://i.imgur.com/o3cGXrI.jpg

Another method: ISO file pointed by a custom grub menu entry.
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Machine boots into the installed, keyboard is assigned, but later it fails with same error.

I'm aware that there are suggested 'tricks' to solve this problem. The most common is in the lines of "dropping to a command line, and mounting the USB, or the ISO image manually into /cdrom".

That does not work. Granted, it makes skip the first error, but later the installation fails any way.

In the case of the ISO file, you would need a second drive to keep the ISO mounted, since the partitioner can't work with a disk with mounted partitions.

In the case of the USB stick, the installer is not able to setup apt, and later to select software to preinstall (tasktel). Also in a couple of occasions it could not even install GRUB.

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As a personal note, it has very embarrassing to explain to clients that in order to install the leading Linux distribution, in 2015, I have to bring an old external CD/DVD ROM, burn CDs, and then install with slowest seek time ever, and the squeaky sound of the CDROM turning.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

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

[Axel Siebenwirth (asiebenwirth)]

Hi,

Just tried to install current 14.04.4 Server edition on a desktop machine using an USB flash drive but this CDROM mounting issue is seriously annoying me.
Seems this has been around a while already but still happens with the current image.
So what's the deal?

Remounting my flash drive to /cdrom does not help as it remounts it to /media at each step of the install process and then complains about not finding data on the CD. Arrrrr!

Thanks for any hints and help!

Axel