[Bug 8667] Re: "bad d-i Packages file" stops install on Dell Inspiron 7500 laptop

[Colin Watson]

** No longer affects: debian-installer-netboot-images (Ubuntu)

** No longer affects: debian-installer

** Information type changed from Public Security to Public

-- 
You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu
Foundations Bugs, which is subscribed to debian-installer in Ubuntu.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/8667

Title:
  "bad d-i Packages file" stops install on Dell Inspiron 7500 laptop

Status in debian-installer package in Ubuntu:
  Fix Released

Bug description:
  I have tried installing Warty with several different CDROMs, burned on two
  different machines, at high and low speeds, with the same result.  When I
  attempt to install on my Dell Inspiron 7500, everything seems to proceed
  smoothly until I get to the "Load install components from CD" step during the
  Expert install.  That is when this message appears in the console window:

  user.info.anna[42767]: Not a directory
  user.info.anna[42767]: WARNING **: bad d-i Packages file
  user.info.anna[42767]: grep: /cdrom/dists/stable/Release: Not a directory

  In the Install Progress console, the following message is displayed:

  "There was a problem reading data from the CDROM.  Please make sure it is in the
  drive.  If retrying does not work, you should check the integrity of your CDROM".  

  Retrying doesn't work.  By the way, if I do the Normal install, it loops at the
  above "user.info.anna" message with no updates to the Install Progress console.

  I have tried different options, as suggested by the Installation help when
  pressing the <F5>-<F7> keys, with no change.

  I have tried installing using the same CDROMs on other PCs (although not
  laptops), and it has worked.

  If I choose the Expert option, "Check the CD-ROM(s) integrity", I receive the
  message, "No valid Ubuntu CD-ROM".  However, this same CD will work perfectly
  fine on other PCs.

  Now, I've just invoked a shell, and if I try to cd to "/cdrom/dists/stable", I
  find that I cannot.  If I type ls -l on /cdrom/dists, I see:

  -r-xr-xr-x    1 root root     0 Sep 28 15:06 local
  -r-xr-xr-x    1 root root     0 Sep 28 15:06 stable
  -r-xr-xr-x    1 root root     0 Sep 28 15:06 testing
  -r-xr-xr-x    1 root root     0 Sep 28 15:06 unstable
  dr-xr-xr-x    1 root root  2048 Sep 28 15:06 warty

  
  So, the /cdrom/dists/stable path is indeed not a directory, although it does
  appear to be one when I am browsing the CD from within Linux.  

  I don't know how much of this is helpful, so I'll stop now.  That's all I can
  think of at the moment. Oh:

  PC: Dell Inspiron 7500 laptop
  BOIS: Phoenix BOIS 4.0 Release 6.0 revision A14
  RAM: 512 MB
  CD-ROM: Toshiba XM-7102B

To manage notifications about this bug go to:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/debian-installer/+bug/8667/+subscriptions