[SOLVED] Zorin 15 Lite not installing

I have installed many, many distros. In fact, the machine I'm using has both Zorin OS 15 Core and Zorin OS 15 Ultimate on it. I am attempting to install Zorin OS 15 Lite on a new partition.

Machine: System76 Kudu 3, 500 Gb hard disk, 16 Gb RAM, i7 processor, Intel video.

I selected "Install alongside these" and, after a few moments, was told it was unsuccessful creating the new partition.

I selected "Do something else", created the partition and formatted it, started the installation process, and the installer crashed, with an Error 5 message which stated that this usually meant a bad CD or a dirty lens on the CD drive. Interesting, as I am using a USB stick for this installation.

I booted back into Zorin OS 15 Ultimate and downloaded GPartEd, created the partition and formatted it. I then rebooted with the USB stick and went through the process again, and got the same Error 5 when I got to that point.

So what now? The stick is good (has been used successfully more than once, was formatted before installing the ISO to it), the download appears to be good, but I can't get it installed.

Having searched ubuntu forums with similar issues it could well be that the stick is faulty - usb sticks don't last forever, especially if it has been used for a long period. Also remember that a hard disk if using traditional formatting can only support 4 primary partitions but we don't have that information regarding your system.

Swarfendor437 wrote:Having searched ubuntu forums with similar issues it could well be that the stick is faulty - usb sticks don't last forever, especially if it has been used for a long period. Also remember that a hard disk if using traditional formatting can only support 4 primary partitions but we don't have that information regarding your system.

I have had these sticks maybe a year. I bought a set of 10 of them and all the others work fine, as did this one prior to putting Zorin OS 15 Lite on it.

The partition being installed to is sda3. sda1 has Zorin OS 15 Core on it and sda2 has Zorin OS 15 Ultimate on it. I have been working with these prior to reviewing them for the next episode (008) of Distrohoppers' Digest. And yes, I am well aware that you can only have 4 primary partitions on a disk.

zaivala wrote:I have had these sticks maybe a year. I bought a set of 10 of them and all the others work fine, as did this one prior to putting Zorin OS 15 Lite on it.

Don't get me wrong, but assuming the stick is good is not the same as eliminating that as a probable cause.
For example, I had worked on a car not long ago and once the work was finished, I was getting a misfire. I had just changed all the spark plugs. I knew the plugs had to be good because they were new, right?
I pulled all the plugs (life experience) and replaced them. One of the new plugs was faulty. Narrowed it down and replaced just that plug, problem solved at the cost of one spark plug with little drama.
No matter how solid the assumption, it remains an assumption until actively confirmed.
If it was me doing the installation, I would go ahead and try another stick. Of course, that may not be the problem but confirmation and eliminating it with certainty is far better than revisiting after going bald.

zaivala wrote:The partition being installed to is sda3. sda1 has Zorin OS 15 Core on it and sda2 has Zorin OS 15 Ultimate on it. I have been working with these prior to reviewing them for the next episode (008) of Distrohoppers' Digest. And yes, I am well aware that you can only have 4 primary partitions on a disk.

Realistically, I cannot think of any reason why you cannot have Zorin Lite on one partition, Zorin Core on another and Zorin Ultimate on a third. Unusual... But cannot think of anything that would inhibit it.
One (Assumed and unconfirmed) possibility I can think of for your trouble is the EFI.
But first, you might try

Code:

sudo fdisk -l

Code:

sudo parted

At the waiting cursor, enter "p".
Select the drive you want to inspect (sda3)
At the waiting cursor, enter "p" again to see the partitions and their numbers.
You can then remove the partition that is giving you trouble with the "rm" command with the partition number you want removed.

Code:

rm <number of partition you wish to experience nuclear disaster>

Hit "q" to quit and then do

Code:

sudo fdisk -l

to confirm that the sda3 partition is gone. Why this helps to do it this way, I am not sure. But often, this will resolve an issue with installation.
This, with a fresh bootable USB Stick with your Installer is the Fast and Easy attempt.
If that does not help, should check other possibilities.

zaivala@zaivala-Kudu:~$ sudo fdisk -l
[sudo] password for zaivala:
Disk /dev/loop0: 89.1 MiB, 93454336 bytes, 182528 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes


Disk /dev/loop1: 89.1 MiB, 93429760 bytes, 182480 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes


Disk /dev/loop2: 95.1 MiB, 99680256 bytes, 194688 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes


Disk /dev/loop3: 44.2 MiB, 46325760 bytes, 90480 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes


Disk /dev/loop4: 54.5 MiB, 57151488 bytes, 111624 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes


Disk /dev/sda: 465.8 GiB, 500107862016 bytes, 976773168 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 28561DCC-D612-4C12-99C5-5348E834E55D

Device Start End Sectors Size Type
/dev/sda1 2048 1050623 1048576 512M EFI System
/dev/sda2 1050624 389347536 388296913 185.2G Linux filesystem
/dev/sda3 389349376 740911875 351562500 167.7G Linux filesystem
/dev/sda4 740913152 976770573 235857422 112.5G Linux filesystem


zaivala@zaivala-Kudu:~$


There is the first bit.

zaivala@zaivala-Kudu:~$ sudo parted
GNU Parted 3.2
Using /dev/sda
Welcome to GNU Parted! Type 'help' to view a list of commands.
(parted) p
Model: ATA HGST HTS725050A7 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 500GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/4096B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags:

Number Start End Size File system Name Flags
1 1049kB 538MB 537MB fat32 EFI System Partition boot, esp
2 538MB 199GB 199GB ext4
3 199GB 379GB 180GB ext4
4 379GB 500GB 121GB ext4

(parted)

At this point your instruction breaks down. How am I to select the partition? Typing it out gets me a list of commands I should have run instead.

I do apologize for stating it was sda3 when it was sda4, but still a Primary partition (sda1 is the UEFI sector).

zaivala wrote:Number Start End Size File system Name Flags
1 1049kB 538MB 537MB fat32 EFI System Partition boot, esp
2 538MB 199GB 199GB ext4
3 199GB 379GB 180GB ext4
4 379GB 500GB 121GB ext4

(parted)

At this point your instruction breaks down.

I have this effect on physics, too. You get used to it...

zaivala wrote:How am I to select the partition? Typing it out gets me a list of commands I should have run instead.

You select the drive you want to inspect which you said above is sda4. So given the information above, you would type in 4 in the terminal and then hit Enter.
To remove that partition, you would type the "rm" command. This is followed by the number just as above.
In your case, in terminal, you would type "rm 4" to remove that partition. All that about inspecting and what-not is security tht you are ensuring you have the Right Partition To Remove. I would hate to guide you into removing the Wrong Partition...

I downloaded a new copy. I reformatted the (same) USB stick, this time making sure I used ExFAT. Not sure what I used last time. Went to install it... and it went smooth as butter. Whether it was the stick format or the download, who knows, but this is a solved issue.

So, how do I mark it Solved?

zaivala wrote:I downloaded a new copy. I reformatted the (same) USB stick, this time making sure I used ExFAT. Not sure what I used last time. Went to install it... and it went smooth as butter. Whether it was the stick format or the download, who knows, but this is a solved issue.

So, how do I mark it Solved?

Done!

For future reference, go back to your first post, click on Edit, then just add the square brackets with SOLVED in between.