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    #1

    "Unable to create partition"

    I decided to give KDE a try after 6 months of wandering in the wilderness that is GNOME. I fired up the Live CD after patching (according to this site), liked what I saw, and decided to install it. I also decided I'm going to go Linux only and get rid of my Vista partition once and for all. I back up, etc, and fire up "Install Kubuntu". I get to the disk space area, click "Guided - use entire disk *SCSI1 (0,0,0) (sda) -100.0 GB ATA FUJITSTU MHV2100B". Enter my name, password, click forward, and then install. I get to the part where it says "partitions formatting" and "creating ext3 filesystem for / in partition #1..." and it hangs at 5% and then dies and gives me an error. "The ext3 file system creatition in partition #1 of SCSI1 (0,0,0) (sda) failed".

    How can I get this darned thing to install? I've never had issues, once I got past the card reader problem with this laptop (as documented in the website I linked), getting Ubuntu to run. I checked the checksums and made sure the disc validated, so I don't think there's an issue there.

    How can I get this to work?

    Thanks!
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    #2
    Re: "Unable to create partition"

    You say you have used Ubuntu/GNOME. Have you tried partitioning and formatting with an Ubuntu disc? If you later install Kubuntu you could use the existing partitions.

    Just an idea - I am not an expert yet.
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      #3
      Re: "Unable to create partition"

      IF you still have Vista installed on the destination HD, you must either 1) shrink the drive Vista is on, or 2) delete it completely, including the recovery partition that Vista has on the HD. If you don't do do one or the other of these, you won't be able to install another OS on the Vista HD. Assuming that you do still have Vista on the HD, then refer to The definitive dual-booting guide: Linux, Vista and XP step-by-step.
      Windows no longer obstructs my view.
      Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007.
      "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes​
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        #4
        Re: "Unable to create partition"

        As of right now I have 0 partitions on the laptop. It hasn't been formatted, but my windows install disk sees that there's just empty space, as does the kubuntu installer. I'm burning an ubuntu CD right now to give that a shot. I could always try installing Ubuntu and loading KDE over that, but that sounds far too hard for my skill level and seems like something's bound to go wrong.
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          #5
          Re: "Unable to create partition"

          If you re-boot from the live CD, select Check CD for defects, when you come to install, rather than use the Guided, select Manual, then create a partition (about 10-20Gb) and tell the installer to format it, to use it as ext3, to mount it as /, then create another ext3 partition (to the right of that one) as big as you need for your own stuff, tell the installer to format it and mount it as /home, then click <Forward>.

          My opinion, for what it's worth.


          Edited to add:

          That is, of course, you have followed Snowhog's guidance.
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            #6
            Re: &quot;Unable to create partition&quot;

            Or use GParted LiveCD to prepare your HD before you use the Kubuntu LiveCD to do the installation. This is what I (and many others in the Forum) have, and do, prior to installing.
            Windows no longer obstructs my view.
            Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007.
            "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes​
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              #7
              Re: &quot;Unable to create partition&quot;

              ... An even better idea, Snowhog.

              I forgot about a swap space... .. around 1Gb ought to be enough.

              And... as an addendum, it's also handy to have a partition in order to keep backups on, if there is space on the drive....
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                #8
                Re: &quot;Unable to create partition&quot;

                Partitioning:

                If you have sufficient space on the HD, then the recommendation is for at least three partitions:
                root ( / ) 8-10 Gb (more than 10 Gb is overkill)
                swap upto 1.5 times the size of your installed RAM.
                home ( /home ) upto the remaining amount of HD space.

                If the HD is sufficiently large, then creating a fourth partition, formatted as FAT32 (if you have a Windoze OS on PC as well) or a Ext3, for use as a 'data storage/sharing' area is beneficial.
                Windows no longer obstructs my view.
                Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007.
                "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes​
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                  #9
                  Re: &quot;Unable to create partition&quot;

                  Well, just as an update, I tried the suggestion of using Ubuntu 8.04 (which I know works) to create the partitions. Everything was successful until I tried getting into Kubuntu to use those partitions. It gave the same errors.

                  I then tried GParted, but it wouldn't even load. I forgot to copy the last line of the boot log, but it said something about ATA and was at [3.-----].

                  I tried using gparted inside of ubuntu live, doesn't work.

                  I think I'm going to just give up and try and get KDE installed on a base ubuntu install.
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                    #10
                    Re: &quot;Unable to create partition&quot;

                    Just to make sure ...

                    You were succesful in creating and formatting the partitions using the Ubuntu 8.04 CD. Then you used the Kubuntu 8.10 CD to install the system on the existing file system. Right? You should use the Manual partitioning for Kubuntu, like Aged Hippy said. If you do this, you can install the system brand new on the existing file systems without reformatting.

                    If you want to implement the partitions as mentioned by Snowhog, you should do this with the Ubuntu 8.04 disc as this is the one that seems to work for you. Once you use the Kubuntu disc, you should not modify the partitions. Please make sure the box "format" is not checked. You will have to edit the partitions and set the correct mount point ("/" and/or "/home"). Also, make sure the file systems are set as they were created by Ubuntu (probably "ext3" and "swap").

                    Maybe you did all this already ...
                    Anyway: I hope this helps.
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                      #11
                      Re: &quot;Unable to create partition&quot;

                      Some insight might be gained by reading through this post.
                      Windows no longer obstructs my view.
                      Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007.
                      "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes​
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                        #12
                        Re: &quot;Unable to create partition&quot;

                        Another update:
                        I tried doing the manual partition and that gets me past my initial problem, but then after it finishes installing, ubiquity crashes. Then the system just stays constant. I try and quit, and the system hangs with a black screen and cursor. When I fire it back up, GRUB gives "Error 15"

                        All other attempts at using the automatic partioner end the same way as they did before, even after I changed my bios setting for SATA from IDE to ACHI, as suggested before.


                        It just, it doesn't make sense to me that it won't work in Kubuntu but it works fine in Ubuntu. The installer looks and acts absolutely identical.
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                          #13
                          Re: &quot;Unable to create partition&quot;

                          Sounds to me like something good happened.
                          (I like using GParted to set up the partitions before running the Kubuntu installer.)
                          Error 15 says that it is TRYING to do something, just can't find it in the designated partition:

                          How To GRUB Methods - Toolkit
                          http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3081671.0
                          Reply #23 GRUB errors

                          Maybe just fixing 15 will get you there.
                          An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way. Charles Bukowski
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                            #14
                            Re: &quot;Unable to create partition&quot;

                            Well, thanks all for your help, but I solved the problem on my own.

                            Before, I had burning all my discs to DVD simply because I didn't have CD's on hand and didn't want to buy a stack just for this. So I used the same .iso, the same burner, the same software, just different disc, and apparently that's all it took. I popped the CD in and it worked instantly. Who knew?
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                              #15
                              Re: &quot;Unable to create partition&quot;

                              Glad you got it sorted.

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