12.04 installer crashes; is it a bug or a hardware problem?

[cdupree]

My mom's dual-boot desktop has stopped working. I'm supporting by phone. We first tried replacing the Kubuntu with a current one but the installer crashed. So we tried an installation that wiped out Windows and Kubuntu and used the whole disk for one Kubuntu installation, and that still crashed the installer. I'm not there so I can't see exactly what model she has but it's a Dell from about six years ago, so it may be nearing the end of its useful days.

Are there any bugs or issues with the installer? Or does it sound like her disk has crashed?

[SteveRiley]

In cases like this, I suggest that folks try the alternate installer CD. It uses a text-mode interface that's more forgiving of hardware challenges, which sometimes give the installer trouble but don't appear under regular use after installation. Be sure to get the 64-bit PC, not 64-bit Mac, version.

[vw72]

Does the installer give an error message when it craps out? I've had issues with the current installer when it goes to the partition manager. To get around it, I use the partition manager on the live CD to create an empty partion for / and then during the install tell the system to use that. I don't if that is the problem she is having or not, thout.

[luckyone]

If you have a blank disk (it sounds like you do) I'd suggest the above also. Have her boot the LiveDisk and partition the disk. Then bring up the Installer and use the partition that she created. Simple if she is using the whole disk.

[Jimmy.P]

I also have some chrashes sometimes. Found out that there is a bug when using more than 3 partitions.