[Installation] OS Reinstall Blocked by 'ubi-partman failed exit code 141'

[OhBee]

Smoothly operating New Install "suddenly" bricked at CLI "initramsfs unpacking failed: Decoding failed. Finally tried to reinstall OS and STUCK at "ubi-partman failed at exit code 141.

System is Asus with OS installed on 128GB SSD and /home installed on 900GB HD. I have deleted and re-partitioned the SSD but the Install complains about existing OS files refusing the new install. The HD is FULL of very important DATA and I WILL NOT over write it.

HELP!

[oshunluvr]

#1, boot to a live USB and copy those files off of there so you have a backup.

#2 Sounds like your trying to install to a partition that already has the install on it or is full.

Since /home is on another drive, when you try to reinstall, choose "Manual partitioning", select the 128GB SSD as / and check "format" , select the 900GB HD as /home but DO NOT check format. This will wipe the install file system clean but leave /home and assumedly your data files intact. If you've done a bad thing and put personal data files anywhere other than /home, see #1 above again.

I assume you're new to Linux, at least for sure new to this forum, so Welcome to both. In the future, rather than immediately reinstalling every time something goes wrong, you might try checking here first or attempting some basic trouble shooting. In this case, you would have likely been able to boot to a previous kernel or safe mode and not had to go through a re-install to get your OS back.

A couple other suggestions:
Always have a bootable USB stick handy so you can at least boot your system and access the internet to search for solutions to your current problem.
128GB is WAY more space than needed by Kubuntu ro any other Linux install. Consider partitioning it into 3-4 partitions and having multiple (at least one extra) install. This way if one install breaks, you have another to boot to.

IMO, Linux is not just a tool, but a journey best taken at a leisurely pace. Good luck with this and let us know when you succeed or if you need more help.