Error during Mate install?

Vixrell · 6 February 2025 01:05

I'm trying to install MATE (finally!) but it had an error and I don't know what to do about it or what it means.
The first error I see in the code is this line:
Feb 05 18:55:33 ubuntu-mate subiquity_log.4203[7992]: Error rescanning devices, possibly known issue LP: #1489521
This error shows up a few times before apparently moving on?

then later is this line:
Feb 05 18:55:33 ubuntu-mate subiquity_log.4203[7992]: Error: Partition(s) 4 on /dev/sda have been written, but we have been unable to inform the kernel of the change, probably because it/they are in use. As a result, the old partition(s) will remain in use. You should reboot now before making further changes.

And finally this:
ProcessExecutionError(stdout=out, stderr=err,
Feb 05 18:55:33 ubuntu-mate subiquity_log.4203[7992]: curtin.util.ProcessExecutionError: Unexpected error while running command.
Feb 05 18:55:33 ubuntu-mate subiquity_log.4203[7992]: Command: ['partprobe', '/dev/sda']
Feb 05 18:55:33 ubuntu-mate subiquity_log.4203[7992]: Exit code: 1
Feb 05 18:55:33 ubuntu-mate subiquity_log.4203[7992]: Reason: -
Feb 05 18:55:33 ubuntu-mate subiquity_log.4203[7992]: Stdout: ''
Feb 05 18:55:33 ubuntu-mate subiquity_log.4203[7992]: Stderr: ''
Feb 05 18:55:33 ubuntu-mate subiquity_log.4203[7992]: Unexpected error while running command.
Feb 05 18:55:33 ubuntu-mate subiquity_log.4203[7992]: Command: ['partprobe', '/dev/sda']
Feb 05 18:55:33 ubuntu-mate subiquity_log.4203[7992]: Exit code: 1
Feb 05 18:55:33 ubuntu-mate subiquity_log.4203[7992]: Reason: -
Feb 05 18:55:33 ubuntu-mate subiquity_log.4203[7992]: Stdout: ''
Feb 05 18:55:33 ubuntu-mate subiquity_log.4203[7992]: Stderr: ''
Feb 05 18:55:33 ubuntu-mate subiquity_log.4203[7992]:
Feb 05 18:55:33 ubuntu-mate subiquity_log.4203[7992]: Stderr: ''
Feb 05 18:55:33 ubuntu-mate subiquity_event.4203[4203]: curtin command install

So... now what? How do I fix it? Can I fix it? Is this a "restart and pray" situation? Obviously Mate is still running from the bootstick but I don't know how long that'll last.

ericmarceau · 6 February 2025 02:04

Output from

inxi -F -xxx

would be a good start point in sharing details about you hardware context. Experts can then make sensible recommendations pertinent to your specific situation.

You can install "inxi" on the Live session to get those details.

Vixrell · 6 February 2025 02:23

CPU: Quad core intel i5 -6600k 64 bit

There's a whole bunch of other stuff but it won't let me copy/paste

Is there something specific I'm looking for?

ericmarceau · 6 February 2025 02:54

Are you doing this from Live ? If so, you should be able to do copy/paste.

I found this reference:

Also this, suggesting the issue is related to installation on a RAID drive. Is that what you are trying to do?

Are you trying to perform a dual-boot install on an msdos, vfat or ntfs formatted partition ?

Or are you trying to install a virgin Linux and wipe all previous on the hard disk ? This latter scenario should not have issues, unless as identified above, it might be RAID-related?

Could you provide details from

lsblk -P -p -o NAME,FSTYPE,PARTLABEL,UUID,SIZE,MOUNTPOINT,SUBSYSTEMS | grep -v 'GRUB' | awk  '/[/]dev[/]sd[a-z][0-9]/ { print $0 }' | sort --key=3

Vixrell · 6 February 2025 02:59

I'm trying to do a clean install of Linux and wipe the old disk.

this is what lsblk -P returned:

NAME="loop0" MAJ:MIN="7:0" RM="0" SIZE="1.9G" RO="1" TYPE="loop" MOUNTPOINTS="/tmp/tmpi0n1alb2/minimal.squashfs.dir\x0a/tmp/tmpna5pggyt/minimal.squashfs.dir\x0a/rofs"

there's another 13 loops, do you want the whole thing?

ericmarceau · 6 February 2025 03:43

I'm not an install pro, just a basic User.

"loop"s are process-specific temporary drives.

This is suggestive that you are only getting the info from the in-memory temporary ram-disk drive, not the information about the actual hard drive.

You need to report about the actual hard disk info, which are all the /dev/sd? which the live system can detect.

If you want to "simplify" the typing of the above earlier lsblk command, you can try

lsblk -P -p -o NAME,FSTYPE,PARTLABEL,UUID,SIZE,MOUNTPOINT,SUBSYSTEMS | awk  '/dev/sd' | sort --key=3

Sorry about long delays, but having bathroom issues today. Having said that, this is an open invitation for any of the other more experience members to jump in and take over, because I need some bed-rest to recover from my current week-long condition. Will try to help as long as I can.

Stephen_Wade · 6 February 2025 03:53

Is there anything other than loops (check the end)?

Vixrell · 6 February 2025 18:24

This is what's after the "loops"

NAME="sda" MAJ:MIN="8:0" RM="0" SIZE="1.8T" RO="0" TYPE="disk" MOUNTPOINTS=""
NAME="sda1" MAJ:MIN="8:1" RM="0" SIZE="1G" RO="0" TYPE="part" MOUNTPOINTS=""
NAME="sda4" MAJ:MIN="8:4" RM="0" SIZE="1.8T" RO="0" TYPE="part" MOUNTPOINTS=""
NAME="sdb" MAJ:MIN="8:16" RM="1" SIZE="14.9G" RO="0" TYPE="disk" MOUNTPOINTS=""
NAME="sdb1" MAJ:MIN="8:17" RM="1" SIZE="3.9G" RO="0" TYPE="part" MOUNTPOINTS="/tmp/tmpxg4bed6l/mount/cdrom\x0a/cdrom"
NAME="sdb2" MAJ:MIN="8:18" RM="1" SIZE="5M" RO="0" TYPE="part" MOUNTPOINTS=""
NAME="sdb3" MAJ:MIN="8:19" RM="1" SIZE="300K" RO="0" TYPE="part" MOUNTPOINTS=""
NAME="sdb4" MAJ:MIN="8:20" RM="1" SIZE="11G" RO="0" TYPE="part" MOUNTPOINTS="/var/crash\x0a/var/log"

Vixrell · 6 February 2025 18:31

okay, this is what I got from your suggestion:

NAME="/dev/sda4" FSTYPE="" PARTLABEL="" UUID="" SIZE="1.8T" MOUNTPOINT="" SUBSYSTEMS="block:scsi:pci"
NAME="/dev/sda" FSTYPE="" PARTLABEL="" UUID="" SIZE="1.8T" MOUNTPOINT="" SUBSYSTEMS="scsi:pci"
NAME="/dev/loop0" FSTYPE="squashfs" PARTLABEL="" UUID="" SIZE="1.9G" MOUNTPOINT="/tmp/tmpi0n1alb2/minimal.squashfs.dir" SUBSYSTEMS=""
NAME="/dev/loop12" FSTYPE="squashfs" PARTLABEL="" UUID="" SIZE="10.5M" MOUNTPOINT="/snap/snap-store/1173" SUBSYSTEMS=""
NAME="/dev/loop6" FSTYPE="squashfs" PARTLABEL="" UUID="" SIZE="10.7M" MOUNTPOINT="/snap/firmware-updater/127" SUBSYSTEMS=""
NAME="/dev/loop10" FSTYPE="squashfs" PARTLABEL="" UUID="" SIZE="116.8M" MOUNTPOINT="/snap/ubuntu-desktop-bootstrap/237" SUBSYSTEMS=""
NAME="/dev/loop1" FSTYPE="squashfs" PARTLABEL="" UUID="" SIZE="120.1M" MOUNTPOINT="/tmp/tmpi0n1alb2/minimal.standard.squashfs.dir" SUBSYSTEMS=""
NAME="/dev/sda1" FSTYPE="" PARTLABEL="" UUID="" SIZE="1G" MOUNTPOINT="" SUBSYSTEMS="block:scsi:pci"
NAME="/dev/loop9" FSTYPE="squashfs" PARTLABEL="" UUID="" SIZE="20.1M" MOUNTPOINT="/snap/subiquity/6066" SUBSYSTEMS=""
NAME="/dev/loop5" FSTYPE="squashfs" PARTLABEL="" UUID="" SIZE="269.8M" MOUNTPOINT="/snap/firefox/4793" SUBSYSTEMS=""
NAME="/dev/loop13" FSTYPE="squashfs" PARTLABEL="" UUID="" SIZE="38.8M" MOUNTPOINT="/snap/snapd/21759" SUBSYSTEMS=""
NAME="/dev/loop3" FSTYPE="squashfs" PARTLABEL="" UUID="" SIZE="4K" MOUNTPOINT="/snap/bare/5" SUBSYSTEMS=""
NAME="/dev/loop11" FSTYPE="squashfs" PARTLABEL="" UUID="" SIZE="500K" MOUNTPOINT="/snap/snapd-desktop-integration/178" SUBSYSTEMS=""
NAME="/dev/loop7" FSTYPE="squashfs" PARTLABEL="" UUID="" SIZE="505.1M" MOUNTPOINT="/snap/gnome-42-2204/176" SUBSYSTEMS=""
NAME="/dev/loop4" FSTYPE="squashfs" PARTLABEL="" UUID="" SIZE="74.3M" MOUNTPOINT="/snap/core22/1564" SUBSYSTEMS=""
NAME="/dev/loop8" FSTYPE="squashfs" PARTLABEL="" UUID="" SIZE="91.7M" MOUNTPOINT="/snap/gtk-common-themes/1535" SUBSYSTEMS=""
NAME="/dev/loop2" FSTYPE="squashfs" PARTLABEL="" UUID="" SIZE="991.2M" MOUNTPOINT="" SUBSYSTEMS=""
NAME="/dev/sdb" FSTYPE="iso9660" PARTLABEL="" UUID="2024-08-27-14-45-34-00" SIZE="14.9G" MOUNTPOINT="" SUBSYSTEMS="scsi:usb:pci"
NAME="/dev/sdb4" FSTYPE="ext4" PARTLABEL="" UUID="8790775a-9f9e-44a8-a394-e7bf590553fb" SIZE="11G" MOUNTPOINT="/var/crash" SUBSYSTEMS="block:scsi:usb:pci"
NAME="/dev/sdb2" FSTYPE="vfat" PARTLABEL="Appended2" UUID="3C53-CAEB" SIZE="5M" MOUNTPOINT="" SUBSYSTEMS="block:scsi:usb:pci"
NAME="/dev/sdb3" FSTYPE="" PARTLABEL="Gap1" UUID="" SIZE="300K" MOUNTPOINT="" SUBSYSTEMS="block:scsi:usb:pci"
NAME="/dev/sdb1" FSTYPE="iso9660" PARTLABEL="ISO9660" UUID="2024-08-27-14-45-34-00" SIZE="3.9G" MOUNTPOINT="/tmp/tmpxg4bed6l/mount/cdrom" SUBSYSTEMS="block:scsi:usb:pci"

ugnvs · 6 February 2025 20:01

Sometimes such the error can be eliminated by turning off Fastboot and, probably, switching to boot mode to Legacy in BIOS settings.

Next to it I vaguely remember that modern Windows has to be shut down some special way in order not to mark hard drives locked... Something like that

ricmarques · 6 February 2025 22:09

Hi, @Vixrell

Besides the great help that @ericmarceau , @Stephen_Wade and @ugnvs have given you in this topic, could you please paste the output of the following commands in another reply in this same discussion topic:

sudo fdisk -l /dev/sda

sudo parted -l /dev/sda

Also: what version of Ubuntu MATE are you trying to install? Is it "24.04"? Or "24.10"? Or is it some other version?

Vixrell · 6 February 2025 22:34

I have tried to turn off fastboot but it doesn't stick, which is another reason I want to ditch windows. I can try to let it load and see again, though

Vixrell · 6 February 2025 22:36

for the fdisk command:

Disk /dev/sda: 1.82 TiB, 2000398934016 bytes, 3907029168 sectors
Disk model: ST2000DM001-1CH1
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: 80BACD5B-1401-4F17-AFCE-7CA24ED03677

Device Start End Sectors Size Type
/dev/sda1 2048 2203647 2201600 1G EFI System
/dev/sda2 2203648 3907026943 3904823296 1.8T Linux filesystem

for the parted command:

Model: ATA ST2000DM001-1CH1 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 2000GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/4096B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags:

Number Start End Size File system Name Flags
1 1049kB 1128MB 1127MB boot, esp
2 1128MB 2000GB 1999GB

Model: SanDisk Cruzer Glide (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 16.0GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags:

Number Start End Size File system Name Flags
1 32.8kB 4211MB 4211MB ISO9660 hidden, msftdata
2 4211MB 4216MB 5194kB Appended2 boot, esp
3 4216MB 4216MB 307kB Gap1 hidden, msftdata
4 4217MB 16.0GB 11.8GB ext4

It looks like the version of Mate that I have is 24.04.1, which I downloaded from the MATE website.

ricmarques · 6 February 2025 23:07

Thanks for the outputs, @Vixrell Considering those outputs and the previous descriptions that you wrote and also given that you wrote that you want to wipe the disk (so, you don't want to preserve your previous Windows installation), I would risk rebooting now (so, basically the "reboot and pray" strategy that you've mentioned in your first post), removing the Ubuntu MATE 24.04 USB drive / flash drive when you see the message to do so and see if that reboot is normal and enters Ubuntu MATE.

I hope this helps. Please, keep us posted

Vixrell · 7 February 2025 00:09

I think it worked!

I rebooted, it asked me to reboot again or insert the boot media. It didn't seem to recognize the boot media option, so I restarted and booted from the bootstick again, and then it let me complete the install.

So, I'm off into the linux adventure! Thank you all for your help and patience, I'm sure I'll have lots more questions in the future.

ericmarceau · 7 February 2025 04:19

Glad it all worked out!

Could you confirm whether you did the BIOS tweak that @ugnvs mentioned might get you over the hump?

Vixrell · 7 February 2025 12:31

I didn't end up using it, though I was prepared to. When I restarted, it didn't boot into windows at all, it was like the hard drive wasn't formatted anymore.