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I'm trying to do an automated install of Ubuntu 20.04.2 via PXE boot on a remote machine where my only access is through a virtual terminal. Subiquity is crashing somewhere in

/subiquity/Install/install/curtin_install/cmd-install/stage-partitioning: configuring storage

It says it's writing log to /var/crash/(bignumber).(bignumber).install_fail.crash, which I presume is on a virtual drive that will go away with the next reboot.

Question: how do I read that file?

The installer has left me with the command line output, but no command line prompt. When I hit ctrl-C, it connects (to something?) and performs a subiquity/Meta/status_GET that just returns the path of the above crash file.

I tried logging in via ssh, but it isn't accepting the passwords I applied in the identity clause.

Robert Rapplean
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1 Answers1

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In the virtual terminal there should be an option to open a shell under the [Help] menu. You can also use Alt-F2 to access a shell, which is what I prefer since it also works in the legacy installer.

The user(s) defined in your autoinstall configuration do not get created until the first boot after the installation has finished. During installation, there is an installer user available. By default, installer is created with a random password. This behavior can be overridden using the autoinstall configuration. If you set a password to something known then you can ssh into the installation as the installer user and access a shell. The installer user will be presented with the installation TUI, so you may need to use the [Help] menu to open a shell.

Links

Andrew Lowther
  • 6,451
  • Thanks. I'll try the Alt-F2 option and the installer user. The [Help] option is available if Subiquity makes it all the way to the test-based GUI, but it's crashing before it gets there. – Robert Rapplean Oct 11 '21 at 16:36