installing debian on dell t320 raid 1

[droidus]

I am trying to install debian on my t320 with raid1. I get to this step of the installation process, and it fails:
Executing 'grub-install dummy' failed.
This is a fatal error. I tried this step again, and it fails at the same place. The HD(s) make a funny noise (like stalling/stuck on an area) when this process is taking place.

[rbh]

I made an Internet search for "grub-install dummy". First link said:

" The error has been seen when the /EFI/ubuntu directory is corrupted (bug 1090829). See comment #25 to fix (get rid of) the corrupted directory -- repeated runs of

Code: Select all

$ sudo dosfsck -r /dev/sda2

(use your EFI partition if not sda2) Then the installer may run successfully."
https://askubuntu.com/questions/318271/ ... mmy-failed

[p.H]

Is is hardware RAID, fakeRAID or Linux software RAID (md) ?
If Linux software RAID, did you create a plain (non RAID) FAT EFI partition ?
If you want to set up redundant EFI boot, it is a tricky matter. Redundant legacy/BIOS boot is much easier to achieve.

[droidus]

I made an Internet search for "grub-install dummy". First link said:

" The error has been seen when the /EFI/ubuntu directory is corrupted (bug 1090829). See comment #25 to fix (get rid of) the corrupted directory -- repeated runs of

Code: Select all

$ sudo dosfsck -r /dev/sda2

(use your EFI partition if not sda2) Then the installer may run successfully."
https://askubuntu.com/questions/318271/ ... mmy-failed

I switched to a terminal screen, and attempted to run that command, and it said it could not find the dosfsck command.

[p.H]

Try "fsck.fat" instead of "dosfsck". Don't do that while the partition is mounted.
While you're in the installer shell you should look for a more detailed error message in /var/log/syslog.

[droidus]

Installing for x86_64-efi platform
grub-install: warning: cannot set efi variable Boot0005.
grub-install: warning: _efivarfs_set_variable: writing to fd 10 failed: No space left on device

[p.H]

Nothing to do with the EFI partition. It's the space in the EFI NVRAM.
If /sys/fs/pstore is mounted (not sure it is available in the installer, then you need to run it within a normal live system), check if it contains any log files you can delete.
Or go back to the installer main menu, change the debconf priority to "low", re-run the GRUB installation and say yes to install in the removable media path.
In the shell, run

Code: Select all

in-target update-grub

and finish the installation.
This way you should be able to boot even though an EFI boot variable could not be created.

[droidus]

Or go back to the installer main menu, change the debconf priority to "low", re-run the GRUB installation and say yes to install in the removable media path.

Where is debconf set? Which step? I don't recall seeing that anywhere in the process.

[p.H]

In the installer main menu, as I wrote. You get there by selecting "back" on any screen. Maybe it does not have "debconf" in the name, but it has at least "priority".

Note: not needed if you selected "expert install" in the boot menu.