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I'm trying to do the unattended ubuntu installation using preseed.cfg. I am following the instruction as in http://searchitchannel.techtarget.com/feature/Performing-an-automated-Ubuntu-install-using-preseeding

in the boot option I'm passing the parameter as

url=http://path/to/localhost/preseed.cfg locale=en_US
console-setup/ask_detect=false console-setup/layoutcode=us 
hostname=unassigned-hostname domain=unassigned-domain 
initrd=/install/initrd.gz quiet --

but this returns an error /install/initrd.gz is not found.

Hence I changed the parameter to:

url=http://path/to/localhost/preseed.cfg initrd=/casper/initrd.gz

this prompts me an error initramfs error. Hence I updated the parameter to:

url=http://path/to/localhost/preseed.cfg boot=casper initrd=/casper/initrd.gz

This stops the auto installation at the language select. What is going wrong here?

preseedinstall

1 Answer 1

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The debian-installer is used for only for Server & Alternative CD. As you can see in InstallCDCustomization

That reference is quiet old ~2010 and it is clear from screen-shot that it uses server image. AFAIK, Alternative image is not released any more for Ubuntu.

Live uses ubiquity installer, check in UbiquityAutomation for available options.

Available preseeding keys

Ubiquity uses a subset of the components that Ubuntu's version of debian-installer uses and therefore asks the same questions for those components. However, there are some additional questions provided. These are as follows:

  • ubiquity/summary: preseed empty to avoid the summary page.

  • ubiquity/reboot: automatically reboot when the installer completes. Be sure to add 'noprompt' to the kernel command line to also skip the "please remove the disc, close the tray (if any) and press ENTER to continue" usplash prompt.

  • ubiquity/failure_command: specify a command to be run should the install fail.

  • ubiquity/success_command: similar to preseed/late_command. Specify a command to be run when the install completes successfully (runs outside of /target, but /target is mounted when the command is invoked).

Furthermore, there are a few other components necessary for an automated installation with ubiquity:

  • languagechooser/language-name: choose among the available languages, eg English

  • countrychooser/shortlist: choose a country, territory or area, eg US

  • localechooser/supported-locales: choose other locales to be supported, eg en_US.UTF-8

Preseeding keys for the following installer components will not be used in Ubiquity, usually because they do not fit with Ubiquity's mode of operation:

netcfg
LVM and RAID partitioning
base-installer
pkgsel/tasksel
finish-install 

You can use preseed/early_command with the live CD; it will be run by "casper" (the component which sets up a live environment at boot time) from the initramfs. Please note that, if you want to affect files in the live environment, this means that you must prefix their filenames with /root.

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  • I have the preseed.cfg file in my local system and i'll be accessing it while installing it in virtual machine. Apr 19, 2016 at 12:03
  • @SunShine, It is ok to store preseed.cfg on local system (sure you've setup an HTTP server already to serve VM system). But which CD image you are using? (from your screen-shot, it seems the standard Ubuntu live CD) . That CD used ubiquity installer, hence you should set languagechooser/language-name, countrychooser/shortlist...
    – user.dz
    Apr 19, 2016 at 12:25

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