Ubuntu 15.04 installation stuck in a loop because of missing swap partition?

Question

I say "because of missing" swap partition, but I am not sure about that. That's my hypothesis at the moment. Read on to understand the full context.

I am attempting to install Ubuntu but it appears to get stuck in some sort of loop during the initial configuration where there are all those splash screens that show you all the things you can do with Ubuntu (like "take your music with you", "have fun with your photos", etc.). I would be glad just to install it!...

Architecture: AMD64 (a.k.a. "Intel" x86-64)
Ubuntu version: 15.04 for desktop
ISO image: ubuntu-15.04-desktop-amd64
Installation media: USB flash drive (Kingston USB 3.0)
SATA port 0: empty
SATA port 1: SATA HDD, Seagate 500G
SATA port 2: SATA HDD, Seagate 500G
SATA port 3: SATA HDD, WD 4T
SATA port 4: empty
SATA port 5: empty
SATA AHCI: enabled

I am trying to install it on port 2. I have all Windows installations on port 1. I intend to switch between the two disks with F12. The HDD on port 2 has been completely wiped and zero filled before I attempted to install Ubuntu the first time. So there is nothing in there that could mess with its bits and bytes. Also note that the GRUB2 loader was set to install on /sdb which is the same HDD that the system root partition is on. So there should not be a conflict with Windows loader.

It gets stuck at exactly this line:

Creating ext4 file system for / in partition #1 of SCSI5(0,0,0)(sdb)...

But I can tell that there is more going on in the background if I expand the Terminal peep-hole type of window (it's very tiny and only fits two or three lines) at the bottom of the window.

n id = 0, likely wrong
Jun 15 23:17:01 ubuntu CRON[25886]: (root) CMD (   cd / && run-parts --report /etc/cron.hourly)

I tried tried issuing some commands just to see if I can take back control because it was taking way too long to complete this simple task. It got stuck at some point I could no longer type in anything, so I gave it the three finger salute and it didn't react, and lastly I pushed the button to reset.

This is not the first time I am installing Ubuntu on this computer. But it is the first time I am trying to install it on a single partition. I decided to skip the swap partition this time around. Is this what is causing it to hang up like this? Is it in fact mandatory for a Ubuntu Linux system to have a swap partition? I know it shouts at me when I decide to proceed with the installation without defining a swap partition.

I am not sure if it really gets stuck in a loop. Mainly because I don't have time to baby sit it and observe and absorb the command lines as it ticks. But I tried to install it today and it appears as if the command lines, as seen in the Terminal peep-hole are different. If I let it choke on it for a few hours and then come back to it, I see that the last line has changed... as though it is installing but at a pace of a snail! Well here it is...

Jun 16 09:26:10 ubuntu systemd[1]: Started Cleanup of Temporary Directories.
Jun 16 10:17:01 ubuntu CRON[20388]: (root) CMD (   cd / && run-parts --report /etc/cron.hourly)

Same configuration, same setup! The partition I am trying to install to is the first partition on the HDD, and it is set to primary, and the mount point is system root. Again, no swap partition.

How can I get more information about what is going on with the installation? Are there any persistent logs being saved anywhere? Can I enforce logging before I start the installation?

What is the problem with it? Is it because I decided to skip the swap partition? I will try removing all the other HDDs and only leave the one I want to install on. I will also test if it helps to add that swap partition. But before I do any of that, I thought I would post a question here and see if there is something else I can do to get past this problem, and/or if this is a common problem with Ubuntu Linux installations.

Update 1

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I just checked on it and it has moved one line down! Wheee! With a speed of one line per hour I may just be done with this by the time I take vacation. Here is a screenshot update.

Update 2

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It had already been ticking for several hours, so I gave it a three finger salute shortly after I posted update 1 here. It did not recognize the salute, so I had to force an unexpected reboot (reset!).

I disconnected all HDDs except the patient on port 2. Booted up using the USB flash drive, selected install, and this is what my partition table looked like.

Space used: unknown?... wtf? I see this often. Does this have an actual meaning? Or is it just meaning-less?... as a way of telling me that the partition has not been used yet? See, I do not get this at all. I would actually much more prefer to see a blank white-space than this.

So I removed that partition and created a new partition of the same size and type.

I started the installation and I left the building.

Several hours later...

I came back and the installation process had not seen much progress. It was still chocking on it.

Answer 1

Hypothesis confirmed! Care to challenge it?... Be my guest and post your findings as a new answer. I will be happy to test your findings.

Add a swap partition and the problem is gone! The presence of or the lack of a swap partition should not halt or cripple the installation process in any way, of course! But then again, here I am... installing Ubuntu with the swap partition makes it happy, but installing Ubuntu without a swap partition makes it cranky. How do you explain that?

Maybe I should have offered it a banana?... do vervet monkeys even like bananas?

I had all the other HDDs disconnected. So only the patient HDD was connected and the USB flash drive, of course. Here is the whole story in screenshots...

Again, I installed GRUB2 on the same HDD, and device node was /sda as there was only one HDD attached this time. But I noticed the reported size of the primary partition was 40960M this time. Before, without the swap partition in front of it, the size was 40959M. So that's off by 1 MB! Could this be the cause of the problem? Partition misalignment, rather than presence or the lack of a swap partition per se? I punched in the same partition size in the dialog box each time. I used 12288M for swap, which is 50% more than the physical RAM.

Answer 2

The swap partition has nothing to do with this. If u didn't create a swap partition it should just warn you that it is recommended to create one & that's all ( i have tried that). When u selected the HDD u want to install Linux on, did u select the ext4 partition, the disk as primary & to allocate the space at the beginning of the disk ? Try using a different iso image or even a different distribution like Linux mint( i highly recommend this one) or fedora.. If that's not the cause i think it's a boot loader conflict between Linux & Windows( i have experienced that a lot). Try to remove all other HDD & install Linux.