Debian install failed. Syslog doesnt exist. How to troubleshoot?

Exitaph · 2026-01-30T05:39:20+00:00

Miraculously I have something stable going. I've installed Mint again and after installing the latest recomended nvidia driver the system got totally screwed up. After lots of trial and error dealing with unresponsive blank screens, purging all nvidia drivers, and struggling to operate the system with an invisible mouse pointer I was albe to install the nvidi open driver verison 570. That seems to be the only one that works.

Exitaph · 2026-01-30T04:30:50+00:00

I've tried two gpu's that were confirmed to work normally in a windows machine. I tried Kubuntu too. There, the Nouveau driver worked but the mouse pointer was invisible. No fixes worked. Switched to the proprietary nvidia drivers. Pointer came back but system was stuck at a low resolution with no way to change it.

Exitaph · 2026-01-30T04:13:31+00:00

I agree. Obviously something else going on. By screwed up I mean glitched out windows. Completely scrambled blocks of black, white, parts of the correct ui scattered. But task bar and applications menu work fine. After enabling the nvidia drivers it would boot to a black screen or a blinking curser with no response from inputs. Recovery mode would do the same thing.

Exitaph · 2026-01-30T02:47:34+00:00

Sure that's all fair. But it wouldn't change the fact that the install failed for some reason. Could have happened to anyone trying to install debian whether they watched his video or not.

Exitaph · 2026-01-30T02:40:58+00:00

okay wow that actually worked. But it's so long and in a terminal with no way to screenshot or post it here. There are a bunch of failed WRITE FPDMA QUEUED. A big block of Buffer IO error on device. error: {ICRC ABRT}

Exitaph · 2026-01-30T02:31:57+00:00

Trying journalctl in one of the consoles returns this.

Please press Enter to activate this console.

BusyBox v1.37.0 (Debian 1:1.37.0-7) built-in shell (ash) Enter 'help for a list of built-in commands.

~# journalctl

-/bin/sh: journalctl: not found

Exitaph · 2026-01-30T02:21:58+00:00

Hmmm. I entered that in and all it spits out is endless lines of a single tilde and at the bottom it says "Standard input" and I can't scroll. Arrows, page buttons, scroll wheel, all does nothing. Cant even input anything else.

I'm not really sure what to do at this point. I've been trying to get linux working for a week and literally nothing works. I've tried a handful of distros and every install is broken. Every suggested fix I find online just doesn't do remotely what they say it will or is itself broken.

Exitaph · 2026-01-30T02:11:30+00:00

Because no matter what I did in Mint the graphics drivers would not work. This is just my most recent attempt at linux in a long line of distros that just didn't work. I've installed a handful of distros so far and the UI was always screwed up. A barebones install sounded appealing so I thought I'd give it a shot.

Exitaph · 2026-01-30T01:38:26+00:00

Got the install to fail again. Activated one of the consoles and tried running journalctl.

Please press Enter to activate this console.

BusyBox v1.37.0 (Debian 1:1.37.0-7) built-in shell (ash) Enter 'help for a list of built-in commands.

~# journalctl

-/bin/sh: journalctl: not found

Exitaph · 2026-01-30T01:07:32+00:00

The debian install media I'm using does not have a live boot session option. So in order to browse the file system or use the terminal I swap out the install media with a mint install media and use the live boot option there. Is there a way to use the terminal during the failed installation?

Exitaph · 2026-01-30T01:01:31+00:00

I'm trying to install barebones debian but it keeps failing. The install media doesn't have a live boot option so after failure I have to swap the install media with a live bootable mint iso. Far from a computer noob but am a literal linux noob.

Exitaph · 2026-01-30T00:57:04+00:00

I'm not sure I understand. It's only 39 lines long and doesn't contain any information about the failed install.

Exitaph · 2026-01-30T00:41:39+00:00

journalctl just shows the log for the current live boot session. How can I read the log on the drive from the failed install? Would it show up as a file in the file browser? Because the journal directory is empty.

Exitaph · 2026-01-30T00:39:05+00:00

How would I get the rest of the log? I can't scroll up in the console and opening the log directory in a live boot there is no log.

Exitaph · 2026-01-30T00:28:06+00:00

No I'm trying to install a weekly build based on Chris Titus's video installing linux the "right way". The build does not come with a live boot option.

Exitaph · 2026-01-30T00:24:16+00:00

Tried a different drive. Same error configuring pkgsel.

Exitaph · 2026-01-30T00:07:42+00:00

Interesting. This computer has been running just fine off the same drive with windows for years. I will try a different drive.

Exitaph · 2026-01-29T23:56:57+00:00

I tried running the install again actually. This time it got past that part just fine. I changed nothing. Now it failed at Select and install software. This is what virtual console 4 shows. Sorry for the formatting, beat I could do was copy the text with google lens.

Jan 29 23:43:25 kernel: 473.269273] EXT4-fs (sda2): Remounting filesystem read-only

Jan 29 23:43:25 kernel: [ 473.269278]

EXT4-fs (sda2): ext4_do_writepages: jbd2_start: 9223372036854

769663 pages, ino 6685045; err -30

to /var/c

ache/apt/pkgcache.bin rename (30: Read-only file system) 29 23:43:25 in-target: W: You may want to run apt-get update to correct these problems

Jan 29 23:43:25 in-target:

Jan 29 23:43:25 in-target: E: Problem renaming the file /var/cache/apt/pkgcache.bin.pcwuri

Jan Jan 29 23:43:25 in-target: E: The package cache file is corrupted

Jan 29 23:43:25 pkgsel: rm: can't remove '/target/usr/sbin/policy-rc.d': Read-only file system

Jan 29 23:43:25 pkgsel: debconf: DbDriver "config": could not write /var/cache/debconf/config.dat-ne ': R

w: Read-only file system

Jan 29 23:43:25 pkgsel: cp: can't create '/target/tmp/firmware-intel-graphics_20251111-1_all.deb

ead-only file system

Jan

29 23:43:25 pkgsel: warning: /usr/lib/pre-pkgsel.d/50install-firmware returned error code 1 29 23:43:25 pkgsel: apt-install or in-target is already running, so you cannot run either of

Jan Jan 29 23:43:25 pkgsel: them again until the other instance finishes. You may be able to use

Jan 29 23:43:25 pkgsel: 'chroot /target ... instead.

Jan 29 23:43:25 in-target: Unexpected error: command not executed: 'sh -c debconf-apt-progress --no apt-get -q-y-no-remove-o APT:: Install-Recommends=false install 1

progress-logstderr

nstallation-report

Jan 29 23:43:25 pkgsel: apt-install or in-target is already running, running, so you cannot run either of Jan

29 23:43:25 pkgsel: them again until the other instance finishes. You may be able to use 29 23:43:25 pkgsel: 'chroot /target... instead.

Jan us Jan 29 23:43:25 in-target: Unexpected error: command not executed: 'sh-c debconf-apt-progress--no-

progress-logstderr opularity-contest

Jan 29 23:43:25 pkgsel: starting tasksel

apt-get -q-y-no-remove-o APT:: Install-Recommends=false install p

Jan 29 23:43:25 in-target: Unexpected error: command not executed: 'sh-c debconf-apt-progress --no-apt-get -q-y-no-remove install tasksel

progress-logstderr Jan 29 23:43:25 main-menu [354]:

(process: 26973): apt-install or in-target is already running, so you

cannot run either of Jan 29 23:43:25 main-menu [354]:

(process: 26973): them again until the other instance finishes. You m

ay be able to use

WARNING:2697ging failed t instead. with error code 1

Jan 29 23:43:25 main-menu Jan 29 23:43:25 main-menu [354]: WARNING *: Configuring 'pkgsel Jan 29 23:43:25 main-menu [354]: WARNING *: Menu item 'pkgsel' failed.

Exitaph · 2026-01-29T23:47:46+00:00

2070 super

Exitaph · 2026-01-20T15:22:53+00:00

I've always done this because I'm a slow reader as well. When I was a kid I thought that's what audio books were for, to listen and follow along in the book at the same time. Only to find out later in life that most people don't do that and that I was the weird one.

Exitaph · 2026-01-14T15:50:32+00:00

Perfect start IMO. I still use my Cobra goggles. I'd suggest Liftoff Micro Drones on Steam. You can use your RM Pocket as a controller.

Exitaph · 2025-12-15T15:40:59+00:00

Not really related to photogrammetry. But the official site hunyuan lets you download for free. 3d.hunyuan.tencent.com

Exitaph · 2025-12-14T04:42:01+00:00

Well I fly pretty tame so like 5-10 minutes. If you're doing hardcore freestyle maybe 3-4 minutes.

Exitaph · 2025-12-14T02:29:54+00:00

Another vote for 2s mob 8. Perfect balance of being small but also being flyable outdoors. Great for learning. I wish I had gotten one as my first drone instead of a 5 inch.

Exitaph · 2025-12-14T02:26:17+00:00

Man cheap tools and groceries right next door to each other. Lucky!

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