Less than 48 hours ago, I attempted a reinstall of Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex, and it failed miserably. I was trying to use the standard Live CD, but I kept an error stating there could be something wrong with either my hard drive or my dvd drive. After extensive testing, I realized that my hardware was fine and that this is a known issue.

After doing some research, I decided to try the Ubuntu Alternate Install CD, which uses a text-based installer. For some reason though, every copy I downloaded was corrupted–even from multiple sources. Lucky for me, BitTorrent can check existing files and download the missing parts. After two failed downloads, I was able to reconstruct a working ISO via BitTorrent to burn to DVD.

After that, installation proceeded as normal!

A few things I learned from this experience:

• It pays to have a working backup solution.
• It’s always worth it to do at least some cursory research prior to freaking out.
• The Ubuntu Forums are a fantastic source of information.
• Ubuntu really needs to work on the LiveCD install experience.

Have you ever had serious issues with an Ubuntu installation?