18.10 Thrashing even with 1 GB of memory

[Jay_E]

Greetings,
I am having trouble installing Ubuntu Mate 18.10.
The target system is older, a two-kernel CPU with 1 GB of memory.

I started last night and I had to abort after ~ 12 hours - it was still trying to install partitions.

I started over
- 'No' to allow network updates
- 'Yes' to allow minimal installation

It is still stuck on installing partitions.
I am installing linux side-by-side with windows.
I am reinstalling 18.10 over an older version.
4 Partitions
a) Windows
b) / root --12897 MB
c) swap -- 7602 MB
d) home --34246 MB

I observe on the Install window:
- No activity on the 7 progression lights (5 of 7 lit)
- No activity on the swirling circle activity monitor
- No mouse pointer response to mouse movement.
- Screen blank does active. Takes about 2 minute for screen to light. (Mouse movement will wake display.)
- CD/DVD activity light blinking faster than I can count.

About the DVD:
I used Rtorrent and Brasero.
After download, a hash-check was performed on all blocks. (all OK)
Did not burn at full speed, but 1/2 speed.

Other:
I did select "Try me" option on the DVD to see if it would boot. It did.
BUT 90% of memory was used with no extra application running.

Now, in the install, by looking at flashing lights on my DSL/Internet modem, I see no Internet Activity.

Assume CPU not loaded. CPU heatsink is cool and fan is running slowly.

I did choose format options on / and on /home


any ideas?

My plan is to let it sit 3 more hours, then try to install 18.04.

T H A N K S in advance!!
Jay

[Tadaen_Sylvermane]

7 gigs for swap is a waste. Even by old rules with low memory 2gb would be good for this system. Install from boot, not live testing mode. Id suggest sticking with 18.04 as well. No sense going through this more often than need to.

[Impavidus]

When you boot the live disk, there's an option to check the disk for defects. Have you done that?

You're at the bare minimum of the hardware requirements. Although Ubuntu Mate is already quite light, Lubuntu may be better. 7.6GB of swap space is a waste of disk space, 13GB for a root partition is tight. Better shift that a bit. You can also consider the minimal installer.