I cannot make sense of your previous post readouts from terminal. When a simple command like cd and ls cannot be used on a semi installed linux system. I am lost.

Because if it can't find even /etc. Then things are really pooched.

Though I guess your "etc" in quotes is there somewhere.

I am downloading this now. Would you recommend that I bail on my current install and try this instead?





Are you sure that the issue there wasn't in my execution of the commands? Are you referring to the

?

Does this indicate that something is seriously amiss?(I would assume the answer is yes). I guess if I use the live debian, I would at least be able to obtain some useful information.

100 percent yes. No Internet connection required to finish the install procedure to get a boot-able Linux desktop going in Debian.

You betcha. Refer back to this thread and try those commands after the live install finishes. And you reboot into your new install with a desktop. You will be suprised at all the folders listed after cd ing into /etc and running ls will show.

Is the safer option to abort the installation or to continue it without installing the bootloader?

Should not matter. You are going to be reformatting anyways during the new install session. No?

And thew reinstalling grub later on in the install process to mbr.

I will abort then. It just gives me a somewhat disconcerting message about my system "being left in an unusable state". I will ignore that and go ahead and get this set up.

without checking all of this thread, I take it you have checked the md5sum/sha of the download.
If you have a cd/dvd drive use that to install.
If after you retry an install to a reformatted drive, it fails then check the drive with a smart test (available on various live disks, such as partedmagic) to see if the drive is ok.

Fred

Unfortunately, there is no cd/dvd drive. I can't say that I have checked the md5sum/sha of the download.

So, a new problem has emerged. I downloaded a 32-bit debian live and prepared the USB with Linux Live. However, the computer refuses to boot into it. Any ideas here? The standard debian installer is compatible with the UEFI.

Did you do a md5sum?

I'm not familiar with Linux Live, is Linux Live capable with booting on EFI systems? If it doesn't, or does not copy the necessary files, the device will not boot.

Yep, it checked out. I don't think that there has been any problem with the md5sums of the various distros I have downloaded during this process, as I have double-checked most of the boot media on another computer when they have failed to function. Maybe this wouldn't preclude an md5sum problem in those instances? In any event, it doesn't seem to be the point of failure here. Thanks again for your help!


To be honest, I'm not sure. I wrote it to the usb with win32diskimager this time, and the outcome was no different. I did check the USB by booting into debian live on another computer, without any hiccups.

My suspicion is that the UEFI is tripping me up here. I am going to google around see if I can determine the proper protocol for getting a live distribution to run with one of these things(unless someone here can point me in the right direction). It definitely looks as if I'm not the only one having problems with this.

I'll just add as a reminder: I WAS able to live boot with gparted. Not sure if this is useful. Another thanks to everyone for all of the help.

Gparted is a very simple live image. I am surprised it boots OK. But Debian live does not.

Hence my md5sum statement.

Edit: it also would not surprise me if the Gparted iso is not based basically on Debian also.
Just a cut down Debian iso with only a desktop and a application.
Because I know for a fact rescutux is based on Debian and LXDE.

Yep. I'm right.

I see. I will attempt to find a way to live boot into something more robust than gparted.

After some experimentation, gparted seems to be the only distro that I can boot into live. One noticeable difference was that rufus allowed me to make the gparted usb with a GPT partition scheme for UEFI. It does not allow me to do so with other isos(even ones that are supposedly compatible with the UEFI, like debian live).


The only other iso that rufus allowed me to burn with a GPT partition scheme was the debian-stretch that I was using to try to install earlier. Using other programs designed for creating live USBs(I tried several) did not seem to make any difference.


I'll add that all of the USBs worked just fine on another computer, so it seems that there was nothing inherently wrong with them.


I'll reiterate that I'm very inexperienced and don't really know what I'm doing, so if anyone can point me in the right direction I'd be very grateful.