Note that this bug applies to upgrading, not installing (there's a forcepae work-around for that). Since the machine in question successfully upgraded distributions (using sudo apt-get dist-upgrade) to and runs fine with 15.04, the key to the solution to this bug may lie in answering the question "what change was made from 15.04 to 15.10 that results in the error message and error during installation, and why was it made?" It is not possible for an installer to make correct decisions based on information not available to it; such decisions should be passed to the user (unless there's a reliable way to detect RAM in a machine that is above the addressable range).
According to this: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/PAE?action=show&redirect=EnablingPAE ...PAE "is now a requirement for Ubuntu"; however, as near as I can tell, the only purpose for PAE is to allow addressing "more than 4GB of memory address space". What would keep Ubuntu from working on a non-pae machine with less than 4GB of RAM; what are the real chances that someone will install more than 4GB of RAM in a machine with a CPU that can't address that much; will the BIOS recognize it; will there be enough slots on the main board for the type of modules it's available in; won't the computer's manual specifically state the maximum amount of RAM supported by the main board and CPU; and will someone who doesn't know what this means even try to add RAM him-/herself? The installer should WARN someone installing on what appears to be a non-pae machine that it won't support more than 4GB of RAM. Instead of refusing to install or upgrade based on a pae flag that may not exist or may not be relevant, why not just give a warning if there is no pae flag, e.g.: "Your CPU does not report the ability to address more than 4GB of RAM. Ubuntu must be able to address ALL installed RAM; therefore, only proceed if you are sure that the CPU in this machine can address the amount of RAM installed, and only AFTER you remove unsupported RAM. Continue upgrade (N to remove excess RAM or stop/y to continue): -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1515873 Title: package linux-image-4.2.0-18-generic (not installed) failed to install/upgrade: subprocess new pre-installation script returned error exit status 1 To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1515873/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
