I was able to install 19.10 on ppc64el Power8 hardware (8335-GTA) that we have in our lab, using the netboot installer. netboot also uses D-I to install Ubuntu, but it fetches packages over the internet from the Ubuntu archives rather than from a CD. I am not sure this is going to fix your issue, but at least we can rule out any issues with the ISO if netboot also fails for you.
The kernel and initrd for netboot is located here: http://ports.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-ports/dists/eoan/main/installer- ppc64el/current/images/netboot/ubuntu-installer/ppc64el/ Boot you power8 system and connect to it's console using ipmi SOL or other means. In the firmware menu, select "exit to shell", and at the shell prompt do the following: # wget http://ports.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-ports/dists/eoan/main/installer- ppc64el/current/images/netboot/ubuntu-installer/ppc64el/initrd.gz # wget http://ports.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-ports/dists/eoan/main/installer- ppc64el/current/images/netboot/ubuntu-installer/ppc64el/vmlinux # kexec -l vmlinux --initrd=initrd.gz # kexec -e Please note if you are behind a firewall you will need to export your proxy for wget in your firmware menu settings. D-I will prompt you for proxy settings when it walks you though the install process. Here is what it looks like for me after install: Ubuntu Eoan Ermine (development branch) gulpin hvc0 gulpin login: ubuntu@gulpin:~$ uname -a Linux gulpin 5.3.0-10-generic #11-Ubuntu SMP Mon Sep 9 15:08:08 UTC 2019 ppc64le ppc64le ppc64le GNU/Linux ubuntu@gulpin:~$ ubuntu@gulpin:~$ sudo fdisk -l /dev/sda Disk /dev/sda: 931.53 GiB, 1000204886016 bytes, 1953525168 sectors Disk model: ST1000NX0313 Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes Disklabel type: gpt Disk identifier: 591BA0E6-FFDF-48B6-A8EC-32A78AE7F650 Device Start End Sectors Size Type /dev/sda1 2048 16383 14336 7M PowerPC PReP boot /dev/sda2 16384 1953523711 1953507328 931.5G Linux filesystem ubuntu@gulpin:~$ -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1844328 Title: Unable to install GRUB in /dev/sda1 on ppc64le for Ubuntu 19.10 To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu-power-systems/+bug/1844328/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
