Comment 2 for bug 552022

im trying to install lucid beta2 from the alternate install iso too.
i used unetbootin to create a bootable usb stick from the ubuntu-10.04-beta2-alternate-amd64.iso (20100406) (and i tried to use pxe+nfs too, but since network is not available before detecting the "cdrom", there is no (easy?) way to get it working without a stick)

the first problem, as the op described, the alternate cd has no way to _not_ use a cdrom as source and bails out if it can't find one.
this can be circumvented by loop-mounting the .iso manually after the installer tells you that the "detect and mount CD-ROM" "installation step failed" ("main-menu .... ls: /lib/modules/*/*kernel/drivers/cdrom/: no such file or directory" in the syslog)

after mounting manually with "mount -tiso9660 -oloop ....iso /cdrom" in a console, selecting "load debconf preconfiguration file" continues the installation normally.

after partitioning "install the base system" fails with "debootstrap error - failed to determine the codename for the release" (syslog: "base-installer: error: exiting on error base-installer/no_codename").
according to debian bug 509775: "This typically happens because users get "creative" with combining
different installation methods or because they manually mount/unmount
things, not because of any real issue in the installer."