wubi 9.04 rev129 fails on error "writelines() argument must be a sequence of strings"

Same problem here too, with the "writelines() argument must be a sequence of strings" error.

Windows Vista 32bit SP1, AMD Turion x2 64bit.

I downloaded the latest Wubi.exe, the Kubuntu 9.04 64bit ISO, and when i run Wubi i get the same error everytime i try to install Kubuntu.

Gosh, I just noticed we are the day "Jaunty" has been released... I maybe did my first installation attempt (the one that almost worked) before the download server was overloaded?

I will retry tomorrow, may be the load on the server would have decrease and the installation will work? wait and see...

Well i have the same problem , any solutions...... ?

Thanks

Well , i tried to download wubi from sourceforce not from wubi-installer.com , and it WORKS !!!

here s the sourceforge link : http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=198355

Sorry every one , the download link was not the problem, the problem is while selecting the language, if you select "Frensh" it will work

Hi,

I found a solution, seems that Wubi will only install with the language you use Windows with. So if you use Swedish, Wubi will choose Swedish for youre Linux dirstro and if you choose some other language it will phial to install.

My Windows XP install is Swedish so it autochooses Swedish when i tried to change to English install i got = argument must be a sequence of strings...

Solution*
Change Windows Language, Time, Place to English and it will then auto choose to English in Wubi and it works. Right now im Installing English version of Ubuntu on my Swedish Windows.

Hope it works for you guys
Best Regards
Commander

OK, I confirm Ahmed and Commander solutions: Installation Language in Wubi should not be changed to anything different from Windows language...

However, even with this prerequisite, the installation may fails with the "writelines() argument must be a sequence of strings" error :-( The log files show no differences with the one I attached.

In my case, I almost had the system installed with the default French language (it failed again during the disk image creation, but that time I understood why: trying to have a 20GB file image on a FAT32 drive is not a good idea...), but the subsequent installations were only a long list of "writelines()..." failures, even after I rebooted Windows and disabled the antivirus :-(

I finally get Ubuntu installed after I changed the Windows Language to English, reboot Windows and select an NTFS drive as the install destination.

Now I have to reboot to finish the installation process.

I think the current (full) workaround is:
- DO NOT choose a FAT32 drive as destination drive
- DO NOT change the Language in Wubi
- If you get the "writelines()..." error message, change the Windows Language to English (or another Wubi recognized language) then reboot before trying again

It would help a lot to have a few log.debug() statements thrown in the code for a more verbose log, I will try to have such a build arranged

At first time I ran Wobi under Vista Home Premium, SP1 with En GUI but with Czech regional and language settings (without additional languages, but with Czech MS Office 7 installed). Installation crashed with "writelines()...".
I found this bug and followed suggested steps - set all regional and language settings to English, uninstalled Kubuntu and restarted system but without positive effect. Log files are attached (but not from first attempt). It's strange that installer has Czech GUI put suggests English installation as default (http://www.abclinuxu.cz/images/screenshots/5/3/102535-store-for-snapshots-18360.png).

I have the same results. Changed the language settings (even the timezone!) back to English but somehow Wubi displays the Hungarian texts. I have a XP SP2 English version!

I understand that this software is free software but the quality is awful. Did anyone test this stuff before releasing?

Sorry I'm a bit disappointed.

I tried to install from Wubi yesterday, and I also experienced this writelines() error (rev 129).

My laptop is running XP SP3 English, and when I changed the Wubi installation language to French, I received this error.
However, after reading this bug report, I left the language to English and everything went fine. I then changed Ubuntu's language after it was completely installed and configured, and that went OK. Ik can thus enjoy Ubuntu in French now!

Please update Wubi so that if you select a different language it doesn't crash!

Same problem here. I've eagerly waited to get home, and install the new Kubuntu with Wubi, but the exact same problem occured. I use XP SP2 in Hungarian language, and I tried to set the language/location/time zone/keyboard/everything to English (I tried both American and British English), I tried with Wubi rev128 and rev129, I tried to mount an iso image with Daemon Tools (the image is in the same directory with Wubi 9.04 rev129), I cleared the Temp folder, restarted the system every time. After the localization settings I left the Wubi installation language on English. The target partition is formatted with NTFS. And I still get this really annoying error message. So none of the above solving suggestions worked for me.

Please fix it soon, I'd really like to use the beautiful new Kubuntu, but I'm too afraid of loosing data because of my ignorance in partitioning.

What I've done, is reinstalling 8.10 via Wubi, then migrate to 9.04.
Long operation (it should be easier now that the rush has happened), but
good result in the end.

2009/5/4 Vargnatt <email address hidden>

> Same problem here. I've eagerly waited to get home, and install the new
> Kubuntu with Wubi, but the exact same problem occured. I use XP SP2 in
> Hungarian language, and I tried to set the language/location/time
> zone/keyboard/everything to English (I tried both American and British
> English), I tried with Wubi rev128 and rev129, I tried to mount an iso
> image with Daemon Tools (the image is in the same directory with Wubi
> 9.04 rev129), I cleared the Temp folder, restarted the system every
> time. After the localization settings I left the Wubi installation
> language on English. The target partition is formatted with NTFS. And I
> still get this really annoying error message. So none of the above
> solving suggestions worked for me.
>
> Please fix it soon, I'd really like to use the beautiful new Kubuntu,
> but I'm too afraid of loosing data because of my ignorance in
> partitioning.
>
> --
> wubi 9.04 rev129 fails on error "writelines() argument must be a sequence
> of strings"
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/365642
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of a duplicate bug.
>

Thank You for your tip Gérald, I've thought about it, but I rather prefer to walk the clean path to 9.04. There are many things changed since 8.10, and I'm not sure that the migrated system will work and look exactly the same as the 9.04 LiveCD. But if this bug stays unfixed for more than a month, then I will think about this option again.

Vargnatt, have you tried to NOT change the language defaults that WUBI presents you? I mean, if your copy of windows is in Hungarian, Wubi should default in Hungarian, so don't change the language and try to install. You will have your new Kubuntu in Hungarian, but you will be able to change the language after the installation...

From what I've experienced, the error happens when you change the default language (see previous post), but everything just worked OK when I left the default.

Yes, my first try was to install it in Hungarian, I haven't changed the default language. After I changed XP language settings, Wubi offered English automatically as the installation language, and I left it on that, although Wubi still started in it's Hungarian version.

I have the same experience as Vargnatt. I tried all language combinations (Czech x English in Vista x Wubi) but it didn't solve my problem = "writelines().."

Please try http://wubi-installer.org/devel/minefield/Wubi-9.04-rev130.exe and post the log

I can only try it tomorrow afternoon, when I get home to my own computer, but I will try this as soon as possible.

Will have to provide another build later on today

Here is a new version, please attach the log: http://wubi-installer.org/devel/minefield/Wubi-9.04-rev130b.exe

Hallo Agostino. Can you verify your the latest wubi's build, please? I'm not able to download it - Error type: 404

I'm suffering from the same problem.

First, I tried to install wubi/Ubuntu with Version 129. My Windows Vista x64 is german, the language and timezone and so on are set accordingly. But wubi refuses to install an prompts the known "writelines"-error.

Now, I tried Version 130 of wubi. It still doesn't install, but now prompts the following error: global name 'log' is not definded.

By the way - Version 130b is not present on your server ;)

Greetings from Germany,
Karsten

I've tried the same version as Ladislav, with the same result: "Error: global name 'log' is not defined". At least, it's not the "writelines()..." message again :) Log attached.

The 'Wubi-9.04-rev130b.exe' file is not there in the /devel/minefield folder, so we can't download and test it yet, I guess.

It should be available now: http://wubi-installer.org/devel/minefield/Wubi-9.04-rev130b.exe

You're on the right way Agostino, it ALMOST worked :)

I had both an iso within the same folder with Wubi rev130b and the Kubuntu liveCD in the CD-drive. It copied all the files from the CD to the destination drive, then stopped with an 'Invalid argument' error. See log for more details.

http://wubi-installer.org/devel/minefield/Wubi-9.04-rev132.exe

I successfully tried Wubi-9.04-rev130b with Czech OS settings and default Wubi's language - Czech. The ISO image was in the same folder as Wubi.
Good job - from my point of view ;?)

I successfully tried Wubi-9.04-rev130b with Czech OS settings and default Wubi's language - Czech. The ISO image was in the same folder as Wubi.
Good job - from my point of view ;?)

OK, I was able to install Ubuntu with rev 132.
I have an English XP and I chose French as the installation language, and the writelines error did not occur, the installation was successful.

However, when the installation completed, I had an English Ubuntu... It seems like the installation does not consider the language that you select... Should I open another bug?

Anyway, good job on this writelines bug.

Emilien, yes please, open a new bug, and please post both the wubi log as well as c:\ubuntu\install\custom-installation\preseed.cfg (you may want to remove your personal data first) and c:\ubuntu\install\boot\grub\menu.lst

By the way you need to do a full update within ubuntu before seeing all translated strings, do that first.

AT LAST! I have installed Kubuntu successfully! :)

The rev132 worked for the 2nd turn. At the first try there were still that 'Invalid argument' error, but when I removed the Kubuntu CD, and it installed from only the local ISO file, it worked fine. Thank You very much for fixing this bug!

The system is installed in Hungarian, although I've seen in the wubi-log that the timezone was sensed Europe/Rome (which wasn't set in my WinXP), and the Italian keyboard setting was the default when the system started. It doesn't matter afterall, I've just mentioned it.

rev132 worked here, too. The installation completed inside of Windows (but after booting into Ubuntu there was a kernel panic - but that's not the problem of wubi, I think...)

Please post separate bug reports for the other issues, even if you are uncertain
For the kernel panic in particular, press ESC at boot after selecting "Ubuntu" and try the other options, the verbose mode in particular should provide more information.

I had already done the full update but I was still in English...
I've opened a new bug concerning the language problem: bug 373421

Sorry but with the rev 132 I was unable to install Kubuntu 9.04.

With the Wubi from the CD I have the "writelines() argument must be a sequence of strings"

Reading all the report, I download the rev132 but doesnt work here.
S.O.: Windows XP SP3 - Spanish
Ubication: México
Partition NTFS

Now Wubi say:
"Permission denied." When the installation almost finish (0 secs. remain!)

madnux put wubi.exe 132 and the Ubuntu ISO in the same directory and run wubi.exe from there, do not use the CD.

same here too!

tp

tried again (weeks later). same rev 129. same error.

:-(

tp

you have to use a newer version

I've had the same problem with rev 129 (it's still linked from the "http://wubi-installer.org/" Download now link; maybe someone can post a bugfix release there?). Retried with rev 132 linked in comment #32 here and it seems to work so far (currently downloading the ISO).