Comment 117 for bug 96084

Regarding /bin/sh: Can’t access tty; job control turned off

Apparently, there are a bizillion reasons that this error occurs, but in my case, it was because the Ubuntu Live CD couldn't recognize some of the hardware on the machine I was installing to. (I was able to install it successfully on other machines--it was just one troublesome machine).

Here is what worked for me:

   1. When the bootup screen appears, press F6
   2. Type the following: acpi=off irqpoll
   3. Press the Enter key.
   4. View the Live CD and install Ubuntu.

You have to make sure that this problem is resolved when Ubuntu boots, too. To do that:

   1. Boot your computer so that GRUB is displayed.
   2. Press the "e" key to go into edit mode.
   3. Press "o" to add a new line to the script.
   4. Type the following: acpi=off irqpoll
   5. Press the Escape key.

In the event that acpi=off doesn't work try replacing the entry above with one of the following:

    * acpi=force irqpoll
    * nacpitimer irqpoll

You may have to revisit the second set of steps when you upgrade ubuntu.

I hope this helps.