Ah ha!
Found my error!!
/dev/sda *is* my USB, not the system disk.
I was confused on which device was the system disk and
which one was the USB.
I was expecting the system disk to be the larger of the
two. System disk is only 32 Gb. USB is 64 Gb.
<sheepish grin>
I'm okay - system is installing....../.\.-.|.
Excuse the spam.
----- Original message -----
From: Nancy E Davis <nedavis@fastmail.fm>
To: debian-boot@lists.debian.org
Subject: Problems with usb installation verions 9.2.1
Date: Sun, 05 Nov 2017 07:20:04 -0400
Hi Debian Folks!
I am attempting to install the current stable 9.2.1 on an ASUS
E200HA laptop using a USB drive as installation media.
I have tried using the non-free firmware update from this location:
http://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/unofficial/non-free/cd-including-firmware/
I have tried using the regular installation .iso from this location:
http://mirror.math.princeton.edu/pub/debian-cd/current/amd64/iso-dvd/
Both end in the same problem.
Problem: During the disk partitioning portion of the installation
program,
I am unable to *deslect* the USB device I am installing from. The
result
is the system repartitions the USB device I'm installing from.
I have tried setting all the partitions on the USB drive to "do not
use",
but the partition table re-write appears to destroy access to the
information on the USB drive.
When I escape out to a shell, I am unable to find any handy tools like
cfdisk
in order to partition the system drive. If I can skip the partition
step, I
think I could get through this. What partitioning tools are available
to
me in the shell?
I am getting really good at dd'ing a fresh copy of the installation
software
back to my USB ;-D
Suggestions most welcome. Please let me know if I can provide any
additional information to assist.
Best regards,
Nancy Davis