gzip and dpkg problem

[Paul Schoenly <paul@pharmacy.auburn.edu>]

Hi,

   I've been using debian (0.93R6) a while now at home and in my first
office, and never had any problems, till trying to install debian on a
computer at my second office. After installing the base system and running
dselect for the first time with no problems, I keep getting error messages
when using dpkg (+- dselect) or dftp when installing subsequent packages.
The errors are: 

$ dpkg --install package_x.deb
   .
   .
   .
   gzip:stdout: Broken pipe
   dpkg-deb: subprocess gzip -dc returned error exit status 1
   dpkg: error processing package_x.deb (--install)
    subprocess dpkg-deb --control returned error exit status 2
   Errors were encountered... (and so on)


I've tried the following:
 reinstalling gzip from scratch (tar not deb)
 reinstalling dpkg (tar and deb and recompiling source)
 reinstalling the whole os
 dpkg-deb --fsys-tarfile xxx.deb > xxx.tar and dpkg-deb -e xxx.deb to
   get the package contents and control files installed and processed
   (this *will* work but it's a hassle)


The computer in question is:
 IBM Personal Computer 750-P90
 hda1=540MB Conner HD, hdb=ATAPI cdrom, hdc=Maxtor 72004A 2Gig HD
 24 meg RAM
 +floppy, tape, cyclom 8 port, etc.

I've read the Debian installation manual, gone to www.debian.org, searched
the mailing list archives, etc. but haven't found very much.  If it's a
problem because it's an IBM, I'm having the computer replaced in a week or
two. This is the fourth or fifth time this had happened, and I'm getting
kinda frustrated. Any suggestions? Am I missing something really obvious? 

Thanks in advance,
Paul Schoenly
Auburn University