Mint 13 KDE Installer Crash

[BobLH]

I've tried installing Mint 13 KDE 64 bit via DVD and via USB stick. I've also verified the MD5 on the iso file. I've burned multiple DVDs (on multiple drives and computers) and USBs, downloaded from multiple mirrors, etc. I've tried installing to multiple hard disks on two very different machines (1 personally made reasonably high end desktop machine, and one fairly new Dell laptop.) The desktop has 8 gigs of RAM and and a quad core Intel CPU. The laptop has 4 gigs of RAM and a pseudo-quad cure Intel CPU (dual core with hyperthreading.) Smallest disk I tried was a new Samsung 830 120 gig SSD. Others were true hard disks with the smallest being 160 gigs. I'm using the full disks for the install. In all cases, I get the following results:

1.) Live CD boots and runs fine.
2.) If I try to install, using any permutation I can think of on partition selection, including manual and EXT3, versus EXT4, series formating, the installer crashes during the format process (disk prepare showing 33%.) It gets a little further (to the enter user/computer names, but still showing disk prepare at 33% with EXT3.
3.) Same results if I boot into compatibility mode.
4.) If I interrupt the boot to live CD and do an integrity test, I always get "1 file failed," but no definition of what file. Again, from multiple DVD burns, multiple downloads from mirrors, multiple USB sticks, all with the ISO MD5 verified.
5.) Since I'm in live CD (I assume to be the reason), I can't update the installer or run the package managers/updater. All crash with various forms of IO error, or can't update files.
6.) I've successfully installed current KUbuntu and Mint 13 Mate on these same machines.
7.) I've run extensive Memtests and disk verifies on both machines and all physical disks I've tried.
8.) In no case am I trying to multi-boot. I'm physically putting in a new drive, and removing "old" system drives.
9.) About the only thing I haven't tried is installing an older version of Mint KDE and upgrading. I really prefer clean installs.

I'm a somewhat experienced Linux user (multiple distros for about 5 years) and a very experienced Windows user (considered a geek by some), but not a Linux guru. I'm at a loss. I prefer the KDE desktop, but prefer Mint to Kubuntu. I've seached Google and Mint forums on this, but haven't found anything that helps. I'd really like to get this install working, but have run out of ideas.

[austin.texas]

About the only thing I haven't tried is installing an older version of Mint KDE and upgrading. I really prefer clean installs.

There is also the possibility of installing Mint 13 MATE, and then installing the KDE desktop environment.
Not exactly a clean install, but maybe better than an upgrade.

[oobetimer]

Remove ubiquity-slideshow-mint package before an installation.
sudo apt-get remove ubiquity-slideshow-mint

[BobLH]

Thanks to both the above for their ideas. oobetimer - good idea, but it didn't help.

I got this to work, but am at a loss why what I did made the difference.
Previously I had always downloaded the iso under Windows and used unetbooten 586 to make a usb stick (and or burned a dvd.)
This time I tried downloading in KUbuntu and used startup disk creator to make a usb stick. I used one of the same hard disks and usb sticks I had used before, but this time it works.

This wasn't a fluke either. Out of curiosity I had tried the orginal procedure with Mint 13 Xfce and had the same problem. Doing it this second way works fine with Xfce also.

I'm really puzzled on this one, but am going to try the same thing with a DVD. It will be very weird if that also works!