Same thing happens on an install attempt from cdrom.  Here's a cut-and-
pasted sysint screen:

    Status: Failed: command ended on signal
    Command: /sbin/newfs /dev/rsd0auid 0 comm newfs on /: file system full
    Press any key to continue

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
/dev/rsd0a:     264096 sectors in 131 cylinders of 32 tracks, 63 sectors
       129.0MB in 9 cyl groups (16 c/g, 15.75MB/g, 3584 i/g)

super-block backups (for fsck -b #) at:

     32,  32352,

/: write failed, file system is full


On Wed, 26 Dec 2001, Michael B. Schmitz wrote:

>
> I get this too.  However, mkfs on a partition of 50MB or so works,
> but if hold everything else constant and increase the size of the
> partition to 100MB, I get the error described below.
>
> Mounting a temporary 50MB filesystem on /tmp doesn't help.
>
> Thanks,
> Michael
>
> On Tue, 25 Dec 2001, mel kravitz wrote:
>
> > With install floppies, failure at disk partition, '/partition full'
> > -stop at fdisk -b command.
> > -Mel
> >
>