Unfortunately, this didn't fix the problem. Though the downloaded packages fit comfortably in the 20GB partition we directed them to, the 80MB we had left in the root partition was consumed and caused the installation to halt after the downloads were completed and the installer had handled the bulk of the dependency checking and package configuration. We didn't resolve the problem by the time this story was ready for publication despite some close examinations of the root filesystem to find what was consuming the space. We opted to use the apt-get for our Progeny and Debian 2.2 installations. Using dselect at this stage so as to identify packages that are recognized as new additions to the available database is recommended.
Results appear to vary.
Wrapping up on the installation process, meeting the doorman. Whatever their source, we hope they weren't a widespread issue for many others, as they'd quickly back an end user off with frustration. One other minor problem we'd note is the lack of flexibility when it comes to package selection. Very little user choice is involved here, especially considering that the contents of each of the package sets available is never documen1ted. We'd prefer a little more control of this part of the installation, though the installer does, at least, note what packages are about to be installed.