Well, after minicom bombs with the connection error, I'd first try to
replug in the usb cable and reconnect.. It should be at or later then
the previous message you saw.. Or just use gtkterm..
However, If your powering by usb, grab a 5volt power supply, as
powering via usb is just to un-reliable with the sd card load during
install...
The "--serial-mode" doesn't matter, it defaults to that mode for the
BeagleBone...
Regards,
Thanks Robert - using a 5v supply fixed my problem. Managed to install 12.10 this afternoon 
Regards Tony
I am trying to use the same method as you. I am stuck at the Language Select screen. How do I interact with the menu? Aside from using minicom to observe data going back and forth on a comm port, I am clueless as to how exactly to use it to set up Ubuntu!
From your pc running minicom (or even better as you DONT have to
configure it "gtkterm") use your keyboard..
Regards,