"startkde" not found

[sekhemty]

Hi , I recently got a problem, I'll shortly describe it.

I was upgrading KDE, I have enabled the Kubuntu Backports repository (I'm sure you know it, but just in case it is located at https://launchpad.net/~kubuntu-ppa/+archive/backports ).

Like I said, I was upgrading to 4.9.1 (with Muon update manager), more or less 400 megabytes; my internet connection is not very fast, it took some time, so i left to make other things while I waited for the download to finish.
But in the middle of the process, the connection was lost, and Muon downloaded and installed just a part of the marked packages.
Maybe I did a mistake, but I rebooted the system, and now I get this message every time I try to start the system:

Xsession: unable to launch "/usr/bin/startkde" X session ---
"/usr/bin/startkde" not found; falling back to default sesison.

I don't know what caused this issue, and neither how to solve it (well, that was clear, or else I wasn't posting this message right now ).

The system is missing some files that weren't downloaded during the upgrade? If I try to resume the upgrade from the command line, it will solve it?

Thank you in advance!

[NickStone]

the connection was lost, and Muon downloaded and installed just a part of the marked packages.

This is the reason why you can no longer run KDE.

Start the process again (at the command line) and make sure it downloads the entire packages. Once installed you should have your K desktop back.

[sekhemty]

Thank you, I presumed this but was not certain.

I'll try from the command line. It is better to do that from the safe mode, or by bringing up a console with Ctrl+Alt+F1 when it has already booted up?

And, I usually connect with an USB-key modem with a SIM card (I think this should show up as ppp0, but wit the ifconfig command, it is not listed), is it hard to configure it to connect me to the net from the console?

Or is it easier to use a wireless connection like is described here: http://www.ghacks.net/2009/04/14/con...a-command-line ?

[Shimapan]

Wireless connection is probably easier.
After connecting to the internet, an ordinary command line will be enough. Simply enter:

sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop

and enter your password. Then it will download and install all required packages.

[sekhemty]

I got some problems.
The command

sudo ifconfig wlan0 up

does not seem to bring it up at all, because when I give

iwlist wlan0 scan

I don't get the info I asked for.

It is to be noted that if I try with a liveCD PartedMagic I can correctly detect and configure the connection.

Also, I can try with another wifi, but in the case it won't solve the connection issue, is there another way to install all the required packages? In example by downloading all of these from another system and set up a repository on a USB key or something like that?

[vinnywright]

is their no way for you to get a wired connection until you fix the package problem ?

VINNY

[NickStone]

If you are unable to connect to the internet through the command line, there's only one other way I can think of to resolve your problem and that is to back up (copy) all your files on your home partition and re-install Kubuntu from a LiveCD (or USB).

[sekhemty]

This evening I will try both with a wireless and a wired connection, hoping that it works.

If this won't be the case, is there an easy way to download at once all the packages (or even better just the ones one that I need) of the Kubuntu Backports PPA, putting them on a CD or USB and use it as a local repository?

[sekhemty]

I managed to connect the computer with a wired interface, and after reinstalling kubuntu-desktop everything was solved.

Thank you everyone for your advices