(dist-)upgrade killed my KDE ... again

[aristide]

Hello,
My most recent dist-upgrade has entirely disabled my Kubuntu 9.04 system ... once again. On previous occasions (3 in the last 2 months), I didn't have any time to wait for solutions, so I immediately re-installed Kubuntu from scratch and then retrieved my backups. This time I really need to know (1) what causes this really awkward situation and (2) how to recover from it without re-installing from scratch, which simply is no option for me anymore.

Facts :
1. I did a sudo apt-get dist-upgrade (or on previous occasions simply an apt-get upgrade), in the usual way. This time including a kernel upgrade.
2. After reboot, I don't get KDE anymore. I can see some unreadable graphical rubbish on my screen and that's it (I can slightly recognize a nuked version of the Kubuntu logo).
3. The Linux console still works.

Remark : the previous times, I had this phenomenom after simple apt-get upgrades.

Questions :
1. Why does this keep happening ? I had 3 similar situations since using Kubuntu 9.04.
2. How do I recover from this - if possible - with limited knowledge of the console ?
3. How do I avoid this from happening in the future ?

My system :
Dell Optiplex 760 ; 4GB mem ; graphics card ATI Radeon HD2400Pro
Kubuntu 9.04 - KDE 4.2 (I guess, can't see that anymore).

[muzicman0]

Re: (dist-)upgrade killed my KDE ... again

are you installing a proprietary ATI video driver?

[aristide]

Re: (dist-)upgrade killed my KDE ... again

Hi Muzicman, and thanks for your reply.
The fglrx driver was in use.

[The Liquidator]

Re: (dist-)upgrade killed my KDE ... again

I think a reinstall may be overkill at this point.

My understanding is that if you have proprietary graphics drivers installed they aren't automatically installed into a new kernel.

Assuming you have not removed the old kernel boot into it. If you only have the one OS hit esacape straight after the BIOS and you'll see the boot menu. I suspect that booting into the old kernel will get you to your desktop.

Unfortunately I don't have to install proprietary graphics drivers as my card is an intel (another story) but hopefully this will get you up and running without the need to reinstall.

If it doesn't then there is a rescue option at the boot menu which will enable you to run a "fix x" option. I think that will return you to open source drivers though. Perhaps you should await feedback from another ATI user before you use that one.

[aristide]

Re: (dist-)upgrade killed my KDE ... again

I think a reinstall may be overkill at this point. My understanding is that if you have proprietary graphics drivers installed they aren't automatically installed into a new kernel.

From another forum which treated ATI cards and upgrades in another issue, I guess this is probably what happened.

Assuming you have not removed the old kernel boot into it. If you only have the one OS hit escape straight after the BIOS and you'll see the boot menu. I suspect that booting into the old kernel will get you to your desktop.
If it doesn't then there is a rescue option at the boot menu which will enable you to run a "fix x" option. I think that will return you to open source drivers though. Perhaps you should await feedback from another ATI user before you use that one.

I tried those possibilities but unfortunately neither of them gives me back my desktop.

As such, re-installing from scratch is not a big problem as I have good backups and all. However since using Kubuntu 9.04, I'm having this kind of failure for the 4th time (previous times without kernel upgrade), and I'll be heading for the next issue soon as I have to do the upgrades every time again.
ATI has always been an issue on my Kubuntu box(es), not allowing me to use the full possibilities of the graphics card(s), whereas friends of mine running Kubuntu with NVidia don't seem to have any issues at all. If I finally need to reinstall from scratch, I consider mounting an NVidia card (nothing too fancy) before doing so.

For now, I'll wait just a bit more just in case something turns up.
Thanks for replying !

[The Liquidator]

Re: (dist-)upgrade killed my KDE ... again

It seems the proprietary ATI drivers for some cards do not work with Xorg 1.6, which is used by jaunty.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=7496999

For a workaround, see here:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...er/+bug/313027

You will be stuck with the open source drivers I'm afraid, which don't have 3d acceleration. However it does seem with your current card you may well simply go round in a circle if you reinstall.

[GreyGeek]

Re: (dist-)upgrade killed my KDE ... again

Hello,
My most recent dist-upgrade has entirely disabled my Kubuntu 9.04 system ... once again. On previous occasions (3 in the last 2 months), I didn't have any time to wait for solutions, so I immediately re-installed Kubuntu from scratch and then retrieved my backups. This time I really need to know (1) what causes this really awkward situation and (2) how to recover from it without re-installing from scratch, which simply is no option for me anymore.

Facts :
1. I did a sudo apt-get dist-upgrade (or on previous occasions simply an apt-get upgrade), in the usual way. This time including a kernel upgrade......

I usually do

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade.

and have never had a failed upgrade. Do you always precede the second command with the first?

[muzicman0]

Re: (dist-)upgrade killed my KDE ... again

OK, so I use nVidia cards, but I assume that the ATI would be similar...if there is a kernel update, you have to reinstall the driver. Just boot into recovery mode, and reinstall. I am not sure how the ATI driver is installed, but I am assuming that it can be done from the command line.

mm0

[aristide]

Re: (dist-)upgrade killed my KDE ... again

For a workaround, see here:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...er/+bug/313027

OK, I ran the following command :
apt-get remove --purge fglrx*
And that got me some result.
At the next boot, I got into the login screen. However I could notice that my user list was not there anymore. Just a username/password box. And that got me to the next problem ... My keyboard and mouse do not respond at all (unresponsive NumLock and no light in my infrared mouse).
Guess I'll have to start a new thread on that one unless the solution is obvious.
So far, no way of using my KDE again ...

It does seem with your current card you may well simply go round in a circle if you reinstall.

Indeed that's what I expect to happen. Unless I get my system running soon, I guess I won't be reinstalling before buying a non-ATI graphics card. ATI has given me too much grief already.

[aristide]

Re: (dist-)upgrade killed my KDE ... again

I usually do
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
and have never had a failed upgrade. Do you always precede the second command with the first ?

Yes that's what I do too. Well, the "dist-upgrade" I only do once or twice a month.
So far, it seems my graphics card (ATI) and drivers caused my trouble.