Perfect record - do not read if you don't want bad news

[geezer]

Bearer of bad news again.

Succumbed yesterday to the dunning messages from Kpackagekit to upgrade from 9.04 to 9.10.

Downloaded 1296 packages - that took approximately 3.5 hrs - high speed DSL line

Then waited for the installation - about 40 minutes.

With an estimated 3 minutes left on the installation, 75% finished, a program experienced an "unexpected crash".

Went through the bug reporting screens - the bug reporting s/w decided that there wasn't sufficient information to report or something like that. Continued clicking buttons to continue.

The bug reporting screens all closed and only the installation screen remained and remained and remained and remained and ......

Finally Linux reported the program as non-responding and do I want to terminate? Only option left was to agree.

Rebooted

and of course the Kubuntu installation was hosed - the booting sequence reported that the partitions couldn't be found and hung.

So time to download and write a new CD for 9.10.

I had a few options:

• boot 9.04 from CD, install, download 9.10, create 9.10 CD and reboot
• boot Vista, download 9.10, write new CD and reboot

As offensive as booting Vista is to me, it was the quickest route to a new install.

So I am currently running Vista and using Firefox (the new for my Vista 3.5.4 version - had to get that operating first) and downloading 9.10 - 36% complete as of now.

So far my record for upgrading a version of Kubuntu is perfect - every one has been a total failure.

I'll probably keep trying to upgrade - I'm old enough that I keep forgetting and keep trying. Maybe my perfect record will continue and maybe not. Hopefully not.

[6seven]

Re: Perfect record - do not read if you don't want bad news

Same here. KdeSudo (I think) crashed and the update got stuck at 85% completion. I abandoned and couldn't boot back into the system.

After starting in recovery mode, I was unable to solve the problem with sudo apt-get update, sudo apt-get dist-upgrade or sudo dpkg -- configure -a because the system was mounted read-only.

I eventually found a solution at http://www.webmasterworld.com/linux/3080252.htm . Un-mounting and re-mounting the system partition (sda1) with -o remount,rw /dev/sda1 did the trick. Afterwards I was able to complete the update and boot back into KDE.

[geezer]

Re: Perfect record - do not read if you don't want bad news

Same here. KdeSudo (I think) crashed and the update got stuck at 85% completion. I abandoned and couldn't boot back into the system.

After starting in recovery mode, I was unable to solve the problem with sudo apt-get update, sudo apt-get dist-upgrade or sudo dpkg -- configure -a because the system was mounted read-only.

I eventually found a solution at http://www.webmasterworld.com/linux/3080252.htm . Un-mounting and re-mounting the system partition (sda1) with -o remount,rw /dev/sda1 did the trick. Afterwards I was able to complete the update and boot back into KDE.

Yes - I'm pretty sure that is the same app that crashed on mine.

[geezer]

Re: Perfect record - do not read if you don't want bad news

Continuation of saga - it ends happily - I think

Following steps to good 9.10 Kubuntu installation:

• after downloading under Vista and writing CD, following
• booted 9.10 Live CD
• Clicked install 9.10 on desktop
• went through procedure to install up to disk configuration. I have to use a manual installation since my HD configuration baffles the installation s/w and probably always will. I have 3 HDs:
  • sda - 250 GB disk from old computer, 3 partitions: boot partition, XP partition, ext3 partition used for misc. storage
  • sdb - 500 GB Kubuntu disk - 2 partitions: / and /home
  • sdc - 500 GB - Vista single partition
• for manual configuration of hard disks, the 9.1 Live Cd installation program was totally ignorant of sdb hard disk that Kubuntu is to be installed on
• quit installation
• re-booted Live CD again - same thing sdb hard disk totally absent
• abandoned 9.10 Live CD ionstallation
• Dug out old 9.04 Live CD and booted
• clicked on install 9.04
• installed 9.04 with manual HD configuration
• 9.04 installed correctly
• booted 9.04 and clicked on Kpackagekit and clicked "yes" to upgrade to 9.10
• 9.10 upgrade died about 1/2 through download - unable to access something - upgrade failed, but probably due to comm problem somewhere on internet
• rebooted and clicked on Kpackagekit and updated all s/w
• clicked on Kpackagekit and clicked on upgrade to 9.10
• 9.10 upgrade completed successfully and appears to be running OK thus far - a few problems - lost sound, need to cleanup menu for s/w no longer around, installed Firefox, still learning what s/w is still missing, installed Synaptic

All in all - so far things seem to be working satisfactorily except for sound.

Have absolutely no idea why 9.10 Live CD installation could not find a 500 GB disk, sdb, but found the other 2 disks and still maintained proper nomenclature, i.e., completely skipping 'b' and going from 'a' to 'c'.

So I have broken my perfect record and have a successful upgrade of Kubuntu.

My take: if upgrading do so with a "virgin" installation to upgrade from. Over time my Kubuntu installation tends to gather s/w and probably stuff that the upgrade program is baffled by, i.e., my installation tends to get rather "crufty", but then I'll bet most do. Maybe all of those "blocked udates" that I did anyway through using aptitude ionstead of Kpackagekit baffled the upgrade program. Don't know.

Still shaking my head onhow the 9.10 disk scannner could lose a whole 500 GB disk. :P :P

[mfburgo]

Re: Perfect record - do not read if you don't want bad news

Similar issue this morning. However after the crash I switched to a console and ran a dist-upgrade. This completed the installation

I was able to reboot directly into 9.10.....

Just posted this so that if someone else has a similar problem they can recover before they reboot.

sorry about your problem upgrades can be dangerous. sometimes it is just better to download the iso and reinstall saving only your home directory.....

[GreyGeek]

Re: Perfect record - do not read if you don't want bad news

Continuation of saga - it ends happily - I think

Glad to see that you spoiled your perfect record!

[geezer]

Re: Perfect record - do not read if you don't want bad news

Continuation of saga - it ends happily - I think

Glad to see that you spoiled your perfect record!

I second that !!!

[geezer]

Re: Perfect record - do not read if you don't want bad news

Similar issue this morning. However after the crash I switched to a console and ran a dist-upgrade. This completed the installation

I was able to reboot directly into 9.10.....

Just posted this so that if someone else has a similar problem they can recover before they reboot.

sorry about your problem upgrades can be dangerous. sometimes it is just better to download the iso and reinstall saving only your home directory.....

I'm going to make a note of that on paper and file in my file cabinet - it never fails

[Nate B.]

Re: Perfect record - do not read if you don't want bad news

Back in July I tried to update from 9.04 to Karmic and had essentially the same thing happen. So I re-installed from 9.10 Alpha 2 CD (I think) and have continued updating ever since. Looks like this was a bug that never got fixed.

[kjjjjshab]

Re: Perfect record - do not read if you don't want bad news

Same thing happened to my upgrade to RC... kdesudo crashed and when I rebooted it had partition problems with the swap. Here I thought it was just me.

http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...1411#msg201411

By the way, I hope no one takes offense to my self-deprecation there... I don't think anyone else is an idiot for messing up their system because of this issue... I just knew better but failed to act on that knowledge.

[mudlark]

Re: Perfect record - do not read if you don't want bad news

this is the first time an upgrade has failed completely. total trash and i think it something to do with grub. my super grub rescue disk didn't help either.

I did a complete install of 9.10 that works OK.

Upgrading slowly was Ok on an other machine.I think it is changing from grub to a beta grub2 and a new file system ext4.

On another matter, why the 8uck doesn't kubuntu run straight onto an existing windows network? It's a right royal pain in the nether regions installing samba and smbfs or whatever I did to get it working..

[Tick]

Re: Perfect record - do not read if you don't want bad news

I had the same problem.
Black screen after a 3.5 hrs long installation. Had to reinstall 9.04 and re-upgrade. Now still many things not working fine. Programs constantly crashing.
Sad to admit, but the so far proudly pretended stability of Linux distro is vanishing with time. Never had so many probelm with Windows as i had in the last few months with Kubuntu

[GreyGeek]

Re: Perfect record - do not read if you don't want bad news

I had the same problem.
Black screen after a 3.5 hrs long installation. Had to reinstall 9.04 and re-upgrade. Now still many things not working fine. Programs constantly crashing.

And you opted for the harder route of installing 9.04 and upgrading it instead of using the 9.10 LiveCD to reinstall because?

You probably also have a 64 bit machine. Did you install the 64 bit version of Kubuntu?

Sad to admit, but the so far proudly pretended stability of Linux distro is vanishing with time. Never had so many probelm with Windows as i had in the last few months with Kubuntu

"vanishing with time"?
In you first post on this forum you wrote:

9 Kubuntu Discussion / Installation and Boot / [SOLVED] Kubunto does not show up in Boot on: October 03, 2009, 06:38:31 am
Hi all, i-m completely new and lost.

So, with a history of less than a month you confidently write that "proudly pretended stability of Linux distro is vanishing with time". Then you add your clincher "Never had so many probelm with Windows as I had in the last few months with Kubuntul"?

Which is it? Are you a newbie with less than a month's experience, as you state in your first post on this forum, or do you have several months experience with Kubuntu? Or any Linux distro?

For the vast majority of Kubuntu users (newbie or otherwise) installing Kubuntu is just a matter of a few mouse clicks. Those who do not precheck their hardware and install Linux on incompatible hardware often do have problems, but sometimes a workaround is found. The same can be said for Windows, too, as the recent VISTA fiaco, and as some folks are reporting with Win7, and probably yourself too, verifies.

You began your Kubuntu experience trying to install it on a 2 HD system that had two VISTA installs on it, which is NOT a common or normal environment for either VISTA or Kubuntu. You got help inn solving your grub problem and replied:

Thanx everybody for your help.. I'll come back soon with other stupid questions

We're here to help, Tick, but you adding negative comments based on trivial experience isn't helpful, unless your goal is to scare other newbies away. If that is your goal then who are you, really? And are you as "sad" as you claim?

[sithlord48]

Re: Perfect record - do not read if you don't want bad news

my upgrade from 9.04 didn't go so good either ... i got it running at the first attempt (when beta came out), it ran for a bit then got killed by some upgrade (kernel refused to mount my disks).

then i reinstalled 9.04 and tried again (when RC came out), this time it again refused to mount my disk but apon first boot after upgrade. so i dled a full rc disk and did a reinstall from that, (keeping my /home).

since a fresh install from a 9.10 rc disk this machine has been running very smooth and boots in 37.8 seconds, much faster then 9.04 booted.karmic is running better then i had hoped it would, hats off the the devs!

[kjjjjshab]

Re: Perfect record - do not read if you don't want bad news

I've been seeing more and more posts regarding this upgrade... perhaps others have gone poorly for other users in the past and I didn't notice since I wasn't affected... or is there a serious problem in this particular upgrade?