Update Upgrade = Stuff-UPS. I really miss M$

[CharlieDaves]

I don't know if its...
1. Me
2. PEBKAC issue
3. My 2008 Computer
4. Linux has finally been sucked up into Micro$oft <soft tissue>
5. Linux has been forced to comply with keyboard loggers, and firewall by-passes by the NSA, and just plain and simply sucks

Ever since Version 18 or 19, every-time I do an "DIST-UPGRADE" it totally stuff's up my system.

I've been forced to wipe and re-install kubuntu several times, finally deciding after a hint in these forums somewhere, to "NEVER" up-grade

I was forced a few days ago, when several websites (I use FireFox) decided that "security.. blah blah" and I figured out FireFox wasn't as Up to Date, so I am getting blocked. My update from command was telling me that several things were being "held back", one was FireFox.
SO !!!!
I had to bite the bullet and do the upgrade. 22.04 to 24.04

Problem 1.... reboot nothing but errors. Tried dpkg fix packages, fix grub, computer came alive... Opps Still 22.04
Problem 2.... after about 2 hours of up-grading and a reboot dropped me into a tty terminal... That lead back to trying to fix packages, etc. That took a day
Problem 3.... Finally the system was up-graded.... and yet still in tty terminal so I thought the only thing was to "apt get install kubuntu-desktop"
Problem 4.... I think it worked.. Several reboots later, and hey, I am now here, complaining.

Success. At least my boot screen (I really wanted to make a change that I liked, so I spent 2 days programming this.. Now I do not remember how)

Question. for those that read and reply to noob's ranting like a lunatic....
Q1- Why is it so difficult to update and upgrade.
Q2- Why is there so much "garbage", sorry bloat-packages installed. I found some update scrolling up the screen, updating GRUB to UFEI BIOS or similar. My PC is so old it doesn't have UFEI.
Q2a- Some upgrade Version 19 or 20 I had "online drives" like instant cloud storage, and it took me hours to remove it.

AND Finally on a Very SAD NOTE
I've been in and out of Hospitals with multiple TIA's (Mini strokes) My brain is scrambled eggs now.

AND NO "MUON".. That just makes linux a joke, and I really want M$ even if it logs every-thing I type for China, no P.R.C to read and monitor.

Stay Safe Everyone

[CharlieDaves]

I was trying to change the software updates bit.... found this website
[HTML]https://askubuntu.com/questions/1526583/kubuntu-24-04-how-can-i-change-the-server-for-downloading-update[/HTML]

So... Muon was part of Gnome I installed the gnome software updater, and hey presto, the software configuration options appeared.

Synaptic Package Manager.. Is this just a GUI for run commands of apt install updates

[deadsplash]

AND NO "MUON".. That just makes linux a joke, and I really want M$ even if it logs every-thing I type for China, no P.R.C to read and monitor.

Even though you've supposedly been using Linux for years, the posts you've written recently don't contain any relevant information that could help someone solve or see what the problem is that you have. What is your hardware, where are the journalctl messages to see the errors, how did you upgrade, what steps did you follow to upgrade, what modifications have you made to the configuration files?

And that last sentence you wrote, it's incredible how someone who has used Linux for years still doesn't understand how things work in the open source world. Software when it doesn't have any developers simply dies, it's not a good security practice to allow users from official repositories to install software that isn't maintained and can present security risks to the system, neither Linux nor Mac nor Microsoft will do this.

Anyway, you're free to install what you want on your computer, if you're happy in M$, stay there.

[jglen490]

Not sure what you are doing with your reference to "DIST-UPGRADE". Generally, if you do a version upgrade, there are proven steps to follow whether you skip a version or not. Those steps are either listed in the new version's install instructions, or are found right here in the forum. The only "DIST-UPGRADE" instructions I know are sudo apt-get dist-upgrade, which is deprecated in favor of sudo apt full-upgrade, preceded of course by sudo apt update.

The lack of muon is really a non-issue. There are, and have been, many alternatives to muon. Yes, muon WAS a great product. Life goes on and so does Linux.

[CharlieDaves]

Even though you've supposedly been using Linux for years, the posts you've written recently don't contain any relevant information that could help someone solve or see what the problem is that you have. What is your hardware, where are the journalctl messages to see the errors, how did you upgrade, what steps did you follow to upgrade, what modifications have you made to the configuration files?

Not sure what you are doing with your reference to "DIST-UPGRADE". Generally, if you do a version upgrade, there are proven steps to follow whether you skip a version or not. Those steps are either listed in the new version's install instructions, or are found right here in the forum. The only "DIST-UPGRADE" instructions I know are sudo apt-get dist-upgrade, which is deprecated in favor of sudo apt full-upgrade, preceded of course by sudo apt update.

The lack of muon is really a non-issue. There are, and have been, many alternatives to muon. Yes, muon WAS a great product. Life goes on and so does Linux.

if you're happy in M$, stay there.

The ONLY reason I have knowledge of non-liux, is, My Family uses iPhones and M$... I occasional go and read security updates and concerns.... I read, don't know if it's true that M$ V10+ has a built in keyboard logger, so If your tech savvy and use TOR, VPN, etc but still boot off of M$, the ""Authorities"" can still read or obtain your log IN details.. Follow the clues... See what you have done.
iAPPLE. Since Apple put a DATA server in China, and under China Laws, they have the full legal right to view anything, YOU DO... If you post something, or even take a photo, that China or PRC don't like, they can delete it, change it, or even put spyware on your device remotely...

WHAT TIMES WE LIVE IN And my family occasional asks me to "fix" something.. I have a look, try to fix, and leave all the tracking and stupid stuff they have installed alone... There problem, not mine, && I Haven't used M$ since 2014 or there about.

BACK to your Questions and Comments......
I fresh installed 20.04. Disabled Discover notifications & Discover.... I hate "pop-ups"
On a Semi regular basis, every 1-2months, I would use MUON to do an "update"
When I choose to UpGRADE I used command line and did a

sudo apt update && apt upgrade

As for reading new versions install instructions,
Q- What They would be where
Hardware - 2006-09 era PC. 4Core CPU 12Gigs RAM.

journalctl messages to see the errors,
A- I think I've seen this a few times looking for info on other things. Never ever new what it does... Still don't.

My problems began when I did the upGRADE to 24.04.. No MUON, so I switched to synaptic. I was still having errors on some websites of "security" possible due to an out of date Firefox.
I tried synaptic and "apt udate && upgrade" to fix. I kept getting messages that the following wouldn't be updated
Firefox
Lib something
Lib again
Lib whatever
godmightknow I didn't read it.
and number 6

No matter what I did, FF wouldn't update, and was causing issues....

I didn't know how to fix. I Internet Searched. I browsed and Searched Kubuntu Forums, couldn't find a fix.. Then synaptic suggested in the (Is it the description filed box) when I selected Firefox for a re-install, to remove fiefox snapd (or snap... I don't remember). Then I lost FireFox &&&& Thunderbird. I rebooted, selected synaptic install Firefox and Install Thunderbird, and they returned with my settings in place.

Sometime since Feb 22 and March 1...........Yes. I do remember after re-installing gnome software sources (as I could NOT find them in synaptic or anywhere else, because I wanted to know what was going on and read that my software source was Jammy... I also remember that I was using nvidia graphics driver (which ---- I've always had problems with) so I have just used novea.... I've previously mentioned some where in these forums... Cant find it.
Mail was working. The last email I sent was Friday Evening.
Then a power outage over night.
Rebooted PC, to a blank screen....
Unable to Rescue. It just doesn't work.

[deadsplash]

As for reading new versions install instructions,
Q- What They would be where

Yes, there are always instructions on how to upgrade. And it is good to read them if you do not have the knowledge and look for a guide on how to upgrade. (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/NobleUpgrades/Kubuntu)

Question did you upgrade from Kubuntu 20.04 to version 24.04?

My problems began when I did the upGRADE to 24.04.. No MUON, so I switched to synaptic. I was still having errors on some websites of "security" possible due to an out of date Firefox.
I tried synaptic and "apt udate && upgrade" to fix. I kept getting messages that the following wouldn't be updated
Firefox
Lib something
Lib again
Lib whatever
godmightknow I didn't read it.
and number 6

Since Ubuntu 22.04 there is no Firefox version in the repositories. To use Firefox it is recommended to use the Snap Store or Flathub application. The other option is to add a PPA and install Firefox from there, with the security risks that can exist when using PPA repositories.

I didn't know how to fix. I Internet Searched. I browsed and Searched Kubuntu Forums, couldn't find a fix.. Then synaptic suggested in the (Is it the description filed box) when I selected Firefox for a re-install, to remove fiefox snapd (or snap... I don't remember). Then I lost FireFox &&&& Thunderbird. I rebooted, selected synaptic install Firefox and Install Thunderbird, and they returned with my settings in place.

I think the best thing to do is to save your entire home folder (data and settings) and do a fresh install of Kubuntu. Then import the data from your saved home folder. Sometimes imported settings can have problems. Try first importing only the data without the settings.

Sometime since Feb 22 and March 1...........Yes. I do remember after re-installing gnome software sources (as I could NOT find them in synaptic or anywhere else, because I wanted to know what was going on and read that my software source was Jammy... I also remember that I was using nvidia graphics driver (which ---- I've always had problems with) so I have just used novea.... I've previously mentioned some where in these forums... Cant find it.

What Nvidia drivers did you install? and from which repository?

[CharlieDaves]

Yes, there are always instructions on how to upgrade. And it is good to read them if you do not have the knowledge and look for a guide on how to upgrade. (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/NobleUpgrades/Kubuntu)

Good to know. Thanks. I'll take a look

Question did you upgrade from Kubuntu 20.04 to version 24.04?

Ummm. Rrrr... Original Install was 20.04, then apt upgrade to 22.04.?

Since Ubuntu 22.04 there is no Firefox version in the repositories. To use Firefox it is recommended to use the Snap Store or Flathub application. The other option is to add a PPA and install Firefox from there, with the security risks that can exist when using PPA repositories.

Didn't know... Haven't read anything about this... Raises the simple question of [HTML]https://www.kubuntuforums.net/forum/currently-supported-releases/kubuntu-24-04-nitpick-noble-lts/software-support-bg/685545-appimage-vs-deb-vs-snap[/HTML]..
What should I use?
And Why?
Please just one option. Read my profile for reasons

I think the best thing to do is to save your entire home folder (data and settings) and do a fresh install of Kubuntu. Then import the data from your saved home folder. Sometimes imported settings can have problems. Try first importing only the data without the settings.

I've attempting to do this. I keep getting errors. LuckyBackup fails. skips files. gzip will not -UN-Compress.. I can create a gz file from /Home
Same issue with Clonezilla. I think it worked, but it said it failed to read a partition "sdc". Considering I don't know which is which this is a problem.

What Nvidia drivers did you install? and from which repository?

Umm. What ever was on the screen. I do NOT recall changing this, and I know I haven't used it. Last fresh Install of 20.04 I deselected additional drivers and after completing the Install I installed Muon, then checked that I was using the 'open source' graphics driver...

As I have sort of touched on, 24.04 appears (To Me) to do it's own thing. I mentioned just trying to get Firefox to work. I never touched Thunderbird, but somehow the '24.04 system' chose to do so. Possible the same with Graphics drivers. I Just Don't Know what happened. This is why I personal hate the AUTO-update rubbish. Yeah I know, it's a security thing. ""You must keep your system up-to-date with security patches when they are released"".... B$... Frequently or constantly "updating" your system, without regular backups like BTRFS, means you are just "hoping" that things will work. I've had updates, & seen updates that caused more problems after than before updating.
And to rant a little. There is still no "live" backup for Linux (M$ Windows - Paragon Backup & Recovery), except for the complex "manual" or "You should know How-to-do yourself" method of BTRFS.

Anyhow
Thank You Deadsplash

[deadsplash]

What should I use?
And Why?
Please just one option. Read my profile for reasons

Personally, I use the version of Firefox that is installed via flatpak (Flathub). But in order to use flatpak applications (sudo apt install flatpak) you have to install the program and enable the option to use flatpak in Discovery.

Snap applications come by default configured in Kubuntu, except if you perform a minimal installation.

The difference between AppImage and Snap/Flatpak is that applications in snap or flatpak format create a sandbox for the application and this type of design is safer.

For more information you can go to https://www.linux.org/threads/appima...flatpak.50848/

I've attempting to do this. I keep getting errors. LuckyBackup fails. skips files. gzip will not -UN-Compress.. I can create a gz file from /Home
Same issue with Clonezilla. I think it worked, but it said it failed to read a partition "sdc". Considering I don't know which is which this is a problem.

Try using rsync to back up your home directory. Here is a guide: https://www.pragmaticlinux.com/2021/...tory-in-linux/

Umm. What ever was on the screen. I do NOT recall changing this, and I know I haven't used it. Last fresh Install of 20.04 I deselected additional drivers and after completing the Install I installed Muon, then checked that I was using the 'open source' graphics driver...

Please tell me what model of Nvidia card you are using, so I can look up information about it.

And to rant a little. There is still no "live" backup for Linux (M$ Windows - Paragon Backup & Recovery), except for the complex "manual" or "You should know How-to-do yourself" method of BTRFS.

There are different methods to achieve data backups in Linux. In my last installation of Kubuntu, I configured my system partition with BTRS and installed Timeshift to configure automatic backups of that partition.

Kubuntu comes integrated with a backup tool, if that does not work for you, you can try Deja up, luckybackup, rsync.

Here are some other interesting links:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/deja-d...find-on-linux/

https://www.reallinuxuser.com/luckyb...ion-for-linux/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8UWcyOy9tM

Best regards

[CharlieDaves]

Personally, I use the version of Firefox that is installed via flatpak (Flathub). But in order to use flatpak applications (sudo apt install flatpak) you have to install the program and enable the option to use flatpak in Discovery.
Snap applications come by default configured in Kubuntu, except if you perform a minimal installation.
For more information you can go to https://www.linux.org/threads/appima...flatpak.50848/

I read on ubuntu or Linux or KDE that "snaps" are still in development. I don't trust that regardless of Kubuntu auto Install. It should have a warning and an option for the user to decided. That's just a bad developers choice

Try using rsync to back up your home directory. Here is a guide: https://www.pragmaticlinux.com/2021/...tory-in-linux/

I'll have a read... Personally as you mentioned below I now have a backup of /Home minus the Folders I created as I don't have enough storage options or a working Samba network.

Please tell me what model of Nvidia card you are using, so I can look up information about it.

Gigabyte GT-710... I am going to attempt a reboot if and when I get a valid backup of / & /Home on my (this) other PC.

There are different methods to achieve data backups in Linux. In my last installation of Kubuntu, I configured my system partition with BTRS and installed Timeshift to configure automatic backups of that partition.

Kubuntu comes integrated with a backup tool, if that does not work for you, you can try Deja up, luckybackup, rsync.

Here are some other interesting links:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/deja-d...find-on-linux/

https://www.reallinuxuser.com/luckyb...ion-for-linux/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8UWcyOy9tM

Best regards

I've been using LuckyBackup as it's easy to use & I can exclude things like /Home/Documents. I do a Separate LBU for my Documents.

Q- Can deadsplash or any other KFN user tell me about this 'Backup tool' ?
Q- Is there a default backup tool ?
Q- Is it easy to use ?
Q- Is it better (so to speak) than LuckyBackup ?

[CharlieDaves]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8UWcyOy9tM
Best regards

Okay CharlieDaves is now very confused .. He installed 'Timeshift' excluded everything, yet it took a snapshot of what ?
No /root
No /Home - as he suggested, and sounds like a good idea....

[deadsplash]

I read on ubuntu or Linux or KDE that "snaps" are still in development. I don't trust that regardless of Kubuntu auto Install. It should have a warning and an option for the user to decided. That's just a bad developers choice

Snap is not in development, it is a packaging system that has been around for several years.

Q- Can deadsplash or any other KFN user tell me about this 'Backup tool' ?
Q- Is there a default backup tool ?
Q- Is it easy to use ?
Q- Is it better (so to speak) than LuckyBackup ?

Deja Dup is the backup tool that comes pre-installed on recent versions of Ubuntu, I think since 22.04. It's easy to configure, encrypts and compresses backups, I've been using it recently and so far it's worked better for me than the backup system built into Kubuntu.

[claydoh]

Now, normally I'd suggest looking at Kup-backup, but only its more current versions. the one in 24.04 is not so great.

But if you are on 24.10 and add the kubuntu-backports PPA to get the current version, which fixes the bug I reported that keeps it from showing up in System Settings, I can definitely suggest looking at the defualt backup tool. I have been using it myself for years, and even built it from source for a while. I like that it has both straight rsync copies, as well as versioned backups. and can have multiple plans and schedules , so multiple source selections, destinations, and different backup types are possible simultaneously. It will not do system level backups at all, just user files. Version 0.10 is MUCH improved and stable.

Timeshift on non-btrfs systems does do system level file backups and restores. Btrfs (via Timeshift) using local disk snapshots is not really a backup, since if the drive dies, so do the snapshots, However, this is great as a get-out-of-jail-free card.