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    Kubuntu 12.10 does not boot past boot-splash screen after Muon Software Update.

    I REALLY hope you guys can help me.

    Straight up - I'm a normal user who has been enjoying Kubuntu for 2 years (and Ubuntu for 2 years before that). My knowledge of troubleshooting is basic but I am good at following instructions

    My laptop (Acer Aspire 4750G) running Kubuntu was only last week successfully upgraded from 12.04 to 12.10. Current GRUB version is 0.97-29ubuntu66.

    My laptop runs only Kubuntu.

    Today, I had 'itchy-fingers' and decided to tick and update several ppa's which were automatically un-ticked during the 12.10 upgrade.

    I ran the update on Muon. The update went well. The problem happened when I rebooted the laptop. The boot-splash screen apprears with the Kubuntu logo in the centre & 5 little dots. After that, the screen goes black and plain text appears on-screen showing some stuff booting. It stops at 'Check Battery'.

    So, I switched off & on my laptop. Held down the <Shift> key to access the utility screen & selected 'Ubuntu Advanced Options'. I then selected 'Drop to root shell prompt'.

    I found the below-post after some minutes checking the forum:

    http://www.kubuntuforums.net/showthr...ed-at-68/page3

    After reading 'SteveRileys' instructions, here's where I am now;

    ***TEST 1***
    (In recovery mode & running in command-prompt)

    root@judedawson-Aspire-4750:~#


    Typed 'fsck /dev/sda'
    fsck from util-linux 2.20.1
    e2fsck 1.42.5 (29-Jul-2012)
    /dev/sda is mounted
    e2fsck : Cannot continue, aborting.

    Typed 'fsck /dev/sda1'
    fsck from util-linux 2.20.1
    e2fsck 1.42.5 (29-Jul-2012)
    /dev/sda1 is mounted
    e2fsck : Cannot continue, aborting.

    Typed 'fsck /dev/sda2'
    fsck from util-linux 2.20.1
    e2fsck 1.42.5 (29-Jul-2012)
    fsck.ext2: Attempt to read block from filesystem resulted in short read while trying to open /dev/sda2
    Could this be a zero-length partition?

    Typed 'fsck /dev/sda3,4,5,6'
    fsck from util-linux 2.20.1
    e2fsck 1.42.5 (29-Jul-2012)
    fsck.ext2: No such file or directory while trying to open /dev/sda3
    Possibly non-existent device?


    ***TEST 2***

    Typed 'cat /etc/fstab'
    (See 'Screenshot 1' for output)

    Typed 'mount'
    (See 'Screenshot 2' for output)

    Typed 'cat /proc/mounts'
    (See 'Screenshot 3' for output)


    ***TEST 3***
    Typed 'mount -o remount,rw /'
    (No output)

    Typed 'dpkg --configure -a'
    (No output)

    Have also tried suggestions in below threads unsuccessfully;

    http://www.kubuntuforums.net/showthr...l=1#post249872

    http://www.kubuntuforums.net/showthr...-gui-wont-boot

    http://www.kubuntuforums.net/showthr...ailed-Upgrades

    Your help is greatly appreciated.

    From,
    Jude

    PS : Apologies for starting a new thread for this but I didn't want to 'hijack' Shabakthanai's troubleshooting works on the thread he started ('Distribution upgrade from K12.04 to K12.10 64bit stopped at 68%').
    Attached Files

    #2
    Hello Jude,

    I am sitting here chuckling because we are experiencing similar fortune with the Kubuntu upgrade. I have been fighting this problem for days trying to learn from it. I realize that I can re-install from a liveCD in less than an hour, including updates, but I have spent lots of time tweeking my machine and have re-configured almost everything, trying to make my computer a thing of beauty and efficiency and to do so requires an additional hour or so recapturing its former function.

    Steve has been great; he seems willing to spend the time to fix the problem rather than solving the problem by re-installation. I am grateful for that. Nevertheless, I am now thinking that there may be something wrong with the upgrade. Always willing to accept the blame for my inadequecies, I rarely allow others to take responsibility for the problems I experience.

    In the case of your hijacking my post; I don't think it possible. I am unequiped to solve the problem without help, and those who have been working the problem with me appear to have come close to the end of their patience. In any event help yourself to the post. If they spend more time trying to help you, I will learn from your progress toward a solution. As long as I have a working computer, I will continue to work the problem. I will also keep an eye on your post, so that if a solution comes to me first, I will contact you with the fix, in the hope that if our problems are similar enough you will profit from any success I may attain. Good fortune and Cheers ! Shabakthanai

    Comment


      #3
      it may be helpful to know what PPA's you re-enabled ?

      VINNY
      i7 4core HT 8MB L3 2.9GHz
      16GB RAM
      Nvidia GTX 860M 4GB RAM 1152 cuda cores

      Comment


        #4
        Hi Shabakthanai,

        Thanks for sharing your thoughts, opinion & experiences on your current predicament with your machine

        Your post on your Kubuntu install problem has been a source of great help to me thus far. I really do hope both our Kubuntu problems can be resolved without having to resort to a fresh install. I too have spent many months on my machine tweaking it to be an efficient tool for me & it would be frustrating to have to do it all over again.

        I am convinced that both our problems will be fixed. After all, this is Kubuntu

        Best Regards,
        Jude

        Comment


          #5
          Hi Vinny,

          Thanks for your response.

          I am not sure of the exact names of the PPA. I do remember roughly what they were:
          1. 3rd party software supported by Ubuntu & Canonical.
          2. KDE updates for Oneiric.
          3. KDE backport updates for Oneiric (or something like that...)

          Hope this helps.

          Is there anything else I should check?

          From,
          Jude

          Comment


            #6
            None of your filesystems show errors, and because dpkg --configure -a gave no output, your installed packages appear consistent.

            Can you grab a copy of /var/log/syslog and post it here? Also, how comfortable are you editing files with nano or some other console-based text editor?

            Comment


              #7
              Additional information when I press & hold-down <Shift> key to enter 'GRUB Window' during boot-up.

              In 'GRUB window';

              Header on-screen shows 'GNU GRUB version 2.00-7ubuntu11'.

              I select 'Ubuntu, with Linux 3.5.0-23-generic (recovery mode)'.

              In 'Recovery Menu' (filesystem state: read-only):

              When I select 'fsck', the result is :
              fsck from util-linux 2.20.1
              /dev/sda1:276197/30277632 files (0.5% non-contiguous), 19010322/121086208 blocks.


              When I select 'dpkg', 'fsck', 'network', the result is the same:
              fsck from util-linux 2.20.1
              /dev/sda1:276197/30277632 files, 19010322/121086208 blocks.

              When I select 'root' I am able to login as 'root@judedawson-Aspire-4750:~#'

              Comment


                #8
                Those aren't errors, so it's OK.

                I want you to do something, but it would be nice to get an understading of your technical skill. If I were to say, "edit the file /etc/default/grub," do you know how to do that?

                Comment


                  #9
                  Hi Steve,

                  Thanks for your response

                  When I type in '/var/log/syslog' , the output shows:

                  Code:
                  bash: /var/log/syslog: Permission denied
                  My command-prompt shows me as 'root@judedawson-Aspire-4750:~#

                  I'm kinda embarrassed to say that I don't even know what 'nano' is but I'm willing to try.

                  I've also just posted some additional info when I boot into GRUB. It may offer some clues.

                  Thanks very much.

                  From,
                  Jude
                  Last edited by SteveRiley; Feb 01, 2013, 08:39 PM.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Hi Steve,

                    I do not know how to edit the file '/etc/default/grub' - sorry, mate... <let me check the almighty Web for that info...>

                    If you could guide me in doing it, I will do my best.

                    Thanks.

                    From,
                    Jude
                    Last edited by judedawson; Feb 01, 2013, 08:39 PM. Reason: added action

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Hi Steve,

                      Did a Google-search & found out how to do it.

                      I typed in 'sudo nano /etc/default/grub' and I'm now looking at super-funky list of commands.

                      What do I do next?

                      Thanks.

                      From,
                      Jude

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Hi Steve,

                        Looking at the screen, I do recall in other posts of a similar problem, something needs to be done with 'quiet splash'.

                        Do I need to rename 'quiet splash' to another name or is there something you would like me to check in this screen?

                        From,
                        Jude

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Take a look at the edit I made to your post:



                          See how I enclosed the output of the command in code tags? That preserves the spacing and otherwise makes it much easier to understand what's on your screen. When we ask to see the outputs of stuff, it's very helpful if you would enclose the output in these tags. It's pretty easy:

                          * Type a left square bracket [ then the word code then a right square bracket ]
                          * Place the screen text directly after the right square bracket
                          * If the output covers more than one line, ensure that you keep the line breaks intact
                          * At the end of the output, type a left square bracket [ then a forward slash / then the word code then a right square bracket ]


                          Originally posted by judedawson View Post
                          When I type in '/var/log/syslog' , the output shows:
                          You're seeing the error because what you told the command interpreter to do is attempt to execute the file called /var/log/syslog. This is not executable file. Instead, it's a log of most things that happen on your computer. It might have some clues about what's breaking. I want to take a look at it. You mention four years Linux experience, and I'm guessing you have a second computer...do you have an idea how to use command line tools to transfer the syslog file from the broken computer to the working computer so you can post it online at http://paste.ubuntu.com ?

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by judedawson View Post
                            Looking at the screen, I do recall in other posts of a similar problem, something needs to be done with 'quiet splash'.

                            Do I need to rename 'quiet splash' to another name or is there something you would like me to check in this screen?
                            OK, you're getting ahead of me. Hold on

                            Comment


                              #15
                              1. Change the line containing the word DEFAULT to this:
                              Code:
                              GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="console=tty1 text"
                              2. Place comments signs (pound signs) in front of the GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT and GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET lines.

                              3. Press Ctrl+X to save the file and exit the editor.

                              3. Run sudo update-grub

                              4. Open the file /etc/init/tty1.conf in Nano

                              5. Change the exec line so that looks like this (new part underlined):
                              Code:
                              exec /sbin/getty -8 38400 [U]--noclear[/U] tty1
                              6. Press Ctrl+X to save the file and exit the editor.

                              7. Reboot

                              You'll have one smooth message-filled text mode boot, with no screen clearing or console switching or graphical splash. Tell us what errors you see when the PC halts.

                              Comment

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