Failure to upgrade.

[bai.ganga]

Let me start with an apology. I am not a regular Kubuntu user although I have had it installed on my laptop since the time I purchased it is June 2009. And, this problem I am explaining here was posted about a week ago but I find it missing surprisingly. Therefore, I am re-writing the whole details.

First about my laptop. It is an Acer Aspire which has AMD turion processor with 2.2 GHz, 3 GB RAM, 512 MB VRAM, 500 GB HDD and all other facilities like bluetooth, webcam, wifi, etc.,. On purchasing it, I had installed Kubuntu 09.04 and windows XP as dual boot and used to upgrade it regularly. But, it developed a serious problem due to which the HDD had to be changed from the originally existing 320 GB to 500 GB in the end of 2011. With this change of hardware, I had formatted and installed Kubuntu 11.10 along with windows-7 dual boot, both 32 bit versions. I know the laptop is capable of 64 bit but, I chose to retain it in 32 bit mode.

Like a said in the first paragraph, I am not a regular user of Kubuntu and therefore, did not upgrade it for quite a long time. In Apri/May this year, I thought of upgrading it directly to version 14.04 but probably due to a fault with the DVD or its contents (which were downloaded using torrents in windows platform from Kubuntu site) I could not upgrade my distro. I posted a query here and had also got responses. According to the advice in one of them, I chose to upgrade my distro using Muon package manager.

I thought the process went on well and I upgraded to 12.04 distro. Currently the system indicates that it has GRUB version 0.97-29 Ubuntu 66 and KDE version 4.8.5. At a first glance, the system seems to be running well with all the original settings of my earlier 11.10 version intact. but there are some problems. The main thing is that there is absolutely no sound heard from the system. When I open Windows-7, it is functioning perfectly well and I can even watch movies with great clarity --- so, it is not a hardware problem. And a secondary thing is that the system is not doing any further upgrades on Kubuntu. The system tray shows the half green toothed wheel and the message pops up saying that upgrades are available. I can open Muon package manager either from here or from the Kickoff application launcher. But after selecting those required upgrades and selecting to "install updates" there is no progress. A message as follows pops up above the Muon package manager.

Another application seems to be using the package system at this time. You must close all other package managers before you will be able to install or remove any packages.

So, now I am stuck with this. Can someone please advice me what I could do to further upgrade my Kubuntu?

[Shabakthanai]

Hold off on my answer until someone else confirms what I tell you. It has been a while since I had the same problem, but I believe this will solve your problem.

Open Dolphin>View>click on Show Hidden Files. The files preceded by "." will appear in the list.

Right-Click on .kde and select "rename" and change .kde to .kdeold. This will keep the current .kde in your system, however, when you restart your computer, a new .kde will be created. I believe the new .kde will solve your problem, however if it does not solve the problem, you can return to your current .kde by deleting .kde. Then right click on .kdeold and select rename. Delete the "...old part of the title, and you will return to the Desktop you currently have.

After you have done this, you will have to re-configure your choices in System Settings. If no one else includes a more proper answer, you can try this.

I am surprised you have not changed to Kubuntu. I have a dual-boot Kubuntu 14.04/Windows 7; the only time I use Win7 is if I break something in Kubuntu, and then only until I get Kubuntu fixed.

You probably haven't used Kubuntu enough to understand and use the benefits it provides. Shoot just to not have to install virus protection, spyware and adware, and not having to ever defrag to improve operational speed. Or the additional expense of the cost of programs.

You don't have to have a screen full of Icons for the applications that are installed, and you can modify almost everything about your Desktop, change the aesthetics and function of everything. In Windows you lose time everytime you update, waiting for a restart and then completion of the installing of updates. With Kubuntu you only have to restart your computer after installing updates when the kernel is involved.

This is my Desktop. Notice that even the Start Panel is not showing. It appears when I place my cursor on the top of the screen. You can have something similar on Win 7, but you won't have the available and useful and configurable in size and appearance widgets as appear on my Desktop. If this appeals to you. Contact me through your Account page. It has a way for you to communicate with other members. I will help you get more familiar and help you understand more of the benefits of Kubuntu over any Windows version. I have the time and willingness to help. Good luck.

Let me start with an apology. I am not a regular Kubuntu user although I have had it installed on my laptop since the time I purchased it is June 2009. And, this problem I am explaining here was posted about a week ago but I find it missing surprisingly. Therefore, I am re-writing the whole details.

First about my laptop. It is an Acer Aspire which has AMD turion processor with 2.2 GHz, 3 GB RAM, 512 MB VRAM, 500 GB HDD and all other facilities like bluetooth, webcam, wifi, etc.,. On purchasing it, I had installed Kubuntu 09.04 and windows XP as dual boot and used to upgrade it regularly. But, it developed a serious problem due to which the HDD had to be changed from the originally existing 320 GB to 500 GB in the end of 2011. With this change of hardware, I had formatted and installed Kubuntu 11.10 along with windows-7 dual boot, both 32 bit versions. I know the laptop is capable of 64 bit but, I chose to retain it in 32 bit mode.

Like a said in the first paragraph, I am not a regular user of Kubuntu and therefore, did not upgrade it for quite a long time. In Apri/May this year, I thought of upgrading it directly to version 14.04 but probably due to a fault with the DVD or its contents (which were downloaded using torrents in windows platform from Kubuntu site) I could not upgrade my distro. I posted a query here and had also got responses. According to the advice in one of them, I chose to upgrade my distro using Muon package manager.

I thought the process went on well and I upgraded to 12.04 distro. Currently the system indicates that it has GRUB version 0.97-29 Ubuntu 66 and KDE version 4.8.5. At a first glance, the system seems to be running well with all the original settings of my earlier 11.10 version intact. but there are some problems. The main thing is that there is absolutely no sound heard from the system. When I open Windows-7, it is functioning perfectly well and I can even watch movies with great clarity --- so, it is not a hardware problem. And a secondary thing is that the system is not doing any further upgrades on Kubuntu. The system tray shows the half green toothed wheel and the message pops up saying that upgrades are available. I can open Muon package manager either from here or from the Kickoff application launcher. But after selecting those required upgrades and selecting to "install updates" there is no progress. A message as follows pops up above the Muon package manager.

Another application seems to be using the package system at this time. You must close all other package managers before you will be able to install or remove any packages.

So, now I am stuck with this. Can someone please advice me what I could do to further upgrade my Kubuntu?

[bai.ganga]

Thank you Shabakthanai for the above response. I waited for a couple of days and still there is no further confirmation or otherwise by anyone else!

But, could you clarify one aspect. Is this solution that you have offered (renaming old files) going to solve my problem about upgrades to the Kubuntu version in my system or the problem about sound or both of them?

And, a second set of problems that I had noticed in the past fortnight or so is that after I work in Kubuntu for some time, I find the computer seems to have overheated. The exhaust air coming from behind the computer seems to be extremely hot compared to what I had seen earlier and see now while working on windows. Then, if I opt to restart and select windows, it does not complete the start up, and the computer then switches off. It can then be started only after a gap of about 15 minutes, when the system has cooled down. And, when I start windows it comes out with the message saying windows did not start last time and prompts me to launch 'start up repair' with the other option of 'start windows normally'. I don't take a chance and launch start up repair. After the program runs for some couple of minutes, it shows the option for selecting a 'restore to earlier date' and after that, another couple of minutes, goes for a restart. From there, I can take on and logon to windows. It shows a pop-up message which says "the system recovered from a serious error" and asks me to send a report to microsoft or not.

Before I conclude, let me clarify one aspect --- I am using some program on this computer which is designed to run on windows. So, I continue using the same platform for most other works like checking mail, preparing documents, etc., I am keen to continue using Linux but unfortunately, the other programs supplied by a third party requires windows-7 as the platform. The earlier versions of windows cannot support that program and the program is not adapted for use on windows-8 as per the information supplied by the company that gave me the program. So, please forgive me if I don't come up to contact you for modifying my computer setup as suggested by you.