LMDE BREAKAGES - tracking TESTING

[zerozero]

craig10x,

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sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

and you are ready to go

[tjweaver]

So, just to clarify...when doing the updates, all that is necessary to type into the terminal is this:
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

Is that correct?

My understanding is to now run:

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sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade


[tjweaver]

Looks like we posted at the same time - didn't mean to be redundant.

[kmb42vt]

So, just to clarify...when doing the updates, all that is necessary to type into the terminal is this:
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

Is that correct?

Almost. The first thing you have to do is update the repositories:

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sudo apt-get update

This simply downloads the list of the latest versions of packages available for your system and compares them against the packages already installed in your system (your "package database" as it were) in order to determine the differences between what's installed and what's available. Same thing the Synaptic Package Manager does when you hit the "Reload" button.

After the above has completed then you can run the upgrade:

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sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

This initially shows you every package that's going to be either upgraded, installed (new) and, in some cases, removed and then ask if you want to proceed (y/n?) If you're not sure about something the upgrade is going to do then you can simply enter "n" to back out and return to a prompt.

Some folks like to string both commands together like this:

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sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

This will execute one command after the other in sequence which in this case will update the repositories and then run the dist-upgrade. personally I like to run each one separately but that's just a personal preference. If, for some reason, one of the repo servers is offline the first command will let me know something's wrong.

[craig10x]

Thanks zerozero
And kmb42vt as well for the explanation...makes sense because even though update manager has been refreshed the terminal needs to be as well to get the new packages...so you you are telling it to to refresh and then apply whatever has been sent down...gotcha

As a test, i saw in my Update Manager that there was a new version of Google Chrome Stable waiting for me (that is from google's repos i use the actual Chrome Version rather then Chromium from debian which is still very old in testing)...So i entered the command in the terminal and then my password and DONE....

Hmmm...perhaps i will start doing it that way all the time now...very simple actually, even easier then doing it in the package manager...and just use the updater as far as alerting me to new stuff available...

It would be nice if it were possible to have that terminal update method tied into the GUI of the Mint Update Manager...It works so well...

[mads]

zerozero, thank you for opening this thread.

I was wondering about the LibreOffice issue related to updates 16 Mar 2011,
and my search brought me straight to this thread. I am going to check the libreoffice
metapackage now.
By the way, for LMDE which is based on testing repos, these kind of errors happen frequently.
And when they do, there is good to know where to check out first.

[kmb42vt]

Thanks zerozero
And kmb42vt as well for the explanation...makes sense because even though update manager has been refreshed the terminal needs to be as well to get the new packages...so you you are telling it to to refresh and then apply whatever has been sent down...gotcha

As i test, i saw in my Update Manager that there was a new version of Google Chrome Stable waiting for me (that is from google's repos i use the actual Chrome Version rather then Chromium from debian which is still very old in testing)...So i entered the comman in the terminal and then my password and DONE....

Just as a suggestion...

I have disabled MintUpdate (Control Center/Startup applications and un-check "mintupdate") in my installation of LMDE since for all intents and purposes, MintUpdate simply does work properly in LMDE--yet. One day in might but not now. But like I said, it's just a suggestion, it won't hurt to leave it on as a notification that updates are available.

[kmb42vt]

zerozero, thank you for opening this thread.

I was wondering about the LibreOffice issue related to updates 16 Mar 2011,
and my search brought me straight to this thread. I am going to check the libreoffice
metapackage now.
By the way, for LMDE which is based on testing repos, these kind of errors happen frequently.
And when they do, there is good to know where to check out first.

You know, I should have thanked you too. Threads like these that focus on one specific area, like breakages caused by updates, are definitely needed. Darn! I should have thought of it myself. Must be getting old or something. Oh yeah--thanks!

[LongRider]

craig10x,

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sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

and you are ready to go

@zerozero
I have to thank you for this thread! I was banging my head trying to figure out why the updates were not working the way I thought they would. Then I stumbled upon your thread. My LMDE i now "rolling" again, ironically much faster now! Thanks....

[zerozero]

@all, no need to thank me;
I thank you all for keeping this topic useful and up-to-date, it's kind of a community effort at least until the powers-that-be decide to fix the broken MU

[mads]

Update 16 Mar 2011- LibreOffice came in today's updates... if for some some reason that doesn't happen there's a new metapackage called libreoffice that should take care of it.

Installing "libreoffice" metapackage will install 24 new packages:

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$ sudo apt-get install libreoffice
...
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  gcj-4.4-base gcj-4.4-jre-lib libcommons-beanutils-java libcommons-collections3-java libcommons-compress-java ...
0 upgraded, 24 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 42.5 MB of archives.
After this operation, 83.7 MB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue [Y/n]?

Those who don't want to install these extra packages, may find some of the following observations useful.

1) Update 16 Mar 2011 - These 21 LibreOffice packages were installed:
libreoffice-base libreoffice-base-core libreoffice-calc libreoffice-common libreoffice-core libreoffice-draw libreoffice-emailmerge libreoffice-filter-binfilter libreoffice-gnome libreoffice-gtk libreoffice-impress libreoffice-java-common libreoffice-math libreoffice-style-galaxy libreoffice-style-tango libreoffice-writer python-uno libtextcat-data-utf8 ttf-opensymbol uno-libs3 ure

2) Synaptic > Status > Not installed (residual config) shows "openoffice.org-core" package

To get rid of it, run:

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sudo apt-get purge openoffice.org-core

3) There are 12 OpenOffice transitional packages left which can safely be removed. According to Synaptic:
"These are transitional packages, replacing the OpenOffice.org packaging with the LibreOffice packaging. They can be safely removed after an upgrade."

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sudo apt-get purge openoffice.org-base* openoffice.org-calc* openoffice.org-common* openoffice.org-draw* openoffice.org-emailmerge* openoffice.org-gnome* openoffice.org-gtk* openoffice.org-impress* openoffice.org-java-common* openoffice.org-math* openoffice.org-style-tango* openoffice.org-writer*

Important: Don't use "sudo apt-get remove openoffice*" command, because it will also remove the following packages:
aspell aspell-en dictionaries-common myspell-nb
These packages are related to spell checking and languages options, and they are used by LibreOffice as well.

4) Synaptic > Status > Installed (auto removable) shows all newly installed "libreoffice" packages.
This must be a bug! And I guess that's why the OP recommends installing the "libreoffice" metapackage. I recommend:
Synaptic > Status > Installed (auto removable) > mark all packages (Ctrl-A) > in menu bar, click Package > uncheck "Automatically installed"

[Silent Warrior]

After a bunch of recent updates, my wireless has taken a straight nose-dive. Wired works fine, though. I'm currently using the LMDE DVD (wireless is OK here) to go through packages.debian.org for older versions of NetworkManager. Rolling back the update on firmware-realtek (0.29 back to 0.28) didn't help, affects both Liquorix's kernel and Debian's own. Any suggestions? Does this qualify as a breakage?

[Update] Yep, reverting NetworkManager to 0.8.1 put me back in business. But... let me just clarify that I REALLY don't recommend others to put themselves in this situation... Getting the system back to sanity afterwards was/is no small task. (Hm, maybe that was because I chose to revert PolicyKit as well... A-anyway.) I'm good now.

[Information on hardware]
I should probably add this, too. The affected hardware is a Realtek 8187B (RTL8187B), ID 0bda:8198.

[viking777]

Thanks for that report Silent Warrior, that is just the sort of thing that this thread is for, especially when it contains details of a fix for the problem you had. My own transition to the newer version of network-manager was pain free, so it is probably related to your network card I guess.

The principle of a thread like this is that people read through the latest posts before they update and thus save themselves the pain of updating then finding something broken, then trying to find their own fix.

That is why this thread should be the first thing that people read when they access the LMDE part of the forum. Unfortunately that is not happening at the moment, you have to go and look for this thread first.

A thread like this is essential for a rolling release distro which will have so many updates, some of which may have adverse effects. I do wish someone would make it sticky at least. In point of fact it is FAR more important than any of the other threads that currently have that status.

[tjweaver]

That is why this thread should be the first thing that people read when they access the LMDE part of the forum. Unfortunately that is not happening at the moment, you have to go and look for this thread first.

I'd suggest going a step further and subscribing to this thread. That way if there are any new posts you will be immediately notified via email.

[viking777]

That is why this thread should be the first thing that people read when they access the LMDE part of the forum. Unfortunately that is not happening at the moment, you have to go and look for this thread first.

I'd suggest going a step further and subscribing to this thread. That way if there are any new posts you will be immediately notified via email.

That is indeed a good idea, but in order to subscribe to something you first need to know it exists. The problem lies with people that don't even know the thread exists, they need to read it, but are not likely to (and even less likely to subscribe to it) if it is hidden amongst hundreds of other posts, that is why it needs to be the first thread on the LMDE section of the forum.

Another problem of which I am acutely aware is that the more theoretical posts like this that the thread fills with, the less useful it will become. I apologise profusely for posting about something that is not an LMDE breakage, I will try to resist the urge to do it again (but I will probably fail )

[kmb42vt]

That is why this thread should be the first thing that people read when they access the LMDE part of the forum. Unfortunately that is not happening at the moment, you have to go and look for this thread first.

I'd suggest going a step further and subscribing to this thread. That way if there are any new posts you will be immediately notified via email.

That is indeed a good idea, but in order to subscribe to something you first need to know it exists. The problem lies with people that don't even know the thread exists, they need to read it, but are not likely to (and even less likely to subscribe to it) if it is hidden amongst hundreds of other posts, that is why it needs to be the first thread on the LMDE section of the forum.

Another problem of which I am acutely aware is that the more theoretical posts like this that the thread fills with, the less useful it will become. I apologise profusely for posting about something that is not an LMDE breakage, I will try to resist the urge to do it again (but I will probably fail )

I agree about theoretical posts but this brought to mind something everyone should be aware as far as a user finding a solution to a particular problem with any Mint version.

The thing to keep in mind is that the Linux Mint forums are very SEO friendly especially where Google is concerned. To give an example, I've posted a problem, commented on a problem or offered a solution to a problem on the Mint forums and they were picked up by the Google search bot within 15 minutes and could be found in the search results. The trick is to title a (new) topic appropriately as in regards to the problem at hand or subject at hand. Remember, the title to a new topic becomes the subject of the thread itself. The other trick is too make sure the first post and any comment thereafter that offers insight to a problem or perhaps a solution be written concisely, keeping to the subject at hand. This doesn't mean that a bit of conversation or a bit of bantering can't take place within a thread, like this post for instance, but things like insights ("Hey, I found this out about the <name of some problem>...the logs show this...") and solutions ("I found a (temporary) solution to <name of some problem>. Simply type this command into the terminal....") should stick to the subject.

To give an example on how vague the search phrase can be in order for a user to find this particular thread in Google, I typed "updates broke lmde" and came up with these results:

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sugexp=ldy ... 39446bc197

This thread is listed on the first page, the 4th one down last I checked. The position jumps around a bit but it shows what I'm talking about. As always, Google is your best friend especially when it comes to Mint.

[enredante]

Hello everyone.

Go ahead I am a new (and inexperienced) user LMDE and I think this distro is amazing. As I see it, it might be very useful to add a section with a list of updates: each package with its name, version, description, etc. In case of breakage, the package name could be linked to the appropriate message on the forum. Something like this page from Arch Linux:

http://www.archlinux.org/packages/?sort=-last_update

Finally, it is just my opinion. Anyway, keep using LMDE and reading the forum before and after upgrading.

Greetings.

[Oscar799]

This thread is now sticky.
Another time,if anyone thinks a thread needs to be stickied PM me and ask,I'll have a look and if I agree with you I'll sticky it.

[viking777]

Thanks very much Oscar799.

[CiaW]

Here's a new one, for those of you that may use Xiphos. Dist-upgrade wants to remove 2 packages:
The following packages will be REMOVED:
libgtkhtml-editor0 xiphos

Since I use Xiphos on occasion I said no to the dist-upgrade and just did an upgrade which updated a few packages. It may be related to the upgrade to libgtkhtml3.14-19 ? Or one of the several new packages that want to be installed. Not sure.. thought I'd give a 'heads-up'!