[SOLVED] System destroyed by UPS app! Need help asap!

[Drugwash]

Long story short: system was working fine. I installed Mustek's UPS software (LinuxAMD64 WinPower from here) as root (as required) and upon reboot I got into emergency mode. No way to log in or in any way regain control over the system.
I do have a Mustek 600 UPS connected through USB cable to this notebook and their Windows application worked fine in XP earlier on another machine. The Linux application, though, destroyed my system. Recovery option in GRUB didn't help, can't even stop the errors in order to use the graphical options. I am now on a live 19.2 Mint and had to install Wine in order to get access to a Windows application that holds my passwords for this board and everything else. This is very very bad.
Please help!!!

[Flemur]

Recovery option in GRUB didn't help, can't even stop the errors in order to use the graphical options.

1 Well, I'd use liveMedia to restore my /boot/grub files from backup and then reboot.

2 Failing that I'd restore the whole OS from backup , e.g. backintime/timeshift or whatever.

3 Failing that I'd make a new /boot/grub/grub.cfg file based on a template* and use liveMedia to replace the other broken one. (actually I'd do this before #2, but most people aren't used to doing this).

*e.g. viewtopic.php?p=1775080#p1775080

[CaptainKirksChair]

When you say "a live 19.2 Mint" I'm guessing you mean a LiveUSB with the Mint 19.2 version. You also speak about Windows as if this is a dual-boot system. I will be going on those assumptions.

If your data is intact, my recommendation is to attach a large enough USB drive to the system and backup your data. If you have an external USB drive, I would use that to backup your Windows data as well. A simple drag and drop of your user folder (Linux and Windows) to the USB drive will work; you don't need to use backup software. It will take awhile, maybe even overnight. Let the process finish then you can rebuild the Linux partition without fear of losing either your Linux or Windows data. Backup whatever items on your Windows partition you deem necessary. For Linux, really only the user folder is necessary because you can install the Mint system and apps very quickly and easily, unlike Windows.

External USB drives are relatively cheap, considering their purpose of saving your computer life. Just pick a size that is larger than that of the drives on your systems. I have a 4TB one I use for backups.
To backup my Windows data I have to boot into a Mint LiveUSB and drag and drop from Windows to the external USB. Windows won't recognize my external USB but Mint will.

You should also try to get a system report. At a terminal, enter inxi -Fxz at the prompt. If you type, the F is a capital. Then post it back here between code tags; those are the 5th button from the left above posting window. It looks like a less than sign, a slash, and a greater than sign.

[trytip]

timeshift
who in the world knows even how to give detail instruction to have your computer back

[FenderGuy]

Recovery option in GRUB didn't help, can't even stop the errors in order to use the graphical options.

1 Well, I'd use liveMedia to restore my /boot/grub files from backup and then reboot.

2 Failing that I'd restore the whole OS from backup , e.g. backintime/timeshift or whatever.

3 Failing that I'd make a new /boot/grub/grub.cfg file based on a template* and use liveMedia to replace the other broken one. (actually I'd do this before #2, but most people aren't used to doing this).

*e.g. viewtopic.php?p=1775080#p1775080

^^^ THIS ^^^

[Drugwash]

Thank you all for replying.

@Flemur: The problem is not in GRUB actually but somewhere in the system. The application installed some JRE version and maybe something else, and now the system cannot initialize correctly. In some logs (systemctl -xb, I think) I saw even swap failing to run, so there must be something very deep rooted.
GRUB does present all options as usual, I can try other kernels, but the problem is common to all of them.

I did create a 19.3 bootable USB but I'm afraid an upgrade will screw up many customized settings (most importantly the no-asking-for-password-anywhere but also any others) so at this point I'm reluctant to try an upgrade, if it would actually ever fix the issue. I could even try a 19.2 over 19.2 since I'm on this live 19.2 but same fears apply. I've worked too much on this system's appearance and functionality to give up on it easily. Even the keyboard layout I had to create by custom since Linux doesn't want to cater the old Romanian Legacy layout as it was in Win9x/ME/XP/7 anymore. Too much to lose, to go into a system upgrade head first.

@CaptainKirksChair: This is a Ubuntu + Mint system, no Windows. Ubuntu is expendable, it's an old version anyway that doesn't even work.
Thing is, I don't want to give up on the system as it is (see previous paragraph). Data is on separate partitions and drives so I'm not concerned about that, but about all the customisation done to the Mint system itself, and about all installed applications that I may not find again (dead repositiories or whatever).
Hardware info may not be of use here since it's not a hardware issue - if it matters it's a Samsung R-580 notebook.

@trytip: If Timeshift had any sound logic to it I would've used it, but since it did some stupid things in the past almost leaving me with zero free space I have uninstalled it long ago so it is not an option. Not that it would matter for the issue at hand but in my over twenty years of using Windows from 3.1 to 7 I never ever felt the need for System Restore or other similar features. Primary OS was 98SE for more than ten years and I only had to restore registry twice in all this time. Linux Mint has already let me down badly twice in a single year of usage.

I hope the image is legible / the board wouldn't let me upload the original image (2.1MB).

[asinoro]

Did you try the same version Mint in live USB to run boot repair?

[asinoro]

This message means that something is wrong with your fstab file or you remove the attached to fstab drive before you boot.

[Drugwash]

Did you try the same version Mint in live USB to run boot repair?

I have a 19.2 DVD/RW that I'm currently running. Dunno how to run boot repair, if it would be of any help. Would you please care to elaborate on the procedure?

This message means that something is wrong with your fstab file or you remove the attached to fstab drive before you boot.

Didn't touch any file prior to reboot. Just installed that damn UPS application, then rebooted as usual through a dedicated applet ("Shutdown with icons" or something).
fstab looks right:

Code: Select all

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'blkid' to print the universally unique identifier for a
# device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices
# that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system> <mount point>   <type>  <options>       <dump>  <pass>
# / was on /dev/sda3 during installation
UUID=4358825e-4216-49f9-ba63-c5979a6b7095 /               ext4    errors=remount-ro 0       1
/swapfile                                 none            swap    sw              0       0
/dev/disk/by-uuid/306154ff-4c54-4b42-96f9-606b1d461705 none swap sw 0 0
/dev/sda4 /media/dragos/Data auto nosuid,nodev,nofail,x-gvfs-show 0 0
/dev/sda1 /media/dragos/Ubuntu auto nosuid,nodev,nofail,x-gvfs-show 0 0
# UUID=0987D7EF65666868 /media/dragos/Omnia-2TB auto nosuid,nodev,nofail,x-gvfs-show,umask=0000 0 0
/dev/disk/by-id/wwn-0x5000c500b6ae5401 /media/dragos/Omnia-2TB auto nosuid,nodev,nofail,x-gvfs-show 0 0
UUID=2014-07-09-15-44-50-00 /media/dragos/VF\040QuickStart auto nosuid,nodev,nofail,x-gvfs-show 0 0
/dev/disk/by-id/wwn-0x5000c500c429ddca /media/dragos/Omnia2-2TB auto nosuid,nodev,nofail,x-gvfs-show 0 0
usbfs    /proc/bus/usb    usbfs    defaults  0  0

[trytip]

my fstab

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# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>

UUID=8344bf78-5b3a-492f-babc-258b23f2306d	/	ext4	noatime,errors=remount-ro	0	1
UUID=655a7059-c128-4835-886a-aac962d5fd17	/home	ext4	noatime,defaults	0	1
UUID=c9e584d7-2403-4d9c-a226-851a1b468793	none	swap	sw	0	0

did you check all your UUID that are the same? unmount everything except your /root /home /swap

[asinoro]

Check this: https://www.flir.com/support-center/iis ... -on-linux/
Check as suggested the UUID to be the same with the:

Code: Select all

sudo blkid

Backup your fstab file:

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sudo cp /etc/fstab /etc/fstab.backup

And remove from your fstab:

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usbfs    /proc/bus/usb    usbfs    defaults  0  0

Save fstab and reboot.

[smurphos]

How about looking at the journal like the emergency boot screen suggests? The last few lines ought to be informative.

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journalctl -b

[trytip]

a bit offtopic reminder
i just messed up my mint19.3 on purpose right after creating my second snapshot which i keep quite current. if everything runs fine for a week i delete all snapshots and begin new.
i deleted purged libllvm that seemed to do nothing which i hope i'm right and cleared some space on root partition.

now if by mistake i leave an app update and not use it thinking things are fine and end up deleting good snapshots, that's a risk i take. my first line of defense is not troubleshooting anymore, why waste my time when i could easily undo my mistakes to the day before

do yourself a favor and once you get your machine booted start using timeshift and learn how to use it manually instead of automatic.

[AZgl1800]

Thank you all for replying.

@trytip: If Timeshift had any sound logic to it I would've used it, but since it did some stupid things in the past almost leaving me with zero free space I have uninstalled it long ago so it is not an option. Not that it would matter for the issue at hand but in my over twenty years of using Windows from 3.1 to 7 I never ever felt the need for System Restore or other similar features. Primary OS was 98SE for more than ten years and I only had to restore registry twice in all this time. Linux Mint has already let me down badly twice in a single year of usage.

I hope the image is legible / the board wouldn't let me upload the original image (2.1MB).
CIMG0770a.JPG

ummm,
you must have let Timeshift use the / root of the OS partition which is a huge NO NO.
I always make Timeshift use an extUSB drive, and it has never once in years, caused a problem.
I also, do not let it make AutoBackups, I do Manual backups when I make a change to the system, just prior to the change. and I notate what each backup is for

Had you been using Timeshift, you could have restored your PC in less than 5 minutes.

[Drugwash]

my fstab

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# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>

UUID=8344bf78-5b3a-492f-babc-258b23f2306d	/	ext4	noatime,errors=remount-ro	0	1
UUID=655a7059-c128-4835-886a-aac962d5fd17	/home	ext4	noatime,defaults	0	1
UUID=c9e584d7-2403-4d9c-a226-851a1b468793	none	swap	sw	0	0

did you check all your UUID that are the same? unmount everything except your /root /home /swap

Can't find a reason why the UUIDs would be corrupted. Here's the output from sudo blkid:

Save fstab and reboot.

Will do that as soon as the so-called backup copy will finish. (Why the hell a Copy operation would error out on certain files/folders when the operation is being performed as root?????)

How about looking at the journal like the emergency boot screen suggests? The last few lines ought to be informative.

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journalctl -b

I did find a few weird notes throughout the journal but nothing of major importance. How/where would I find the entire session data in order to check or copy/paste?

why waste my time when i could easily undo my mistakes to the day before

Unfortunately I'm one that actually tries to fix things up by learning what went wrong and undoing it, rather than taking the easy way out. I used to fix all my friends' Windows machines back in the day manually without reinstalling, which kept all their customisation and applications in place. Restoring can always lose some customisation or recently installed applications that are not at fault.
Getting the machine to boot normally would be great but apparently there's not much chance to do that right now.

you must have let Timeshift use the / root of the OS partition which is a huge NO NO.

Actually I allowed it to do /home which is equally a no-no.But /home does keep a lot of user-related data that left out would defeat the backup idea completely.
And there is another huge issue that I cannot overlook: my theoretically capable backup drives are all NTFS and the stupid Timeshift (as well as other so-called backup solutions) cannot use such drives/partitions. So until they manage to use NTFS drives/partitions for backup, all these applications can go F themselves. Simple as that.

[gittiest personITW]

Unfortunately I'm one that actually tries to fix things up by learning what went wrong and undoing it, rather than taking the easy way out. I used to fix all my friends' Windows machines back in the day manually without reinstalling, which kept all their customisation and applications in place. Restoring can always lose some customisation or recently installed applications that are not at fault.
Getting the machine to boot normally would be great but apparently there's not much chance to do that right now.

AZgl1500 wrote: ↑
Sun Mar 15, 2020 5:12 pm
you must have let Timeshift use the / root of the OS partition which is a huge NO NO.

Actually I allowed it to do /home which is equally a no-no.But /home does keep a lot of user-related data that left out would defeat the backup idea completely.
And there is another huge issue that I cannot overlook: my theoretically capable backup drives are all NTFS and the stupid Timeshift (as well as other so-called backup solutions) cannot use such drives/partitions. So until they manage to use NTFS drives/partitions for backup, all these applications can go F themselves. Simple as that.

You're not 'fixing' the problem though, are you?
You are just trying to get the system back to normal and it seems trying to do it in the most complicated ways you can find, which all these applications which you are telling to go F themselves would most likely do very simply.
I've seen some of your posts previously and you are not stupid. It wouldn't have taken you long to have an EXT4 partition on a drive somewhere, internal or external and set up Timeshift.

Don't suppose you have a Clonezilla image?

[Drugwash]

Unfortunately I'm one that actually tries to fix things up by learning what went wrong and undoing it, rather than taking the easy way out. I used to fix all my friends' Windows machines back in the day manually without reinstalling, which kept all their customisation and applications in place. Restoring can always lose some customisation or recently installed applications that are not at fault.
Getting the machine to boot normally would be great but apparently there's not much chance to do that right now.

AZgl1500 wrote: ↑
Sun Mar 15, 2020 5:12 pm
you must have let Timeshift use the / root of the OS partition which is a huge NO NO.

Actually I allowed it to do /home which is equally a no-no.But /home does keep a lot of user-related data that left out would defeat the backup idea completely.
And there is another huge issue that I cannot overlook: my theoretically capable backup drives are all NTFS and the stupid Timeshift (as well as other so-called backup solutions) cannot use such drives/partitions. So until they manage to use NTFS drives/partitions for backup, all these applications can go F themselves. Simple as that.

You're not 'fixing' the problem though, are you?
You are just trying to get the system back to normal and it seems trying to do it in the most complicated ways you can find, which all these applications which you are telling to go F themselves would most likely do very simply.
I've seen some of your posts previously and you are not stupid. It wouldn't have taken you long to have an EXT4 partition on a drive somewhere, internal or external and set up Timeshift.

Don't suppose you have a Clonezilla image?

Fixing first requires to find the actual issue. I suspect what it is but cannot go there on my own since I do not have all the necessary knowledge.
Those applications would NEVER FIX the issue - they would just pull the system back before a certain timeline. That is not fixing - that is cheating, and I am not a cheater. I want to understand what broke it and I want to fix what was broken without affecting anything else that may have been installed/configured in the mean time.
No, I cannot create any EXT4 partition on my drives mainly because I want a Linux-Windows compatibility. As long as Windows cannot read EXT partitions I have to keep things compatible. Indeed I am not stupid, at least not completely. But as mentioned above there is no backup whatsoever because I do not believe in backups - I believe in knowledge that allows fixing.

[pbear]

That is not fixing - that is cheating, and I am not a cheater.

No, it's not cheating. It's standard troubleshooting procedure. Your computer, so you get to do what you want. Doesn't make it the right answer.

[Drugwash]

What is it to troubleshoot here? System works fine, user installs an application, reboots as requested, system gets f-ed up. To me it's all pretty clear.
Now all that needs done is find out what exactly went wrong during that particular install so that any possible similar action would be prevented from happening again.
Restoring would theoretically bring back the system as it was before - assuming nothing else has been installed/changed/configured in the mean time - but would not offer any insight whatsoever on what exactly went wrong and how to prevent it in the future. User would not have learned anything. Do we strive to become better or do we remain stupid...?

[MrEen]

I wonder if the issue occurred because of this from the text file in the download:

======================
System Requirements
======================
128 MB (recommended minimum)
256 MB (recommended)
160 MB hard disk space (depending on features installed)
Red Hat Linux 6.2 or later
Intel Pentium II 233 MHz or compatible

Also, almost everything inside the tar.gz is from 2013.

Not trying to pile on here, just pointing out that maybe it wasn't the best idea to install this under the above circumstances.

That said, I skimmed through the install scripts and didn't spot something obvious that should mess up booting the OS. I'm not a programmer though, so there could have been something hidden in there or calls to other things in the download.