18.1 Serena :- "Could not install the security updates" error

[YoloSnake]

I got the same error yesterday and today, had to update through Terminal.

[Boca]

The Update "shield" appears in the notification area but has a red cross through it and an error message " could not refresh the list of updates".
If I click through to the update manager and manually refresh ... all is ok and there are no updates needed.

Rgds, Tony

Hi Tony,
Any luck resolving the update manager? I've been sitting on the same red cross through the error message too, with the following additonal information when I tried to reload the updater
++ Launching mintUpdate
++ Starting refresh
++ Auto-refresh timer is going to sleep for 30 minutes, 0 hours and 0 days
-- Error in checkAPT.py, could not refresh the list of updates
++ MintUpdate is in tray mode, performing auto-refresh
++ Starting refresh
++ Auto-refresh timer is going to sleep for 30 minutes, 0 hours and 0 days
-- Error in checkAPT.py, could not refresh the list of updates
++ Install requested by user
-- Exception occured in the install thread: 'NoneType' object has no attribute 'get_iter_first'
-- Could not install security updates
++ Starting refresh
-- Error in checkAPT.py, could not refresh the list of updates

Hi,
sorry but I have no ideas on moving forward so am manually updating from the terminal.

Rgds, Tony

[darethehair]

Same problem for me, on LMDE. What is even stranger to me is that I have multiple LMDE machine installs, and this behavior is only (so far) occurring on one machine. Also strange (for example) is that the update manager is telling me that Firefox '53.0.3~linuxmint1+betsy' wants to be installed -- except that is it *already* installed at that version.

[YoloSnake]

Fixed on my system

[Boca]

Fixed on my system

Hi, what did you do to fix the issue?

Rgds, Tony

[YoloSnake]

Hi, what did you do to fix the issue?

Rgds, Tony

No idea, I had an update for AutomaticSecurityUpdates that I had to install via the Terminal.
Then I just turned on my computer the next day and it was working.
I'm not sure if the update is what fixed the issue, cause it still wasn't working before the next day, so maybe a simple restart did it lol.

[canove]

Same problem here. Mint 18.1 MATE

Any ideas?

[darethehair]

Same problem here. Mint 18.1 MATE

Any ideas?

In my case, rebooting and trying again was successful

[GFunkKid]

I had the same type of issue. I am not a Linux expert; I hope that someone better than me can explain my solution better than me.

FAILED ATTEMPT:
1. I noticed that there was a red X in the update manager shield at the bottom of the screen. When I right clicked on it and selected information, I saw that /dev/tty was having issue.
2. I remembered that I had, in the past, used TorGuard VPN. I removed OpenVPN. I deleted the /etc/Torguard directory. I loaded and removed the Torguard software. I rebooted. It did not help.
SUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT based on the first response within [ viewtopic.php?t=172212 ]:
3. From the terminal, I typed "sudo mintupdate". I tried to do the update again. in the terminal, I saw the error, "No such file or directory: '/var/log/apt/history.log'"
4. I looked, and saw that the folder /var/log/apt did not exist. As root, I created that folder. Within that folder, I created an empty history.log file. (Navigate to /var; open folder log as root; create folder apt; navigate to folder apt; create empty text file; rename empty text file "history.log")
5. Within the update manager, I retried "Install Updates". It worked.

[LooNeyTKr]

I'm having this same error on mint 18.2

[Boca]

Hi,

Summary of question... is there an easy way of getting a list of the pending updates recommended by Update manager which I can then use for a CLI update?

Background:-
I still have this <<18.1 Serena :- "Could not install the security updates" error>> issue and have been coping by manually installing each update using the terminal.

From this new thread, viewtopic.php?f=90&t=259770&sid=7647251 ... 4#p1402707, I realised that I have many level 3 security updates to apply. ( I have only been installing level1&2 and , at some point, the " always show security updates" has become deselected so I was unaware of how many were pending). I now have 20+ updates to install. I can cut/paste each programme name into the terminal but.... is there an easy way of getting a list of the pending updates recommended by Update manager which I can then use for a CLI update?

Rgds, Tony

PS has anyone experienced this issue on 18.2? is it worth upgrading to avoid this issue?

[Boca]

from my comments earlier in the thread..

I realised that I have many level 3 security updates to apply. ( I have only been installing level1&2 and , at some point, the " always show security updates" has become deselected so I was unaware of how many were pending). I now have 20+ updates to install.

I have now updated the majority of these by cut&paste into a terminal update. In case it is useful for others, the list of updates is

level 3 security updates for mint 18.1 as at 20dec17.odt

(22.34 KiB) Downloaded 18 times

I am now left with several level 3 security updates for which I cannot see an associated file to install..

.

Where do I find the associated files please?

Tony

[Boca]

A full (re-)install of 18.3 has cured this problem.

Thanks to all for your help.

Tony