Security updates just borked my new KDE box

[x61-stand]

I had a clean install on a Lenovo X61 (18.2 KDE). Some "linuxmint" meta patch come through tonight. I installed. This caused a huge number of other patches to install. Installing all of these using Synaptic gave me a corrupted cache error and "another instance of synaptic" running error, even though there wasn't another instance. Rebooted, and I get past the LM splash screen, followed by a cursor in the upper left corner. This really takes me back .... to when I quit using Linux and switched to Windows.

I'm going to re-install the OS, remove synaptic, and go with muon. Not sure why there aren't more people reporting this. Of course, these forums are a little dead, so maybe there's nobody left to report it. I'm the last LM user on Earth.

[trytip]

linux can get annoying at times, and so can the win10 updates running my hard drive in the background for hours. if you're new to linux try the XFCE or MATE desktops. Cinnamon and KDE or GNOME are require extra

been using synaptic for years in ubuntu,mint,pclinuxos and there are those instances where dependencies get removed or corrupted. synaptic gets a bad rep just like bleachbit.

ps: Michael Jackson - You Are Not Alone (Official Video)

[minitux]

I did not have any problem, I have all the upgrade levels active and update from update manager or terminal with dist-upgrade.

for the rest, I think synaptic or muon is the same thing, they are both graphical interfaces for apt

However I had ever use also synaptic in Mint , Ubuntu and PCLinuxOS

and I think if you want to use mint and you do not know what you are doing, do not use synaptic to update, because it updates everything, practically does the update and dist-upgrade and bypass the mint update policies set specially to lessen the risk of breaks of the system.

I think if you had used the special tool available as a mint, instead of synaptic, you probably would not have had any problems.

in conclusion, for those who are not very experienced in the system, it is advisable to use only mintupdates and maintain the default update level settings.

[Hoser Rob]

linux can get annoying at times, and so can the win10 updates running my hard drive in the background for hours. if you're new to linux try the XFCE or MATE desktops. Cinnamon and KDE or GNOME are require extra ...

Sorry but that makes no sense. If an update borked KDE it's almost certainly going to bork other DEs as well. As far as the OS is concerned in Linux, the DE is just another bit bof application software. Sensitive updates are lower level.

I installed 18.2 KDE a couple of weeks ago and have had zero problems installing or updating, and removing synaptic will also do nothing to fix this underying problem. That may be why you're the only one reporting it.

Cryptic messages are a fact of life in Linux. That's what happens when you have an OS that runs in half the RAM that WIndows needs or less. That message means you had some other apt front end running, not necessarily synaptic. Minor errors can generate error messages that look apocalyptic.

However, if you want this fixed you'll need to post a lot more useful info than the computer make/model, which isn't useful. Post hardware details from this in terminal (use copy/paste):

Code: Select all

inxi -Fxz

[MintBean]

If you want your selected update levels to be honoured do not update through synaptic.

[Hoser Rob]

If you want your selected update levels to be honoured do not update through synaptic.

D'oh ... that's the obvious answer and I forgot to mention it.

[trytip]

If you want your selected update levels to be honoured do not update through synaptic.

D'oh ... that's the obvious answer and I forgot to mention it.

i been using mint mate 17.3 and i always update all levels with synaptic. in fact i don\t ever use the mint update tool except for updating to a newer kernel.

i remember many times updating when i used KDE that kdelibs would often break how dolphin file manager worked and using XFCE in ARCH also broke specific desktop items. in my mint MATE so far the only thing i remember being borked even upgrading all 5 levels with synaptic was the weather tray, and even then it wasn't borked the weather just switched servers being used

[Retic1959]

I had a clean install on a Lenovo X61 (18.2 KDE). Some "linuxmint" meta patch come through tonight. I installed. This caused a huge number of other patches to install. Installing all of these using Synaptic gave me a corrupted cache error and "another instance of synaptic" running error, even though there wasn't another instance. Rebooted, and I get past the LM splash screen, followed by a cursor in the upper left corner. This really takes me back .... to when I quit using Linux and switched to Windows.

I'm going to re-install the OS, remove synaptic, and go with muon. Not sure why there aren't more people reporting this. Of course, these forums are a little dead, so maybe there's nobody left to report it. I'm the last LM user on Earth.

I've updated from LM18.1 KDE to LM18.2 KDE and applied every update since using the update manager and I've had zero issues , the system is rock solid . The only thing I've used Synaptic for is to remove some packages I didn't want and to change the settings regarding dependencies , that's it .

[BG405]

I've used Synaptic for installing software but never for system updating. This is likely the primary cause of your problems and is why we have the Update Manager "mintupdate" in Linux Mint.

Installing updates in the wrong order (as well as changing the way Mint is meant to be updated) is likely to result in dependency issues, conflicts etc..

[x61-stand]

Thanks for the replies. I was just mentioning it in case others were having the same problem. I ended up wiping the system and putting OpenSuse on there. Having some issues with it. I'm re-evaluating my distro choices if Mint dropping KDE is real. I'm going to wander around the site and see who is talking about it.

[BG405]

if Mint dropping KDE is real

Where did you read that?

[Pjotr]

if Mint dropping KDE is real

Where did you read that?

It's real:
https://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=3418

And understandable. A small developers' team has to focus its efforts. A matter of efficiency....

[phd21]

Hi "x61-stand",

I have had Linux Mint KDE 18.1 and 18.2 installed with an incredible amount of additional software and PPA's and have had no negative issues (that I did not cause), all updates worked well.

Although I did not want to hear that Linux Mint developers are dropping support for their version of KDE after version 18.3 (because I love it), I do understand their position. Linux Mint KDE is still a wonderful system and has LTS (support) for years to come (through 2019 - 2021).

I have tested and I am testing other KDE systems, but I will stick with Linux Mint even if I also use another KDE system. And, there will be a way to add the KDE desktop to one of the supported Linux Mint systems (Cinnamon, Mate or Xfce) that is supported beyond 2019 - 2021 from what I have been told.

I recently tried Kubuntu LTS 16.04, which I do like, but it was using an older less stable Plasma version and required installing the Kubuntu backport ppa to get a newer Plasma and therefore a massive amount of updates (which took some time, but worked fine). For some reason they have not provided a newer repackaged 16.04 based version of the Kubuntu iso file ??? I also had to add some KDE and Ubuntu stuff that the Linux Mint team thoughtfully already provided, like the "Synaptic Package Manager (SPM)", among others. Muon and Discover are interesting but take a little getting used to compared to the Linux Mint Software Manager or Synaptic Package Manager (SPM).

So far I do like KDE Maui and KDE Neon which are using a newer Ubuntu 17 and newer Plasma versions ... Still in very early stages of testing though ...


Hope this helps ...

[BG405]

Pjotr & phd21: Thanks for the clarification & especially mention of the possibility of changing to Plasma on future Mint releases. I would sooner stay within the Mint ecosystem if that's still a good altenative to Kubuntu, Neon or even the likes of Manjaro + KDE. Plenty of time to decide anyway.