After Update Pack 5 fonts (graphically) broken, LMDE wth KDE

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webass

After Update Pack 5 fonts (graphically) broken, LMDE wth KDE

Post by webass »

Hi,
I just made the update on Acer 5920G ..Specifications:: http://support.acer.com/acerpanam/noteb ... Gsp2.shtml .. with LMDE from update manager on the 21st and it took hours for the 1 GB.
I have KDE running, which I installed ten months ago, also over the update manager (mostly because my lack of experience, that gave me some bad experiences on another PC, when I installed KDE manually).
Was running smoothly on this laptop, before the Update 5.

After it had installed, the message appeared, that not every package could be downloaded.
I then observed a day later, that the fonts, mostly in the Iceweasel, are broken, but also in the system somewhere.
When scrolling the pages, Graphics and fonts get shadows, wrinkles till illegibility, look like ripped chinese or indian letters, and the letters often are shown as a complete colored bar, no single letter to be seen anymore, only blue or grey color.
The fields like in googles' search fields, become grey and flickering and also images get overlayed by "bars".
When I select the text that shows broken, it gets back to readable text.
Input fields or images flicker, no matter what I do.

I tried to reinstall some things over Synaptic but this didnt help.
In the update manager are no incomplete packages shown or broken things to repair, when I use the user defined filter to look for any.

I also change the system fonts to Droid Sans, to see if this maybe helps. I am using Oxygene.

I wouldnt like to reinstall it completely. I would provide a screenshot, but the browser add-on doesnt catch these errors in fontdisplay.

Any experienced people out there, that might be able to give a hint?

Thanks in advance.

Andre

(P.S:: Can it be, that the Nvidia Grapics Driver isnt supported stable in thie update package? Have read some similar stuff about another graphics driver.)
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
bfrancom

Re: After Update Pack 5 fonts (graphically) broken, LMDE wth

Post by bfrancom »

Same issue here. After UP5 fonts are scaddywompus (corrupt font rendering nearly everywhere) I've tracked some things down, and it looks like it is this libcairo2 bug here:
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=666468
and
https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=47266

I'm running LMDE XFCE 64 bit on a Thinkpad w510 with the nouveau driver.

I haven't found a way to resolve it yet.
Last edited by bfrancom on Tue Sep 25, 2012 5:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
webass

Re: After Update Pack 5 fonts (graphically) broken, LMDE wth

Post by webass »

Hi,
I am pretty sure, that I am going to reinstall, but because there is no KDE version of LMDE, it s a tough decision, cause I like LMDE very much, but also KDE.
And why didnt you find a way to solve he problem?

Maybe like the guy describes, downgrading libcairo can work.

I think I will give it a try.

Cause I really want to avoid to reinstall.

Cheers.
Andre
webass

Re: After Update Pack 5 fonts (graphically) broken, LMDE wth

Post by webass »

Hi,
okay, I fixed the problem with synaptic.

Similar to here:
http://r3dux.org/2012/07/how-to-downgra ... ix-evince/

But I ddnt really uninstall libcairo completely (far too many packages depending on it here).
In synpatic looked for libcairo.
Clicked on libcairo2.
I went to Package -> Force Version
And chose the version before the current version to reinstall.
Put to use and then Package -> Lock version.

Then went to the other package libcairo-gobject2 and did the same. Also, Package -> Lock version
Loaded the packages new and exited.
Then cleared cache in Iceweasel. Closed and started and it was opened quick again (Iceweasel took over a minute to open before since the Update 5, also because the bug, probably). It is up running with all fonts correct and everything else too.

Great.
Thanks.

But how did You find out, that this bug is probably responsible?

I did SOME google search, without a success.

How did You come across, what did You search for?

Byye.
Last edited by webass on Tue Sep 25, 2012 6:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
bfrancom

Re: After Update Pack 5 fonts (graphically) broken, LMDE wth

Post by bfrancom »

Weird on my install, there are no prior candidates to install.

Code: Select all

apt-cache policy libcairo2
libcairo2:
  Installed: 1.12.2-2
  Candidate: 1.12.2-2
  Version table:
 *** 1.12.2-2 0
        500 http://mirror.rts-informatique.fr/linuxmint/debian/latest/ testing/main amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
Looks like it's removed from the repos, so I can't downgrade.

Here is my apt sources list:

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cat /etc/apt/sources.list
deb http://packages.linuxmint.com/ debian main upstream import backport
deb-src http://packages.linuxmint.com/ debian main upstream import backport #Added by software-properties
deb http://mirror.rts-informatique.fr/linuxmint/debian/latest testing main contrib non-free
deb http://mirror.rts-informatique.fr/linuxmint/debian/latest/security testing/updates main contrib non-free
deb http://mirror.rts-informatique.fr/linuxmint/debian/latest/multimedia testing main non-free
What sources are you using?

I dug on google for hours to find that specific bug...Started with something like "lmde font rendering."
webass

Re: After Update Pack 5 fonts (graphically) broken, LMDE wth

Post by webass »

I dont think that Your sources list is the recommended one, could be cause Your location.
So, to the sources I cannot say anything. Anyway what probably is missing, is the backports.

My sources list:

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deb http://linux-mint.froonix.org/ debian main
deb http://debian.linuxmint.com/latest testing main contrib non-free
deb http://packages.linuxmint.com/ debian main upstream import
deb http://switch.dl.sourceforge.net/project/jedit /
deb http://backports.debian.org/debian-backports squeeze-backports main
deb http://mozilla.debian.net/ squeeze-backports iceweasel-release
deb http://debian.linuxmint.com/latest/security testing/updates main contrib non-free
deb http://debian.linuxmint.com/latest/multimedia testing main non-free
# deb http://ftp.debian.org/debian testing main contrib non-free
# deb http://security.debian.org/ testing/updates main contrib non-free
# deb http://www.debian-multimedia.org testing main non-free
# deb http://www.lamaresh.net/apt squeeze main
# deb http://debian.linuxmint.com/incoming testing main contrib non-free
# deb http://deb.opera.com/opera/ stable non-free
From where I think

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deb http://backports.debian.org/debian-backports squeeze-backports main
could be the important one.

Hope this helps.
Thanks so far.

Cheers.
Andre

EDIT: I am on a 32 - bit system. Donno if this will make a difference in the sources.
zerozero

Re: After Update Pack 5 fonts (graphically) broken, LMDE wth

Post by zerozero »

webass wrote:After it had installed, the message appeared, that not every package could be downloaded.
and this was most probably your first and most important mistake.
webass wrote:Any experienced people out there, that might be able to give a hint?
probably this would be useful http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.p ... 8&t=112789
bfrancom wrote:I've tracked some things down, and it looks like it is this libcairo2 bug here:
from what i can see on those bugs it's an interaction between libcairo and chromium/chrome. is the same with you?
bfrancom wrote:Weird on my install, there are no prior candidates to install.
and there shouldn't be.
webass wrote:I dont think that Your sources list is the recommended one, could be cause Your location.
actually yours are the faulty ones.

as a reference see this bug report >> http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=682308
webass

Re: After Update Pack 5 fonts (graphically) broken, LMDE wth

Post by webass »

I had this broken fonts everyhwere, now they are gone.
I dont know why, during, respectively after, the update the message, that said packages werent downloaded/installed, is my fault?

What should I do against it? Or how did You mean, it is my fault?
zerozero

Re: After Update Pack 5 fonts (graphically) broken, LMDE wth

Post by zerozero »

no, i'm not saying that is your fault, you had an incomplete d/l and update for what i can see and errors in the dist-upgrade process thus probably the problems you are seeing now.
webass

Re: After Update Pack 5 fonts (graphically) broken, LMDE wth

Post by webass »

:D (Questions are also a good way to get the meaning of the written word clear, before starting a discussion, You know? So, thanks for getting back to me with the meaning of "fault")

That was my educated guess in the beginning too.
But the libcairo package was installed correctly, also I checked right after the update, in synaptic, if any packages can be repaired, are shown incomplete or not downloaded, but there wasn anything I could do on synaptic.
After the downgrade of libcairo, everything is really fine (had an advantage, this way I changed my fonts also, now I like the new look even better) :)
I didnt see any other way to check, so, this GENERAL problem could appear in the future during an update or upgrade and I would nt know what to do after I received these kinds of messages.

The sources list BTW I researched on this forum and thought I would be going well with it.
But as You say this is faulty, maybe my problems with updates will always start because a faulty sources list.
zerozero

Re: After Update Pack 5 fonts (graphically) broken, LMDE wth

Post by zerozero »

not a problem :D
yep, your sources.list have a couple question marks:
the default repos are

Code: Select all

deb http://packages.linuxmint.com/ debian main upstream import
deb http://debian.linuxmint.com/latest testing main contrib non-free
deb http://debian.linuxmint.com/latest/security testing/updates main contrib non-free
deb http://debian.linuxmint.com/latest/multimedia testing main non-free
and that's all you need to properly run lmde.

now you have there:

deb http://linux-mint.froonix.org/ debian main that should be a mirror of deb http://packages.linuxmint.com/ debian main upstream import thus redundante.

deb http://backports.debian.org/debian-backports squeeze-backports main absolutely unnecessary and potentially dangerous, backports are not to be used with testing, they are for stable.

# deb http://ftp.debian.org/debian testing main contrib non-free
# deb http://security.debian.org/ testing/updates main contrib non-free
# deb http://www.debian-multimedia.org testing main non-free
# deb http://www.lamaresh.net/apt squeeze main
# deb http://debian.linuxmint.com/incoming testing main contrib non-free
# deb http://deb.opera.com/opera/ stable non-free


although commented out there's a few issues here as well:
- you have 3 testing repos there: be very careful mixing pkgs from different releases;
- debian-multimedia doesn't exist anymore, is now deb-multimedia;
- lamaresh is old, apart from that you have wine now in the repos;
- mint offers the latest opera builds so i don't see point in using the deb.opera repo;

apart from this all the rest is fine :D
bfrancom

Re: After Update Pack 5 fonts (graphically) broken, LMDE wth

Post by bfrancom »

zerozero wrote: from what i can see on those bugs it's an interaction between libcairo and chromium/chrome. is the same with you?
I wish it were just chromium/chrome that was affected. I run XFCE, and it also is affecting the panels, pidgin, xfce terminal, rvxt, Thunar, and likely others.

Sample image attached. Still pretty sure it's that libcairo bug though.
LMDE-XFCE_Font_Issue.png
bfrancom

Re: After Update Pack 5 fonts (graphically) broken, LMDE wth

Post by bfrancom »

CAUTION: This is probably not the best way, but it is a short term solution for me:
Force removed the buggy libciaro version:

Code: Select all

dpkg -r --force-depends libcairo2:amd64
I downloaded the older version of libcairo from the debian repos and installed it:

http://backports.debian.org/debian-back ... _amd64.deb

Code: Select all

dpkg -i libcairo2_1.10.2-7~bpo60+1_amd64.deb
I then rebooted, and my issue is now fixed!!!
Of course I'm now getting complaints from mintUpdate, which is fine for me as I'll run the old version until a better fix or workaround is available. This is what MintUpdate says:
You have 2 broken packages on your system!
Use the "Broken" filter to locate them.
If I were to run an upgrade though, it looks like it will reinstall the newer (buggy) version...Like I said, this is fine for me. I'll wait to upgrade for a better fix to come along.
webass

Re: After Update Pack 5 fonts (graphically) broken, LMDE wth

Post by webass »

zerozero wrote:not a problem :D
yep, your sources.list have a couple question marks:
the default repos are

Code: Select all

deb http://packages.linuxmint.com/ debian main upstream import
deb http://debian.linuxmint.com/latest testing main contrib non-free
deb http://debian.linuxmint.com/latest/security testing/updates main contrib non-free
deb http://debian.linuxmint.com/latest/multimedia testing main non-free
and that's all you need to properly run lmde.

....
Thank You very much for Your detailed answer.
Some of the entries come probably from playing around with the synaptic and the thinking, that they repos were needed for the software (or are only left over)

So, I will now rework my sources.list after Your recommendations.

Again, thanks for this.

One question is left, when an upgrade takes very long and packages arent downloaded or installed correctly, what could one do after such a message?

(Of course aside to be prepared with a clean sources.list)
Cheers.
Andre
zerozero

Re: After Update Pack 5 fonts (graphically) broken, LMDE wth

Post by zerozero »

bfrancom wrote:CAUTION: This is probably not the best way, but it is a short term solution for me:
actually in the bug report i linked above (here again >> http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=682308) that is one of the 3 workarounds but the most problematic: i believe that at this point you can't install any package, app, software; you have apt blocked because of those 2 broken packages and every attempt to solve that will result in the update to the latest version available (the one that doesn't play with your system)
- in the same bug report you'll see that workaround 1 while being the easiest has drawbacks and workaround 3 has better results but is harder to implement (like almost everything it's a trade-off)
webass wrote:One question is left, when an upgrade takes very long and packages arent downloaded or installed correctly, what could one do after such a message?
we have here 2 different scenarios:
1- when packages aren't downloaded correctly or fully downloaded (this can happen because during the process you lost net temporarily, because the server is off or overloaded)
i replicated this scenario here and it looks like this

Code: Select all

  Fetched 434 kB in 1min 1s (7,044 B/s)
Reading package lists... Done
W: Failed to fetch http://security.debian.org/dists/testing/updates/InRelease  

W: Failed to fetch http://security.debian.org/dists/testing/updates/Release.gpg  Temporary failure resolving 'security.debian.org'

W: Some index files failed to download. They have been ignored, or old ones used instead.
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
Calculating upgrade... Done
The following packages will be upgraded:
  xnest xserver-common xserver-xorg-core
3 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 3,976 kB of archives.
After this operation, 9,216 B of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue [Y/n]? 
the important part is
W: Some index files failed to download. They have been ignored, or old ones used instead.
if you see this warning you shouldn't ever hit Y, because you are only getting part of the update and probably (most certainly if is a big update like an UP) you'll get horrible mismatches with packages being uninstalled without need because the ones they depend on are not in the batch you downloaded and packages being kept that should be removed because the cause of the removal never arrived.
so in this situation, you should always have a clean update prompt without W: or E:

2- when packages aren't installed correctly the error is different, usually like this in the terminal

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Error: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)
- in situations like this (different from 1- because all packages were downloaded from the repos but somehow there's an error processing the installation) you can try

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sudo apt-get -f install
or/and

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sudo dpkg --configure -a
and then run again the upgrade or dist-upgrade that was interrupted.
BostonPeng

Re: After Update Pack 5 fonts (graphically) broken, LMDE wth

Post by BostonPeng »

webass wrote:Hi,
I am pretty sure, that I am going to reinstall, but because there is no KDE version of LMDE, it s a tough decision, cause I like LMDE very much, but also KDE.
This may be a little late but there is an unofficial LMDE KDE respin that works very nicely. I recently did a reinstall of my laptop to use it since I had been using KDE bolted on top of LMDE (not the best way to do it IMO) and I'm finding it works brilliantly.
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