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Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 2:57 am
by ludolph
Could be possible to spread the extremely important messages like this: "Important Alert
Do not upgrade your MX 17 or MX18 system installed or live until further notice. A problem with a kernel upgrade has occurred. A fix will be posted when available." to all MX Forum users via email?
I just broke my system by the above mentioned kernel upgrade, just because I did not read this message on MX Forum.
Thanks in advance...!!!
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:10 am
by BitJam
ludolph wrote: Fri Jun 21, 2019 2:57 amI just broke my system by the above mentioned kernel upgrade, just because I did not read this message on MX Forum.
Is your system live or installed? IIUC the installed system is easy to fix.
As far as the email list, I really don't know. I agree with you it would be nice if we could push out dire warnings.
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:13 am
by ludolph
BitJam wrote: Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:10 am
ludolph wrote: Fri Jun 21, 2019 2:57 amI just broke my system by the above mentioned kernel upgrade, just because I did not read this message on MX Forum.
Is your system live or installed? IIUC the installed system is easy to fix.
My system (actually 5 systems!!!) is installed... please let me know about "easy fix".
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:16 am
by JayM
If people don't read the Important Alert that's at the top of every forum page in bright red letters what makes you think that they'll read their email messages?
(I'm starting to sound like RichB and Jerry!

)
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:19 am
by ludolph
JayM wrote: Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:16 am
If people don't read the Important Alert at the top of every forum page in bright red letters what makes you think that they'll read their email messages?
So, you propose read the MX Forum before all upgrades ... really??!!
I do not read MX Forum every day ... but I read all the emails I get!!!

Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:20 am
by BitJam
The fix partly depends on your symptoms. If you get to a black screen when you boot then use <Alt><F2> to get to a console login screen. Then run these commands:
Code: Select all
sudo /usr/share/mx-packageinstaller-pkglist/rebuild_dkms_packages.sh
sudo reboot
This solution was posted in this thread:
RECENT KERNEL UPGRADE BROKE NVIDIA GRAPHICS -- SOLUTION
The first post shows how to fix Nvidia graphics. The post by kmathern shows how to fix all modules that may have been broken.
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:25 am
by JayM
i would run kmathern's. May as well fix everything at once rather than piecemeal.
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:30 am
by JayM
ludolph wrote: Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:19 am
JayM wrote: Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:16 am
If people don't read the Important Alert at the top of every forum page in bright red letters what makes you think that they'll read their email messages?
I do not read MX Forum every day ... but I read all the emails I get!!!
I'm just the opposite. I visit the forum every day and only check my email when I happen to remember, usually once or twice a week,
One thing I've learned to do is to keep a USB stick set aside that has a recent personal snapshot of my MX system burned to it, so if something happens it's just a minor annoyance causing me to spend a few minutes reinstalling rather than being a major disaster causing me hours of work, reinstalling from scratch then reconfiguring everything the same way I had it.
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:34 am
by Pierre
it seems that I'm inclined to agree with
JayM on this one:
- - that's what the Forum is used for - - communicate with MX users.
you may find about any issues, on other media, but the Forum should be the 1st choice.

Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:36 am
by AK-47
JayM wrote: Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:25 am
i would run kmathern's. May as well fix everything at once rather than piecemeal.
The /usr/share/mx-packageinstaller-pkglist/rebuild_dkms_packages.sh script actually does everything kmathern's fix does, and also writes its activity to a log file.
Here's what it looks like:
Code: Select all
#!/bin/bash
#force rebuild of dkms packages (virtualbox, nvidia, fglrx, broadcom, ndiswrapper)
#part of mx-packageinstaller
[[ $(dpkg-query --show $1 2>/dev/null && echo $?) ]] || exit 0
for i in $(dpkg-query -l |grep "\-dkms" |awk '{print $2'}); do
dpkg-reconfigure $i |tee -a /var/log/rebuild-dkms.log
done
exit 0
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:40 am
by ludolph
JayM wrote: Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:30 am
ludolph wrote: Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:19 am
JayM wrote: Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:16 am
If people don't read the Important Alert at the top of every forum page in bright red letters what makes you think that they'll read their email messages?
I do not read MX Forum every day ... but I read all the emails I get!!!
I'm just the opposite. I visit the forum every day and only check my email when I happen to remember, usually once or twice a week,
One thing I've learned to do is to keep a USB stick set aside that has a recent personal snapshot of my MX system burned to it, so if something happens it's just a minor annoyance causing me to spend a few minutes reinstalling rather than being a major disaster causing me hours of work, reinstalling from scratch then reconfiguring everything the same way I had it.
OK, but I still thinking, that the email alert could be very useful. I have no idea how many users were affected by this problem, but I am sure that email alert to all MX forum members could prevents serious troubles of many people.
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:48 am
by JayM
AK-47 wrote: Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:36 am
JayM wrote: Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:25 am
i would run kmathern's. May as well fix everything at once rather than piecemeal.
The /usr/share/mx-packageinstaller-pkglist/rebuild_dkms_packages.sh script actually does everything kmathern's fix does, and also writes its activity to a log file.
Here's what it looks like:
Code: Select all
#!/bin/bash
#force rebuild of dkms packages (virtualbox, nvidia, fglrx, broadcom, ndiswrapper)
#part of mx-packageinstaller
[[ $(dpkg-query --show $1 2>/dev/null && echo $?) ]] || exit 0
for i in $(dpkg-query -l |grep "\-dkms" |awk '{print $2'}); do
dpkg-reconfigure $i |tee -a /var/log/rebuild-dkms.log
done
exit 0
So to clarify, just for the sake of Linux newbies, how would ludolph or others use this script on a system that boots to a blinking cursor? I would guess the procedure would be something like
1. Boot to your MX installation medium: DVD or USB stick
2. Mount the root file system on the hard drive by clicking on it in Thunar
3. Open a root Thunar and go to /root on that hard disk partition
4. Right-click there and Create Document of type Empty File and name it something like fixmx.sh
5. Open it in Featherpad and paste the conents of the script there and save it
6. Right-click on it, choose Properties, and check the box to make it executable
7. Boot to the installed system and at the blank screen press alt F2, log on as root, then type
(enter) then
(enter) to reboot.
Is that about right?
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 4:00 am
by BitJam
ludolph wrote: Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:40 amOK, but I still thinking, that the email alert could be very useful. I have no idea how many users were affected by this problem, but I am sure that email alert to all MX forum members could prevents serious troubles of many people.
I agree that some form of push would be good for dire emergencies. I don't know if email is the best way. For example, text messages might be more useful for some people. I'm hoping this was a rare fluke that does not get repeated for many years, if ever.
This was a serious problem for people running live but installed systems were not seriously damaged. I believe that blank screen with the blinking cursor makes many people feel like their system is totally broken. It also adds another layer of difficulty in providing help since technically "system does not boot" and "X does not start" are very different problems.
I'm hoping that if we had a screen like this:
tty7.png
instead of the blank screen then it would be a little less frightening. It would also make it much easier for people to report to us what is going on and what failed so it is easier for us to help them.
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 4:14 am
by Pierre
JayM wrote: Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:48 am
So to clarify, just for the sake of Linux newbies, how would ludolph or others use this script on a system that boots to a blinking cursor? I would guess the procedure would be something like
1. Mount the root file system on the hard drive by clicking on it in Thunar
~ snip
if you've got an blinking cursor you won't be able to Click on it in Thunar .. ..
- - you would probably have to use Ctrl-F1 to get into an Terminal .. maybe.
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 4:17 am
by JmaCWQ
I think if a forum member has "Administrators can email me information:" set to "Yes" in their board preferences, then by all means send them an email.
This issue is a good example of when Admins could email users with relevant information.
The more ways this info gets out there then hopefully the greater number of people can be saved from having this problem.
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 4:20 am
by ludolph
JmaCWQ wrote: Fri Jun 21, 2019 4:17 am
I think if a forum member has "Administrators can email me information:" set to "Yes" in their board preferences, then by all means send them an email.
This issue is a good example of when Admins could email users with relevant information.
The more ways this info gets out there then hopefully the greater number of people can be saved from having this problem.
Yes, this is one of possible way how to inform community about serious problems ... Important alerts.
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 4:21 am
by JayM
Pierre wrote: Fri Jun 21, 2019 4:14 am
JayM wrote: Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:48 am
So to clarify, just for the sake of Linux newbies, how would ludolph or others use this script on a system that boots to a blinking cursor? I would guess the procedure would be something like
1. Mount the root file system on the hard drive by clicking on it in Thunar
~ snip
if you've got an blinking cursor you won't be able to Click on it in Thunar .. ..
- - you would probably have to use Ctrl-F1 to get into an Terminal .. maybe.
I'm assuming that people have booted with their USB stick, or else they're not going to be able to access the forum to get the script anyway. I'll edit my post to add that as step 1 and renumber the others.
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 4:24 am
by asqwerth
Good points to consider. I'm sure the Dev Team will be discussing what sort of steps to take, if this ever (hopefully not!) happens again.
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 4:38 am
by asqwerth
Pierre wrote: Fri Jun 21, 2019 4:14 am
if you've got an blinking cursor you won't be able to Click on it in Thunar .. ..
- - you would probably have to use Ctrl-F1 to get into an Terminal .. maybe.
From BitJam here:
viewtopic.php?p=510405#p510405
... for those of you who are at the blank screen with a blinking cursor, you can try pressing <Alt><F2> to get to the login console. If that works then it should save you from having to reboot or edit the bootloader entry.
At the text mode login console, log in as root and run the script?
If Alt-F2 doesn't work for you, reboot. Then at the grub menu for MX:
press 'e' in the bootloader and edit the line that starts with "linux" by added a "3" at the end. the press F10 to boot. This should get you to a console where you can can log in. Then run the command....
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 4:40 am
by AK-47
BitJam wrote: Fri Jun 21, 2019 4:00 amI'm hoping that if we had a screen like this:tty7.png
instead of the blank screen then it would be a little less frightening. It would also make it much easier for people to report to us what is going on and what failed so it is easier for us to help them.
if this tsplash ever makes it into MX Linux I'm switching to it in a flash.
JayM wrote: Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:48 amSo to clarify, just for the sake of Linux newbies, how would ludolph or others use this script on a system that boots to a blinking cursor? I would guess the procedure would be something like
1. Boot to your MX installation medium: DVD or USB stick
2. Mount the root file system on the hard drive by clicking on it in Thunar
3. Open a root Thunar and go to /root on that hard disk partition
4. Right-click there and Create Document of type Empty File and name it something like fixmx.sh
5. Open it in Featherpad and paste the conents of the script there and save it
6. Right-click on it, choose Properties, and check the box to make it executable
7. Boot to the installed system and at the blank screen press alt F2, log on as root, then type
(enter) then
(enter) to reboot.
Is that about right?
It's already there in the system, so the user shouldn't have to do anything to create the script. I just pasted the contents of the script to show that it does something similar to kmathern's fix.
I am guessing at that point they have access to a shell and the blinking cursor is the prompt?
If so, all you need to do is type something like this (root shell of course):
Code: Select all
/usr/share/mx-packageinstaller-pkglist/rebuild_dkms_packages.sh
reboot
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 5:06 am
by ludolph
There are two separate problems:
- One thing is how to solve problem like this, but I am afraid, that there not will be any fully general list of steps, because each separate problem can be a little bit different.
- Second thing is what is the suitable way how to inform community that any kind of "serious" problem occured and how to solve it or what actions are temporarly not recommended (upgrade in this case, for example).
MX Forum is, of course, best place for detailed information and discussions, but majority of users does not read MX Forum daily or more often. And these users are in danger. For all these people, something like email Alert would be very , very ... helpful!
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 5:23 am
by richb
Sorry not practical to email over 6200 Forum members,
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 5:46 am
by sunrat
siduction has an Upgrade Warnings subforum which all users are advised to read before upgrading. In over 10 years of using that distro, I've only struck trouble a couple of times which wasn't forewarned there, and several times have waited weeks before getting the all clear because of some major transition. This is to be expected in a distro based on Debian unstable, but maybe MX could do similar.
That said, in 5 years of using MX, this is the very first time a problem like this has occurred. MX is generally very reliable including with upgrades.
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 6:22 am
by richb
Something we will consider. Thanks.
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 6:46 am
by asqwerth
sunrat wrote: Fri Jun 21, 2019 5:46 am
siduction has an Upgrade Warnings subforum which all users are advised to read before upgrading. In over 10 years of using that distro, I've only struck trouble a couple of times which wasn't forewarned there, and several times have waited weeks before getting the all clear because of some major transition. This is to be expected in a distro based on Debian unstable, but maybe MX could do similar.
That said, in 5 years of using MX, this is the very first time a problem like this has occurred. MX is generally very reliable including with upgrades.
Most rolling distros will have something similar to the Upgrade Warnings subforum.
However, I can also see where ludolph is coming from. One would not normally expect that users of distros based on Debian Stable will need to check the board for warnings before upgrading.
Like I said, the MX team will need to think things through.
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 8:44 am
by j2mcgreg
Rather than using email could the message function of the apt notifier be used instead? Rather than pumping out a message that says how many upgrades are available, could it produce a message like "Critical Event -- consult MX Forum immediately!"
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 9:01 am
by ChrisUK
Or... off the top of my head (which will probably mean I've not thought it through)
Couldn't you set a boolean flag in the main repo (maybe just read it from a text file), say ok-to-upgrade - then the Update Notifier checks the flag before any upgrades are even offered... then display a message etc.
So, a bad update - dev sets flag to false - sets to true when fixed etc
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 11:10 am
by KBD
Email would be just as useless. Not everyone would check their email before running updates. Not much better to expect people to visit the forum before every update, and kind of scary to tell them you expect them to do so, ruins confidence in the distro.
My suggestion would be to shut down the repositories altogether until a fix comes through so they don't even see an update notification. Or otherwise send a warning through the update notification itself. Pull the update key, do something to prevent updates.
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 11:25 am
by sg-1
I share KBD's post when he suggests closing the repositories by inhibiting any updates until the problem is resolved, informing users of course.
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:34 pm
by Jerry3904
That kernel update has been removed, and will disappear as soon as the repo being used syncs up.
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 1:14 pm
by KBD
Jerry3904 wrote: Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:34 pm
That kernel update has been removed, and will disappear as soon as the repo being used syncs up.
Thanks Jerry!
I know in the past I could not run updates on a couple of MX machines because the keyring needed updating:
Code: Select all
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install antix-archive-keyring
sudo apt-get update
I'm just thinking out loud, but if we run into a serious update problem in the future couldn't a new keyring be issued to prevent updates? That would pretty much automatically bring users to the forum and they would then see the warning. A new key could be issued with instructions when it's safe to update again. Just a thought, maybe there is a better way to do it, but stopping updates before something breaks in that situation seems better than users breaking things then having to fix it.
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 1:24 pm
by Jerry3904
Let's get this solved first, then turn to future questions--thanks.
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 2:49 pm
by kmathern
KBD wrote: Fri Jun 21, 2019 1:14 pm
I'm just thinking out loud, but if we run into a serious update problem in the future couldn't a new keyring be issued to prevent updates? That would pretty much automatically bring users to the forum and they would then see the warning. A new key could be issued with instructions when it's safe to update again. Just a thought, maybe there is a better way to do it, but stopping updates before something breaks in that situation seems better than users breaking things then having to fix it.
I'd rather not mess with keyrings, gpg keys, etc. or do anything with that interferes with updating of the apt repos, that's fragile enough as it is already imo. Instead I would rather have MX Updater monitor some other channel / source for update warnings. If it finds that there's a warning it could add the warning to the upgrade preview window, or maybe just show the warning instead of a preview of the upgrade(s). Maybe also display a different icon in the systray/notification area while a update warning is in effect.
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 10:01 pm
by antiX-Dave
So are we suggesting a message system something like this?
Perhaps even simpler where the script reads for a 401 vs 200 http code on a particular file?
file named apt-get-safe in /usr/local/bin
Code: Select all
#!/bin/bash
wget http://repo.antixlinux.com/check -O /tmp/check &> /dev/null
if grep "unsafe" /tmp/check &> /dev/null
then
echo "Repo is known by the dev team to be unsafe, please consult the forum for details"
echo "Do you wish to continue? (Y/N)"
read ans
case $ans in
y|Y) apt-get $@ ;;
n|N) exit ;;
esac
else
apt-get $@;
fi
/root/.bashrc containing line
And likewise for the apt command?
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 10:25 pm
by kmathern
antiX-Dave wrote: Fri Jun 21, 2019 10:01 pm
So are we suggesting a message system something like this? ...
Yes, I think something like that might work (maybe also include aptitude and Synaptic), and you'd still be able to use apt-get/apt if you really wanted to.
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Tue Jun 25, 2019 3:52 am
by ludolph
Very constructive discussion ...
So, we will wait for future developments ...
Re: Important alerts ... email distribution
Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2019 6:16 pm
by colin_b
I was just blankly staring at the wall when a simple solution to this problem popped out of the ether and into my head. I think it's worth a mention - better late than never.
Why not use MXPI to give messages to users when something crops up which they absolutely need to know?
Example:
MXPI icon displays in red > user clicks MXPI > displayed at top of MXPI (examples):
An urgent issue has arisen. Please see forum post [url].
or
There is a zero day issue with [program]. Please update software ASAP.