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Re: Please help !!! Unable to access GUI after update
Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 10:16 pm
by dolphin_oracle
teddyk67 wrote: Sun Jul 07, 2019 10:12 pm
Thanks dolphin_oracle! stretch no longer receives updates because it is oldstable?
actually it still receives updates, just infrequently and mostly security related. at least from debian. we will keep issuing updates in our repos for a while yet.
Re: Please help !!! Unable to access GUI after update
Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 10:37 pm
by JayM
dolphin_oracle wrote: Sun Jul 07, 2019 10:01 pm
JayM wrote: Sun Jul 07, 2019 9:42 pm
dolphin_oracle wrote: Sun Jul 07, 2019 9:25 pm
upgrade issues are why we use the distro name versions of the repo definitions.
Question: has MX done this all along, or did it ever just name the repos "Debian Stable"? Since we suddenly have two cases of lightdm/X11 issues after an update since Buster was released, I'm wondering if people who originally installed an older version of MX, like 17, still have repos named Debian Stable instead of Debian Stretch and that's what's causing the issues.
we we have deliberately used the distro codename all along. to be sure, I went back and checked mx 17 and 17.1 both had "stretch" rather than "stable".
to answer the other question, the stretch repos are still there, but they are no longer "stable" they are now "oldstable".
using the distro codename version of the debian repository definitions avoids these kinds of things.
*Whew!* So it's not a systemic problem, it only affects individuals who at some point have changed or readded their repositories incorrectly. The only solutions, then would be to either restore from a backup made prior to yesterday (timeshift, backintime or reinstall from a snapshot) then fix the repositories prior to updating/upgrading, or do a fresh reinstall.
Re: Please help !!! Unable to access GUI after update
Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 10:41 pm
by asqwerth
JayM wrote: Sun Jul 07, 2019 9:42 pm
dolphin_oracle wrote: Sun Jul 07, 2019 9:25 pm
upgrade issues are why we use the distro name versions of the repo definitions.
Question: has MX done this all along, or did it ever just name the repos "Debian Stable"? Since we suddenly have two cases of lightdm/X11 issues after an update since Buster was released, I'm wondering if people who originally installed an older version of MX, like 17, still have repos named Debian Stable instead of Debian Stretch and that's what's causing the issues.
Definitely not. I have quite a few mx15/16 and mx17/18 installs that have never "promoted" themselves to the next Debian release on an update. Same for my father's mx16 netbook.
Re: Please help !!! Unable to access GUI after update
Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2019 1:07 am
by chandler
So what can I do now?
Re: Please help !!! Unable to access GUI after update
Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2019 1:12 am
by JayM
Restore the OS from a recent backup after booting from an MX live USB or DVD, or install from a recent snapshot, then fix those repositories before running any updates or upgrades (people here can help you with that), or else reinstall from scratch. The installer will give you the option to keep your existing /home partition but I would do a complete backup of it first, including hidden files and directories, just to be on the safe side.
Re: Please help !!! Unable to access GUI after update
Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2019 11:43 am
by Buck Fankers
chandler wrote: Mon Jul 08, 2019 1:07 am
So what can I do now?
I don't know how new you are at Linux, let me know if you understand what the problem is. As beginner I have easy explanation 'from beginner to beginner' if you need it. Understanding what happened also helps understanding why next step is recovery from backup or new install, while you keep home.
Do you happen to know, why you had wrong repos enabled?
Did you install some software via PPA (not a good idea)
Did some software during install changed repositories?
Did you change them? Just curious how it happened.
Re: Please help !!! Unable to access GUI after update
Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2019 1:53 pm
by chandler
Yes indeed I am a novice in linux
Please explain if you have that explanation. .
And yes to all your questions. ..
Re: Please help !!! Unable to access GUI after update
Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2019 2:00 pm
by Jerry3904
My ideas:
1. Rescue data from Home you want to keep using the Live media
2. Reinstall
3. Never change the repos until you know more than the Devs
Re: Please help !!! Unable to access GUI after update
Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2019 2:07 pm
by rasat
Is this becoming an issue where machines get upgraded to buster without notice. This upgrade breaks the system (systemd-shim, lightdm, netwwork-manager, and other important packages are removed). Here is another asking for help:
viewtopic.php?f=104&t=51379#p513797
Re: Please help !!! Unable to access GUI after update
Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2019 2:20 pm
by richb
If you read paragraph 3 of the Blog post it tells you this will not happen.
In short, your existing Stretch-based MX 18 will continue to receive updates from Debian and MX for at least 18 months. You don’t have to do anything. We have pointed our repository definitions to the distro name version of Debian’s repositories, so you don’t have to worry about “stable” changing. If you manually changed your repositories to point to “stable”, do not update and change them back. If you update from “stable” rather than “stretch”, your system will be hosed. Your only recourse in that event is to reinstall.