MX Linux Forum

Posted: **Fri Sep 16, 2022 5:16 am**

I installed MX 21. a few days ago (replacing Linux Lite). Yesterday I saw notifications of updates/upgrade, which I activated at the same time as I was transferring a large number of files from another Linux computer. The update/upgrade never seemed to complete even after about 6 hours. I rebooted the laptop, ending up with a black screen and flashing cursor in top left hand corner.

I'm not skilled enough to understand what to do next, so I re-installed from USB, retaining my existing /home. After reboot and running update/upgrade again - which did complete - the laptop again booted to a black screen.

On the 4th attempt (let's not talk about the 3rd) I have avoided doing the update and am running OK - except that I wish to install the Keepassxc app; MX insists I do the update/upgrade to allow this install.

How do I avoid the black screen, again ?

Code: Select all

System:    Kernel: 5.10.0-17-amd64 [5.10.136-1] x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 10.2.1 
           parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-5.10.0-17-amd64 
           root=UUID=<filter> ro quiet splash 
           Desktop: Xfce 4.16.0 tk: Gtk 3.24.24 info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm 4.16.1 vt: 7 
           dm: LightDM 1.26.0 Distro: MX-21.2_x64 Wildflower August 28  2022 
           base: Debian GNU/Linux 11 (bullseye) 
Machine:   Type: Laptop System: LENOVO product: 2746EDG v: ThinkPad SL serial: <filter> 
           Mobo: LENOVO model: 2746EDG v: LENOVO 6AET64WW serial: <filter> BIOS: LENOVO 
           v: 6AET64WW date: 12/01/2010 
Battery:   ID-1: BAT0 charge: 53.3 Wh (98.2%) condition: 54.3/57.2 Wh (95.0%) volts: 12.0 
           min: 10.8 model: BTI 92P1141 type: Li-ion serial: N/A status: Not charging 
CPU:       Info: Dual Core model: Intel Core2 Duo T6670 bits: 64 type: MCP arch: Penryn family: 6 
           model-id: 17 (23) stepping: A (10) microcode: A0B cache: L2: 2 MiB 
           flags: lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 8777 
           Speed: 1575 MHz min/max: 1200/2201 MHz boost: enabled Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1575 
           2: 1575 
           Vulnerabilities: Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: VMX disabled 
           Type: l1tf mitigation: PTE Inversion; VMX: EPT disabled 
           Type: mds status: Vulnerable: Clear CPU buffers attempted, no microcode; SMT disabled 
           Type: meltdown mitigation: PTI 
           Type: mmio_stale_data status: Not affected 
           Type: retbleed status: Not affected 
           Type: spec_store_bypass status: Vulnerable 
           Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization 
           Type: spectre_v2 
           mitigation: Retpolines, STIBP: disabled, RSB filling, PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected 
           Type: srbds status: Not affected 
           Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected 
Graphics:  Device-1: Intel Mobile 4 Series Integrated Graphics vendor: Lenovo driver: i915 
           v: kernel bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:2a42 class-ID: 0300 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.11 compositor: xfwm4 v: 4.16.1 driver: loaded: intel 
           display-ID: :0.0 screens: 1 
           Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1280x800 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 338x211mm (13.3x8.3") 
           s-diag: 398mm (15.7") 
           Monitor-1: LVDS1 res: 1280x800 hz: 60 dpi: 98 size: 331x207mm (13.0x8.1") 
           diag: 390mm (15.4") 
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Mobile Intel GM45 Express (CTG) v: 2.1 Mesa 20.3.5 
           direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: Intel 82801I HD Audio vendor: Lenovo ThinkPad T400 driver: snd_hda_intel 
           v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1b.0 chip-ID: 8086:293e class-ID: 0403 
           Sound Server-1: ALSA v: k5.10.0-17-amd64 running: yes 
           Sound Server-2: PulseAudio v: 14.2 running: yes 
Network:   Device-1: Intel PRO/Wireless 5100 AGN [Shiloh] Network driver: iwlwifi v: kernel 
           modules: wl port: 4400 bus-ID: 02:00.0 chip-ID: 8086:4237 class-ID: 0280 
           IF: wlan0 state: down mac: <filter> 
           Device-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet vendor: Lenovo 
           driver: r8169 v: kernel port: e800 bus-ID: 0c:00.0 chip-ID: 10ec:8168 class-ID: 0200 
           IF: eth0 state: up speed: 100 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter> 
Bluetooth: Device-1: Broadcom BCM2045B (BDC-2.1) [Bluetooth Controller] type: USB driver: btusb 
           v: 0.8 bus-ID: 5-1:2 chip-ID: 0a5c:2145 class-ID: fe01 
           Report: hciconfig ID: hci0 rfk-id: 1 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 1.2 lmp-v: 2.1 
           sub-v: 424c hci-v: 2.1 rev: 518f 
           Info: acl-mtu: 1021:8 sco-mtu: 64:1 link-policy: rswitch hold sniff park 
           link-mode: slave accept service-classes: rendering, capturing, object transfer, audio 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 247.42 GiB used: 78.98 GiB (31.9%) 
           SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required. 
           ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Crucial model: CT250MX500SSD1 size: 232.89 GiB 
           block-size: physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B speed: 3.0 Gb/s type: SSD serial: <filter> 
           rev: 023 scheme: MBR 
           ID-2: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 type: USB vendor: Kingston model: DataTraveler 2.0 
           size: 14.54 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B type: N/A serial: <filter> 
           rev: PMAP scheme: MBR 
           SMART Message: Unknown USB bridge. Flash drive/Unsupported enclosure? 
Partition: ID-1: / raw-size: 23.28 GiB size: 22.75 GiB (97.71%) used: 6.03 GiB (26.5%) fs: ext4 
           dev: /dev/sda3 maj-min: 8:3 
           ID-2: /home raw-size: 96.86 GiB size: 94.78 GiB (97.85%) used: 72.95 GiB (77.0%) 
           fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda5 maj-min: 8:5 
Swap:      Kernel: swappiness: 15 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default) 
           ID-1: swap-1 type: partition size: 3.97 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2 
           dev: /dev/sda6 maj-min: 8:6 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 54.0 C mobo: N/A 
           Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A 
Repos:     Packages: note: see --pkg apt: 1962 lib: 987 flatpak: 0 
           No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list 
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian-stable-updates.list 
           1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye-updates main contrib non-free
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list 
           1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye main contrib non-free
           2: deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security bullseye-security main contrib non-free
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mx.list 
           1: deb http://mxlinux.mirrors.uk2.net/packages/mx/repo/ bullseye main non-free
Info:      Processes: 232 Uptime: 30m wakeups: 2 Memory: 3.81 GiB used: 2.02 GiB (53.2%) 
           Init: SysVinit v: 2.96 runlevel: 5 default: 5 tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: N/A 
           alt: 10 Client: shell wrapper v: 5.1.4-release inxi: 3.3.06 
Boot Mode: BIOS (legacy, CSM, MBR)

Posted: **Fri Sep 16, 2022 6:30 am**

Your other post has been removed, please stick to one thread on the same issue, thank you.

Posted: **Fri Sep 16, 2022 6:52 am**

Do the full upgrade properly. Background/reason see here.
https://forum.mxlinux.org/viewtopic.php?t=71679

Posted: **Fri Sep 16, 2022 6:57 am**

I also suggest not doing other tasks while a large file transfer is in progress lest you overwhelm your computer's capabilities.

Posted: **Fri Sep 16, 2022 9:28 am**

Eadwine Rose wrote: Fri Sep 16, 2022 6:30 am Your other post has been removed, please stick to one thread on the same issue, thank you.

Yes, I fuly agree with the principle - but I am not aware of any other deliberate post on this forum ever - I registered only this morning.

Posted: **Fri Sep 16, 2022 9:31 am**

There was, posted 14 minutes after this one. Maybe you left the computer and pressed submit again, thinking it hadn't posted.

Whatever caused it, this one is the only one left for people to see.

Posted: **Fri Sep 16, 2022 9:56 am**

fehlix wrote: Fri Sep 16, 2022 6:52 am Do the full upgrade properly. Background/reason see here.
https://forum.mxlinux.org/viewtopic.php?t=71679

Thanks for the guidance. I began the upgrade which went as far as the step of building 'locales' (?), with a warning that this step might take a long time - the screen went black before this step completed, displaying an I-beam cursor.

So, this upgrade appears not to work on my laptop. Can I repeat my request for help: what do I have to do to avoid a black screen ?

Posted: **Fri Sep 16, 2022 10:37 am**

LateJunction wrote: Fri Sep 16, 2022 9:56 am
fehlix wrote: Fri Sep 16, 2022 6:52 am Do the full upgrade properly. Background/reason see here.
https://forum.mxlinux.org/viewtopic.php?t=71679
Thanks for the guidance. I began the upgrade which went as far as the step of building 'locales' (?), with a warning that this step might take a long time - the screen went black before this step completed, displaying an I-beam cursor.

So, this upgrade appears not to work on my laptop. Can I repeat my request for help: what do I have to do to avoid a black screen ?

I understand your help request, but a partial upgraded system may not boot properly.
Make sure you have enough power and disable "screen blanking" during upgrade, otherwise a not properly performed upgrade would not make the system work.
I think there is Presentaion mode somewhere in Powersetting or in rightclick on the power icon in the tray.
Also you can do the upgrade in smaller steps instead of one big chunk.
But before I dive into figure out the details, let me know whether you willing to do smaller upgrade steps.
Alternatively I'm sure a newer ISO (may be like a monthly MX snapshot) with all those upgrades includes may show up in due course, so if you don't want the hassle of performing a full upgrade you may wait until a newer updated ISO is announced.

Posted: **Fri Sep 16, 2022 10:52 am**

fehlix wrote: Fri Sep 16, 2022 10:37 am
LateJunction wrote: Fri Sep 16, 2022 9:56 am
fehlix wrote: Fri Sep 16, 2022 6:52 am Do the full upgrade properly. Background/reason see here.
https://forum.mxlinux.org/viewtopic.php?t=71679
Thanks for the guidance. I began the upgrade which went as far as the step of building 'locales' (?), with a warning that this step might take a long time - the screen went black before this step completed, displaying an I-beam cursor.

So, this upgrade appears not to work on my laptop. Can I repeat my request for help: what do I have to do to avoid a black screen ?
I understand your help request, but a partial upgraded system may not boot properly.
Make sure you have enough power and disable "screen blanking" during upgrade, otherwise a not properly performed upgrade would not make the system work.
I think there is Presentaion mode somewhere in Powersetting or in rightclick on the power icon in the tray.
Also you can do the upgrade in smaller steps instead of one big chunk.
But before I dive into figure out the details, let me know whether you willing to do smaller upgrade steps.
Alternatively I'm sure a newer ISO (may be like a monthly MX snapshot) with all those upgrades includes may show up in due course, so if you don't want the hassle of performing a full upgrade you may wait until a newer updated ISO is announced.

Sure, I'm willing to try doing the upgrade in smaller steps - I have nothing to lose, bearing in mind the current install is unusable - which I find quite remarkable. I have been a non-technical user of Linux since 2007 (if memory serves correctly); in all the time I have been using/trying out Linux I have never had a system that fails to install/upgrade until now - and that's across Red Hat, Fedora, SUSE, Ubuntu (numerous 'flavour's), Mint, Zorin, Linux Lite and now MX.

Power is not a problem - I run from 'mains' power to the laptop. I'm not sure about screen dimming - I'll have to install MX again (this will be attempt 6) to find out what options there are.

Thanks for your continuing support.

Posted: **Fri Sep 16, 2022 11:05 am**

LateJunction wrote: Fri Sep 16, 2022 10:52 am
fehlix wrote: Fri Sep 16, 2022 10:37 am
LateJunction wrote: Fri Sep 16, 2022 9:56 am

Thanks for the guidance. I began the upgrade which went as far as the step of building 'locales' (?), with a warning that this step might take a long time - the screen went black before this step completed, displaying an I-beam cursor.

So, this upgrade appears not to work on my laptop. Can I repeat my request for help: what do I have to do to avoid a black screen ?
I understand your help request, but a partial upgraded system may not boot properly.
Make sure you have enough power and disable "screen blanking" during upgrade, otherwise a not properly performed upgrade would not make the system work.
I think there is Presentaion mode somewhere in Powersetting or in rightclick on the power icon in the tray.
Also you can do the upgrade in smaller steps instead of one big chunk.
But before I dive into figure out the details, let me know whether you willing to do smaller upgrade steps.
Alternatively I'm sure a newer ISO (may be like a monthly MX snapshot) with all those upgrades includes may show up in due course, so if you don't want the hassle of performing a full upgrade you may wait until a newer updated ISO is announced.
Sure, I'm willing to try doing the upgrade in smaller steps - I have nothing to lose, bearing in mind the current install is unusable - which I find quite remarkable. I have been a non-technical user of Linux since 2007 (if memory serves correctly); in all the time I have been using/trying out Linux I have never had a system that fails to install/upgrade until now - and that's across Red Hat, Fedora, SUSE, Ubuntu (numerous 'flavour's), Mint, Zorin, Linux Lite and now MX.

Power is not a problem - I run from 'mains' power to the laptop. I'm not sure about screen dimming - I'll have to install MX again (this will be attempt 6) to find out what options there are.

Thanks for your continuing support.

OK, let me know when you installed fresh and what ISO have been used,
and also whethe the ISO whas checked against the checksums or signature to avoid any bad-iso side effect.
Also post again from fresh installed the QSI (Quick System Info). I may setup a similar install in a VM, so can give details on the steps.

Posted: **Fri Sep 16, 2022 1:45 pm**

Thank you for the additional work you have done. The previous advice you gave me - particularly associated with avoiding screen blanking and system suspend = has resulted in my latest r e-install/upgrade to complete successfully (and I did minimise and restore the upgrade process window every few minutes to keep the system 'awake'). The laptop has now booted successfully to a fully working desktop in both MX 21.2 and Win 10 - which is excellent news.

Is there anything I need to do to be able to mark this topic as closed ?

I would like to comment that I am surprised that the blanking of the screen or entry into a suspended state should affect an upgrade process so seriously - without any warning being given to the somewhat naive user. Surely that could be 'engineered' out of the upgrade process ? (On the other hand, it seems that my system setup was to 'hibernate' rather then 'suspend'; this model of Thinkpad has always had a problem with hibernate).

Posted: **Fri Sep 16, 2022 2:02 pm**

Odd...why is compilers shown as N/A at the end of the OP's QSI?

During Debian's last weekend upgrade of GRUB, which has caused some issues for others, you will be asked several questions about what to do about its config files, and possibly about where GRUB should be installed on rather old machines. (Choose to keep your present config files)

Since you don't mention anything about that, it's possible that the upgrade's queries were never given an answer, and the upgrade never completed.

Whoops, you replied while I wrote this--seems that this was the issue. Anyway, you can go back and edit the title of your first post in this thread to add [SOLVED]. If there's not enough room, remove the "New User".

Posted: **Fri Sep 16, 2022 3:19 pm**

LateJunction wrote: Fri Sep 16, 2022 1:45 pm Thank you for the additional work you have done. The previous advice you gave me - particularly associated with avoiding screen blanking and system suspend = has resulted in my latest r e-install/upgrade to complete successfully (and I did minimise and restore the upgrade process window every few minutes to keep the system 'awake'). The laptop has now booted successfully to a fully working desktop in both MX 21.2 and Win 10 - which is excellent news.

Is there anything I need to do to be able to mark this topic as closed ?

I would like to comment that I am surprised that the blanking of the screen or entry into a suspended state should affect an upgrade process so seriously - without any warning being given to the somewhat naive user. Surely that could be 'engineered' out of the upgrade process ?

Some systems are setup to turn off monitor after an idle time. One way maybe we could find a way to check whether "Presentation mode" is enabled to avoid monitor goes blank. This may have helped if you tried it this way and reported if it would have worked. Now you have manually kept the monitor turned on. So not easy to find such a system with screen blanks during upgrade, to prepare a fix and a test.

Posted: **Fri Sep 16, 2022 7:03 pm**

LateJunction wrote: Fri Sep 16, 2022 1:45 pm Is there anything I need to do to be able to mark this topic as closed ?

That's explained in the "please read this before asking for help" announcement at the top of every forum page. Please read it.

Posted: **Sat Sep 17, 2022 4:34 am**

Ah! Mea culpa; sorry about that.

Posted: **Wed Sep 21, 2022 10:09 pm**

my parents are experiencing this issue as well... i live far from them so cannot be there physically to troubleshoot but i'm wondering if there is any way to recover from this problem without needing to install fresh?

Posted: **Thu Sep 22, 2022 1:47 am**

xeries wrote: Wed Sep 21, 2022 10:09 pm my parents are experiencing this issue as well... i live far from them so cannot be there physically to troubleshoot but i'm wondering if there is any way to recover from this problem without needing to install fresh?

Maybe I am missing something, but have you tried this approach?

When the MX Updater asks questions about GRUB just accept the default (i.e., answer "N"=no).

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