Absolute disaster after upgrading from Mageia 7 to 8.

[Linares]

After reading that 6 Gb were needed to upgrade from version 7 to 8, and seeing that I had 8 Gb free, I decided to upgrade.

At first everything seemed to be going well. But, when the update process was finished, I noticed that absolutely all the applications on my system had disappeared: Dolphin, Konsole, browsers, LibreOffice and a game that I had. In the application menu that appears on the taskbar icon, there was not a single application left either.

When I rebooted, the ultimate disastrous disaster was confirmed: It just won't reboot anymore. It stays on this screen:


With ctrl+alt+f2 I can access tty2, but I don't know what to do there. I tried to install dolphin, kde, konsole... But I can't, nothing works. I don't know how to get back to KDE Plasma. Non-operational computer.

Help.

[benmc]

With ctrl+alt+f2 I can access tty2, but I don't know what to do there.

then at this point can you login to root user:

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login: root
Password:


?

if, so is there an output from

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urpmi --auto-update

?

this will check if you have internet connection, and whether you can add any necessary files

[Linares]

I have done what you tell me, and the following screen has appeared.



I have pressed 'yes' and it has stayed here.



Since my knowledge of Linux and Mageia is ultra-basic, I don't know how to continue.

Is it the end of my adventure in Linux Mageia

[benmc]

ok

this means that you are able to access internet and online repos and perform updates, and more importantly add any required files.

So....
you used KDE prior to the update.
It is possible that, for some reason, the mirror your used to update from, did not have all of the required packages or there was an error during the download that was un-recoverable. the end result is the desktop package was not installed.
hopefully, it just needs to be re-installed.

as root,

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urpmi task-plasma5

this will reinstall the plasma desktop.

[Linares]

Plasma 5 apparently installed without problems. how do i run it?

[sturmvogel]

Logout from root and login as user. After that execute „startx“ as your user:

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# exit
$ login: —-yourusernamehere—-
$ Password:
$ startx

Additional you should provide basic informations how you tried to update your system. You did not mention what and how you did so it is not possible to tell what went wrong and why.
- did you follow the instructions given in the release notes and errata?
- especially did you made sure that you have the task package for your DE installed?
- all 32bit devel packages removed prior upgrade?
- dnf makecache timer disabled?
- screen locker disabled?
- which medium/way did you chose for upgrade: offline upgrade via DVD, online upgrade via mgaonline, online upgrade via urpmi, online upgrade via DNF?
-… and much more …

[doktor5000]

After that execute „startx“ as your user:

Please don't recommend this. systemctl restart displaymanager or systemctl restart prefdm is what should be used.

[Linares]

Logout from root and login as user. After that execute „startx“ as your user:

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# exit
$ login: —-yourusernamehere—-
$ Password:
$ startx

Additional you should provide basic informations how you tried to update your system. You did not mention what and how you did so it is not possible to tell what went wrong and why.

At the bottom right there was an icon that had been telling me for a year that my version of Mageia was outdated and I had to update it. I have been postponing this update because I did not have the necessary 6 Gb of space in \. As soon as I freed up that space, I clicked on that icon and clicked to accept.

- did you follow the instructions given in the release notes and errata?
- especially did you made sure that you have the task package for your DE installed?
- all 32bit devel packages removed prior upgrade?
- dnf makecache timer disabled?
- screen locker disabled?
- which medium/way did you chose for upgrade: offline upgrade via DVD, online upgrade via mgaonline, online upgrade via urpmi, online upgrade via DNF?
-… and much more …

At the bottom right there was an icon that had been telling me for a year that my version of Mageia was outdated and I had to update it. I have been postponing this update because I did not have the necessary 6 Gb of space in \. As soon as I freed up that space, I clicked on that icon and clicked to accept.

Honestly, I did not think that I would have to save so many precautions, beyond having enough free space that the update wizard itself tells you.

I thought it was like on my parents' computer, where I put lubuntu on them. Every time they release a new version it asks you "Upgrade or cancel". Press upgrade and go.

[Linares]

After that execute „startx“ as your user:

Please don't recommend this. systemctl restart displaymanager or systemctl restart prefdm is what should be used.

When I do systemctl restart displaymanager or systemctl restart prefdm, I get this error:
failed to restart displaymanager.service: Unit displaymanager.service not found.
failed to send h2c command

If I try with systemctl restart sddm.service, i receive "Authentication complete", but nothing more. Service is loaded and active.

[benmc]

as expected, the plasma desktop had not installed.

700 packages implies that it is now installed.

you may have to check to see it the display manager has been installed. it should have been installed with the desktop.
the display manager, in simple terms, is a layer of software between your hardware and your desktop. it does the low-level stuff needed to work your desktop.

to check the installed display manager.
as root:

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drakdm

this will list all available display managers, if any.
if there are none listed, please advise.

[doktor5000]

Honestly, I did not think that I would have to save so many precautions, beyond having enough free space that the update wizard itself tells you.

this is the normal requirement.
it seems you got caught by an un-recoverable error during the download. unfortunately it does happen, even with the standard updates. hopefully, we can work you around that error and your Mageia will again be fully operational.

[Linares]

Many thanks to you, and also to everyone who has always tried to help me in this forum.

After doing a drakdm as root, I get the following screen.



If I choose the "SDDM" option, absolutely nothing happens. If I choose "ok" or "cancel", I return to the command line.

[benmc]

so you do have a display manager installed.

Have you yet rebooted?

[isadora]

I thought so, after having done the "urpmi task-plasma5", but it seems that it is not enough.

[artenox]

That's why updates are evil. You've been living peacefully until...

I thought it was like on my parents' computer, where I put lubuntu on them. Every time they release a new version it asks you "Upgrade or cancel". Press upgrade and go.

I've never upgraded Ubuntu. But I've heard it's more problematic than Debian.

[morgano]

Did SDDM come up? If not try another, i.e LightDM or XDM

If a DM (graphical login, Display Manager) shows up but Plasma fail to launch, try to select IceWM - it is always installed as a backup.

But first, if not done already "urpmi --auto-up" to update everything in case something got missed somehow.

[benmc]

ok,

1/ you have re-installed the desktop.

2/ confirmed that the Display Manager is installed.

3/ re-ran

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urpmi --auto-update

to get any last packages that got missed.

4/ need to check that the video adapter is set up correctly.

as root,

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drakx11

choose the correct driver - should be pre-selected.
do not press TEST as this can cause issues.
check that *automatically start the graphical interface upon booting* is checked.

save and exit


you will need to reboot

[Linares]

Did SDDM come up? If not try another, i.e LightDM or XDM

If a DM (graphical login, Display Manager) shows up but Plasma fail to launch, try to select IceWM - it is always installed as a backup.

But first, if not done already "urpmi --auto-up" to update everything in case something got missed somehow.

Hello morgano.

sddm does nothing. Everything stays the same, waiting for another command.

LightDM or IceVM or XDM: Order not found.

urpmi --auto-up = Support * is up to date.

[Linares]

ok,

1/ you have re-installed the desktop.

2/ confirmed that the Display Manager is installed.

3/ re-ran

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urpmi --auto-update

to get any last packages that got missed.

4/ need to check that the video adapter is set up correctly.

as root,

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drakx11

choose the correct driver - should be pre-selected.
do not press TEST as this can cause issues.
check that *automatically start the graphical interface upon booting* is checked.

save and exit


you will need to reboot

I have followed these drakx11 steps to the letter, but when I reboot the system, everything stops at the same screen at the beginning:

[sturmvogel]

Did you change anything in your BIOS prior start of the initial update MGA7->MGA8?
-> Try to disable anything related to TPM in your BIOS and do a restart afterwards...

As you didn't answer any of the questions how you did the upgrade...
- do you have maybe an Nvidia card in this computer/laptop? MGA8 dropped support for the nvidia340 driver series...maybe because of the unknown upgrade procedure and your hardware something went wrong...

[benmc]

OK,

does your system use GRUB as a boot manager or something else?

If it uses grub, what happens if you choose *Advanced Options*
Can you choose a *Mageia .......mga7* line and see if that boots?
if not successful, can you then try a *Mageia .......mga7 (recovery mode.)*

Given that you are able to tty as root, they system is getting much farther into the boot than the image implies, it shows about 2 seconds into the bootup.
ttys generally become available just before the desktop greeter would normally be presented.

a quick search of: tpm_crb MSFT0101:00: [Firmware Bug]
returns: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=272497

and a response #4: Most ACPI implementations are off-spec. Unless there's an actual problem, you can ignore them.
Turning off the TPM prevents the tpm driver from loading and so it won't run into that error. The "fix" is simply that what is not there also cannot be broken.

edit :altered the grub boot lines from *mga6* to *mga7*

[Linares]

Did you change anything in your BIOS prior start of the initial update MGA7->MGA8?
-> Try to disable anything related to TPM in your BIOS and do a restart afterwards...

As you didn't answer any of the questions how you did the upgrade...
- do you have maybe an Nvidia card in this computer/laptop? MGA8 dropped support for the nvidia340 driver series...maybe because of the unknown upgrade procedure and your hardware something went wrong...

I have looked in my BIOS and it says "TPM Status: Disabled".

The NVidia graphics card I use is the GTX 1060 model, which has been working great for 3 years on Mageia 7.

[Linares]

OK,

does your system use GRUB as a boot manager or something else?

If it uses grub, what happens if you choose *Advanced Options*
Can you choose a *Mageia .......mga6* line and see if that boots?
if not successful, can you then try a *Mageia .......mga6 (recovery mode.)*

Given that you are able to tty as root, they system is getting much farther into the boot than the image implies, it shows about 2 seconds into the bootup.
ttys generally become available just before the desktop greeter would normally be presented.

a quick search of: tpm_crb MSFT0101:00: [Firmware Bug]
returns: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=272497

and a response #4: Most ACPI implementations are off-spec. Unless there's an actual problem, you can ignore them.
Turning off the TPM prevents the tpm driver from loading and so it won't run into that error. The "fix" is simply that what is not there also cannot be broken.

My system uses GRUB, but when I choose to boot from "recovery mode", even though it loads quite a few more services, it still crashes at this point:



Errors like "tpm_crb MSFT0101:00: [Firmware Bug]" don't worry me too much either, because they already appeared for two seconds at Mageia 7 startup and then disappeared without a trace.

[benmc]

ok,

this shows that there is an issue with the Nvidia kernel module, a conflict is preventing it from loading.
unfortunately, I have no Nvidia hardware, so I am unable to assist further.

Just a guess #1, go back to

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drakx11

and choose either the free *nouveau* driver or the Nvidia driver for your graphics. ie, the one other than the one that you have currently chosen.
just a guess #2:
If you know how to edit the grub boot line (press 'e' before the timer runs out and the boot starts), remove *splash quiet* and add *nomodeset*. then *ctrl+x* to start boot

[benmc]

much later thought.
Which is your Nvidia card (model).
maybe hardware support has been dropped for your card.

you can get this info from

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inxi -G