[18:09] hey, a couple weeks ago I tried upgrading my Ubuntu to 13.04 and my computer died part way. Now when I try to do the upgrade, I get an error halfway that there are no upgrades. I'm wondering if it half upgraded and now the OS is confused about which version it is [18:09] could be perhaps [18:13] any way to fix it? [18:14] I just ignored it before, but since my last update today virtualbox has stopped working (I uninstalled thinking a new install would fix it but it won't allow me to re-install). During the upgrade I was giving an error related to virtualbox not being able to update. [18:14] so I'm thinking if I just upgrade to 13, it will fix this problem (and maybe a couple other bugs [18:14] ) [18:15] I'm not good at these things. I'm a newbie myself [18:15] Phryq: well, keep in mind what has happened.. this is not something that there is necessarily a quick fix for [18:15] sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade if it stopped, then lsb_release -a [18:15] Phryq: are you on the machine? can you open a terminal? or tty? [18:15] what Unit193 suggested was where i was going... [18:16] Check /etc/apt/sources.list as well. [18:17] ya [18:17] tty? [18:17] !tty [18:17] To get to the TTY terminals 1-6, use the keystroke ctrl + alt + F1-F6 respectively (Alt+F7 will get you back to your graphical login). To change the resolution for your TTY, see https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ChangeTTYResolution [18:17] Phryq: if you *can* open a terminal, then you can just do that, and not do tty.. [18:18] ah, but I learned about TTY, neato. I got a terminal open on the same machine I'm having the problem with. [18:18] sudo dpkg --configure -a may be needed. [18:18] I'm running sudo apt-get update, I thought I'd just updated but it seems to be doing more. [18:19] that only updates the package lists [18:19] ah, well I've typed all 3 of those commands. No errors [18:20] !pastebin | Phryq [18:20] Phryq: For posting multi-line texts into the channel, please use http://paste.ubuntu.com | To post !screenshots use http://imagebin.org/?page=add | !pastebinit to paste directly from command line | Make sure you give us the URL for your paste - see also the channel topic. [18:20] Phryq: you can run lsb_release -a and share that ouput [18:22] http://pastie.org/7954345 [18:24] Phryq: as that states, you are on 12.10 [18:26] would upgrading from terminal work better than using the gui? [18:28] Phryq: doesnt matter. both should be fine.. what do i suggest? plan for failure.. backup all data, and try an upgrade (if you prefer) and if that fails, do a fresh install [18:29] damn. Tomorrow I will have to buy an external hard drive case to backup my stuff [18:30] ok, thanks guys [18:30] Phryq: the hard drive you are using *will* faile.. its just a matter of when [18:30] good night! [18:30] the problem is with the OS though, not the hard drive, right? [18:30] Phryq: the problem is with neither [18:30] what do you mean? [18:30] Phryq: you interrupted a large system upgrade.. and it seems there is no problem [18:31] ah yes, that's what I meant. Fresh install and everything is fine [18:31] Phryq: you just need to decide what you want to do, and make it happen... i suggest the backup since that hard drive *will* fail (as they all will) [18:31] Phryq: everything looks fine now.. you could try an upgrade and let it properly complete [18:32] it won't upgrade; that's my problem [18:32] I will back up and do a fresh install of 13 [18:32] Phryq: you said you had interrupted it, correct? [18:32] ya [18:33] Phryq: then, it would have.. and still may.. [18:33] and since I interupted it a couple weeks ago, it will not upgrade [18:33] Phryq: have you tried via commandline? [18:33] no [18:33] how do I do it with commandline? [18:33] it might work better through command line? [18:33] http://www.liberiangeek.net/2013/03/upgrade-to-ubuntu-13-04-from-12-10-in-ubuntu-via-software-updater/ [18:34] !better | Phryq [18:34] Phryq: Usually, there is no single "best" application to perform a given task. It's up to you to choose, depending on your preferences, features you require, and other factors. Do NOT take polls in the channel. If you insist on getting people's opinions, ask BestBot in #ubuntu-bots. [18:34] Phryq: if you haver 'broken the system, then you might need to take special efforts to get it fixed [18:34] ok, but I mean the GUI is not working; there is a possibility the command line might? [18:34] it would be better to have not interrupte it.. but im sure you can sort it out [18:34] how do I upgrade with command line? [18:35] Phryq: can you open the link i gave? [18:35] yes, didn't see it at first; thankyou [18:37] "After running the above commands and finish updating your system, press Ctrl – F2 on your keyboard to open run command" I don't understand [18:38] Phryq: cool.. just ignore that then, and try http://linuxg.net/update-from-ubuntu-12-10-to-ubuntu-13-04-by-terminal/ [18:38] ctrl-F2 shuold open a small dialogbox where you can write a command to run [18:39] http://pastie.org/7954445 [18:40] ctrl-F2 doesn't seem to be working for me, but no matter, I'll go with that new link. I pasted the output of the terminal command there [18:41] if your keyboard have a special [Fn] key then perhaps you have tro press that for the [F2] key to work normally. [18:41] nope, but it does change the screen brightness for me! haha [18:41] Phryq: there are several options there.. manually editing the sources should force a fix to whatever is going on.. what would i do? backup my data and fresh install [18:41] anyway, I gtg to bed [18:41] and wait... isn't it Alt-F2 that is run...? oh yeah it is. not ctrl-f2 [18:42] ah, that's why [18:42] Phryq: if you are in a hurrry, i would come back when you have about 5 hours [18:42] Good idea [18:42] I'll do a re-install tomorrow. [18:42] 'night [18:42] Phryq: i typically backup and just fresh install.. i can do a fresh install in like 15 miutes [18:42] with upgrades, i find, best case, they only take 4 hours or so, and nothing breaks... [18:43] will this make a perfect partition bakup: "sudo dd if=/dev/sda7 of=/media/myusbdisk/bakup.img" (and if I want to access a file on it "sudo mount -ro loop /media/myusbdisk/bakup.img /mnt" (if my / is at sda7) ? [18:43] and, you need to have your data backed up anyway [18:43] and can I copy the image back to a real partition with dd on another harddisk if the one I have breaks? [18:43] morten771: i use clonezilla [18:43] also, i manually backup data that is mission critical to several locations [18:43] well... I thought it would be nice to have a backup that doesn't need a special backup program to be used [18:45] morten771: clonezilla is just running those commands for me [18:45] morten771: there are differnt backup gui's that just backup data.. and dont require anything [18:45] I want a backup that I can restore the partition to how it was, and don't have to reinstall the os manually first. even if this harddisk I have breaks. (But I still want to be able to access the individual files too if I accicently delete a file or so) [18:46] aha ok som clonezilla is more like a gui to the dd then. ok. [18:46] morten771: i use clonezilla for that, since it does all of those commands for me [18:46] aha [18:46] morten771: but, im sure you can dd it manually.. i just personally havent done that [18:48] if I restore a bakup to a new disk, can I (after making the partition of right size) restore this partition bakup to say /dev/sda1 (instead of where it used to be)? [18:51] morten771: well, in theory, its all open, so anything is possible [18:52] i typically just clone the whole OS [18:53] ok === Altimeter_ is now known as Altimeter