No GUI boot problem after "apt upgrade" on 24.04

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I have a Asus laptop which I have installed Ubuntu-Mate 24.04 on. When I reboot, there is a grey screen with a darker border for a few seconds, then it flashes black, then the green Ubuntu-Mate logo appears; all is well with the world.

If I use sudo apt upgrade, and then reboot, there is a grey screen with a darker border, then it flashes black, then it goes back to grey-with-border.

Fortunately, I can reinstall the OS from this point, and all is well again - but I would really like to keep my installation patched!

In an attempt to debug this, I installed aptitude (because it allows upgrading just some packages). And upgraded all the packages matching lib* (on the grounds this probably wouldn't cause the symptoms, and it was about half the upgrades). I also took note of what versions were originally installed (so I could go back to the originals). The upgrade sucked in five non-lib packages, (and also uninstalled dmsetup) but I went ahead anyway. It turns out that this broke the system too :frowning:

The good news is that from this state, I can get to the grub recovery root shell (with a network), so I tried to return everything to my starting state. The strange thing is that aptitude reported something like:

cannot find version 1.0.5-1ubuntu1 for package gstreamer1.0-pipewire

(sorry, I didn't copy down the exact wording).

I commented out all the packages it couldn't find, and tried again. Sadly, that left me in the same state, so I just reinstalled the OS again. The complete list of packages I wanted to install was as follows (with the version I originally had installed):

acl=2.3.2-1build1
#gstreamer1.0-pipewire=1.0.5-1ubuntu1
ldap-utils=2.6.7+dfsg-1~exp1ubuntu8
libacl1=2.3.2-1build1
#libapparmor1=4.0.1really4.0.0-beta3-0ubuntu0.1
libaudit-common=1:3.1.2-2.1build1
libaudit1=1:3.1.2-2.1build1
libboost-iostreams1.83.0=1.83.0-2.1ubuntu3
libboost-locale1.83.0=1.83.0-2.1ubuntu3
libboost-thread1.83.0=1.83.0-2.1ubuntu3
libcryptsetup12=2:2.7.0-1ubuntu4
libdevmapper1.02.1=2:1.02.185-3ubuntu3
#libegl-mesa0=24.0.9-0ubuntu0.1
libfwupd2=1.9.16-1
libgail-3-0t64=3.24.41-4ubuntu1.1
#libgbm1=24.0.9-0ubuntu0.1
#libgl1-mesa-dri=24.0.9-0ubuntu0.1
#libglapi-mesa=24.0.9-0ubuntu0.1
#libglx-mesa0=24.0.9-0ubuntu0.1
libgssapi-krb5-2=1.20.1-6ubuntu2.1
libgtk-3-0t64=3.24.41-4ubuntu1.1
libgtk-3-bin=3.24.41-4ubuntu1.1
libgtk-3-common=3.24.41-4ubuntu1.1
libk5crypto3=1.20.1-6ubuntu2.1
libkrb5-3=1.20.1-6ubuntu2.1
libkrb5support0=1.20.1-6ubuntu2.1
libldap-common=2.6.7+dfsg-1~exp1ubuntu8
libldap2=2.6.7+dfsg-1~exp1ubuntu8
#libpipewire-0.3-0t64=1.0.5-1ubuntu1
#libpipewire-0.3-common=1.0.5-1ubuntu1
#libpipewire-0.3-modules=1.0.5-1ubuntu1
libproc2-0=2:4.0.4-4ubuntu3
#libspa-0.2-bluetooth=1.0.5-1ubuntu1
#libspa-0.2-jack=1.0.5-1ubuntu1
#libspa-0.2-modules=1.0.5-1ubuntu1
#libxatracker2=24.0.9-0ubuntu0.1
#pipewire-bin=1.0.5-1ubuntu1
#pipewire-pulse=1.0.5-1ubuntu1
#pipewire=1.0.5-1ubuntu1

The commented out ones are the ones it couldn't find versions for (so were left upgraded).

Note: In an ideal world, upgrading a package and then installing the old version should leave everything exactly the same. We do not live in an ideal world. So although my suspicions centre on the packages that are commented out, others might also be responsible.

What do I try next? In particular, how do I get apt/aptitude to install the old versions of these packages?

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Hi, @MartinGreybeard and welcome to the Ubuntu MATE Community!

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If I need to report any of this as one or more bugs, which bits, and where?

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That detail there shows a problem if its accurate.

A quick look on my system here (I'm not using 24.04 or noble, but the command I use shows all package versions for all releases) shows

gstreamer1.0-pipewire | 1.0.5-1ubuntu2  | noble-updates  | amd64, arm64, armhf, i386, ppc64el, riscv64, s390x

which is a DIFFERENT package version to your pasted detail; whilst I don't know your architecture - I'm betting its one listed on my detail.

That shows an outdated software list of your machine, so firstly I'd return to running

sudo apt update

where you can check for warnings, missing lines or any errors. You can also work out which mirror you're using and check to see if it's up to date, as if its not I'd recommend switching mirrors.

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As @guiverc mentioned, start with sudo apt update and then apply sudo apt upgrade. If it fails, try:

  1. Boot into 'recovery' mode: boot - How to start Ubuntu in Console mode - Ask Ubuntu

  2. If this works, look at the system log from your previous boot (one that failed), using

    journalctl -b-1

From here you can see where the previous boot got up to, and (hopefully), any errors that appeared prior to failure.

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Ironically, this is the opposite of what I'd suspect regarding the cause. On the one hand, lib* packages are often more stable and carefully released, but they are more fundamental to system operation and seem (to me) most likely to cause 'catastrophic' failure.

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Yeah. Actually, thinking back on it, my logic was more that if I installed package foo it would pull in libfoo, so I might as well start with libfoo. In hindsight a selection of top level packages would have been better. Doesn't really matter though. I need to get this sorted.

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So, I installed some printer and scanner drivers last night and shutdown. This morning I had to reinstall the OS, so I am starting from a clean slate (again). Unfortunately I did that before reading the suggestions here, so I didn't manage to save the logs :frowning:

I have just installed vim and aptitude with apt (without "apt update" first).

apt list --installed | grep gstreamer1.0-pipewire shows

gstreamer1.0-pipewire/now 1.0.5-1ubuntu1 amd64 [installed,upgradable to: 1.0.5-1ubuntu2]

That is as installed from the Ubuntu Mate 24.04.1 iso which I downloaded a few weeks ago.

It looks as if 1.0.5-1ubuntu1 has completely disappeared from the web - which is sad, because it means I can't upgrade to ...ubuntu2, then go back to ubuntu1 for the specific package(s) that breaks me.

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You just reinstall an old version of a package like this:

The real problem is to prevent it to be upgraded again. The following link may help:

https://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/apt-get-hold-back-packages-command/

BTW, aptitude has Hold command in its Package menu. Synaptic can freeze package version as well.

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How can I tell which mirror I am using? When I installed aptitude+vim, all the messages referred to http://de.archive.ubuntu.com/. That's not unreasonable (I live in Germany), and as it is under "ubuntu.com", I assume someone is paid to keep it up to date. (I am geographically closer to ETH in ZĂĽrich, but it seems "fast enough").

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Architecture: amd64.

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  • Output of apt update command lists repositories which are polled for updates.
  • /etc/apt/ directory holds files which lists repositories used. The main file is sources.list
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I think the fastest way to identify the problem is going to be via logs. I don't think that, for example, the pipewire plugin for gstreamer is going to have anything to do with the failure to boot. It may still be useful to know how to upgrade/downgrade - but I'd put my energy into better 'information' about the issue as opposed to a brute-force trial-and-error approach.

2 Likes
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You're using a DE mirror hosted by Technische Universität Dresden : Ubuntu

They are not paid, but more so volunteer to host and provide assurances that they'll fix issues within a certain period of time. If you have problems with them, file a bug report with the provider/owner OR just switch to a different mirror.

Mirrors are usually cron job managed, though on filed report/ticket they will have someone look at it; but your issue is not related to mirror but user-procedure, with your machine looking for an outdated package due to an incorrect or outdated source being used if its 1.0.5-1ubuntu1 you're after; as that is not a correct package after fix 8-Oct-2024

https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/pipewire/1.0.5-1ubuntu2

You've made an error in command(s) or something done prior to whatever command requested that package, mixing outdated and current packages, so return to prior steps & examine your sources & what requires that outdated package for your issue.

2 Likes
15

So I clean installed, updated and rebooted. No graphics. (As normal.)

Then I booted into recovery mode and captured the output from journalctl -b-1 I can't spot anything obvious, but I haven't got a clue what I am looking for.

The entire log is at Nov 21 10:45:00 martin-ubuntu kernel: Linux version 6.8.0-49-generic (buildd@lcy - Pastebin.com Any suggestions what to try next?

(I can't see a way to upload text files, and pasting 3000 lines direct into a message seems antisocial).

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  1. Nov 21 10:45:03 martin-ubuntu kernel: i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] ERROR Port F/TC#3: timeout waiting for PHY ready

drm is the direct rendering for graphics-drivers/cards.

Could it be this issue ?

You can try to change your greeter from arctica to slick

There are other options mentioned here:

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Certainly looks worth a try! Thanks. I will report back - success or fail.

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18

I'd also try booting without the splash screen, e.g. remove quiet splash from the boot instructions and see if the issue occurs.

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Hi, @MartinGreybeard :slight_smile:

You wrote:

Besides the great answers that @guiverc , @Stephen_Wade , @ugnvs and @tkn have already given you in this topic, my main suggestion is contained in one of the comments in the lengthy discussion of the "Bug #2063983 “simpledrm / lightdm race condition leads to black ...” : Bugs : lightdm package : Ubuntu" (which is the bug that @tkn mentioned in his reply above at "Problems with "apt upgrade" on 24.04 - #16 by tkn")

Specifically, my suggestion is to REMOVE the "quiet" and "splash" options from the default Linux Kernel option in the GNU GRUB (GRand Unified Boot Loader) configuration.

To do that, please edit the /etc/default/grub file with administrator privileges, by running the following command (that will open the "Pluma" text editor as superuser):

sudo pluma /etc/default/grub

In that /etc/default/grub file, change the following line

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"

... change that line so it becomes the following one instead:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=""

(To explain a bit what this does: removing "quiet" from the boot options allows the boot messages to appear and removing "splash" disables the so-called splash screen).

After doing that, please save and close that /etc/default/grub file, and then run the following command:

sudo update-grub

After running that sudo update-grub command, please reboot the computer and see if the following boot is normal and if subsequent updates installations with apt upgrade and following reboots are also normal.

I make this suggestion because I like to see the boot messages while booting and also because this seems to have helped other people, here in the "Ubuntu MATE Community", in different contexts. See, for instance, the following replies of mine in different topics:

I hope this helps :slight_smile: Please, keep us posted!

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I disabled "quiet splash" on grub, and switched greeter, and ... it didn't fix it.

I still have:
i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] ERROR Port F/TC#3: timeout waiting for PHY ready

New journalctl output is:

Interestingly, Driver problems with i915 possible solutions? / Kernel & Hardware / Arch Linux Forums suggests that this can just be ignored.

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