Upgrade from 17.10 to 18.04 gone wrong: could not install 'menu'

Anyone else had this error ?
Here is the ticket
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/menu/+bug/1771375

If anyone has some idea to fix the problem with menu 2.1.47

I managed to recover the system but the computer is very slow Xorg using 20% of my CPU

Can you give us the list of eventual 3rd-party repos and the main sources (put these between Code tags)?

cat /etc/apt/sources.list.d/*.list
cat /etc/apt/sources.list

Do you have Synaptic installed (it could be handy)?

I finally had the option to report the bug. So I’ve updated the post.

I’m not sure if I should do the partial upgrade right now.I don’t know how safe/dangerous it is.

cat -n /etc/apt/sources.list
1 # deb cdrom:[Ubuntu-MATE 16.10 Yakkety Yak - Release amd64 (20161012.1)]/ yakkety main multiverse restricted universe
2
3 # See http://help.ubuntu.com/community/UpgradeNotes for how to upgrade to
4 # newer versions of the distribution.
5 deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic main restricted
6 # deb-src http://fr.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ yakkety main restricted
7
8 ## Major bug fix updates produced after the final release of the
9 ## distribution.
10 deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates main restricted
11 # deb-src http://fr.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ yakkety-updates main restricted
12
13 ## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu
14 ## team. Also, please note that software in universe WILL NOT receive any
15 ## review or updates from the Ubuntu security team.
16 deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic universe
17 # deb-src http://fr.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ yakkety universe
18 deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates universe
19 # deb-src http://fr.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ yakkety-updates universe
20
21 ## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu
22 ## team, and may not be under a free licence. Please satisfy yourself as to
23 ## your rights to use the software. Also, please note that software in
24 ## multiverse WILL NOT receive any review or updates from the Ubuntu
25 ## security team.
26 deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic multiverse
27 # deb-src http://fr.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ yakkety multiverse
28 deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates multiverse
29 # deb-src http://fr.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ yakkety-updates multiverse
30
31 ## N.B. software from this repository may not have been tested as
32 ## extensively as that contained in the main release, although it includes
33 ## newer versions of some applications which may provide useful features.
34 ## Also, please note that software in backports WILL NOT receive any review
35 ## or updates from the Ubuntu security team.
36 deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-backports main restricted universe multiverse
37 # deb-src http://fr.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ yakkety-backports main restricted universe multiverse
38
39 ## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from Canonical’s
40 ## ‘partner’ repository.
41 ## This software is not part of Ubuntu, but is offered by Canonical and the
42 ## respective vendors as a service to Ubuntu users.
43 deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu bionic partner
44 deb-src http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu bionic partner
45
46 deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security main restricted
47 # deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu yakkety-security main restricted
48 deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security universe
49 # deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu yakkety-security universe
50 deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security multiverse
51 # deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu yakkety-security multiverse
52 # deb http://www.mediahuman.com/packages/ubuntu trusty main # disabled on upgrade to zesty
53 # deb-src http://www.mediahuman.com/packages/ubuntu trusty main
54 # deb https://www.mediahuman.com/packages/ubuntu artful main # disabled on upgrade to artful
55 # deb-src https://www.mediahuman.com/packages/ubuntu zesty main
56 # deb http://deb.torproject.org/torproject.org artful main
57 # deb-src http://deb.torproject.org/torproject.org artful main
Bob@Bob-OMEN:~$ sudo dpkg --audit
[sudo] password for Bob:
The following packages are in a mess due to serious problems during
installation. They must be reinstalled for them (and any packages
that depend on them) to function properly:
libpangomm-1.4-1v5:amd64 C++ Wrapper for pango (shared libraries)

The following packages have been unpacked but not yet configured.
They must be configured using dpkg --configure or the configure
menu option in dselect for them to work:
compiz-gnome OpenGL window and compositing manager - GNOME window deco
compiz-plugins:amd64 OpenGL window and compositing manager - plugins
compiz-plugins-default:amd64 OpenGL window and compositing manager - default plugins
fwupd Firmware update daemon
fwupdate Tools to manage UEFI firmware updates
fwupdate-signed Linux Firmware Updater EFI signed binary
libavdevice57:amd64 FFmpeg library for handling input and output devices - ru
libfwup1:amd64 Library to manage UEFI firmware updates
libvtk6.3 VTK libraries
libwxgtk3.0-0v5:amd64 wxWidgets Cross-platform C++ GUI toolkit (GTK+ runtime)
virtualbox-qt x86 virtualization solution - Qt based user interface
xorg X.Org X Window System


cat /etc/apt/sources.list.d/*.list
# deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/audio-recorder/ppa/ubuntu zesty main # disabled on upgrade to zesty
# deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/audio-recorder/ppa/ubuntu zesty main # disabled on upgrade to zesty
# deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/deluge-team/ppa/ubuntu zesty main # disabled on upgrade to zesty
# deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/deluge-team/ppa/ubuntu yakkety main
# deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/ethereum/ethereum/ubuntu artful main # disabled on upgrade to artful
# deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/ethereum/ethereum/ubuntu zesty main
# deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/flexiondotorg/telegram/ubuntu artful main # disabled on upgrade to artful
# deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/flexiondotorg/telegram/ubuntu artful main # disabled on upgrade to artful
# deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/libreoffice/ppa/ubuntu artful main # disabled on upgrade to zesty disabled on upgrade to artful
# deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/libreoffice/ppa/ubuntu artful main # disabled on upgrade to zesty disabled on upgrade to artful
# deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/mc3man/mpv-tests/ubuntu bionic main # disabled on upgrade to bionic
# deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/mc3man/mpv-tests/ubuntu artful main
# deb https://deb.nodesource.com/node_8.x bionic main # disabled on upgrade to bionic
# deb-src https://deb.nodesource.com/node_8.x bionic main # disabled on upgrade to bionic
# deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/numix/ppa/ubuntu zesty main # disabled on upgrade to zesty
# deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/numix/ppa/ubuntu yakkety main
# deb http://deb.playonlinux.com/ xenial main # disabled on upgrade to bionic
# deb [arch=amd64] https://repo.skype.com/deb stable main # disabled on upgrade to artful
# deb http://repository.spotify.com stable non-free # disabled on upgrade to zesty
# deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/teejee2008/ppa/ubuntu zesty main # disabled on upgrade to zesty
# deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/teejee2008/ppa/ubuntu yakkety main
# deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-mate-dev/welcome/ubuntu artful main # disabled on upgrade to zesty disabled on upgrade to artful
# deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-mate-dev/welcome/ubuntu artful main # disabled on upgrade to zesty disabled on upgrade to artful
# deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/webupd8team/atom/ubuntu zesty main # disabled on upgrade to zesty
# deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/webupd8team/atom/ubuntu zesty main # disabled on upgrade to zesty
# deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/webupd8team/tor-browser/ubuntu artful main
# deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/webupd8team/tor-browser/ubuntu artful main

Wow, that’s a lot of 3rd-party repos, some are even present twice from old versions (likely disabled long ago). It’s quite possible that you have some packages that are still from these PPA, with broken dependancies, that mess everything.

Now, give me the list of files in /etc/apt/sources.list.d (I should have asked it before but I didn’t expect there would be so much repos):

ls /etc/apt/sources.list.d/*.list

Also, you didn’t answer: do you have Synaptic installed? It would be very handy to sort this out.

Well it's the concept of ubuntu mate boutique, you end up with a lot of 3rd party repos

Yes I have synaptic

ls /etc/apt/sources.list.d/*.list
/etc/apt/sources.list.d/audio-recorder-ubuntu-ppa-yakkety.list
/etc/apt/sources.list.d/deluge-team-ubuntu-ppa-yakkety.list
/etc/apt/sources.list.d/ethereum-ubuntu-ethereum-zesty.list
/etc/apt/sources.list.d/flexiondotorg-ubuntu-telegram-zesty.list
/etc/apt/sources.list.d/libreoffice-ubuntu-ppa-yakkety.list
/etc/apt/sources.list.d/mc3man-ubuntu-mpv-tests-artful.list
/etc/apt/sources.list.d/nodesource.list
/etc/apt/sources.list.d/numix-ubuntu-ppa-yakkety.list
/etc/apt/sources.list.d/playonlinux.list
/etc/apt/sources.list.d/skype-stable.list
/etc/apt/sources.list.d/spotify.list
/etc/apt/sources.list.d/teejee2008-ubuntu-ppa-yakkety.list
/etc/apt/sources.list.d/ubuntu-mate-dev-ubuntu-welcome-yakkety.list
/etc/apt/sources.list.d/webupd8team-ubuntu-atom-yakkety.list
/etc/apt/sources.list.d/webupd8team-ubuntu-tor-browser-artful.list

Well it's the concept of ubuntu mate boutique, you end up with a lot of 3rd party repos

Have they all been added from the Boutique?

First, you'll edit the following repos. The easiest way will be to use Software & Updates from the Control Center. You'll change the distro codename from whatever it is (yakkety, zesty, artful...) to bionic and re-enable them. Change also the Source versions (the ones starting with deb-src) for the same repos but keep them disabled. Don't reload sources yet if it asks you to.

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/audio-recorder/ppa/ubuntu zesty main
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/ethereum/ethereum/ubuntu artful main
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/flexiondotorg/telegram/ubuntu artful main
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/libreoffice/ppa/ubuntu artful main
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/mc3man/mpv-tests/ubuntu bionic main
deb https://deb.nodesource.com/node_8.x bionic main
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/numix/ppa/ubuntu zesty main
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/teejee2008/ppa/ubuntu zesty main
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/webupd8team/atom/ubuntu zesty main

You'll re-enable the following repos as is (without changing the codename to bionic):

deb http://deb.playonlinux.com/ xenial main
deb [arch=amd64] https://repo.skype.com/deb stable main

You'll remove altogether the following repos (they're outdated). Don't forget to remove the Source version also:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/deluge-team/ppa/ubuntu zesty main
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-mate-dev/welcome/ubuntu artful main

Finally, you'll change the following repo to zesty (there's no artful repo) and re-enable it. Change Source version too and keep it disabled:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/webupd8team/tor-browser/ubuntu artful main

Then, you'll edit your sources.list (sudo pluma /etc/apt/sources.list) and replace all its content by the following

# See http://help.ubuntu.com/community/UpgradeNotes for how to upgrade to
# newer versions of the distribution.
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ bionic main restricted
# deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ bionic main restricted

## Major bug fix updates produced after the final release of the
## distribution.
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ bionic-updates main restricted
# deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ bionic-updates main restricted

## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu
## team. Also, please note that software in universe WILL NOT receive any
## review or updates from the Ubuntu security team.
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ bionic universe
# deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ bionic universe
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ bionic-updates universe
# deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ bionic-updates universe

## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu 
## team, and may not be under a free licence. Please satisfy yourself as to 
## your rights to use the software. Also, please note that software in 
## multiverse WILL NOT receive any review or updates from the Ubuntu
## security team.
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ bionic multiverse
# deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ bionic multiverse
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ bionic-updates multiverse
# deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ bionic-updates multiverse

## N.B. software from this repository may not have been tested as
## extensively as that contained in the main release, although it includes
## newer versions of some applications which may provide useful features.
## Also, please note that software in backports WILL NOT receive any review
## or updates from the Ubuntu security team.
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ bionic-backports main restricted universe multiverse
# deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ bionic-backports main restricted universe multiverse

## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from Canonical's
## 'partner' repository.
## This software is not part of Ubuntu, but is offered by Canonical and the
## respective vendors as a service to Ubuntu users.
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu bionic partner
# deb-src http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu bionic partner

deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security main restricted
#deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security main restricted
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security universe
#deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security universe
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security multiverse
#deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security multiverse

(I fixed the disabled Source repos that were not updated −not very important but as well do it− and removed 3rd party repos we'll add in their own sourcelist.)

Then, create the new sourcelists for the removed repos:

  1. sudo pluma /etc/apt/sources.list.d/torproject.list
    and put this in the file then save:

    deb Index of /torproject.org bionic main

    deb-src Index of /torproject.org bionic main

  2. sudo pluma /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mediahuman.list
    and put this in the file then save:

    deb https://www.mediahuman.com/packages/ubuntu bionic main

    deb-src https://www.mediahuman.com/packages/ubuntu bionic main

When all of this is done, reload the sources in a terminal (don't forget to close Softwares & Updates if it's still opened) and tell me if there are errors. Don't try to upgrade anything yet:

sudo apt-get update

Finally, launch Synaptic, go in Status → Installed (local or obsolete) and tell me if you see packages listed there. It's possible that the section "Installed (local or obsolete)" doesn't appear.

1 Like

Wow now I understand after cleaning up my 3rd party repo list. What a mess it was.
Thanks for your detailed help.

Yes I can see them, I've got loads of packages in here.

Ok, no errors when doing apt-get update for non-existing repos?

Then I’ll need the list of local/obsolete packages. Ideally the list of their names in plain text, or eventually screenshots (you can host them on imgur.com), hoping that there are not dozens of packages…

If there are really a lot of them (like dozens or hundreds), it’s really not normal, so before copying them in plain text, upload a few screenshots so I can take a look at what kind of packages there are. If it’s not too annoying to copy the list (let’s say there are about 20 or 30 of them at most), you can directly give me the output of apt-cache policy with the list of packages. E.g. if in the local/obsolete section you have packages named “aaa”, “bbb”, “ccc”, give me the output of:

apt-cache policy aaa bbb ccc

(When you’ll see the output, you’ll understand why I hope there are not dozens of packages in that section.)

No errors on the apt-get update






At this point maybe I should just try to remove all those packages, try the partial upgrade, and cross my fingers :slight_smile:
If it breaks I'll do a fresh install

That could be a very bad idea, depending of where these packages are from. I.e. If they're versions installed by a PPA that's been removed but are still in the repos with an older version that is needed by other packages, this could break the entire system. On the other side, I can see that a lot of them are indeed obsolete and not in the Bionic repos anymore. We'll sort this out afterwards.

For now, try to do the upgrades and tell me if there are errors:

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
Reading package lists… Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information… Done
You might want to run ‘apt --fix-broken install’ to correct these.
The following packages have unmet dependencies:
compiz-plugins : Depends: compiz-core (= 1:0.9.13.1+18.04.20180302-0ubuntu1) but 1:0.9.13.1+17.10.20170901-0ubuntu1 is installed
compiz-plugins-default : Depends: compiz-core (= 1:0.9.13.1+18.04.20180302-0ubuntu1) but 1:0.9.13.1+17.10.20170901-0ubuntu1 is installed
Depends: libdecoration0 (= 1:0.9.13.1+18.04.20180302-0ubuntu1) but 1:0.9.13.1+17.10.20170901-0ubuntu1 is installed
fwupd : Depends: libappstream-glib8 (>= 0.7.4) but 0.7.1-2 is installed
Depends: libfwupd2 (>= 1.0.4) but it is not installed
Depends: libgcab-1.0-0 (>= 1.0) but 0.7-4ubuntu0.1 is installed
libavdevice57 : Depends: libsdl2-2.0-0 (>= 2.0.8) but 2.0.6+dfsg1-3ubuntu1 is installed
libfwup1 : Depends: libefiboot1 (>= 34) but 31-1 is installed
libvtk6.3 : Depends: gdal-abi-2-2-3
Depends: libgl2ps1.4 but it is not installed
Depends: libnetcdf13 (>= 4.0.1) but it is not installed
libwxgtk3.0-0v5 : Depends: libwxbase3.0-0v5 (>= 3.0.4+dfsg) but 3.0.3.1+dfsg2-1 is installed
virtualbox-qt : Depends: virtualbox (= 5.2.10-dfsg-6)
xorg : Depends: xserver-xorg (>= 1:7.7+19ubuntu7) but 1:7.7+19ubuntu3 is installed
E: Unmet dependencies. Try ‘apt --fix-broken install’ with no packages (or specify a solution).

What happens if you try to fix the installation?

sudo apt --fix-broken install

Also, give the following output:

apt-cache policy compiz-core compiz-plugins compiz-plugins-default libdecoration0 libappstream-glib8 libgcab-1.0-0 libsdl2-2.0-0 libefiboot1 libwxbase3.0-0v5 xserver-xorg

There are many of those obsolete packages in here

Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Correcting dependencies... Done
The following packages were automatically installed and are no longer required:
appmenu-gtk-module-common appmenu-gtk2-module appmenu-gtk3-module bbswitch-dkms flashplugin-installer
fonts-wine g++-6 gcc-7-base:i386 gdal-data gir1.2-appstreamglib-1.0 gir1.2-gusb-1.0 gir1.2-keybinder-3.0
gstreamer1.0-plugins-base:i386 icoutils lib32gcc1 libaec0 libappmenu-gtk2-parser0 libappmenu-gtk3-parser0
libarmadillo7 libarmadillo8 libarpack2 libasn1-8-heimdal:i386 libavahi-client3:i386
libavahi-common-data:i386 libavahi-common3:i386 libblas-common libboost-python1.62.0 libboost-random1.62.0
libboost-regex1.62.0 libc6-i386 libcairo2:i386 libcap2:i386 libcdparanoia0:i386 libcephfs1 libcomerr2:i386
libcontent-hub-glib0 libcups2:i386 libdap25 libdapclient6v5 libebur128-1 libepsilon1 libfabric1 libfdk-aac1
libfreexl1 libfyba0 libgdal20 libgeos-3.5.1 libgeos-c1v5 libgeotiff2 libgfortran3 libgl2ps1 libgl2ps1.4
libglib2.0-0:i386 libglu1-mesa:i386 libgmp10:i386 libgnutls30:i386 libgsm1:i386 libgsoap-2.8.49
libgssapi-krb5-2:i386 libgssapi3-heimdal:i386 libgstreamer-plugins-base1.0-0:i386 libgstreamer1.0-0:i386
libhcrypto4-heimdal:i386 libhdf4-0-alt libhdf5-100 libhdf5-openmpi-100 libheimbase1-heimdal:i386
libheimntlm0-heimdal:i386 libhogweed4:i386 libhwloc-plugins libhwloc5 libhx509-5-heimdal:i386 libical2
libicu57:i386 libidn11:i386 libidn2-0:i386 libjbig0:i386 libjpeg-turbo8:i386 libjpeg8:i386 libjsoncpp1
libk5crypto3:i386 libkeyutils1:i386 libkmlbase1 libkmldom1 libkmlengine1 libkrb5-26-heimdal:i386
libkrb5-3:i386 libkrb5support0:i386 liblcms2-2:i386 libldap-2.4-2:i386 liblept5 liblivemedia57
liblivemedia58 libllvm4.0 libllvm4.0:i386 libllvm5.0:i386 libltdl7:i386 libminizip1 libmpg123-0:i386
libmysofa libnetcdf-c++4 libnetcdf11 libnetcdf13 libnettle6:i386 libntfs-3g872 libodbc1 libodbc1:i386
libogdi3.2 libopenal1:i386 libopencv-calib3d2.4v5 libopencv-core2.4v5 libopencv-core3.1
libopencv-features2d2.4v5 libopencv-flann2.4v5 libopencv-flann3.1 libopencv-highgui2.4-deb0
libopencv-imgproc2.4v5 libopencv-imgproc3.1 libopencv-ml3.1 libopencv-objdetect2.4v5 libopencv-photo3.1
libopencv-shape3.1 libopencv-video2.4v5 libopencv-video3.1 libopencv-viz3.1 libopenmpi2 libopus0:i386
liborc-0.4-0:i386 libosmesa6 libosmesa6:i386 libp11-kit0:i386 libpango1.0-0 libpcap0.8:i386 libperl5.24
libpixman-1-0:i386 libpoppler64 libpq5 libproj12 libpsm-infinipath1 libqhull7 libroken18-heimdal:i386
libsasl2-2:i386 libsasl2-modules:i386 libsasl2-modules-db:i386 libsndio6.1:i386 libspatialite7
libsqlite3-0:i386 libsrtp0 libssh-4 libssl1.0.0:i386 libssl1.1:i386 libstdc++-6-dev libsuperlu5 libsz2
libtasn1-6:i386 libtbb2 libtelepathy-glib0 libtesseract-data libtesseract3 libtheora0:i386 libtiff5:i386
libtracker-sparql-1.0-0 libuchardet0 libunistring2:i386 libunity-gtk2-parser0 libunity-gtk3-parser0
liburiparser1 libusb-1.0-0:i386 libva-wayland1 libvirt-bin libvisual-0.4-0:i386 libvpx4 libvtk6.3
libwind0-heimdal:i386 libwine libwine:i386 libx265-110 libx265-130 libxcb-render0:i386 libxcb-shm0:i386
libxcomposite1:i386 libxcursor1:i386 libxen-4.8 libxerces-c3.1 libxerces-c3.2 libxi6:i386 libxslt1.1:i386
linux-headers-4.10.0-37 linux-headers-4.10.0-37-generic linux-headers-4.10.0-38
linux-headers-4.10.0-38-generic linux-headers-4.10.0-40 linux-headers-4.10.0-40-generic
linux-headers-4.10.0-42 linux-headers-4.10.0-42-generic linux-headers-4.13.0-32
linux-headers-4.13.0-32-generic linux-headers-4.13.0-36 linux-headers-4.13.0-36-generic
linux-headers-4.13.0-37 linux-headers-4.13.0-37-generic linux-headers-4.13.0-38
linux-headers-4.13.0-38-generic linux-image-4.10.0-37-generic linux-image-4.10.0-38-generic
linux-image-4.10.0-40-generic linux-image-4.10.0-42-generic linux-image-4.13.0-32-generic
linux-image-4.13.0-36-generic linux-image-4.13.0-37-generic linux-image-4.13.0-38-generic
linux-image-extra-4.10.0-37-generic linux-image-extra-4.10.0-38-generic linux-image-extra-4.10.0-40-generic
linux-image-extra-4.10.0-42-generic linux-image-extra-4.13.0-32-generic linux-image-extra-4.13.0-36-generic
linux-image-extra-4.13.0-37-generic linux-image-extra-4.13.0-38-generic linux-signed-image-4.10.0-37-generic
linux-signed-image-4.10.0-38-generic linux-signed-image-4.10.0-40-generic
linux-signed-image-4.10.0-42-generic linux-signed-image-4.13.0-32-generic
linux-signed-image-4.13.0-36-generic linux-signed-image-4.13.0-37-generic
linux-signed-image-4.13.0-38-generic linux-tools-4.13.0-38 linux-tools-4.13.0-38-generic
nvidia-opencl-icd-384 ocl-icd-libopencl1:i386 odbcinst odbcinst1debian2 openmpi-bin openmpi-common
perl-modules-5.24 php7.0 proj-bin proj-data python-imaging python-olefile python-pil python-twisted-web
ubuntu-mate-wallpapers-zesty unity-gtk-module-common vlc-l10n vlc-plugin-video-splitter wine-stable
wine32:i386 wine64
Use 'sudo apt autoremove' to remove them.
The following additional packages will be installed:
compiz-core gdal-data libappstream-glib8 libarmadillo8 libcompizconfig0 libdecoration0 libefiboot1 libfwupd2
libgcab-1.0-0 libgdal20 libgl2ps1.4 libgsoap-2.8.60 libnetcdf13 libpangomm-1.4-1v5 libsdl2-2.0-0
libwxbase3.0-0v5 libxerces-c3.2 virtualbox xserver-xorg
Suggested packages:
vde2 virtualbox-guest-additions-iso
The following NEW packages will be installed:
libarmadillo8 libfwupd2 libgl2ps1.4 libgsoap-2.8.60 libnetcdf13 libxerces-c3.2
The following packages will be upgraded:
compiz-core gdal-data libappstream-glib8 libcompizconfig0 libdecoration0 libefiboot1 libgcab-1.0-0 libgdal20
libpangomm-1.4-1v5 libsdl2-2.0-0 libwxbase3.0-0v5 virtualbox xserver-xorg
13 upgraded, 6 newly installed, 0 to remove and 763 not upgraded.
13 not fully installed or removed.
Need to get 0 B/26,6 MB of archives.
After this operation, 11,7 MB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n]

apt-cache policy compiz-core compiz-plugins compiz-plugins-default libdecoration0 libappstream-glib8 libgcab-1.0-0 libsdl2-2.0-0 libefiboot1 libwxbase3.0-0v5 xserver-xorg
compiz-core:
Installed: 1:0.9.13.1+17.10.20170901-0ubuntu1
Candidate: 1:0.9.13.1+18.04.20180302-0ubuntu1
Version table:
1:0.9.13.1+18.04.20180302-0ubuntu1 500
500 Index of /ubuntu bionic/universe amd64 Packages
*** 1:0.9.13.1+17.10.20170901-0ubuntu1 100
100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
compiz-plugins:
Installed: 1:0.9.13.1+18.04.20180302-0ubuntu1
Candidate: 1:0.9.13.1+18.04.20180302-0ubuntu1
Version table:
*** 1:0.9.13.1+18.04.20180302-0ubuntu1 500
500 Index of /ubuntu bionic/universe amd64 Packages
100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
compiz-plugins-default:
Installed: 1:0.9.13.1+18.04.20180302-0ubuntu1
Candidate: 1:0.9.13.1+18.04.20180302-0ubuntu1
Version table:
*** 1:0.9.13.1+18.04.20180302-0ubuntu1 500
500 Index of /ubuntu bionic/universe amd64 Packages
100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
libdecoration0:
Installed: 1:0.9.13.1+17.10.20170901-0ubuntu1
Candidate: 1:0.9.13.1+18.04.20180302-0ubuntu1
Version table:
1:0.9.13.1+18.04.20180302-0ubuntu1 500
500 Index of /ubuntu bionic/universe amd64 Packages
*** 1:0.9.13.1+17.10.20170901-0ubuntu1 100
100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
libappstream-glib8:
Installed: 0.7.1-2
Candidate: 0.7.7-2
Version table:
0.7.7-2 500
500 Index of /ubuntu bionic/main amd64 Packages
*** 0.7.1-2 100
100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
libgcab-1.0-0:
Installed: 0.7-4ubuntu0.1
Candidate: 1.1-2
Version table:
1.1-2 500
500 Index of /ubuntu bionic/main amd64 Packages
*** 0.7-4ubuntu0.1 100
100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
libsdl2-2.0-0:
Installed: 2.0.6+dfsg1-3ubuntu1
Candidate: 2.0.8+dfsg1-1ubuntu1
Version table:
2.0.8+dfsg1-1ubuntu1 500
500 Index of /ubuntu bionic/universe amd64 Packages
*** 2.0.6+dfsg1-3ubuntu1 100
100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
libefiboot1:
Installed: 31-1
Candidate: 34-1
Version table:
34-1 500
500 Index of /ubuntu bionic/main amd64 Packages
*** 31-1 100
100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
libwxbase3.0-0v5:
Installed: 3.0.3.1+dfsg2-1
Candidate: 3.0.4+dfsg-3
Version table:
3.0.4+dfsg-3 500
500 Index of /ubuntu bionic/universe amd64 Packages
*** 3.0.3.1+dfsg2-1 100
100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
xserver-xorg:
Installed: 1:7.7+19ubuntu3
Candidate: 1:7.7+19ubuntu7
Version table:
1:7.7+19ubuntu7 500
500 Index of /ubuntu bionic/main amd64 Packages
*** 1:7.7+19ubuntu3 100
100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

After this operation, 11,7 MB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n]

Did you validate the operation? If so, what happened?

It worked well, then I went with an update then an upgrade. My original problem with the menu seems fixed.

apt-cache policy menu
menu:
Installed: 2.1.47ubuntu2
Candidate: 2.1.47ubuntu2
Version table:
*** 2.1.47ubuntu2 500
500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic/universe amd64 Packages
100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

Shall I just go with a ‘sudo apt autoremove’ to remove those obsolete packages as shown below?

Reading package lists… Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information… Done
Calculating upgrade… Done
The following packages were automatically installed and are no longer required:
appmenu-gtk-module-common appmenu-gtk2-module appmenu-gtk3-module
bbswitch-dkms flashplugin-installer fonts-wine g+±6 gcc-6-base:i386
gcc-7-base:i386 gdal-data gir1.2-appstreamglib-1.0 gir1.2-gusb-1.0
gir1.2-keybinder-3.0 gir1.2-mate-desktop gstreamer1.0-plugins-base:i386
icoutils lib32gcc1 libaec0 libappmenu-gtk2-parser0 libappmenu-gtk3-parser0
libarmadillo7 libarmadillo8 libarpack2 libasn1-8-heimdal:i386
libavahi-client3:i386 libavahi-common-data:i386 libavahi-common3:i386
libblas-common libboost-python1.62.0 libboost-random1.62.0
libboost-regex1.62.0 libc6-i386 libcairo2:i386 libcap2:i386
libcdparanoia0:i386 libcephfs1 libcomerr2:i386 libcontent-hub-glib0
libcups2:i386 libdap25 libdapclient6v5 libebur128-1 libepsilon1 libfabric1
libfcitx-qt0 libfdk-aac1 libfreexl1 libfyba0 libgdal20 libgeos-3.5.1
libgeos-c1v5 libgeotiff2 libgfortran3 libgl2ps1 libgl2ps1.4
libglib2.0-0:i386 libglu1-mesa:i386 libgmp10:i386 libgnutls30:i386
libgsm1:i386 libgsoap-2.8.49 libgssapi-krb5-2:i386 libgssapi3-heimdal:i386
libgstreamer-plugins-base1.0-0:i386 libgstreamer1.0-0:i386
libhcrypto4-heimdal:i386 libhdf4-0-alt libhdf5-100 libhdf5-openmpi-100
libheimbase1-heimdal:i386 libheimntlm0-heimdal:i386 libhogweed4:i386
libhwloc-plugins libhwloc5 libhx509-5-heimdal:i386 libical2 libicu57:i386
libidn11:i386 libidn2-0:i386 libjbig0:i386 libjpeg-turbo8:i386 libjpeg8:i386
libjsoncpp1 libk5crypto3:i386 libkeyutils1:i386 libkmlbase1 libkmldom1
libkmlengine1 libkrb5-26-heimdal:i386 libkrb5-3:i386 libkrb5support0:i386
liblcms2-2:i386 libldap-2.4-2:i386 liblept5 liblivemedia57 liblivemedia58
libllvm4.0 libllvm4.0:i386 libllvm5.0 libllvm5.0:i386 libltdl7:i386
libminizip1 libmpg123-0:i386 libmysofa libnetcdf-c++4 libnetcdf11
libnetcdf13 libnettle6:i386 libntfs-3g872 libodbc1 libodbc1:i386 libogdi3.2
libopenal1:i386 libopencv-calib3d2.4v5 libopencv-core2.4v5 libopencv-core3.1
libopencv-features2d2.4v5 libopencv-flann2.4v5 libopencv-flann3.1
libopencv-highgui2.4-deb0 libopencv-imgproc2.4v5 libopencv-imgproc3.1
libopencv-ml3.1 libopencv-objdetect2.4v5 libopencv-photo3.1
libopencv-shape3.1 libopencv-video2.4v5 libopencv-video3.1 libopencv-viz3.1
libopenmpi2 libopus0:i386 liborc-0.4-0:i386 libosmesa6 libosmesa6:i386
libp11-kit0:i386 libpango1.0-0 libpcap0.8:i386 libperl5.24
libpixman-1-0:i386 libpoppler64 libpq5 libproj12 libpsm-infinipath1
libqhull7 libroken18-heimdal:i386 libsasl2-2:i386 libsasl2-modules:i386
libsasl2-modules-db:i386 libsndio6.1:i386 libspatialite7 libsqlite3-0:i386
libsrtp0 libssh-4 libssl1.0.0:i386 libssl1.1:i386 libstdc+±6-dev
libsuperlu5 libsz2 libtasn1-6:i386 libtbb2 libtelepathy-glib0
libtesseract-data libtesseract3 libtheora0:i386 libtiff5:i386
libtracker-sparql-1.0-0 libuchardet0 libunistring2:i386
libunity-gtk2-parser0 libunity-gtk3-parser0 liburiparser1 libusb-1.0-0:i386
libva-wayland1 libvirt-bin libvisual-0.4-0:i386 libvpx4 libvtk6.3
libwind0-heimdal:i386 libwine libwine:i386 libx265-110 libx265-130
libxcb-render0:i386 libxcb-shm0:i386 libxcomposite1:i386 libxcursor1:i386
libxen-4.8 libxerces-c3.1 libxerces-c3.2 libxi6:i386 libxslt1.1:i386
linux-headers-4.10.0-37 linux-headers-4.10.0-37-generic
linux-headers-4.10.0-38 linux-headers-4.10.0-38-generic
linux-headers-4.10.0-40 linux-headers-4.10.0-40-generic
linux-headers-4.10.0-42 linux-headers-4.10.0-42-generic
linux-headers-4.13.0-32 linux-headers-4.13.0-32-generic
linux-headers-4.13.0-36 linux-headers-4.13.0-36-generic
linux-headers-4.13.0-37 linux-headers-4.13.0-37-generic
linux-headers-4.13.0-38 linux-headers-4.13.0-38-generic
linux-image-4.10.0-37-generic linux-image-4.10.0-38-generic
linux-image-4.10.0-40-generic linux-image-4.10.0-42-generic
linux-image-4.13.0-32-generic linux-image-4.13.0-36-generic
linux-image-4.13.0-37-generic linux-image-4.13.0-38-generic
linux-image-extra-4.10.0-37-generic linux-image-extra-4.10.0-38-generic
linux-image-extra-4.10.0-40-generic linux-image-extra-4.10.0-42-generic
linux-image-extra-4.13.0-32-generic linux-image-extra-4.13.0-36-generic
linux-image-extra-4.13.0-37-generic linux-image-extra-4.13.0-38-generic
linux-signed-image-4.10.0-37-generic linux-signed-image-4.10.0-38-generic
linux-signed-image-4.10.0-40-generic linux-signed-image-4.10.0-42-generic
linux-signed-image-4.13.0-32-generic linux-signed-image-4.13.0-36-generic
linux-signed-image-4.13.0-37-generic linux-signed-image-4.13.0-38-generic
linux-signed-image-generic linux-tools-4.13.0-38
linux-tools-4.13.0-38-generic nvidia-opencl-icd-384 ocl-icd-libopencl1:i386
odbcinst odbcinst1debian2 openmpi-bin openmpi-common perl-modules-5.24
php7.0 proj-bin proj-data python-imaging python-olefile python-pil
python-twisted-web ubuntu-mate-wallpapers-zesty unity-gtk-module-common
wine-stable wine32:i386 wine64
Use ‘sudo apt autoremove’ to remove them.
The following packages have been kept back:
caja-gtkhash cheese cheese-common diffpdf duplicity fcitx-config-common
fcitx-config-gtk fcitx-frontend-gtk2 fcitx-frontend-gtk3 gimp-gmic
gir1.2-caja gir1.2-mate-panel gnome-keyring gnome-orca gtkhash libamd2
libcamd2 libccolamd2 libcheese-gtk25 libcheese8 libcholmod3 libcmis-0.5-5v5
libcolamd2 libebackend-1.2-10 libebook-contacts-1.2-2 libedata-book-1.2-25
libgeos-c1v5 liblouisutdml-bin libmarco-private1 libmirclient9 libmircommon7
libp11-kit-gnome-keyring libphonenumber7
libreoffice-avmedia-backend-gstreamer libreoffice-base-core libreoffice-calc
libreoffice-common libreoffice-core libreoffice-draw libreoffice-impress
libreoffice-math libreoffice-style-elementary libreoffice-style-galaxy
libreoffice-writer libumfpack5 libvcdinfo0 libwine libwine:i386 libwww-perl
linux-generic linux-headers-generic linux-image-generic linux-tools-generic
marco marco-common mate-applet-appmenu mate-desktop-environment-core
mate-dock-applet mongodb-clients php pluma pluma-common python-twisted
python-twisted-core python-twisted-web python-wxgtk3.0 python3-louis
speech-dispatcher speech-dispatcher-audio-plugins
speech-dispatcher-espeak-ng ubuntu-mate-core ubuntu-mate-desktop
ubuntu-mate-wallpapers vala-panel-appmenu-common wine-stable wine32:i386
wine64

First, launch Synaptic, go in the local/obsolete section and purge all the linux-* packages that are older than 4.15 (current version of the kernel on Bionic); i.e. all the 4.13.x and 4.10.x.
Remove also all the php 7.0 or 7.1 packages in the list (we have PHP 7.2 on Bionic, which has been installed on your system if all went well − BTW, you might have to reconfigure Apache to use it).
For all of these, be sure to select “purge” from the Synaptic context menu (the option that highlight them in red, not “uninstall” that highlight them in orange).

When it’s done, remove the identified useless packages with:

sudo apt-get autoremove --purge

Before validating, double check that there’s nothing weird in the list of packages that’ll be removed.

When all of this is done, tell me what is left in Synaptic → local/obsolete.

I didn't realize it would update my PHP version by removing old ones :slight_smile:

  php -v
PHP 7.2.5-0ubuntu0.18.04.1 (cli) (built: May  9 2018 17:21:02) ( NTS )
Copyright (c) 1997-2018 The PHP Group
Zend Engine v3.2.0, Copyright (c) 1998-2018 Zend Technologies
    with Zend OPcache v7.2.5-0ubuntu0.18.04.1, Copyright (c) 1999-2018, by Zend Technologies

We managed to reduce by half the obsolete packages :sunglasses:



It's not by removing old ones, it's just because of the upgrade to 18.04: as PHP 7.2 is available, the php meta-package in the repos now points to this version. You still had the old versions but they're useless (unless you want to use them specifically), so as well remove them.

We managed to reduce by half the obsolete packages

So, this is after doing the apt-get autoremove? Then, you can remove (purge, again, not simply uninstall) the following:

  • the three deja-dup-backend-*
  • gksu
  • mate-applet-topmenu
  • pdftk
  • python3.5 and python3.5-minimal
  • the three topmenu-gtk*

When it's done, you'll likely have a few other packages (mainly libs) that can be removed. They'll appear in a section on the left or you can use again sudo apt-get autoremove --purge to remove them. BTW, you can also purge the packages that are listed in "Non installed (residual config)".

After this, we'll have to check for packages which I'm not sure about or that were from your PPAs and might be obsolete (like ethereumwallet: either it has been replaced by a different package or your local version is newer than the one in your current PPAs).

Yes this was after the autoremove

Pdftk i'm actually using it to merge /rotate pdfs via CLI

How can I know if the lib file is actually useful or if it's an obsolete one that I can delete?

Pdftk i'm actually using it to merge /rotate pdfs via CLI

Ok, so keep it but it's not in the repos anymore, so you won't get updates. Not sure if it's still developed, if there's a 3rd-party repo...

How can I know if the lib file is actually useful or if it's an obsolete one that I can delete?

You can't really. Basically, what you can do is trying to uninstall a lib and see if APT/Synaptic tells you that it will remove packages. If it does, it's a dependancy and should likely be kept. If not, you can likely remove it, unless you know it is useful (maybe there are some libs that you installed manually or some that provide optional features to some softwares).

Now for the most annoying part (after you've cleaned the libraries): for each package that you see in local/obsolete in Synaptic, display its properties and check the Versions tab: you'll see that all packages are set to "now". It means that the current version of the package is not found in any repo. If for some you see that there is also another, older, version, write down the name of the package and give me the list of them. The goal is to revert the packages to the newest version from the repos you use when possible.

Also, there are a few packages that should be checked more thoroughly:

  • discord: I know it's not in the repos so I assume that you installed it manually from a deb package? (I don't think there's any repo for Discord, though there is a −semi-broken?− snap package);
  • ethereumwallet: I know you have a PPA for ethereum so if this package appears here, it likely means that the packages have changed: maybe there's a different one now, or the version in the PPA is older (we'll see if it's in the list with a version besides "now");
  • gcj-6-jre-lib: some Java stuff. Do you know if you installed it manually? If not, try to remove it: if it has no dependancy, you can probably safely remove it;
  • mattermost: no idea what it is ("Mattermost Desktop"!?). Do you know?
  • oxideqt-codecs-extras: did you install them manually? Probably safe to remove them if not;
  • skypeforlinux: I know there's a repo for Skype (wasn't it in the list we updated earlier?) so it shouldn't appear there. Same as before: either the package changed or there's a version issue that you'll see by checking the properties; probably the latter, or you don't have the repo;
  • vimixdark-gtk-themes: installed manually?
  • zoom: I assume it was installed manually?

BTW, I'd like to check the repos again to be sure that everything is ok and get a reminder of what you have. Give me the output of this again:

cat /etc/apt/sources.list.d/*.list