Re: OT: Strange boot behavior after upgrade on Asus chromebook (SOLVED)
On Tue, Sep 02, 2014 at 12:39:49AM -1000, Joel Roth wrote:
> This posting is slightly off-topic because the OS in
> question is Ubuntu, which I ended up using because the
> chromebook install procedure seemed better documented. (It
> took me a few days to get any non-chrome install to
> succeed.)
>
> It is possibly on-topic because
> * I am a debian user
> * it relates to upstart, which has been considered as
> an alternative to sysvinit
> * Debian users may be interested in some of the differences
> between debian and ubuntu.
> * It reports an actual user experience
>
> The PC is a $200 chromebook that I set up for my dad to use.
> I visit him a few couple times a year, so I try
> to keep the system simple and reliable as possible.
>
> After logging on I get a message something like this on the
> console:
>
> Hey! An upgrade is available for your LTS Trusty
> installation. It includes 265 security updates.
> run "do-release-upgrade" to get the goods.
>
> I'm thinking it will be simple. And security
> is good, right? Hah hah!
>
> tl;dr: At least it still boots.
>
> First, LTS signified to me that it is an upgrade
> intended to keep compatibility and stability.
> Boy was that wrong!
>
> Next thing that stood out, is that the progress
> output messages during the upgrade are
> different enough to suggest a lot of engineering
> has gone into it. Not all good, IMO.
>
> It took a few iterations for the full upgrade to be
> completed, probably because I'd (wisely it turns out) let
> a couple years lapse since the initial installation.
>
> Then lots of the usual questions during the upgrade.
> Do I keep the original config file or use the
> developer's version?
>
> Answering a lot of these questions starts to numb your
> brain, and trying to get through quickly, I made two
> mistakes:
>
> First, I accidentally consented to replacing /etc/sudoers. Duh!
> That was a small one. Next was saying "yes" to install
> grub-pc on /dev/sda.
>
> What was stupid about that is that the chromebook is very
> finicky about booting. I shouldn't have touched it at all,
> but was somehow afraid that if I didn't, the upgraded
> kernel versions might not be started.
>
> Additional stupidity was not backing up the system.
> I'm so used to my sid upgrades going without hiccups
> that I forgot that upgrades are actually akin
> to brain surgery in terms of the chances of something
> going wrong.
>
> Now the kicker: When booting, I first get some
> frightening message about selinux not being found.
> Then I get the login prompt, with no cursor, no
> terminal echo, and login fails.
>
> Is this due to upstart? Or grub-pc?
>
> I'm getting ready for a horrible nightmare...
>
> Then, oh beneficence! Thanks to muscle memory, I randomly
> type WindowsKey RightArrow (an i3 window manager key
> binding). Lo and behold! The screen clears and I get a fresh
> login prompt *with* echo (still no cursor) and login
> succeeds this time.
>
> I tried rebooting again, a few times, and found
> I always need this key combination.
> (I didn't investigate if other key combinations will
> work.)
>
> Although having to do this probably this won't bother my dad,
> I am ashamed of a Unix system being so arbitrary.
>
> Ubuntu also sucks for this application because my dad uses
> icewm, while Ubuntu includes heavy stuff like compiz and
> gnome. Oh well, at least my foot is still basically intact!!
Thanks for the (privately mailed) responses.
I discovered that while the console is corrupted on tty3
(where I ended after upstart) I can log in with no problems
on tty1. WindowsKey-RightArrow was just changing me to
another tty.
Kind regards,
Joel
> Cheers,
>
> Joel
>
>
>
> --
> Joel Roth
>
>
>
> --
> To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-REQUEST@lists.debian.org
> with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@lists.debian.org
> Archive: [🔎] 20140902103948.GA970@sprite">https://lists.debian.org/[🔎] 20140902103948.GA970@sprite
>
--
Joel Roth
Reply to: