Re: Problems with Apper / automatic upgrading of my Debian 7.11 system

[rhkramer@gmail.com]

Thanks for the reply, but I want to clarify a little more (oh, and the other 
questions still stand...):

   * I assume that I only have to reboot if I / when I'm ready to have that 
new kernel be activated--otherwise the system will continue to use the old 
kernel--presumably with no problems.

   * Or, do you think my problems with upgrading / Apper are because I didn't 
activate the new kernel?  

   * But, that wouldn't explain the problem with they first problematic 
upgrade, which was the kernel...

Thanks for any clarification you can add...

On Monday, June 27, 2016 10:27:24 AM somebody who didn't want to reply on list 
wrote:
> If the kernel was updated, you MUST reboot. And that's the only case
> where it is mandatory.

On Monday, June 27, 2016 10:18:10 AM rhkramer@gmail.com wrote:
> Background:
> 
> Since I upgraded to Debian 7.11 (wheezy) maybe 6 months to a year ago
> (maybe longer), I've made it a habit to upgrade any software for which
> Apper notifies me that an upgrade is available.
> 
> Something like two weeks ago, I upgraded the Linux kernel when notified.
> 
> Before the upgrade completed, I got the following popup:
> 
> <quote>
> Package failed to install - Apper
> 
> One of the selected packages failed to install correctly.
> More information is available in the detailed report.
> </quote>
> 
> And, upon clicking on Details, I got the following:
> 
> <quote>
> subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
> </quote>
> 
> But, the upgrade seemed to complete successfully, eventually giving me the
> message (~"Your system is up to date, verified <n> hours and <m> minutes
> ago").
> 
> Aside: I did not reboot after that upgrade nor any time since then.
> 
> After that, the next several upgrades proceeded in the same fashion--that
> is, I saw the warning that one of the selected packages failed to install
> properly, but it then seemed to complete and said my system was up to
> date.
> 
> Since then (maybe the last 2 or so upgrades, in the last 2 or 3 days) the
> upgrades do not complete successfully--the apper screen just "hangs"--I do
> not get the message that the upgrade completed successfully, even if I let
> the apper screen sit there for half an hour.
> 
> Today I got a notification to update default-jre, default-jre-headless, and
> java common and:
> 
>    * it gave me a list of other software that had to be updated: libsctp1,
> openjdk-7-jre, and openjdk-7-jre-headless, and I accepted that (clicked
> Continue)
>    * it asked me for authentication, which I gave it
>    * it downloaded the packages
>    * it started preparing and installing the packages
> 
> The popup "Package Failed to install - Apper" appeared-- this time I
> noticed that it appeared during an attempt to install
> "linux-image-3.2.0-4-amd64 Linux 3.2 for 64-bit PCs".
> 
> I don't know (didn't notice) if during the other problem installs it
> attempted to install the linux image.
> 
> (Aside: I assume that a new linux-image is only activated after a reboot?
> OTOH, when I run uname -a I get: "Linux s19 3.2.0-4-amd64 #1 SMP Debian
> 3.2.78-1 x86_64 GNU/Linux" which seems to indicate I am using the latest
> Linux kernel (??).)
> 
> Anyway, it seemed that today's update did complete successfully--after
> today's upgrade I did get the message:
> 
> <quote>
> Your system is up to date
> Verified 3 hours and 26 minutes ago
> </quote>
> 
> So:
>    1. Should I be worried?
>    2. Should I reboot?
>    3. Was there something wrong with that kernel upgrade that I should
> expect to be fixed, and wait to install that fix before rebooting?
>    4. Can anyone explain what is going on?
>    5. Any other advice?
> 
> Thanks!
> Randy Kramer