[ale] Ubuntu upgrade

[Jim Kinney]

since it sounds like the system is going into a non-multi-user mode by
default, lets try a test to see if it will go to a full X session.

boot it to the root login prompt and enter the root password. run telinit 3
and log in as a regular user. run startx and test if the system x will run

If all of that succeeds, logout as regular user and back in as root and run
telinit 5. If that's OK then the upgrade broke and didn't finish configuring
the grub setting.

So the file to edit manually in fedora-land is /boot/grub/grub.conf and in
ubuntu-land it's /boot/grub/menu.1st (I think). That is what grub uses to
know what stuff to pass to the kernel during the initial start up. Odds are
you won't find "single" on any kernel line but if you do, delete it.

Maybe I'm being stubborn but I _like_ /etc/inittab. However adding
RUNLEVEL=5 to the grub kernel line won't break anything.

On Mon, Jul 5, 2010 at 5:18 PM, drifter <drifter at oppositelock.org> wrote:

> I continue my descent into madness with this issue.
>
> {Someone asked about the version of Grub. It is 0.97}
>
> With the help and hints of this community I have been exploring
> the idea that I have an "upstart" problem.
>
> Watching the boot process carefully, I see that I get an Ubuntu
> splash screen, complete with graphic for maybe two tenths of a
> second before the command prompt appears.  That indicates to
> me that for a brief moment the Xserver is running.   Then, I'm
> guessing, something kills it.
>
> Hunting around I discovered /usr/share/doc/upstart. This directory contains
> the file, README.Debian.gz.  Ha, I thought. the answer to my problem may
> lie
> within.  But the file is owned by root, and there is no way for Joe user
> to unpack the file!!!!!!!!  Sometimes I just do not understand the
> convoluted minds of programmers.  What sort of peeled idiot would make
> a README file unreadable?
>
> Had to chown the file AND the directory to gain access.
>
> Now the fun begins:
>
> Reading the README file led me to /etc/init/rc-sysinit.conf
>
> It contains these lines:
>
> # Default runlevel, this may be overriden on the kernel command line
> #or by faking an old /etc/inittab entry
> env DEFAULT_RUNLEVEL=2
>
>
> Further down in the same file these lines appear:
>
>  # Check kernel command-line for typical arguments
>    for ARG in $(cat /proc/cmdline)
>    do
>        case "${ARG}" in
>        -b|emergency)
>            # Emergency shell
>            [ -n "${FROM_SINGLE_USER_MODE}" ] || sulogin
>            ;;
>        [0123456sS])
>            # Override runlevel
>            DEFAULT_RUNLEVEL="${ARG}"
>            ;;
>        -s|single)
>            # Single user mode
>            [ -n "${FROM_SINGLE_USER_MODE}" ] || DEFAULT_RUNLEVEL=S
>            ;;
>        esac
>    done
>
> Doing  <cat/proc/cmdline> returns this:
>
> root=UUID=[long HEX string] ro quiet splash
>
>
> Now I have new questions:
>
> If I were to change the DEFAULT_RUNLEVEL to 5, would that help?
>
> ----------------------
>
> To answer some other questions:
>
> David Tomaschik asked if there any lines above the root prompt?
> Nothing the least bit unusual there. The prompt I get needs a login/pswd
> pair and then I get a new prompt and can type "startx"
>
> I tried following David's suggestion of booting in recovery mode.  That may
> have helped some of the underlying problems, but at the end of that process
> I am still looking at the login prompt. The Xserver is not running.
> Trying a reboot.  Well, that's interesting. Logged in and typed "shutdown
> now" only to be told that I have to be root to do that. So tried "sudo
> shutdown now" and it still wanted the root password, not my user password.
> Only this is Ubuntu, and I have no earthly idea what the root password
> might be.  I never had a chance to set one.
>
> So I gave up and hit the power button. on restart I got the login prompt
> again.
>
> Thinking about Brian Pitts comments, how can I check the kernel arguments
> and erase the "single" if it appears there?  And should I then replace it
> with something else?
>
> My current plan is to backup /home and run a fresh install from the
> DVD I have in hand if I can't get this to work pretty damn soon now. :)
>
> If that doesn't work, then I will try installing FC13.
>
> For now I'd prefer to stay with Ubuntu, as the new version provides a
> driver for the ethernet chip and can use the microphone so I can
> use Skype to talk with my grandson. Previous version of Ubuntu
> did not support either.
>
> Sean
>
>
>
> On Monday 05 July 2010 12:37:58 Brian Pitts wrote:
> > On 07/04/2010 11:34 PM, David Tomaschik wrote:
> > > Does it say anything above the root prompt?  I rather suspect that
> > > something is erroring and aborting the boot. If it's giving you a root
> > > prompt with no login, that means it's dropping you into single-user
> > > mode, which is triggered either by an error during the boot or by the
> > > line "single" being appended to the kernel arguments.
> > >
> > > You don't really want startx anywhere -- init loads the services
> > > requested by the current run environment, and one of those (for
> > > Gnome-based "vanilla" Ubuntu) is gdm.  GDM will load X and provide you
> > > with the login screen you're used to.
> > >
> > > Menu.lst is not a shell script, so putting startx there will likely
> > > only make things worse -- and certainly won't get X going for you.
> >
> > I agree with the above. Your upgrade may not have completed
> >  successfully.
> >
> > Make sure your computer is plugged into a wired network and turned off.
> > Turn it on and hold down shift; this should bring up the GRUB2 menu.
> > Select the entry labeled "recovery mode". If you're not in too bad a
> > shape, this should eventually load a menu with different automated
> > recovery options you can choose. One of them is labeled something like
> > "repair broken packages". Choose it and see what happens.
> >
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-- 
-- 
James P. Kinney III
Actively in pursuit of Life, Liberty and Happiness
Doing pretty well on all 3 pursuits

 Faith is a cop-out. If the only way you can accept an assertion is by
faith, then you are conceding that it can’t be taken on its own merits.
   Dan Barker, "Losing Faith in Faith", 1992
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