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-requ...@lists.debian.org > with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org > Archive: https://lists.debian.org/20140902103948.GA970@sprite > -- Joel Roth -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: https://lists.debian.org/20140903110935.GB6522@sprite