Upgrading to Kubuntu 9.04: a nightmare! (Part 1)

Surely you've read a lot of blogs exit May 1 of the new version of Ubuntu to 9.04.

The same day, Canonical also updated variants of Ubuntu including Kubuntu, which replaces Gnome with KDE. As one who reads me some time surely remember, I am a happy Kubuntu user of both the laptop and desktop office, both of.

After reading some "exciting" reviews for version 9.4 I decided to update both systems: in particular all seem to agree on the best performance (equal to `hardware) and use the hard drive (thanks to ' introduced as a new format for the ext4 file system) that use the video card (thanks to the new version dell'Xserver).

So I downloaded the alternate CD via BitTorrent: of course I could do the upgrade online, but since I had to update two systems most certainly some other machine in the office, the alternate CD was the best route.

`I will tell you briefly my experience, trying to make you" relive "the nightmare that I lived and I'm still living.

Upgrading laptop

The first update I did on the laptop: a hardware level is the machine that has more problems, especially for the WiFi card, among other things is the only machine where I dual boot with Windows XP and configured running the risk was minimal updating.

The first problem is arising during the process of setting up the new CD from option packages (I installed directly from a USB key instead of burn). After finding some of the conflicts in configuration files is given me the possibility to choose what to do: keep my version, take the new version lost my changes, try to do a "merge" Automatic differences. More for curiosity than anything else I've tried to choose this third option .. although the message was clear enough (this functionality is in beta and may not work) I never expected that not only generates an error, but interrompese whole upgrade process! Fortunately, raising again resumed from where they left off, allowing me to find myself still end up with a completely updated 9:04.

Everything seemed to go well, except that the first restart the WiFi card refuses to connect to my network: to put all the card is enabled (the little light turns on WiFi on the laptop), but a scan for available networks does not detect no network. I think a problem of network manager (knetworkmanager): I read in the release notes that the new version is added a "plasma" (one "active" to be placed on the KDE desktop) for network managers, but this starts automatically after an upgrade.

Unfortunately passing command line and trying to enable the WiFi hand the results were the same, no network found. After a moment of despair I did a boot in Windows XP to try to find some information on the Internet: anything that went really well, just a message on a forum that should install wicd to configure the network. Certainly was not my problem because the command line things did not work.

Rebuilt a boot into Kubuntu, after a dozen trials scanning command line, I came is strong doubt that it was a rights problem .. I tried it then do the scanning as superuser e.. voila `the list of network finally available! I then tried to launch knetworkmanager super user: surprise, asks me to log on to KWallet! The KWallet is a system for ensuring the safety of KDE. In practice, is a collector of security information (username password) that other applications can use only if authorized by the superuser. Apart from the fact that I had already authorized to access knetworkmanager KWallet, the strange thing is that after upgrading to the 9.4 system I had more chest the main password KWallet: This is usually done when you start KDE open KWallet for the first time (in reality would be more correct to say that is done the first time an application requests access to information).

Problem identified and then for some reason doing the update knetworkmanager has lost the association with KWallet. Not only that, the same user (one system) seems to have lost the right to scan the WiFi card.

I was already ready to start reconfiguring the rights when I remade yet another reboot, and miracle of miracles comes KWallet screen for the main password and the network adapter connects! That it has released the cast as superuser? I do not know what to say, remains a mystery ..

After about 4 hours + 1 hour for the update process the laptop is back online!

But of course the problems are over, after upgrading compiz does not start more. The strange thing is that it seems completely gone fusion-icon ! Trying to reinstall it from the repository can be seen quite clearly that something bad must have happened to the database apt-get, because the installation fails with an error on some Python files that do not exist!

X is also a slow snail seems more than a penguin! And this without even compiz .. a small check and all is now explained, with the move to the 4.9 system does not use more proprietary NVidia drivers for your graphics card. Of course, before upgrading I was using the proprietary drivers with good performance and compiz working perfectly.

Here I stopped the installation on the laptop is a testing ground, I have big problems to start from scratch and reinstall a clean 4.9 .. hoping to have better luck!

Summing up, the cost of '(attempted) upgrade laptops: 6 hours and then still having to reinstall everything after this first experience, the advice is: do not upgrade unless you are an experienced user or if you can not afford to lose a number of hours!

(Continue with the upgrade on your desktop)

Tags: Kubuntu , Ubuntu
Categories: linux
5 comments »

5 Responses to "Upgrading to Kubuntu 9.04: a nightmare! (Part 1) "

Alex - Microsmeta wrote a comment on May 9, 2009

Andrea, I was once guilty of KDE 4!

I installed Ubuntu 9.04 (Gnome) on 3 PCs. A P4 3.6 NVIDIA MX 440, a notebook Athlon XP 2800 + ATI Radeon Mobile 9200, and an Athlon XP + 200th NVIDIA MX 440. All old hardware. I have both feeds running Ubuntu version Plus 2, Full facilities on VirtualBox and Wubi and I work all: Internet, LAN, wifi, Compiz (but not on Virtualbox) and I'm writing from a PC running Ubuntu 9.04 where potentially worse GOOD. Even your laptop running XP in 2008 we do a total of 1.256 K virtualboxcon available. I tried several times to install Kubuntu 4, 4.0x, 4.1, 4.2 and I always had too many problems io.Ti encourage you to try (even) Ubuntu 9.04, maybe even from a live CD. In addition to the fragmentation of the twentieth distributions there are also factions KDE / Gnu and hard to move from one barricade to another, but for me Ubuntu (despite all other problems solved firtunatamente) works fine. I'd like to hear the opinion of Charles TA, Mapo, The One Electronic, SilviaKittys and all of your readers / listeners to have as much evidence as possible ... I think you know more than you, but if I can help you (I wrote a lot of post about, you know where to find me )

The Nissardo wrote a comment on May 9, 2009

Dear Alex, I always read with great interest all your articles on the different distributions Canonical. In the second part of this post (which I hope to finish in a couple of days) you will see that the problems I had with the desktop are much more serious and unfortunately also confirmed on Ubuntu.
Almost all the problems I had are related to starting upgraded existing systems and highly personalized: the desktop has never been reinstalled from 7.04, to date, and each update I had big problems (the best was 7.04 -> 7.10). And not talking to old hardware or very difficult.
Once solved the problems all the machines work great, so my way is not a criticism to linux .. surely there is a problem in regard Canonical QA cycles. The problems I had can not be tolerated in a distribution that has the objective "Linux On Every Desktop". If that is what happened to me had happened to an inexperienced user of Linux would be trouble! Me I have done well, even if the desktop in the end I only lost time, data or anything like that ever .. but time costs, if a company had a 20in machine and decided to update them with the same problems that I had, the cost in terms of time man would be equal (if not more) to a license from Microsoft.

As I read on a blog pro-linux, if Microsoft had put out an update so catastrophic as to Canonical for ATI cards (this mainly will speak `in the next post) he would have spoken on the news all over the world. Fortunately we have not yet Canonical at these levels, linux users are still "experts" and if they know get well. But before you can bring Ubuntu / Kubuntu as an alternative to Windows for all it has to flow of water under the bridge.
This said by someone who is installed the first version of Linux using floppy 7

Lapo wrote a comment on June 14, 2009

I admire guys that open source but I broke the xxxxxxx!
I can not be upgraded to nine and not part of the primary video driver ati, so needless to recover from fixsever mode! but there are always problems you can not stand to lose a day !!!!!

The Nissardo wrote a comment on June 15, 2009

As I understand! I have not had time to write part two of this post, but I talked about the problem that you've had!
One thing I disagree .. nothing to do with open source, but Canonical, a company that is beautiful and good