22.04 to 23.10 upgrade fails, kubuntu-desktop is not installable.

[Bas Roufs]

[Impact]
Upgrade of Kubuntu system from 22.04 to 23.10 fails with kubuntu-desktop not being installable.

[Original bug report]

Upgrade problem caused by many mistakes and broken packages.

Bug report 27 April 2024.in

From Bas Roufs for Kubuntu developers.

Mook, near Nijmegen, NL, 27 April 2024.

Hello Everybody.

Only a few weeks ago, I installed Kubuntu 22.04.1 LTS at my Lenovo Thinkpad X230 i5, 4GB RAM and 250 GB SSD at present. In a few weeks from now, I'll go to a computer repair shop that will add an extra SSD of 1 GB and 2 DDR 3, 1600 Mhz memory banks - with a view to getting 16 GB RAM.

My idea was the following....

STEP 1.
Prepare a system with the all the packages and languages modules I need for 10 languages - spell and grammar check, etc.

STEP 2.
Upgrade from Kubuntu 22.04.4 LTS to Kubuntu 24.04 LTS.
However, it has become clear to me that a direct, automatic upgrade from the previous LTS to the current one is only possible after the issue of Kubuntu 24.04.1 LTS on 15 August 2024. This is way too late for me and in the middle of my holiday period.
So, I have considered the option to make first an upgrade to Kubuntu 23.10, after which I would upgrade to 24.04. However, this attempt ended up in many, many complications as summarised here.

STEP 3.
Attempt to prepare a data only backup via Backintime or Luckybackup.
However, Backintime seemingly caused complications as summarised below.

STEP 3A.
Attempt to prepare a system backup via Timeshift. However, this is too complicated for now - I'll start using Timeshift after getting the new 1 TB SSD. The old 250 GB SSD, I want to use for the Timeshift system-backup. My practice experience makes me clear that Timeshift is NOT AT ALL good for migration from one disk or one laptop to another.

STEP 3B.
Prepare migration from the smaller to the bigger SSD: via a compressed CloneZilla ISO image of the whole SSD at a Ventoy USB. Like this, I wanted to port all the packages, language modules, etc. to the bigger, new SSD.
However, because of the complications summarised below, I need to make a fresh new install of, in this case, Kubuntu 24.04 LTS even before getting the hard ware upgrades: the extra SSD and RAM memory. With the language modules, packages, etc., I need to start again after fresh-installing «Noble Numbat».

On the other hand, I stick to the plan to create a CloneZilla ISO: a compressed version of the contents my whole small 250 GB SDD. Like this, I want to get all the language settings, etc. to the new configuration after getting the new 1 TB SSD.

STEP 3C.
After getting the new SSD and RAM memory.... Installing the whole system and all data from the CloneZilla ISO.

COMPLICATIONS EVER SINCE THURSDAY 25-04-2024.

After installing Backintime, for the data only backup, the system does not 'see' anymore my 4 TB external hard disks, formatted in EXT4. Also a 2 TB USB stick formatted in FAT32 can not be used any more. Note - I am using USB 3.0 ports.....
So, I uninstalled again Backintime. However, this uninstallit ment action does not help. My system still does not "see" USB devices.

That's why, I have copied some provisional data backups to Wetransfer. ASAP after fresh-installing Kubuntu 24.04 LTS, I'll retrieve my recent data from there.

On Thursday, Kubuntu 24.04 LTS has been released. However, I do not manage to upgrade to it. That's why, I did several attempts to upgrade to Kubuntu 23.10, prior to upgrading to the newest LTS version. However, because of my ppa backports, I was not able to do an upgrade.
So, I have removed the backports and also Flatpak - via the package managers at my system.

However, those efforts did not help. Several attempts to upgrade to 23.10 ended up like this:

«(...)
bas@Camino:~$ sudo do-release-upgrade -m desktop
Checking for a new Ubuntu release
ERROR:root:getting the encoding failed
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/DistUpgrade/DistUpgradeView.py", line 39, in <module>
    locale.setlocale(locale.LC_ALL, "")
  File "/usr/lib/python3.10/locale.py", line 620, in setlocale
    return _setlocale(category, locale)
locale.Error: unsupported locale setting

= Welcome to Ubuntu 23.10 'Mantic Minotaur' =

The Ubuntu team is proud to announce Ubuntu 23.10 'Mantic Minotaur'.

(...ETC.....)

Could not determine the upgrade

An unresolvable problem occurred while calculating the upgrade.

If none of this applies, then please report this bug using the
command 'ubuntu-bug ubuntu-release-upgrader-core' in a terminal. If
you want to investigate this yourself the log files in
'/var/log/dist-upgrade' will contain details about the upgrade.
Specifically, look at 'main.log' and 'apt.log'.

Restoring original system state

Aborting
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
bas@Camino:~$
(...)»

I have been checking main.log and apt.log as well as some other logs in '/var/log/dist-upgrade'
Main problem - too many broken packages and depencies.

What to do next?
One option is seemingly not a realist option. I have considered to try to use the Kubuntu 22.04.4 LTS ISO at my Ventoy stick to fix the many broken packages. However, this is simply to complicated and time consuming.

That's why, I have downloaded via KTorrent the Kubuntu 24.04 LTS ISO that is available now. I gonna put it at the same Ventoy stick, after which I fresh-install this new LTS. I'll do so after submitting this error report.

Via this terminal code I have unleashed this bug report:

ubuntu-bug ubuntu-release-upgrader-core

Like this, you'll get recent info from this folder:
/var/log/dist-upgrade

However, I feel it is better that you'll info from ALL my upgrade attempts from Friday 26 April 2024. That's why, I have copied the whole directory /var/log/dist-upgrade/ - along with all subdirectories and files, alltogether a bit less then 2 MB. Together with the bug report, I send you a ZIP file that contains the whole story.

Thanks for considering this report.

Yours.

Bas Roufs.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 22.04
Package: ubuntu-release-upgrader-core 1:22.04.19
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 6.5.0-28.29~22.04.1-generic 6.5.13
Uname: Linux 6.5.0-28-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.20.11-0ubuntu82.5
Architecture: amd64
CasperMD5CheckResult: unknown
CrashDB: ubuntu
CrashReports:
 640:0:124:197547:2024-04-26 18:10:11.686690723 +0200:2024-04-26 18:10:11.682690716 +0200:/var/crash/_usr_bin_do-release-upgrade.0.crash
 640:1000:124:14696112:2024-04-25 20:24:56.972544146 +0200:2024-04-25 20:24:54.724407253 +0200:/var/crash/_usr_share_backintime_qt_app.py.1000.crash
CurrentDesktop: KDE
Date: Sat Apr 27 15:29:26 2024
InstallationDate: Installed on 2024-04-02 (24 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Kubuntu 22.04.4 LTS "Jammy Jellyfish" - Release amd64 (20240216.1)
PackageArchitecture: all
SourcePackage: ubuntu-release-upgrader
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to jammy on 2024-04-26 (0 days ago)
mtime.conffile..etc.update-manager.release-upgrades: 2024-04-26T17:36:58.697388

[Bas Roufs (basroufs)]

Wanna add one thing.....

Thanks God, I DID manage to read and write my 128 GB Ventoy USB. I already
copied the ISO to it from Kubuntu 24.04 LTS.I

However, I cannot read the 2 and 4 GB USB devices I am using for backup
purposes. This is one of the reasons, I have decided to carry out a fresh
install of the latest Kubuntu LTS at my system.

Yours.

Bas.

Yours.

Bas.

Op za 27 apr 2024 om 16:45 schreef Bas Roufs <email address hidden>:

> Public bug reported:
>
> Upgrade problem caused by many mistakes and broken packages.
>
> Bug report 27 April 2024.in
>
> From Bas Roufs for Kubuntu developers.
>
> Mook, near Nijmegen, NL, 27 April 2024.
>
> Hello Everybody.
>
> Only a few weeks ago, I installed Kubuntu 22.04.1 LTS at my Lenovo
> Thinkpad X230 i5, 4GB RAM and 250 GB SSD at present. In a few weeks from
> now, I'll go to a computer repair shop that will add an extra SSD of 1
> GB and 2 DDR 3, 1600 Mhz memory banks - with a view to getting 16 GB
> RAM.
>
> My idea was the following....
>
> STEP 1.
> Prepare a system with the all the packages and languages modules I need
> for 10 languages - spell and grammar check, etc.
>
> STEP 2.
> Upgrade from Kubuntu 22.04.4 LTS to Kubuntu 24.04 LTS.
> However, it has become clear to me that a direct, automatic upgrade from
> the previous LTS to the current one is only possible after the issue of
> Kubuntu 24.04.1 LTS on 15 August 2024. This is way too late for me and in
> the middle of my holiday period.
> So, I have considered the option to make first an upgrade to Kubuntu
> 23.10, after which I would upgrade to 24.04. However, this attempt ended up
> in many, many complications as summarised here.
>
> STEP 3.
> Attempt to prepare a data only backup via Backintime or Luckybackup.
> However, Backintime seemingly caused complications as summarised below.
>
> STEP 3A.
> Attempt to prepare a system backup via Timeshift. However, this is too
> complicated for now - I'll start using Timeshift after getting the new 1 TB
> SSD. The old 250 GB SSD, I want to use for the Timeshift system-backup. My
> practice experience makes me clear that Timeshift is NOT AT ALL good for
> migration from one disk or one laptop to another.
>
> STEP 3B.
> Prepare migration from the smaller to the bigger SSD: via a compressed
> CloneZilla ISO image of the whole SSD at a Ventoy USB. Like this, I wanted
> to port all the packages, language modules, etc. to the bigger, new SSD.
> However, because of the complications summarised below, I need to make a
> fresh new install of, in this case, Kubuntu 24.04 LTS even before getting
> the hard ware upgrades: the extra SSD and RAM memory. With the language
> modules, packages, etc., I need to start again after fresh-installing
> «Noble Numbat».
>
> On the other hand, I stick to the plan to create a CloneZilla ISO: a
> compressed version of the contents my whole small 250 GB SDD. Like this,
> I want to get all the language settings, etc. to the new configuration
> after getting the new 1 TB SSD.
>
> STEP 3C.
> After getting the new SSD and RAM memory.... Installing the whole system
> and all data from the CloneZilla ISO.
>
> COMPLICATIONS EVER SINCE THURSDAY 25-04-2024.
>
> After installi...

[Julian Andres Klode (juliank)]

Hello,

what I could extract from all the text is that the upgrade from 22.04 to 23.10 failed because kubuntu-desktop is not installable.

I can reproduce this issue, and I'll just note that this is working fine when trying the same with 24.04 (when it is turned on).

[Bas Roufs (basroufs)]

Hello Julian and all others.

Op ma 29 apr. 2024 14:01 schreef Julian Andres Klode <
<email address hidden>>:

> ** Summary changed:
>

Thanks for considering my bug report!

You share here two possible summaries.

> - 22.04 to 23.10 upgrade fails to keep kubuntu-desktop installed
>

This possible explanation coincides best with my experience of 25 & 26
April 2024. There WAS a Kubuntu desktop. However, my upgrade attempts
revealed major problems that made the whole configuration unusable.

+ 22.04 to 23.10 upgrade fails, kubuntu-desktop is not installable.
>

May be, we can formulate it like this:
«(....)
When trying to upgrade from 22.04 to 23.10, the 23.10 kubuntu-desktop is
not installable.
(...)»

At some point, there were simply too many complications. That's why, I
decided to try a fresh install of Kubuntu 24.04 LTS. After a bit of
tweaking, trial and error, I DID manage to get started with it. About that,
I'll share another post and one more bug report.

Yours.
Bas.

>

====
Bas G. Roufs MA

Rijksweg 66a

NL-6585 AG Mook

[phone]

<email address hidden>

> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to the bug
> report.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/2063952
>
> Title:
> 22.04 to 23.10 upgrade fails, kubuntu-desktop is not installable.
>
> To manage notifications about this bug go to:
>
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ubuntu-release-upgrader/+bug/2063952/+subscriptions
>
>

[Bas Roufs (basroufs)]

Hello Julian and all others.

Op ma 29 apr. 2024 14:01 schreef Julian Andres Klode <email address hidden>:

    ** Summary changed:

Thanks for considering my bug report!

You share here two possible summaries.

    - 22.04 to 23.10 upgrade fails to keep kubuntu-desktop installed

This possible explanation coincides best with my experience of 25 & 26 April 2024. There WAS a Kubuntu desktop. However, my upgrade attempts revealed major problems that made the whole configuration unusable.

    + 22.04 to 23.10 upgrade fails, kubuntu-desktop is not installable.

May be, we can formulate it like this:
«(....)
When trying to upgrade from 22.04 to 23.10, the 23.10 kubuntu-desktop is not installable.
(...)»

At some point, there were simply too many complications. That's why, I decided to try a fresh install of Kubuntu 24.04 LTS. After a bit of tweaking, trial and error, I DID manage to get started with it. About that, I'll share another post and one more bug report.

Yours.
Bas.

[Rik Mills (rikmills)]

I can see from the logs that you must have packages from the backports-extra PPA on your system, to get newest plasma 5.27. The packages in that are backported from 24.04, so are newer than those found 23.10. This is likely the source of most of the conflicts and refusal to upgrade.

Re-enabling the backports PPA then removing it with ppa-purge may be a solution to at least some of this. I would note that 22.04 to 23.10 upgrades is non standard and not a path that really gets tested.

[Bas Roufs (basroufs)]

Hello Rick.

Thanks for your very useful comment.

Op za 4 mei 2024 om 12:50 schreef Rik Mills <email address hidden>:

> I can see from the logs that you must have packages from the backports-
> extra PPA on your system, to get newest plasma 5.27. The packages in
> that are backported from 24.04, so are newer than those found 23.10.
> This is likely the source of most of the conflicts and refusal to
> upgrade.
>

As far as I know, you are totally right.

>
> Re-enabling the backports PPA then removing it with ppa-purge may be a
> solution to at least some of this.

I have been trying such a solution. However, it did not work out. Moreover,
at some point, I got too many complications. The most important one: the
system was not able any more to read a 2 GB USB stick and 4 TB external
hard drives = 3 items I use fore backup purposes. When stumbling on those
complications, I made a few emergency backups via WETRANSFER, after which I
did the following.... First, I reformatted and repartitioned the SSD with
Gparted at System rescue at a Ventoy USB. Then, I made a fresh manually
partitioned install of Kubuntu 24.04 LTS, the most recent LTS. About this,
I'll tell more in other posts.

> I would note that 22.04 to 23.10
> upgrades is non standard and not a path that really gets tested.
>

You might be right about this too. It was some emergency solution after me
remarking that a direct upgrade from 22.04 to 24.04 is not yet possible. It
became clear to me that this will be possible on 15 August 2024, after the
issue of Kubuntu 24.04.1 LTS. I could not wait till that moment.

Yours.

Bas.

--

Bas G. Roufs

--
====
Bas G. Roufs MA
Rijksweg 66a
NL-6585 AG Mook
[phone]
<email address hidden>

Mook ligt ca. 10 km. ten zuiden van Nijmegen en 10 km. ten oosten van de
Duitse grens.
Uitspraak -ou- in achternaam «Roufs»: zoals in «bouwen».

Mook is about 10 km. south of Nijmegen and 10 km west of the German border.
Pronunciatiation -ou- family name «Roufs»: like in «about».