Ubuntu 14.04 Installation problem.

[8LfOM1R0]

I received an automatic prompt to upgrade to the new version and I proceeded.
At stage two of the installation 'setting new software channels' I received a pop-up stating the following:

"Could not determine the upgrade

An unresolvable problem occurred while calculating the upgrade.

This can be caused by:
* Upgrading to a pre-release version of Ubuntu
* Running the current pre-release version of Ubuntu
* Unofficial software packages not provided by Ubuntu

If none of this applies, then please report this bug using the command 'ubuntu-bug ubuntu-release-upgrader-core' in a terminal."

I closed the pop-up and the 'original state of the system was recovered'.

This has happened to me twice now. The first time I sent an error report as the installation program allowed me to do so.

The version of the OS I currently run is:

uname -a

Linux Computer-1A 3.8.0-44-generic #66~precise1-Ubuntu SMP Tue Jul 15 04:01:04 UTC 2014 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

[kansasnoob]

My best guess is that you're currently running Precise - more specifically Precise that was installed with the 12.04.3 iso, so you have the Precise running with the Raring HWE stack which is EOL - more info about HWE EOL and LTS HWE in these two links:

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/1204_HWE_EOL

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/LTSEnablementStack

Please post the output of these three commands so we can be sure my best guess is correct and also to see what, if any, PPA's you may be using:


lsb_release -a


cat /etc/apt/sources.list


ls /etc/apt/sources.list.d

[8LfOM1R0]

root@Computer-1A:/home/alex# lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description: Ubuntu 12.04.5 LTS
Release: 12.04
Codename: precise

alex@Computer-1A:~$ cat /etc/apt/sources.list
# deb cdrom:[Ubuntu 12.04.3 LTS _Precise Pangolin_ - Release amd64 (20130820.1)]/ dists/precise/main/binary-i386/

# deb cdrom:[Ubuntu 12.04.3 LTS _Precise Pangolin_ - Release amd64 (20130820.1)]/ dists/precise/restricted/binary-i386/
# deb cdrom:[Ubuntu 12.04.3 LTS _Precise Pangolin_ - Release amd64 (20130820.1)]/ precise main restricted

# See http://help.ubuntu.com/community/UpgradeNotes for how to upgrade to
# newer versions of the distribution.
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise main restricted
deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise main restricted

## Major bug fix updates produced after the final release of the
## distribution.
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates main restricted
deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates main restricted

## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu
## team. Also, please note that software in universe WILL NOT receive any
## review or updates from the Ubuntu security team.
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise universe
deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise universe
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates universe
deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates universe

## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu
## team, and may not be under a free licence. Please satisfy yourself as to
## your rights to use the software. Also, please note that software in
## multiverse WILL NOT receive any review or updates from the Ubuntu
## security team.
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise multiverse
deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise multiverse
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates multiverse
deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates multiverse

## N.B. software from this repository may not have been tested as
## extensively as that contained in the main release, although it includes
## newer versions of some applications which may provide useful features.
## Also, please note that software in backports WILL NOT receive any review
## or updates from the Ubuntu security team.
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-backports main restricted universe multiverse
deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-backports main restricted universe multiverse

deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security main restricted
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security main restricted
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security universe
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security universe
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security multiverse
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security multiverse

## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from Canonical's
## 'partner' repository.
## This software is not part of Ubuntu, but is offered by Canonical and the
## respective vendors as a service to Ubuntu users.
# deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu precise partner
# deb-src http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu precise partner

## This software is not part of Ubuntu, but is offered by third-party
## developers who want to ship their latest software.
deb http://extras.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise main
deb-src http://extras.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise main

alex@Computer-1A:~$ ls /etc/apt/sources.list.d
google-chrome.list skunk-pepper-flash-precise.list
google-chrome.list.distUpgrade skunk-pepper-flash-precise.list.distUpgrade
google-chrome.list.save


Apologies for the formatting.

[kansasnoob]

Sorry for the long delay but I've been away from the desk due to health reasons. That info verifies what I thought about the existing OS and the upgrade path.

My best guess is that some package(s) installed from a source other than the Ubuntu repos is causing a conflict. It looks like you have two PPA's installed:


alex@Computer-1A:~$ ls /etc/apt/sources.list.d
google-chrome.list skunk-pepper-flash-precise.list
google-chrome.list.distUpgrade skunk-pepper-flash-precise.list.distUpgrade
google-chrome.list.save

If you can narrow that down to the specific PPA sources you may be able to use 'ppa-purge' to try and get rid of the troublesome packages. My head's not up to the challenge ATM :(

[8LfOM1R0]

Thank you Kansasnoob,

I myself don't have the time to work on this at the moment. I was hoping for a Guru quickfix from the Ubuntu community.

Get well soon ;)

[kansasnoob]

I'll give you another bump in hopes that someone else has an idea. My brain is still kind of scrambled but I wonder if there is anything in /var/log/dist-upgrade? I'm not sure if the release upgrader even produces any logs when it determines it can't proceed????

[ian-weisser]

There's no secret guru-fix.
Kansasnoob is right.

If you don't know what is causing the conflict, then uninstall ALL your PPA software. You can't use it 12.04 PPAs on 14.04 anyway.
Your best chance for a successful upgrade is to get rid of all non-Ubuntu software (including PPAs); they are what cause most of the problems.
You can reinstall them after a successful upgrade.

[8LfOM1R0]

My /var/log/dist-upgrade directory contains the following:

20140911-1525 apt.log main.log
apt-clone_system_state.tar.gz lspci.txt term.log

20140911-1525 is a directory containing the following files:
apt.log main.log term.log

And for apt-clone_system_state.tar.gz:

root@Computer-1A:/var/log/dist-upgrade# tar -xvzf apt-clone_system_state.tar.gz
./var/lib/apt-clone/uname
./var/lib/apt-clone/installed.pkgs
./var/lib/apt-clone/extended_states
./etc/apt/sources.list
./etc/apt/sources.list.d/
./etc/apt/sources.list.d/skunk-pepper-flash-precise.list
./etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list
./etc/apt/preferences.d/
./etc/apt/trusted.gpg
./etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/
./etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/jockey-drivers.gpg~
./etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/jockey-drivers.gpg
./var/lib/apt-clone/dpkg-status

Unfortunately, I am an administration novice - something I hope to fix with some quality study materials and a good dose of time. I do not therefore have an idea as to which log you would like me to display to you.

[ian-weisser]

Since the upgrade was cancelled (good decision!), there may not be a useful log.

[8LfOM1R0]

As I didn't need any of the ppa's in /etc/apt/sources.list.d I removed everything in the directory.
The aforementioned installation problem still occurs.
I have tried to purge everything on the system with sudo ppa-purge:* but the command line doesn't give any output, just a flashing cursor.
There is nothing on this system I need now so I am prepared to take any measures to get my new installation.
I await replies, thanks.

[Bashing-om]

alexander49; Hello;

Let's take a look and make sure the package manager is in a consistent state at this time:

Post back the outputs of terminal commands:


sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
sudo lshw -C display


Then we see what is that next step.



my bit to try and help

[ian-weisser]

It's often not enough to merely disable the PPA sources.
The conflicting packages are still installed.
Disabling or removing the PPA merely ensures that they won't be upgraded.

[8LfOM1R0]

alex@Computer-1A:~/Desktop$ sudo apt-get update
[sudo] password for alex:
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise Release.gpg
Get:1 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-updates Release.gpg [198 B]
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-backports Release.gpg
Get:2 http://security.ubuntu.com precise-security Release.gpg [198 B]
Hit http://extras.ubuntu.com precise Release.gpg
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise Release
Get:3 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-updates Release [98.7 kB]
Get:4 http://security.ubuntu.com precise-security Release [50.7 kB]
Hit http://extras.ubuntu.com precise Release
Hit http://extras.ubuntu.com precise/main Sources
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-backports Release
Get:5 http://security.ubuntu.com precise-security/main Sources [110 kB]
Hit http://extras.ubuntu.com precise/main amd64 Packages
Hit http://extras.ubuntu.com precise/main i386 Packages
Ign http://extras.ubuntu.com precise/main TranslationIndex
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise/main Sources
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise/restricted Sources
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise/universe Sources
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise/multiverse Sources
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise/main amd64 Packages
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise/restricted amd64 Packages
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise/universe amd64 Packages
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise/multiverse amd64 Packages
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise/main i386 Packages
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise/restricted i386 Packages
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise/universe i386 Packages
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise/multiverse i386 Packages
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise/main TranslationIndex
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise/multiverse TranslationIndex
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise/restricted TranslationIndex
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise/universe TranslationIndex
Get:6 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-updates/main Sources [478 kB]
Ign http://extras.ubuntu.com precise/main Translation-en_GB
Get:7 http://security.ubuntu.com precise-security/restricted Sources [2,494 B]
Get:8 http://security.ubuntu.com precise-security/universe Sources [32.7 kB]
Ign http://extras.ubuntu.com precise/main Translation-en
Get:9 http://security.ubuntu.com precise-security/multiverse Sources [1,785 B]
Get:10 http://security.ubuntu.com precise-security/main amd64 Packages [425 kB]
Get:11 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-updates/restricted Sources [8,056 B]
Get:12 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-updates/universe Sources [110 kB]
Get:13 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-updates/multiverse Sources [8,886 B]
Get:14 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-updates/main amd64 Packages [836 kB]
Get:15 http://security.ubuntu.com precise-security/restricted amd64 Packages [4,627 B]
Get:16 http://security.ubuntu.com precise-security/universe amd64 Packages [97.9 kB]
Get:17 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-updates/restricted amd64 Packages [13.7 kB]
Get:18 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-updates/universe amd64 Packages [248 kB]
Get:19 http://security.ubuntu.com precise-security/multiverse amd64 Packages [2,447 B]
Get:20 http://security.ubuntu.com precise-security/main i386 Packages [457 kB]
Get:21 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-updates/multiverse amd64 Packages [15.3 kB]
Get:22 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-updates/main i386 Packages [867 kB]
Get:23 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-updates/restricted i386 Packages [13.7 kB]
Get:24 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-updates/universe i386 Packages [255 kB]
Get:25 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-updates/multiverse i386 Packages [15.5 kB]
Get:26 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-updates/main TranslationIndex [3,564 B]
Get:27 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-updates/multiverse TranslationIndex [2,605 B]
Get:28 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-updates/restricted TranslationIndex [2,461 B]
Get:29 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-updates/universe TranslationIndex [2,850 B]
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-backports/main Sources
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-backports/restricted Sources
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-backports/universe Sources
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-backports/multiverse Sources
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-backports/main amd64 Packages
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-backports/restricted amd64 Packages
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-backports/universe amd64 Packages
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-backports/multiverse amd64 Packages
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-backports/main i386 Packages
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-backports/restricted i386 Packages
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-backports/universe i386 Packages
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-backports/multiverse i386 Packages
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-backports/main TranslationIndex
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-backports/multiverse TranslationIndex
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-backports/restricted TranslationIndex
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-backports/universe TranslationIndex
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise/main Translation-en_GB
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise/main Translation-en
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise/multiverse Translation-en_GB
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise/multiverse Translation-en
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise/restricted Translation-en_GB
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise/restricted Translation-en
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise/universe Translation-en_GB
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise/universe Translation-en
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-updates/main Translation-en_GB
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-updates/main Translation-en
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-updates/multiverse Translation-en_GB
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-updates/multiverse Translation-en
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-updates/restricted Translation-en_GB
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-updates/restricted Translation-en
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-updates/universe Translation-en_GB
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-updates/universe Translation-en
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-backports/main Translation-en
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-backports/multiverse Translation-en
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-backports/restricted Translation-en
Hit http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com precise-backports/universe Translation-en
Get:30 http://security.ubuntu.com precise-security/restricted i386 Packages [4,620 B]
Get:31 http://security.ubuntu.com precise-security/universe i386 Packages [104 kB]
Get:32 http://security.ubuntu.com precise-security/multiverse i386 Packages [2,638 B]
Get:33 http://security.ubuntu.com precise-security/main TranslationIndex [74 B]
Get:34 http://security.ubuntu.com precise-security/multiverse TranslationIndex [72 B]
Get:35 http://security.ubuntu.com precise-security/restricted TranslationIndex [72 B]
Get:36 http://security.ubuntu.com precise-security/universe TranslationIndex [73 B]
Hit http://security.ubuntu.com precise-security/main Translation-en
Hit http://security.ubuntu.com precise-security/multiverse Translation-en
Hit http://security.ubuntu.com precise-security/restricted Translation-en
Hit http://security.ubuntu.com precise-security/universe Translation-en
Fetched 4,276 kB in 9s (431 kB/s)
Reading package lists... Done
alex@Computer-1A:~/Desktop$

[8LfOM1R0]

alex@Computer-1A:~/Desktop$ sudo apt-get upgrade
[sudo] password for alex:
Sorry, try again.
[sudo] password for alex:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
The following packages will be upgraded:
bash
1 to upgrade, 0 to newly install, 0 to remove and 0 not to upgrade.
Need to get 641 kB of archives.
After this operation, 0 B of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue [Y/n]? y
Get:1 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates/main bash amd64 4.2-2ubuntu2.3 [641 kB]
Fetched 641 kB in 1s (455 kB/s)
(Reading database ... 521855 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to replace bash 4.2-2ubuntu2.2 (using .../bash_4.2-2ubuntu2.3_amd64.deb) ...
Unpacking replacement bash ...
Processing triggers for man-db ...
Setting up bash (4.2-2ubuntu2.3) ...
update-alternatives: using /usr/share/man/man7/bash-builtins.7.gz to provide /usr/share/man/man7/builtins.7.gz (builtins.7.gz) in auto mode.
alex@Computer-1A:~/Desktop$

[8LfOM1R0]

alex@Computer-1A:~/Desktop$ sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
[sudo] password for alex:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Calculating upgrade... Done
0 to upgrade, 0 to newly install, 0 to remove and 0 not to upgrade.
alex@Computer-1A:~/Desktop$

[8LfOM1R0]

root@Computer-1A:/home/alex/Desktop# lshw -C display
*-display
description: VGA compatible controller
product: 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 2
bus info: pci@0000:00:02.0
version: 09
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: msi pm vga_controller bus_master cap_list rom
configuration: driver=i915 latency=0
resources: irq:44 memory:f0000000-f03fffff memory:e0000000-efffffff ioport:4000(size=64)

[8LfOM1R0]

I submitted the above 4 posts separately because earlier I posed the output of the four commands as one post and it seems to have disapeared.

[ian-weisser]

There is nothing on this system I need now so I am prepared to take any measures to get my new installation.

Thanks for the outputs that Bashing-om requested.
They are lengthy, but they do help to identify a lot of problems.

The package manager seems in good shape.

I see two options for you:
1) Upgrade from 12.04 to 14.04
2) Install fresh 14.04

The former may still have those pesky PPA conflicts, but the process will show you a lot about how your system works.
The latter is much faster.

Your system, your choice.

[8LfOM1R0]

I would prefer to upgrade for the education.

[ian-weisser]

If you recall any specific applications or packages you installed from PPA, uninstall them.
Those still-installed PPA packages cause most upgrade failures.

Try to return your system package state as close to out-of-the-box as you can get.
That will significantly increase your chance of a successful version upgrade.

Next time you try to upgrade, look for any specific package names in the error messages.