Hi all,
A package management function (autoremove) corrupted the bootstrap process of my ubuntu (18.04 LTS). Starting up the next day I got stuck at the login prompt, because the keyboard didn't respond. No password entered, no access. The recovery mode didn't help. "Repair broken packages" failed to read a bunch of "http"s. "Drop to root shell prompt" worked. The keyboard worked (temporarily alas) "update" and "upgrade" fared no better than "Repair...". I believe that with a few appropriate shell commands, the problem could be diagnosed and cured. After all, before GUIs, everything was done with shell commands. Hoping to receive advice on working from the recovery root-shell prompt, I have been directed by dedicated helpers on this forum to an alternative approach: install and start a second system, mount the inaccessible file system and chroot it. Done, this is what "apt-get update" produces:
Err:1 http://ch.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic InRelease
Temporary failure resolving 'ch.archive.ubuntu.com'
Err:2 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security InRelease
Temporary failure resolving 'security.ubuntu.com'
Err:3 https://packagecloud.io/AtomEditor/atom/any any InRelease
Temporary failure resolving 'packagecloud.io'
Err:4 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu bionic InRelease
Temporary failure resolving 'archive.canonical.com'
Err:5 http://ppa.launchpad.net/jonathonf/vim/ubuntu bionic InRelease
Temporary failure resolving 'ppa.launchpad.net'
Err:6 http://ch.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates InRelease
Temporary failure resolving 'ch.archive.ubuntu.com'
Err:7 http://ch.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-backports InRelease
Temporary failure resolving 'ch.archive.ubuntu.com'
Reading package lists... Done
W: Failed to fetch http://ch.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/...onic/InRelease Temporary failure resolving 'ch.archive.ubuntu.com'
W: Failed to fetch http://ch.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/...ates/InRelease Temporary failure resolving 'ch.archive.ubuntu.com'
W: Failed to fetch http://ch.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/...orts/InRelease Temporary failure resolving 'ch.archive.ubuntu.com'
W: Failed to fetch http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/di...rity/InRelease Temporary failure resolving 'security.ubuntu.com'
W: Failed to fetch https://packagecloud.io/AtomEditor/a.../any/InRelease Temporary failure resolving 'packagecloud.io'
W: Failed to fetch http://ppa.launchpad.net/jonathonf/v...onic/InRelease Temporary failure resolving 'ppa.launchpad.net'
W: Failed to fetch http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/...onic/InRelease Temporary failure resolving 'archive.canonical.com'
W: Some index files failed to download. They have been ignored, or old ones used instead.
Despite working in a fully functional environment with Firefox and Thunderbird up and running. An experimental download with "wget" of the first "http" in the above list succeeds.
I now see two solution paths:
1. Diagnose and cure the malfunction at boot time in the recovery-mode root-shell terminal, so that, resuming the boot, the keyboard works by the time the password prompt appears: what diagnostic and remedial commands?
2. Making "apt-get" work on the currently unbootable file system chrooted in the functioning parallel system: what diagnostic and remedial package management commands?
I will gratefully receive any advice, comments, suggestions.
Frederic
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