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Yesterday, for some reason I backed up all my user data on my Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS installation --- my main desktop that I use for daily work.
Today, there was a Kernel update that I installed & ruined my installation.
I have 2 screens running on a NVidia 1660 video card but after the kernel update the drivers wouldn't be recognized. So my screen was at 1024x768  and only 1 screen even worked. Crazy!
I even booted off a USB stick with an only slightly older version of Ubuntu (without those kernel updates) and it all worked fine running from the stick!!!
I wrote it up (to no avail) at AskUbuntu[^].
I wasted over 3 hours trying to get the drivers to work with the new kernel and/or attempting to back up to previous kernel.
Finally I did a complete reinstall of Ubuntu and restored my data. About 1 hour later I was all back working again. Can't really believe I was able to do that so fast.
This kind of catastrophic failure shouldn't happen...but it does.
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Yeah, sadly (even in 2022) Ubuntu specifically (Linux generally) has problems with proprietary video drivers. It reminds me of Windows pre-2005. I blame the use of a monolithic kernel... 
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I have had good luck with the Nouveau drivers, if I do install from Nvidia, I stay one level back. But, I only have one monitor (34"). It has been like forever since I had non-self-inflicted problems. I stay with either Debian or LMDE (Mint based on Debian, not Ubuntu). Ubuntu is based on Debian but your pals at Canonical and Microsoft add the salt and pepper.
>64
Some days the dragon wins. Suck it up.
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Yeah, I almost switched to Mint today, but I wasn't sure if I did an install and then restored from my back up, if all my stuff would be "found".
I had really great luck with the restore back to Ubuntu.
All my apps are ready to go and set up properly again. I'm amazed.
Luckily i did two things that helped a lot:
1. named my computer exactly as it was named before
2. create my user-name exactly as it was before.
All went well.
I'm kind of assuming that if I installed Mint and named computer same and made my user name the same that I'd be able to restore from my Ubuntu backup anyways??? What do you think?
If that would work (since home directory would be really the same) that would be really cool.
It's all Debian anyways. 
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If I was going to try that, I would probably test it on a spare drive. With all the crap that has gone with systemd and such, I would watch out for Murphy. I only have a handful of paid applications and they are easy to install, a factory refresh is easy. I think the use of text files instead of a database (like registry) simplifies things. I have always had good experiences with Mint/mate.
>64
Some days the dragon wins. Suck it up.
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Veeam Agent for Linux is your friend. Community edition is free. Interface is command promptish but works fine. I back up the whole drive to my TrueNAS system. Use backup to recover drive or files.
Lou
>64
Some days the dragon wins. Suck it up.
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In my setup - Fedora, not Ubuntu - I always keep two version back of the kernel (it is a configuration thing, so I do not manage it manually on each update)... So if something went wrong, I can just pick during the boot the previous or the one before...
"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." ― Albert Einstein
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Thank you for the solid idea. I believe I'm going to have to follow that process now too.
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That's the thing with Linux in my experience...it works great...until it doesn't.
Have you tried re-applying that update that screwed everything in the first place?
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dandy72 wrote: That's the thing with Linux in my experience...it works great...until it doesn't.
I agree. I do understand that it is kind of a hobbyist's OS.
But Ubuntu should be a step better than this really.
I saw 3 other kernel versions in GRUB and tried each one of those but none of them would work either.
I really had no idea what I was doing so I could've done something wrong but I just couldn't get it back.
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I would not call it a hobbyist's OS...
It is extremely good at development - I do it on a very serious level all the time...
The 'problem' is that it is way to versatile and de-centralized for it's own good...
So it is very easy to miss settings and get it wrong...
In other word it is definitely not 'out-of-the-box' OS... not even Ubuntu...
"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." ― Albert Einstein
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I agree with you. I think it is far better than the Windows side (and I've been a Windows user since Win3.0). it may have sounded like a hobbyist's OS may have sounded like a derogatory term but it wasn't meant that way. I meant that the user has to expect to work on configuration more than other OSes --- but maybe with the recent Windows updates reverting settings etc. it probably isn't any more of a consumer product. 
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Here's a snapshot of the GRUB kernel choices[^] I had.
I tried each one of them but none of them got me back to a good state.
Even when I tried each one I still had one screen at 1024x768.
I was very confused.
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A couple of comments from a seasoned* Ubuntu LTS user (22.04 currently installed on 7 machines here):
raddevus wrote: Yesterday, for some reason I backed up all my user data
You haven't set up deja-dup to back up your stuff every day in the small hours? I have it running everywhere, some backing up locally to an SD card ("zero slot" option), others to my home server (over ssh, ED25519 keys - no password logon allowed!).
I also have various cron jobs running rsync to replicate stuff in an accessible form around the room.
raddevus wrote: Today, there was a Kernel update that I installed & ruined my installation.
If you have anything within a light-year of the the default GRUB setup, your previous kernel will still be available on the boot menu (which you may have to poke something to see).
Cheers,
Peter
* Many would choose a different term to describe me. 
Software rusts. Simon Stephenson, ca 1994. So does this signature. me, 2012
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Check out this snapshot of my GRUB choices -- I took a picture of the screen[^].
It shows that I had at least 3 options of older kernel versions & I had hoped that running one of those would fix my problem, but none of them did. Each time I would only get one screen at the 1024x768 size.
I couldn't get around it at all and that's why I finally bit the bullet & did a complete reinstall.
Now I'm afraid the kernel update is going to get pushed on me again and I'm wondering what I should do.
Any suggestions you have I will take.
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I've never needed to back out a Ubuntu update, so I'm not sure of the exact procedure.
It probably depends on how you get the updates pushed to you. (I use Canonical's Livepatch.)
The magic word for searching is "blacklist", so something like "blacklist ubuntu module" or "blacklist ubuntu update" should drag the usual suspects out of the ether.
I know you can block things as late as actually loading the kernel, but that potentially leaves a hole in functionality. I've seen that most often used on 3rd party video drivers (why are we not surprised?)
Sorry I can't give you a slick answer.
Cheers,
Peter
Software rusts. Simon Stephenson, ca 1994. So does this signature. me, 2012
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who is an Egyptologist, and who bakes 4500 year old sourdough ... [^]
i feel ... inadequate 
«The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled» Plutarch
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I feel ... hungry.
Fascinating: I'd love to taste it, and some of the "eat like an apple" onions.
Thanks for that, Bill!
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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With perhaps an ancient authentic mead or beer to complement the meal?
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OriginalGriff wrote: I'd love to taste it, and some of the "eat like an apple" onions.
Maybe try some Cipolla rosa di Tropea Italy's red queen: the Tropea onions of Calabria - Great Italian Chefs These were mentioned on an episode of Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy a couple of episodes ago. Though you might have to travel to Tropea to find them. Sigh. The things we have to do for research.
Keep Calm and Carry On
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so would this kid
Kid eats raw onion like it was an apple😂 - YouTube
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason?
Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful?
--Zachris Topelius
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BillWoodruff wrote: who is an Egyptologist, and who bakes 4500 year old sourdough
Hopefully they won't find a well preserved goa'uld 
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That wouldn't be a problem. Richard Dean Anderson, James Spader, and Kurt Russell are all still alive.
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May you last longer than a head of lettuce.
Bye, bye Liz - we hardly knew ya.
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I hope he won't be stuck in the Rishi Maze.
CI/CD = Continuous Impediment/Continuous Despair
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