Help! Ubuntu Upgrade Disaster

torres-no-tan-magnifico · 19. Oct 2010, 09:18 PM

I have just attempted to upgrade Ubuntu from 10.4 to 10.10, everything was going swimmingly well until I left the room for just a few minutes only to discover on my return that my wife had turned off the wireless router!

The installation upgrade just froze and when I turned the router back on it remained that way. I eventually had to turn the PC off and when I rebooted back into Ubuntu (I have a dual boot system with XP) a statement along the lines of, upgrade failure please consult the administrator, appeared.

The screen was purple with a small white square in the middle and the only thing I recognized was the clock.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

bodis · 19. Oct 2010, 09:25 PM

CAn you still boot into windows? If you can then get unetbooting and burn yourself a bootable USB with ubuntu, boot in and reinstall.

MidnightCowboy · 19. Oct 2010, 10:08 PM

There's lots of threads about failed Ubuntu upgrades but maybe none of them will tell you what you need to know as each set of circumstances seem to be different. As it won't have been overwriting your actual data files, even without a backup I'm assuming there will be a way for you to rescue these even if you then up having to do another install. Ritho and Jojo will be much better placed to answer this properly.

torres-no-tan-magnifico · 19. Oct 2010, 10:30 PM

Thanks MC and bodis,

I have decided to use wubi to download and install Ubuntu even though it says its version 10.4.1, I can always upgrade again later.

Fortunately, I never had anything of worth on Ubuntu (just as well!) as most of the valuable stuff is backed up from my XP installation.

Just waiting on the interminable files to finish downloading while listening to a bit of soothing Plant and Krauss!

Ah the yin and yang of it all!!

Jojoyee · 20. Oct 2010, 02:54 AM

Wanted to try an upgrade and I opted for a fresh install, which I think could be a better choice.

eyeb · 20. Oct 2010, 07:15 AM

you can use wubi with 10.10
download the 10.10 iso and mount it/burn it and wubi is in it, run it from there to install

I'd turn off the internet for this though, seems like it tries to download it again iff you have a connection. but if you have it in cd drive it'll use it if you dont have internet

torres-no-tan-magnifico · 21. Oct 2010, 01:12 PM

I finally gave up with the wubi download as it was taking far too long. utorrent came to my rescue and I was able to download 10.10 very quickly and burn the ISO to a CD.

Everything is as should be and now I must continue on my journey of discovery!

Thank for all your helpful suggestions.

19. Oct 2010, 09:18 PM	#1 (permalink)
torres-no-tan-magnifico Copy Editor Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 622	Help! Ubuntu Upgrade Disaster I have just attempted to upgrade Ubuntu from 10.4 to 10.10, everything was going swimmingly well until I left the room for just a few minutes only to discover on my return that my wife had turned off the wireless router! The installation upgrade just froze and when I turned the router back on it remained that way. I eventually had to turn the PC off and when I rebooted back into Ubuntu (I have a dual boot system with XP) a statement along the lines of, upgrade failure please consult the administrator, appeared. The screen was purple with a small white square in the middle and the only thing I recognized was the clock. Any help would be greatly appreciated. __________________ Torres-no-tan-magnifico

19. Oct 2010, 10:08 PM	#3 (permalink)
MidnightCowboy Site Manager Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: South American Banana Republic, third bunch from the left Posts: 9,250	There's lots of threads about failed Ubuntu upgrades but maybe none of them will tell you what you need to know as each set of circumstances seem to be different. As it won't have been overwriting your actual data files, even without a backup I'm assuming there will be a way for you to rescue these even if you then up having to do another install. Ritho and Jojo will be much better placed to answer this properly. __________________ Knows nothing and cares even less

19. Oct 2010, 10:30 PM	#4 (permalink)
torres-no-tan-magnifico Copy Editor Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 622	Thanks MC and bodis, I have decided to use wubi to download and install Ubuntu even though it says its version 10.4.1, I can always upgrade again later. Fortunately, I never had anything of worth on Ubuntu (just as well!) as most of the valuable stuff is backed up from my XP installation. Just waiting on the interminable files to finish downloading while listening to a bit of soothing Plant and Krauss! Ah the yin and yang of it all!! __________________ Torres-no-tan-magnifico

20. Oct 2010, 02:54 AM	#5 (permalink)
Jojoyee Maestro di Search Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 4,295	Wanted to try an upgrade and I opted for a fresh install, which I think could be a better choice. __________________ Keep It Short and Sweet

21. Oct 2010, 01:12 PM	#7 (permalink)
torres-no-tan-magnifico Copy Editor Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 622	I finally gave up with the wubi download as it was taking far too long. utorrent came to my rescue and I was able to download 10.10 very quickly and burn the ISO to a CD. Everything is as should be and now I must continue on my journey of discovery! Thank for all your helpful suggestions. __________________ Torres-no-tan-magnifico

19. Oct 2010, 09:25 PM	#2 (permalink)
bodis Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: UK Posts: 173	CAn you still boot into windows? If you can then get unetbooting and burn yourself a bootable USB with ubuntu, boot in and reinstall.

20. Oct 2010, 07:15 AM	#6 (permalink)
eyeb Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Planet X Posts: 487	you can use wubi with 10.10 download the 10.10 iso and mount it/burn it and wubi is in it, run it from there to install I'd turn off the internet for this though, seems like it tries to download it again iff you have a connection. but if you have it in cd drive it'll use it if you dont have internet

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