Tired of Windows

Mint 17.3 "seems" to be doing something a bit new with updates.
When I check each day (yes! I check everyday I'm on my box...)
If nothing,s there I use to go away....But now when I hit refresh I get new updates almost everyday!

Just open update manager and hit refresh....
Is this somehow me or just how Mint is these days?
I also install Everything mint offers in cat.1,2 and 3.
 
Thank you for your response, booman. Hmm, even if the proffered files rate at "3," which isn't totally reliable? I probably interfered with the process by making it more difficult than it had to be.

If you have the time--how important is the Open SSL update that that was offered yesterday? If it's crucial mebbe I can figure out how to get it back. Thank you!
 
How about HTTPS Everywhere from the EFF.org? I used it for years on Firefox under MikroScheisse. They mention nothing about Linux and HTTPS Everywhere, so I decided to ask first to prevent messing up the machine. Thank you!
 
I never even noticed a rating for updates. I just assume they are all important since Mint is willing to add them to the update manager.

These last two weeks I've noticed the update icon has a red "X"
Not sure why.... this is unusual for Mint
But doing the refresh seems to reset it.
 
I don't know how the update process works, tbh. I probably interfered by doing something unnecessary.
The red "x" returns in a minute after "refreshing" it. Maybe this will help? This is from the Information-Update Manager dropdown box:

"Process 2250

03.04@16:40 ++ Launching mintUpdate
03.04@16:40 ++ Starting refresh
03.04@16:40 ++ Initial refresh will happen in 10 minutes, 0 hours and 0 days
03.04@16:40 ++ Found 6 recommended software updates
03.04@16:40 ++ Refresh finished
03.04@16:50 ++ MintUpdate is in tray mode, performing initial refresh
03.04@16:50 ++ Starting refresh (including refreshing the APT cache)
03.04@16:50 ++ Auto-refresh will happen in 0 minutes, 2 hours and 0 days
03.04@16:50 ++ Error in checkAPT.py, could not refresh the list of updates
03.04@17:39 ++ Starting refresh (including refreshing the APT cache)
03.04@17:39 ++ Error in checkAPT.py, could not refresh the list of update" Arrgh, cutting and pasting this file destroyed the original. Oh Duurh.


Another problem that may be closer to the root of the why not updating right issue?

The dpkg.log has a big red "X" above the file itself saying:
"Error when getting information for file '/var/log/mail.log': No such file or directory"

Sorry to be so ignorant, I haven't messed with Linux for about a decade.
Help will really be helpful, thank you!
 
George have you figured out how to take screen shots yet?
Go to accessories in main menu. i find it much easier to get help when I post screen shots of my problem areas.
 
Thank you for the info about Screenshot Daniel~, I'll try it one of these days. I hope someone will help me right what's going wrong referred to two posts back. Thanks again!
 
I've found some things searching about that suggest the problem may be as simple as 'apt-get clean' from the command-line, but since I'm not familiar with Debian distros, I'd hesitate to do that until someone with more knowledge weighs in.
 
Thank you very much Gizmo. I think I better avoid "apt-get" for now, 'cause I've never done it before and don't want to accidentally make things worse.

Dan~, if there's no cable connection how does Roku work? Sorry if I misunderstand your mention of Roku.
 
That disconcerting red "X" still appears on the "shield" in what used to be called the Tray. The "Process 2250" etc message is still there. Sorry to be annoying, yet I'd love some instructions on how to create the missing "var/log/mail/log." Thanks everyone, it'd be great to have a clue here. Please pardon my ignorance.
 
I'm not convinced the /var/log/mail.log file is really the issue, but it's easy enough to create:

sudo touch /var/log/mail.log
 
cloasters said:
"Process 2250

03.04@16:40 ++ Launching mintUpdate
03.04@16:40 ++ Starting refresh
03.04@16:40 ++ Initial refresh will happen in 10 minutes, 0 hours and 0 days
03.04@16:40 ++ Found 6 recommended software updates
03.04@16:40 ++ Refresh finished
03.04@16:50 ++ MintUpdate is in tray mode, performing initial refresh
03.04@16:50 ++ Starting refresh (including refreshing the APT cache)
03.04@16:50 ++ Auto-refresh will happen in 0 minutes, 2 hours and 0 days
03.04@16:50 ++ Error in checkAPT.py, could not refresh the list of updates
03.04@17:39 ++ Starting refresh (including refreshing the APT cache)
03.04@17:39 ++ Error in checkAPT.py, could not refresh the list of update"
Click to expand...

This is what happens on my 3 Mint 17.3 boxes recently...
  • Click Shield with red "X"
  • Update Manager pops up blank
  • Click Refresh
  • Synaptic error pops up
  • Click Close
  • Updates are magically listed
  • Click "Install Updates"
This is not normal for Mint. Updates are usually very quick and simple, so I'm not sure what is going on with Mint 17.3 recently. Eventually the will fix it or you can update to the newest Mint later.
 
Thanks very much for your help, booman and Gizmo! When I right clicked the red "x" and chose "Refresh" (I think) the puppy seemed to update like it should, yaaay!

Hate to be annoying, but should the command I type into Terminal say precisely "sudo touch 'var/log/mail.log' " or is "sudo touch /var/log/mail.log" OK? I'm looking at the ' at the start and end of the file name. I apologize for being annoying.

Oh, and does it actually say "Synaptic error" or should I simply know that it is saying so?

Now when I right click that infamous red "x" and select "Information" I get this:

The "Information-Update Manager" says:"

Process ID: 2330
Log file: /tmp/mint/Update/sFb8c8

03.07@15:07 ++ Launching mintUpdate
03.07@15:07 ++ Starting refresh
03.07@15:07 ++ Initial refresh will happen in 10 minutes, 0 hours and 0 days
03.07@15:07 ++ Found 6 recommended software updates
03.07@15:07 ++ Refresh finished
03.07@15:09 ++ Install requested by user
03.07@15:09 ++ Will install google-chrome-stable
03.07@15:09 ++ Will install ifupdown
03.07@15:09 ++ Will install libjasper1
03.07@15:09 ++ Will install libjasper1:i386
03.07@15:09 ++ Will install libnuma1
03.07@15:09 ++ Will install perl
03.07@15:09 ++ Will install perl-base
03.07@15:09 ++ Will install libperl5.18
03.07@15:09 ++ Will install perl-modules
03.07@15:09 ++ Will install libpixman-1-0
03.07@15:09 ++ Will install libpixman-1-0:i386
03.07@15:09 ++ Ready to launch synaptic

(synaptic:2419): Gtk-CRITICAL **: gtk_widget_hide: assertion 'GTK_IS_WIDGET (widget)' failed
03.07@15:10 ++ Return code:0
03.07@15:10 ++ Install finished
03.07@15:10 ++ Starting refresh
03.07@15:10 ++ System is up to date
03.07@15:10 ++ Refresh finished
03.07@15:17 ++ MintUpdate is in tray mode, performing initial refresh
03.07@15:17 ++ Auto-refresh will happen in 0 minutes, 2 hours and 0 days
03.07@15:17 ++ Starting refresh (including refreshing the APT cache)
03.07@15:17 ++ Error in checkAPT.py, could not refresh the list of updates
03.07@16:14 ++ Starting refresh (including refreshing the APT cache)
03.07@16:14 ++ Error in checkAPT.py, could not refresh the list of updates"

You guys are the best, thank you so much for your help and patience.
 
With or without the quotes is fine. If the path or filename had spaces in it, then the quotes would be important; as it is, not so much.
 
Thanks Gizmo. After typing the command (without the 's), the reply is:
"cannot touch 'var/log/mail.log' : No such file or directory"
It's always something, thanks again.
 
cloasters said:
Thank you very much Gizmo. I think I better avoid "apt-get" for now, 'cause I've never done it before and don't want to accidentally make things worse.

Dan~, if there's no cable connection how does Roku work? Sorry if I misunderstand your mention of Roku.
Click to expand...
Hi George!
Roku connects though just about any broadband connection you might have...including cable,

but you pay far less for movie and tv services through rokua and can get commercial free TV the day after broadcast for about 11 bucks a month without additional cable fees. Ruku offers literally 10's of thousands of web channel as well as many quite sophisticated ones...
Example:
Hulu $11 bucks a month, (cheaper if you can abide commercials)
HBO $16
Stars $8
Amazon prime $100.00 bucks a year
And Pandora commercial free Music service that lets you create your own Music stations...endlessly...":O}
Pandora run $5 buck a month.
and Netflics runs us $11 a month...I think.
Those are my payed subscription channels. In addition thousands of free channel on every subject I've been able top think of! LOL

Beware! Ruku 3 ONLY has a HD connection , So if you don't, look a Roku 2 and roku 4 instead .
Ruku was by far the best money I've spent on entertainment and and just generally nosing about the web in years.":O}
 
Last edited:
booman said:
This is what happens on my 3 Mint 17.3 boxes recently...
  • Click Shield with red "X"
  • Update Manager pops up blank
  • Click Refresh
  • Synaptic error pops up
  • Click Close
  • Updates are magically listed
  • Click "Install Updates"
This is not normal for Mint. Updates are usually very quick and simple, so I'm not sure what is going on with Mint 17.3 recently. Eventually the will fix it or you can update to the newest Mint later.
Click to expand...
Same Same Mint version, and up to date...I'm not seeing this Booman.

But as I mentioned I now have to hit refresh each time manually to get any love from updates.

Strange things are afoot! ":O}
 
Thank you very much for explaining the Roku thang Daniel~, it looks like a great value indeed.
I just returned my HD box, this will save me some money. Unfortunately the picture quality is now so bad that I HAVE to get new glasses. Yet I simply don't watch tv anymore, why I'm not certain. DVD's and Blu-rays, but nobody else's programming.

Now when I right click the red "X" and select "Refresh"- nothing happens. Makes it easier that way, not so smiley face. If I select "Information," the same file under the "Information-Manager appears as it did five posts ago (Monday.) But the dates have been changed to protect the innocent.
Again, it's always something.
 
Have you guys installed Chrome on your Mint systems from the Chrome .deb installer available from Google? This will add a Chrome repo to your system, and recently this repo seems to be unavailable. I encountered this since my mother is running Mint and started seeing issues with her updates. This does not prevent Mint from updating, but it will complain since one repo can't sync.

I do not know why it is unavailable, and I suppose one would have to ask google about that.

In any case, to get more detailed information on why things are not working as they should, open a terminal and type:

Code: 
sudo apt-get update

This is the same as refreshing your list of updates and does not actually install any updates. But running this in terminal should provide a much more detailed explanation of what is going wrong. So run the command until it finishes, and then post the output.
 
'apt-get update' isn't going to tell you much by itself. You'll just see a list of the repos it hit, and what it synced to the repos. You WILL see if hitting a particular repo failed; if that is the case, there is a problem on the server end, not in your box. You can change the repos to other regional servers in /etc/apt/* if you look at the official repo list available from Debian.

If what you want to know is what is to be installed, there are other commands that will be very verbose about what apt-get wants to do.

Run 'apt-get update' first. Then, take a look at 'apt-get dist-upgrade -s'. This will tell you exactly what apt-get wants to upgrade to bring the system up to date, and what it wants to remove [if anything]. The output is quite clear, and will provide version numbers. The '-s' argument is 'simulate', so it won't actually install anything. To perform the installation, run it without the '-s'. To download the needed packages ONLY, but not install them, use '-d'.

Apt-get is very, very smart. It knows what you have installed already, and makes decisions on what is important to update and what sequence to update the packages in.

If you have a problem with a broken package, 'apt-get install -f' will normally fix the issue. This scans your system for dependencies and will resolve any conflicts.

Remember that Synaptic is a GUI front-end for apt-get anyhow, so to learn to use all the options of apt-get at the command line is a *good thing*. There is no reason to be afraid of it. Any command that you use with apt-get can be followed by '-s', so it displays what it wants to do only. Then, you re-run the command without the '-s' if you want to do it.

I learned to update my Sid installs regularly this way. Because Sid is Debian's unstable branch, it would not be possible for me to maintain its moving target using Synaptic. TBH, the way apt-get outputs the information is MUCH more concise and easy to understand than using Synaptic.

The 'Gtk-CRITICAL' output you're getting is related to libgtk; there are ALWAYS a number of open bugs in Linux distros regarding this. You might try searching the bugtracker but sooner or later it will be corrected. It is usually a versioning/dependency problem that showed up after a new libgtk version is released. I see this quite often in Sid and also in Gentoo. Gtk stuff is related to the GUI and themes; using apt-get on the command will take libgtk out of play. Don't forget what I said before, that Synaptic is simply a GUI front end for apt-get.

Here is the apt-get man page:
http://linux.die.net/man/8/apt-get
 
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