cannot recover desktop on debian squeeze

[GarryRicketson]

Don't pay any attention to the trolls and stuff like this:

Sarge-in-charge » Abandon all hope. You are not running a reputable operating system like Windows XP, you are running Debian and you ARE SHORT OF LUCK.

If need be the posts will be removed.
---------------------------------------------
Any way, "stevepusser " is very good at solving these kind of things, there may be a way to
"fix" it , restore you system back to what it was,..in fact probably there is a way. This is one of
many good things about Debian, it is remarkably "repairable", if you are willing to stick with it
and follow the instructions, post the output of some commands, when asked too,as well as details,
this probably is repairable.

[Alder8]

Hello everyone, thanks for your replies. I was only shouting because my thread was being hijacked. I appreciate it's annoying to get shouted at but so is having your thread hijacked...

To the point: I used nano to edit the /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc file but still no luck. I get the error message "usr/bin/X: error while loading shared libraries: libbz2.so.1.0: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory:". I also tried to export the display as per the original archlinux post but no luck.

I then tried to install the ldxe-core but I get the message that the following packages have unmet dependencies:
ldxe-core: Depends ldxe-common but it is not going to be installed
Depends lxpanel but it is not going to be installed
open box...
pcmanfm...
gksu
lxsession
xscreensaver...

How do I go back to find out which updates where getting installed at the time?

[thanatos_incarnate]

I was only shouting because my thread was being hijacked.

Jeez! It went a bit off topic. Drama queen!

How do I go back to find out which updates where getting installed at the time?

Do this at a command prompt:

Code: Select all

less /var/log/apt/history.log

You can navigate with the arrow keys. It's neatly presented by date.
Go to the last entries quickly by pressing the END button.

[Alder8]

A drama queen?! Me? Well, maybe, I say maybe, I was overracting a bit...

There's absolutely nothing in my /var/log/apt/history.log. I tried the command that you said and I also tried opening the file with nano editor. Nano editor says 0 lines. Same for /var/log/apt/term.log. Am I doing something wrong here?

[arochester]

Maybe other people can still suggest a positive way to deal with this.

... At this point I would be looking at using a LiveCD to copy my stuff off to an external hard drive, doing a new clean install of Jessie and putting my stuff back on...

[Alder8]

Hi arochester,

I think you're right, there doesn't seem to be much point pressing on with a broken system... I'll try puppy linux to recover my data and do a fresh install of a light distro as this is a very old laptop due to be retired soon... Which *light* distro would you recommend for a 10-year-old computer?

[arochester]

Debian?

Article a bit old, but still worthy. Again, go for lxde-core instead of lxde. Build what you want... https://www.maketecheasier.com/build-li ... end-laptop

Even more basic, but it works...https://saidkhorramshahgol.wordpress.co ... tallation/

[Head_on_a_Stick]

I then tried to install the ldxe-core but I get the message that the following packages have unmet dependencies:
ldxe-core: Depends ldxe-common but it is not going to be installed
Depends lxpanel but it is not going to be installed
open box...
pcmanfm...
gksu
lxsession
xscreensaver...

Have you been adding Testing/Unstable repositories or Ubuntu PPAs to your sources.list?

Read the bottom link in my signature to get some clues as to what may have b0rked your system (in the interest of not making the same mistake again).

[Alder8]

Have you been adding Testing/Unstable repositories or Ubuntu PPAs to your sources.list?

Read the bottom link in my signature to get some clues as to what may have b0rked your system (in the interest of not making the same mistake again).

Yes, I have been... The only thing I can say is that the system has performed admirably stably for the entirety of the time (over three years) I've been using it and only crashed during the last round of updates. I'll read the link you suggest carefully to avoid future issues.

[Alder8]

Debian?

Article a bit old, but still worthy. Again, go for lxde-core instead of lxde. Build what you want... https://www.maketecheasier.com/build-li ... end-laptop

Even more basic, but it works...https://saidkhorramshahgol.wordpress.co ... tallation/

Thanks for the suggestions, arochester!

[Head_on_a_Stick]

Yes, I have been...

Busted!


Would you mind posting your /etc/apt/sources.list as a warning for other Debian users?

[Alder8]

I'll try to but not sure how to export the file to the other computer I'm currently using...

[Head_on_a_Stick]

not sure how to export the file to the other computer I'm currently using

Can you browse the main system drive from a live distribution and post it from there?

[thanatos_incarnate]

Maybe other people can still suggest a positive way to deal with this.

Have you been adding Testing/Unstable repositories or Ubuntu PPAs to your sources.list?

Yes, I have been...

I'm out.

[golinux]

Jeeseh . . . I asked to see the OP's sources list on page one and s/he didn't respond. Guess the concept that mixing repos is not-a-good-thing finally got through his/her thick skull. Better late than never . . .