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gaining / Resetter

The easiest way to reset your debian or ubuntu based linux back to stock
GNU General Public License v3.0
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Resetting failed after the uninstall of packages and now I don't have any drivers #112

Open nvn-nil opened 3 years ago

nvn-nil commented 3 years ago

Resetting failed after the uninstall of packages and now I don't have any drivers

Linux Distro and version: Ubuntu 18.04

Version of Resetter: 3.0.0

Description of Issue Today I tried to reset my Ubuntu 18.04 using Automatic reset and the operation failed after all the packages were removed and before the package installations started.

I remember getting a message about running something like "Open terminal to run sudo bash path/to/data/scripts/fix-broken.sh and then click 'Yes'". I tried that but the command failed saying file doesn't exist so I browse to https://github.com/gaining/Resetter/blob/master/Resetter/usr/lib/resetter/data/scripts/fix-broken.sh and run all the commands in it as sudo and clicked 'Yes'.

Nothing happened after that (waiting for like 5-10 minutes) and now I have no internet access. I rebooted my system and I get a login shell without internet.

Is there some way to reinstall internet drivers and to trigger the package installation process of resetter (and do it via cli)? Is there anything at all that can be done here to salvage the situation?

nvn-nil commented 3 years ago

This box is an old HP laptop which I was using as a local server for CI/CD, remote docker daemon, etc. Few weeks ago the monitor died and I didn't bother to get that fixed because I'm used to SSHing into the box. I also have a second monitor connected to this one for when I really needed a gui.

I was initially going to reinstall 20.04 but the second monitor doesn't work unless I'm past all the BIOS (Boot menu, grub, etc - you get the point) stuff and I couldn't guess my way into the live ubuntu. It was then that I googled for a way to reset (which for me was good enough) and that is how I ended up in this predicament.

The last resort is to take the hard disk out, install ubuntu into it and plug it back in. That has it's own set of issues though but I'm hoping the internet would work and then I can fix this.

nvn-nil commented 3 years ago

@gaining Is there a way to use Resetter from the CLI assuming I can get the internet driver issue fixed?

nvn-nil commented 3 years ago

I connected a usb wifi dongle and connected to an open wireless network using the shell (couldn't connect to a password protected wifi, I think that requires extra libs I cannot download without internet) and managed to get internet access. Installed a desktop environment and got a gui.

I feel like fixing this is still gonna be a PITA and I've decided to get my display fixed and then reinstall ubuntu. I know I should've just done that in the first place.

Just take a backup and reinstall your OS instead of Resetting it. Or you should have a reason you cannot reinstall ubuntu. Anyway know that using this tool is risky and you should be mentally prepared in case something goes wrong.

erprash16 commented 3 years ago

I have exactly the same issue. How to fix it. Please help.

nvn-nil commented 3 years ago

There's no fixing this, unfortunately. The beginning of my last comment has a way to get you started with undoing this mess.

Do a fresh install after you back up your files.

BTW I'm not a maintainer so I don't know if there's a solution to this.

This issue is still open only so new users will know there is a risk of this happening (with zero help) and can make an informed decision.