This is your actual problem, the 8812au dkms package you installed is not compatible with your kernel version…. All the rest is just fallout if this particular error
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Can one module cause the initrd to be corrupted in such a way? I’d have thought that there won’t be network connectivity in the initrd but it should otherwise work.
BTW, maybe some ubuntu-drivers incantations are in order? Since I have no use for it, I can only guess:
sudo ubuntu-drivers install
which, I reckon, should install/upgrade proprietary drivers and/or just pull in the correct DKMS package, like rtl8812au-dkms. If the latter is already installed and up-to-date, it’s probably a bug worth reporting. Unless you have installed it from some 3rd party, @anmac1789.
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from:
(which seems to be the very last upload to the archive for rtl8812au-dkms)
rtl8812au (4.3.8.12175.20140902+dfsg-0ubuntu23.1) noble; urgency=medium
* Support Linux 6.14 (LP: #2111353)
- debian/patches/6.14-kernel-compatibility.patch
-- John Cabaj <john.cabaj@canonical.com> Tue, 20 May 2025 10:47:36 -0500
rtl8812au (4.3.8.12175.20140902+dfsg-0ubuntu23) noble; urgency=medium
* Support Linux 6.8 (LP: #2063820)
-- Paolo Pisati <paolo.pisati@canonical.com> Fri, 26 Apr 2024 10:15:32 +0000
There is no support for any kernels newer than 6.14 …
The package also does not seem to be in any release later than noble:
https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/rtl8812au
So I doubt ubuntu-drivers would offer it in 25.10 
It seems to be a leftover from a former release that was not catched by update-manager when doing a release upgrade (I guess when moving on from 24.04 to 24.10 )
A bug should be filed against update-manager to make sure 24.04 → 26.04 upgrades will properly remove that package …
Most likely not, but having half installed packages (whose contents are fed into the initrd) can I guess …
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Might have to sudo dkms remove 8812au/5.6.4.2_35491.20191025 and then try the kernel install again
2 Likes
yeah I should have not clicked upgrade right away without first updating all packages first
How do I go back in time ?
I don’t know I’m just running commands from what i’ve been told lol
So, your saying my wifi driver corrupted the kernel ? I didn’t install 8812au recently, I needed to get that to get my wifi working
for my wifi driver I did have to get it from github it wasn’t available in the package repository. Should I run that command though ? My wifi is TP-Link Wireless Nano USB Adapter
initially i had 20.04 and I didn’t want to keep offloading files and installing new ubuntu versions and then putting back those files. So i opted for release upgrades and when upgrading to 26.04 this is when I encountered the /boot and VFS error
which commands shall I re-run ?
Run the command I posted as that should fix one issue and then go into Software Updater and see if that kernel will install
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There are probably older log entries, perhaps they got rotated out of the way; see if there are more files in /var/log/apt, like history.log.1.gz, for instance — they can be read directly with commands like zless and zcat. But maybe hold off on that; see if just reinstalling and regenerating the initrd fixed the issue after removing the 8812au DKMS module.
Just not quite in the right order. Otherwise the reinstall action should have shown in the logs and the exit/error message.
It’s probably obsolete. Usually when DKMS modules disappear, they got replaced by proper upstream kernel modules, which seems to be the case here as well:
$ apt-file search 8812au
...
linux-modules-7.0.0-22-generic: /usr/lib/modules/7.0.0-22-generic/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/realtek/rtw88/rtw88_8812au.ko.zst
Best get rid of it now; it’s obsolete.
The ultimate cause seems to be a tainted system due to that 3rd party driver. It wasn’t update-manager’s fault, for it can only deal with official packages.
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Right, I was indeed assuming that the dkms module from the archive is used…
oh no, I havent done anything advanced like that.
updating and upgrading right now
it generated an error
Summary:
Upgrading: 0, Installing: 3, Removing: 0, Not Upgrading: 0
Download size: 18.6 MB
Space needed: 123 MB / 80.7 GB available
Continue? [Y/n] y
Get:1 http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu questing-updates/main amd64 linux-headers-6.17.0-35 all 6.17.0-35.35 [14.5 MB]
Get:2 http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu questing-updates/main amd64 linux-headers-6.17.0-35-generic amd64 6.17.0-35.35 [4,064 kB]
Get:3 http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu questing-updates/main amd64 linux-headers-generic amd64 6.17.0-35.35 [12.1 kB]
Fetched 18.6 MB in 2s (11.2 MB/s)
Selecting previously unselected package linux-headers-6.17.0-35.
(Reading database ... 223140 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack .../linux-headers-6.17.0-35_6.17.0-35.35_all.deb ...
Unpacking linux-headers-6.17.0-35 (6.17.0-35.35) ...
Selecting previously unselected package linux-headers-6.17.0-35-generic.
Preparing to unpack .../linux-headers-6.17.0-35-generic_6.17.0-35.35_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking linux-headers-6.17.0-35-generic (6.17.0-35.35) ...
Selecting previously unselected package linux-headers-generic.
Preparing to unpack .../linux-headers-generic_6.17.0-35.35_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking linux-headers-generic (6.17.0-35.35) ...
Setting up linux-headers-6.17.0-35 (6.17.0-35.35) ...
Setting up linux-headers-6.17.0-35-generic (6.17.0-35.35) ...
/etc/kernel/header_postinst.d/dkms:
Sign command: /usr/bin/kmodsign
Signing key: /var/lib/shim-signed/mok/MOK.priv
Public certificate (MOK): /var/lib/shim-signed/mok/MOK.der
Autoinstall of module 8812au/5.6.4.2_35491.20191025 for kernel 6.17.0-35-generic (x86_64)
Building module(s)...(bad exit status: 2)
Failed command:
'make' -j8 KVER=6.17.0-35-generic KSRC=/lib/modules/6.17.0-35-generic/build
ERROR (dkms apport): binary package for 8812au: 5.6.4.2_35491.20191025 not found
Error! Bad return status for module build on kernel: 6.17.0-35-generic (x86_64)
Consult /var/lib/dkms/8812au/5.6.4.2_35491.20191025/build/make.log for more information.
Autoinstall of module rtl8821au/5.12.5.2 for kernel 6.17.0-35-generic (x86_64)
Building module(s)...(bad exit status: 2)
Failed command:
kernelver=6.17.0-35-generic ./dkms-make.sh
ERROR (dkms apport): binary package for rtl8821au: 5.12.5.2 not found
Error! Bad return status for module build on kernel: 6.17.0-35-generic (x86_64)
Consult /var/lib/dkms/rtl8821au/5.12.5.2/build/make.log for more information.
Autoinstall on 6.17.0-35-generic failed for module(s) 8812au(10) rtl8821au(10).
Error! One or more modules failed to install during autoinstall.
Refer to previous errors for more information.
run-parts: /etc/kernel/header_postinst.d/dkms exited with return code 1
dpkg: error processing package linux-headers-6.17.0-35-generic (--configure):
installed linux-headers-6.17.0-35-generic package post-installation script subprocess returned error exit status 1
dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of linux-headers-generic:
linux-headers-generic depends on linux-headers-6.17.0-35-generic; however:
Package linux-headers-6.17.0-35-generic is not configured yet.
dpkg: error processing package linux-headers-generic (--configure):
dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
No apport report written because the error message indicates its a followup error from a previous failure.
Errors were encountered while processing:
linux-headers-6.17.0-35-generic
linux-headers-generic
Error: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)
The output for removing 8812au reported error:
azeem@azeem-desktop:~$ sudo dkms remove 8812au/5.6.4.2_35491.20191025
Module 8812au/5.6.4.2_35491.20191025 is not installed for kernel 6.17.0-19-generic (x86_64). Skipping...
Module 8812au/5.6.4.2_35491.20191025 is not built for kernel 6.17.0-19-generic (x86_64). Skipping...
This is not an error, it just tells you what it does during operation… for that kernel version the build and install actions didn’t finish before so there is no need to clean them up which is why it did skip these actions
Try the apt commands again after the removal of the dkms module
2 Likes
i ran sudo do-release upgrade and the output was
azeem@azeem-desktop:~$ sudo do-release-upgrade
Checking for a new Ubuntu release
= Welcome to Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 'Resolute Raccoon' =
The Ubuntu team is proud to announce Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 'Resolute Raccoon'.
To see what's new in this release, visit:
https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/resolute-raccoon-release-notes
Ubuntu is a Linux distribution for your desktop or server. It is fast
and easy to install, it has regular releases, a tight selection of
excellent applications installed by default, and almost any other
software you can imagine available through the network.
We hope you enjoy Ubuntu.
== Feedback and helping ==
To help shape Ubuntu, look at the list of ways to participate at:
https://documentation.ubuntu.com/project/community/contribute/
Your comments, bug reports, patches, and suggestions help ensure our
next release is the best release of Ubuntu ever. If you found a bug,
please read:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs
Then report bugs using apport in Ubuntu. For example:
ubuntu-bug linux
opens a bug report in Launchpad regarding the linux package.
If you have a question, or if you think you may have found a bug but aren't
sure, reach out on one of the communication channels. Matrix is the go-to
for instant chatting, while Discourse is the home to our support forum.
Otherwise, send an email to the Ubuntu Users mailing list:
https://documentation.ubuntu.com/project/community/contributors/matrix/
https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/welcome-to-support-and-help
https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-users
== More information ==
You can find out more about Ubuntu on the Ubuntu website and in Ubuntu
Project documentation:
https://ubuntu.com/
https://documentation.ubuntu.com/project/
To sign up for future Ubuntu announcements, subscribe to Ubuntu's very
low-volume announcement list:
https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-announce
Continue [yN] y
Get:1 Upgrade tool signature [833 B]
Get:2 Upgrade tool [950 kB]
Fetched 951 kB in 0s (0 B/s)
/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/DistUpgrade/DistUpgradeFetcherCore.py:176: Warning: W:Download is performed unsandboxed as root as file 'resolute.tar.gz.gpg' couldn't be accessed by user '_apt'. - pkgAcquire::Run (13: Permission denied)
result = fetcher.run()
authenticate 'resolute.tar.gz' against 'resolute.tar.gz.gpg'
extracting 'resolute.tar.gz'
[screen is terminating]
this also failed
azeem@azeem-desktop:~$ apt upgrade --update
Error: Could not open lock file /var/lib/apt/lists/lock - open (13: Permission denied)
Error: Unable to lock directory /var/lib/apt/lists/
Warning: Problem unlinking the file /var/cache/apt/pkgcache.bin - RemoveCaches (13: Permission denied)
Warning: Problem unlinking the file /var/cache/apt/srcpkgcache.bin - RemoveCaches (13: Permission denied)
here is my /boot folder
Sorry, my bad, that needs to be run with superuser privileges, so make that:
sudo apt upgrade
(the --update just saves a sudo apt update call; your APT cache should be plenty up-to-date by now )
If and when that returns without error, you should then also run
sudo apt full-upgrade
I doubt it will do anything much different, so long as your package sources are still pointing to the Ubuntu 25.10 repository, but it can’t hurt to be extra sure that everything that can be done has been done prior to the release upgrade. If there are any errors, don’t even bother with do-release-upgrade — (not so) deep down under the hood it’s just a glorified apt, he said, tongue in cheek.
As an aside, there is no such tool in plain upstream Debian. One just follows the upgrade instructions in the docs of the respective release, switches the APT package sources to the codename of the new release and then just sudo apt full-upgrade; and that is why APT is so cool. 
[1]
do-release-upgrade just eases the hassle involved when doing it “old school”, so no sudo apt upgrade means no release upgrade, period. You can’t have the latter without the former succeeding and a squeaky clean bill of health of the package management system.
That is not a fatal error; just a warning. The interesting part was in that screen session:
The logs of that should be in /var/log/dist-upgrade.
apt moo↩︎
it doesn’t show any errors on terminal: Here is the output
azeem@azeem-desktop:~$ sudo apt update
[sudo: authenticate] Password:
Hit:1 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu questing-security InRelease
Hit:2 http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu questing InRelease
Hit:3 http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu questing-updates InRelease
Hit:4 http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu questing-backports InRelease
All packages are up to date.
azeem@azeem-desktop:~$ sudo apt upgrade
Summary:
Upgrading: 0, Installing: 0, Removing: 0, Not Upgrading: 0
Which specific log did you need ?
azeem@azeem-desktop:~$ snap warnings
last-occurrence: 2 days ago, at 02:18 EDT
warning: |
snap "desktop-security-center" has bad plugs or slots: ubuntu-pro-control (unknown interface
"ubuntu-pro-control")
what should I do about this ?
There are more .gz files
azeem@azeem-desktop:~$ sudo dkms remove 8812au/5.6.4.2_35491.20191025
[sudo: authenticate] Password:
Module 8812au/5.6.4.2_35491.20191025 is not installed for kernel 6.17.0-19-generic (x86_64). Skipping...
Module 8812au/5.6.4.2_35491.20191025 is not built for kernel 6.17.0-19-generic (x86_64). Skipping...
azeem@azeem-desktop:~$ sudo ubuntu-drivers install
All the available drivers are already installed.
azeem@azeem-desktop:~$ sudo update-initramfs -u -k all
update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-6.17.0-19-generic
Sorry, you didn’t actually run sudo apt full-upgrade according to that log.
The ones with the output of said screen session. do-release-upgrade uses screen sessions and records them. Since I don’t have such logs right now, I cannot say which files to look for. Just open them and take a look.
I don’t even know how that can happen; your system is probably in limbo between old and new. I guess you can check with snap connections desktop-security-center.
Take a look inside them with zless on the terminal or unpack them and use a graphical editor to view them; start with the ones ending in .1.gz for they are the newest of the rotated logs. But they are mostly for forensic purposes by now; if you really want to know what happened when on that fateful kernel upgrade.
That last command sudo update-initramfs -u -k all only updated the initrd of kernel version 6.17.0-19, which suggests to me that you either purged the 6.17.0-35 kernel or that it still doesn’t have an initrd to update; if there is no file, it won’t be updated. In that case you need to force the creation from scratch:
sudo update-initramfs -ck all
A single moudle should normally corrupt the intird. If it’s a DKMS driver, check that it rebuilt correctly after the kernel update. Running sudo ubuntu-drivers install is worth trying, and if the issue persists with the official package, it may be a bug.
I am agree. Moving to the its release is usually the safer choice for long term stability support and newer hardware compatibility. Just test backups and any custom configs before upgrading.
1 Like