Stuck at boot after upgrade to 24.04

After the update it wont boot anymore. The Kubuntu sign shows and that is it. Not even the boot repair option works.

I have updated from (Kubuntu) 22.04 in the console because at first it did not work until I learned that the Vivaldi repository blocked the update. Since I had tried to update in the console already I have used that command again because it was faster (but I do not remember which one it was).

Someone in the Kubuntu forum told me to hit “E” in the boot menu to edit the kernel call command and remove the word “splash” from the sting inside the quotes and then to hit F10 to try booting with that.

The boot stopped with following message:
/sbin/init: error while loading shared libraries: libcrypto.so.3: cannot open shared object file: no such file or directory. Kernel panic - not synced. Attempted to kill init! Exitcode = 0x00007F0. CPU 2 pid: 1comm: init tainted P OE 5.15.0-131-generic #141-ubuntu

Since I cannot boot into anything of Kubuntu anymore I have problems giving more info.

I could boot from an image if there is a way to fix my Kubuntu installation from there.

Welcome to Ubuntu Discourse :slight_smile:

Without knowing which command(s) you ran in the terminal it could be difficult to analyze what went wrong.

However, there are some clues:

the Vivaldi repository blocked the update

If you had used the safe and recommended upgrade path that should not have happened.

See here for more on the subject:
https://documentation.ubuntu.com/server/how-to/software/upgrade-your-release/index.html

  • Third-party software repositories and personal package archives (PPAs) are disabled during the upgrade. However, any software installed from these repositories is not removed or downgraded. Software installed from these repositories is the most common cause of upgrade issues.

The error message you see suggests that the system is missing libcrypto.so.3, which is part of OpenSSL. This might have been removed or broken during the upgrade.

But, this might not be the only issue, we just don’t know right now.

Important: do you have solid backups of important data?

I have been searching for the command again and I believe it was:

sudo do-release-upgrade -d

I have found libcrypto.so.3 several times though:

/usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/
/var/lib/flatpak/runtime/org.freedesktop.Platform.Compat.i386/x86_64/23.08/268dba3d13a468fea0102b162915784536df0877a6ebca2667bf440aa0a7bea1/files/
/var/lib/flatpak/runtime/org.gnome.Platform/x86_64/46/188683dc86d530dd1547f14ee37dec1ac6e091c8455d6fbc3a166f600fe6bea4/files/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/
/var/lib/flatpak/runtime/org.freedesktop.Platform/x86_64/23.08/f35d1c6a3c62675d2c546601f48d65c8936b3f12ff84396e9b6b21d0d749694d/files/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/
/var/lib/flatpak/runtime/org.gnome.Platform/x86_64/47/400c051d7bdf97ecb22db051f1a0eddde33bd145bae97c2489cc4dcf801d1ed3/files/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/
home/accountname/.local/share/flatpak/runtime/org.freedesktop.Platform/x86_64/24.08/50874f35da7c9371a5f8e53384b2ae4fb0ab1ae2a461f5e964639dbc81f3aa01/files/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/
/home/accountname/.local/share/flatpak/runtime/org.gnome.Platform/x86_64/47/400c051d7bdf97ecb22db051f1a0eddde33bd145bae97c2489cc4dcf801d1ed3/files/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu
/home/accountname/.local/share/flatpak/runtime/org.gnome.Platform/x86_64/46/188683dc86d530dd1547f14ee37dec1ac6e091c8455d6fbc3a166f600fe6bea4/files/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/

What I do not get is how an error can say it did not find a file but does not mention where it should have been.

I have a backup but do not know how to recover it.

Isn’t there a way to fix it from a boot image?

Please refer to this link:
https://documentation.ubuntu.com/server/how-to/software/upgrade-your-release/index.html

Note : Upgrading to a development release of Ubuntu is available using the -d flag. However, using the development release (or the -d flag) is not recommended for production environments.

Using the -d flag can potentially cause all kinds of issues. I suspect this is what you have encountered.

You will need to wait for someone with more knowledge in this matter to assist with hopefully recovering the situation.

Well thats the internet for you. I dont know why anyone would suggest an upgrade to a development release. Personally I would have thought the minus stands for “non dev. version”.

But I guess it was my fault for not using the app in the task manager again after disabling the vivaldi repository. Considering that I know next to nothing about Linux.

There is a way from a live USB to mount the install and then do what is called a chroot to access the system.

But…it requires nerves of steel and there is no 100% guarantee it will fix things.

Which is why I asked about backups.

How did you create a backup, using what, and where is it stored?

The integrated backup was used and it’s on another drive. An NTFS drive though, if that matters.

At this point I have no choice but try everything I can. If it does not work at least I have hopefully learned something.

Tbh., I was kinda hoping I could just load a different kernel from the boot menu but ofc when it is needed all of them are gone or broken as well.

In such a situation, the recommended solution would be to do a fresh install of 24.04 as being the quickest and safest path.

If you mean KBackup then storing it on an NTFS drive should, in theory, not be an issue unless it contains things like symlinks. You would then likely need to redo permissions.

Did you backup the entire system or only your home folder?

You are sure you cannot enter recovery mode at the GRUB menu?

Just want to clarify these things before moving forward.

Since you have mentioned chroot. I have found following:

booting from USB stick, bind-mounting and running an apt dist-upgrade in chroot fixed the install

How can I bind-mount the drive from an usb-stick and use chroot correctly? Could it be as simple as

mount -B sdc5
sudo chroot $HOME
sudo do-release-upgrade

? I am not sure what the root is to make updates to. It is probably too simple but from what I read one usually creates a special chroot environment. Since I want no special environment but my Kubuntu installation this could be it. But since Linux is usually much more complicated than that some confirmation would be useful.

Quick installation is relative if you have to setup everything all over again.
The window positions alone cost me days to figure out what options to use so that they open the way I liked them to.

It is not kbackup. At least it did not say that. I have checked with the usb-boot-stick and it just says “backups”, is accessible from the system settings and it doesnt tell which one is used.

Is there a way to check what was backed up? Because I set it up 3 years ago and do not remember much of it anymore.

If just the home-folder was backed up, is there a way to use it again? I have read that it could cause settings problems. Even just keeping some settings would save a lot of time. The browser, e-mail, desktop and all Linux + window management settings for example.

Would it be possible to install the usb-version onto the current version keeping the home folder or making a new install restoring the home folder after?

I have two Linux versions left in the boot menu and both do neither boot nor load into the recovery console. Starting into recovery stops after detecting some USB device.

The issue with a fresh install is that it will take me a week (or longer) to set it up like it was before. If I ever manage to configure it the same way again.

I want to try and help as best I can but we are not there in front of the computer and we are missing some information.

Where do you see the backup? On the install that you are not able to boot? On another partition or drive?

I do not know where you got those chroot commands from but they are incorrect so please do not try that.

First step should be to save the backup to another location, preferably something formatted as ext4.

Hi. Perhaps following link on using chroot is heplful: Failed upgrade from Ubuntu …
But I don’t know if this is the same with newer versions. Also don’t know if the repair process is useful for your problem.

But as @rubi1200 stated before: make sure your backup stays accessible.

Where do you see the backup?

When I started with Linux I have tried several distributions and kept Kubuntu and Manjaro. Kub was my everyday Linux and Manj I kept in case something happens to Kub, which it did, like about every 6 months.

Manjaro is where I find and post everything from. But ofc I would see the backup also in Win since it is on the ntfs drive.

I have access to the Kubuntu drive including hidden files from Manjaro.

I do not know where you got those chroot commands from but they are incorrect so please do not try that.

Well I searched for Kubuntu and chroot but not much seemed to fit because they always chroot a subfolder which seems odd to me if I want to get access to an existing folder why would I need a subfolder in the directory of my existing Linux? I guess I do not get Linux logic.

Also I have searched for my error message and found this:

I hit same failure when updating to Xubuntu 24.04.

From Ubuntu release notes upgrades (at this moment) are not supported, and if you hit a problem, probably best solution is to use a live cd/pen to do a backup and restore it after a fresh install.

I followed a different path, following some advice on comments to the question I tried my luck with chroot.

This is a receipt for my case, not guarantees that will work for you.

  • Boot live cd and configure network
  • mount / folder on live cd (root disk)
  • On root disk, cd “root disk”
    • rm dev/null
    • cp /etc/resolv.cnf etc/resolv.cnf
  • sudo chroot . /bin/bash -c “apt --fix-broken install”

After all updates are done, reboot shall work.

Log in and execute:

  • sudo apt update
  • sudo apt dist-upgrade

Does that mean “mount a folder on the live-image then use Kub-disk, cd root disk”?

To me it reads: “make a folder on the life cd root disk and then use cd root disk on the same live cd”. But how would that chroot command then fix anything on my kub-installation when it doesnt know where it is? Prolly my flawed understanding again.

First step should be to save the backup to another location, preferably something formatted as ext4.

I can move the backup to an ext4 drive but what would it help and why would it matter if it let me backup to an ntfs-drive? I assumed that playing back the backup from it should not be a problem either if it let me put the backup on an ntfs drive.

Hi. Perhaps following link on using chroot is heplful: Failed upgrade from Ubuntu …

I can try that at the weekend. Thanks!
All that can happen is that I have to reinstall so I am not scared to try things. I have already backed up some data from the Kubuntu drive because it seems unlikely at this point that I will be able to fix it considering the response I received to this problem.

What I also thought about was installing 22.04 again, updating it, restore the backup, and then upgrade the kernel the right way.

Installing 24.04 and restoring the home folder might probably not be a good idea.

To be honest, I think this is probably the smartest way to go about it.

Using chroot to repair the system might work.

But the errors you initially posted about may also be the tip of the iceberg and then we are in for a ride.

While Boot-Repair is primarily for repair of grub, boot issues. it can do a chroot for total reinstall of grub. It gives commands to copy into terminal. See advanced mode & total reinstall of grub. It will suggest total reinstall of grub, but once there you can run any other commands, you need.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Repair
https://sourceforge.net/p/boot-repair/home/Home/

Best not to backup to NTFS, it does not support Linux ownership & permissions. If just your data, you probably will have to run chroot & chown on restore of data. You will not be able to restore any system files, correctly.

With good backups, new install is then often the quickest way to restore/repair system. Do not use or know about backup of snaps & flatpaks. But /home, list of installed apps, any system wide settings in /etc you manually edited & any server type installs like database or web need to be backed up. But system can be reinstalled and does not really have to be backed up.

1 Like

This topic was automatically closed after 30 days. New replies are no longer allowed.