I broke my Manjaro

[brumone]

Hello!

I messed up my Manjaro, probably by deleting some dependencies. I had to reinstall MySQL, and when I removed it, it removed glibc was well (I'm still a newbie on this stuff, didn't know that something like that could happen).

So, I'm getting a kernel panic error at boot, something link "not syncing - attempted to kill init". Before that, I couldn't restart Manjaro and now it doesn't boots anymore. Anyway, it's probably something related go glibc I guess.

If anyone has a troubleshoot guide or wants to help me, I appreciate that!

Thanks in advance.

[jonathon]

Two main options:

1:

Tutorial: How to magically fix most computers that will not boot after a manjaro update!

Hello fellow Manjaro peoples! Recently I have seen a lot of panicking because update XX/XX/XX broke their system, and now they get something like Error: Cannot access tty. You have been dropped to an emergency shell.Or Job control turned off: You are on your own. Good luck! There is nothing to worry about, and you should be up in about 15-20 minutes! Here is how. Step 1. Find, or prepare a Manjaro bootable medium (USB, DVD (etc.)) Step 2. Go into your BIOS, and set your computer to boot fro…

2:
Reinstall and be more careful about which packages you remove. Noone can prevent you from breaking your installation.

[username_murphy]

Wear it as a lesson learnt. Reinstall. I've experienced that after rescue no installation of any OS is the same, ever again. I read on a forum along time ago "Linux applications go IN like Butter and come OUT like Chilli! referring to shared libs, deps, etc. I plan my system so I can clean install every 6mnths regardless with absolutely minimum fuss. Using Manjaro-kde and official Snaps, Flatpaks, and Appimages has made a massive difference to my systems performance, stability and longevity. Ironically?, I guess the rebuild time is hours not days now. Big thanks Manjaro!

[anon23612428]

@brumone

Anyway, it's probably something related go glibc I guess.

Yes. Glibc is a central and very important part of a Linux system.
Next time, don't touch it

[kik4444]

For future reference can I just ask, how did you remove that dependency? Isn't pacman or pamac supposed to leave dependencies that are actively used by other packages?

[brumone]

First of all, I used pactree to check it out (I was in a hurry so I didn't read every dependency). Then, I used pacman -Rcns IIRC, and that's the 101 on how to screw up your distro.

[brumone]

Thank you. I'll check the tutorial you posted here as soon as possible.

[Cesar]

Maybe a little offtopic, but everytime i install a distro on any PC, i make an image with clonezilla. Wont solve your problem but will save you from a headache

[c00ter]

@username_murphy

"Linux applications go IN like Butter and come OUT like Chilli!

Interesting uninstall routine. Does it burn?

[dalto]

@brumone

I had to reinstall MySQL, and when I removed it

It is pretty rare that uninstalling software to fix it actually helps on Manjaro. If your application is broken, I would consider deleting the config and re-installing without uninstalling. It helps with dependency issues.

@username_murphy

I plan my system so I can clean install every 6mnths regardless with absolutely minimum fuss.

The beauty of Manjaro is that you never have to reinstall. You can keep it running indefinitely with the same level of performance you had one day one.

@brumone

Then, I used pacman -Rcns IIRC, and that's the 101 on how to screw up your distro.

The trick to using -Rcns is to read the package list that is about to be deleted before hitting 'Y' to confirm. It is good way to keep your system clean but you can't use it blindly.

-Rcn is safer because it doesn't try to rip through all the dependencies. -Runs is even safer but if it finds a conflict it will stop and force you deal with it manually.

[kik4444]

@dalto

The beauty of Manjaro is that you never have to reinstall. You can keep it running indefinitely with the same level of performance you had one day one.

Doesn't it get bloated over time as you install and uninstall different things? Even if you uninstalled everything you didn't need, isn't it easier to just reinstall than to track down every file each program created in .config and delete it manually?

[dalto]

@kik4444

isn't it easier to just reinstall than to track down every file each program created in .config and delete it manually?

.config contains mostly config files. They take relatively small amounts of space and have no performance impact. If you want to clean them up they are organized in a way to make that fairly easy to do. Re-installing seems like an extreme solution to clean up .config.

[kik4444]

I'm just saying that isn't it easier to just backup your essentials then reinstall? That way you at least know you didn't miss anything since you start from scratch.

[dalto]

@kik4444

I'm just saying that isn't it easier to just backup your essentials then reinstall?

I would argue that not reinstalling is easier than reinstalling.

@kik4444

That way you at least know you didn't miss anything since you start from scratch.

Why would missing a few configuration files from uninstalled applications be problematic? What problems does it cause?

[kik4444]

@dalto

Why would missing a few configuration files from uninstalled applications be problematic? What problems does it cause?

I don't know how much I can continue since I'm derailing this thread, but what I'm talking about isn't just about config files. I'm talking about all kinds of files that could be generated and spread throughout your installation partition. Hence why I think it's easier to just grab your essentials, reformat your partition and reinstall instead of tracking down everything generated by a program. But then again, I've mostly been using Windows so far and it becomes A MESS after just one year, so maybe I've just gotten in that habit.

[dalto]

@kik4444

I'm talking about all kinds of files that could be generated and spread throughout your installation partition.

In my experience, that is much less of an issue with Manjaro. The files that are spread around are usually removed with an uninstall. Most of the stuff that gets "left behind" is in your home directory and usually fairly isolated.

I suppose if you are regularly uninstalling and installing entire DEs you could have some issues but that is usually not the case for applications.

One of the things of love about Manjaro is how easy it is keep it clean and effective long-term.

[username_murphy]

I've tried to find a link for reference. I saw an interview Linux Torvals. He was saying he reinstalls (Desktop) every 6 months. Something about desktops and symlinking issues in the kernel? I believe he was on Fedora. Cant quiet remember. Regardless, from my personal experience a fresh install is better. Performance and Security. Each to their own. The Awesome! Manjaro Team have cut my total rebuilds from 3 days to just over an hour.

[anon23612428]

If you take good care of your installation, and do your regular maintenance tasks, then reinstalling is not really necessary, unless you broke something.

@kik4444

I'm talking about all kinds of files that could be generated and spread throughout your installation partition.

Which files do you have in mind? I can only think of .pacsave or similar files, and the pacman cache.
It is rather /home that gets cluttered over time (~/.cache, ~/.local/share, ~/.config for example) but it can be cleaned up rather easily.

[kik4444]

For example one thing I've noticed so far is pamac cache in /var/tmp which for some reason isn't cleared with the clear cache button in pamac, so that's one more thing you have to clear manually.