Updates trash desktop icons, app buttons and content

Forum rules
Before you post read how to get help. Topics in this forum are automatically closed 6 months after creation.
Locked
cbraxton

Updates trash desktop icons, app buttons and content

Post by cbraxton »

On a fresh installation of Linux Mint 17.2 Xfce everything was working fine until doing "apt-get dist-upgrade" to update all the packages. Now it seems that the desktop themes have been clobbered. Many icons on the desktop and task bar show up as black with circle-and-slash. Some software (such as Synaptic) comes up with buttons and/or content missing. (In fact Synaptic comes up completely blank aside from the search box.) Changing themes doesn't do much, except the "high contrast" theme does bring back some (but not all) of the missing icons. Additionally, the Mint desktop background graphic disappeared.

This is pretty annoying. I've done some web searches and not come up with a fix or even another description of this
problem. How can this be fixed, short of re-installing (too much like Windows to do that!).
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
cbraxton

Re: Updates trash desktop icons, app buttons and content

Post by cbraxton »

An update... Since this was a new installation with no real customization done or data copied in yet I went ahead and reinstalled Mint. Ran "apt-get update && apt-get upgrade" and wound up with the same problem after rebooting.

Reinstalled yet again, and this time used the graphical update application rather than apt-get at the command line. Doing this it updated without any apparent issues. (The number of updates installed - deemed "important" updates - was fewer than installed by the command-line method.)

So at least for the moment it appears that it's OK as long as upating the system is not done via "apt-get upgrade" or "apt-get dist-upgrade." (I haven't run into this problem with any of the other Debian-based distributions I've used, primarily Debian itself and Ubuntu.)
MtnDewManiac
Level 6
Level 6
Posts: 1491
Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2013 5:18 pm
Location: United States

Re: Updates trash desktop icons, app buttons and content

Post by MtnDewManiac »

In failing to use the (recommended) GUI mintUpdate application, you completely bypassed its "levels" rating system. Therefore, in addition to the level 1 "Certified updates. Tested through Romeo or directly maintained by Linux Mint," level 2 "Recommended updates. Tested and approved by Linux Mint," and level 3 "Safe updates. Not tested but believed to be safe" updates which the default settings in mintUpdate would install, you also chose to blindly install the level 4 "Unsafe updates. Could potentially affect the stability of the system" and level 5 "Dangerous updates. Known to affect the stability of the systems depending on certain specs or hardware" updates.

Therefore, you may have created some sort of instability and/or incompatibility in your system by doing so. Your kernel probably received at least a minor upgrade. Setting your preferences in mintUpdate so as to have it display all available updates and then reading the changelogs (and possibly even doing some web-searching) for the level 4 & 5 updates before choosing whether or not to install them - and how to install them (IOW, perhaps you might decide to install all level 1-3 updates first and then install "sets" (like or related) of the level 4 or level 4 & 5 updates a few at a time, testing your system, and then either deciding whether or not to proceed or to consult your update manager's history - or that piece of paper you wrote things down on if you're being extra cautious (/smart) - for the files/versions that you need to revert?), that would be like removing the governor from your vehicle's engine and then intelligently testing how well your vehicle operates/lives at a slightly higher RPM before increasing the RPM still further. Choosing to upgrade everything available in one fell swoop without even reading the newer versions' changelogs first, lol, is akin to removing the governor on your vehicle's engine and then finding a long, straight, deserted highway and deciding to find out just what kind of noise your vehicle makes when the engine grenades :lol: .

I advise a more common-sense approach to upgrading in the future, by using Clem's mintUpdate GUI update manager. Otherwise, you might as well just run *buntu :roll: . Speaking of which... once upon a time (IIRC), if a person just randomly performed apt-get-dist-upgrades, one just might have ended up with a bastardized version of Ubuntu from which all Mint customizations had been torn out and that... generally wasn't satisfactory to the user.

Remember: If the doctor tells you to take two pills every eight hours and you decide on your own to, instead, take eight pills every four hours... you have only yourself to blame when you go t**s-up. RtFM (and follow same) for best results.

Regards,
MDM
Mint 18 Xfce 4.12.

If guns kill people, then pencils misspell words, cars make people drive drunk, and spoons made Rosie O'Donnell fat.
Locked

Return to “Xfce”