Error - pkgs with unmet dependencies

No problem. It was wishful thinking that maybe some of the things we did yesterday might have cleared the errors after rebooting. I'll Google around again and hopefully not chase the wrong rabbit today (but they all look alike, so they may fool me :confused::D).

While I'm looking, see if these commands return any values:

Code:
which perl
which perl5
which debconf
which Debconf

Here you go:
christina@christina-K53U:~$ which perl
/usr/bin/perl
christina@christina-K53U:~$ which perl5
christina@christina-K53U:~$ which debconf
/usr/bin/debconf
christina@christina-K53U:~$ which Debconf
christina@christina-K53U:~$
 


Hello there! I think there was some progress. Could you try:
Code:
sudo apt-get install -f
If it doesn't work, then:
Code:
sudo apt install linux-image-4.4.0-112-generic linux-image-extra-4.4.0-112-generic linux-image-generic
 
One thread I found indicates that aptitude may satisfy dependencies better than apt or apt-get. So if @nuna's first command doesn't work, you might try this alternative:
Code:
sudo aptitude -f install
 
Hello there! I think there was some progress. Could you try:
Code:
sudo apt-get install -f
If it doesn't work, then:
Code:
sudo apt install linux-image-4.4.0-112-generic linux-image-extra-4.4.0-112-generic linux-image-generic

First command:
[Image removed for privacy reasons]
[Image removed for privacy reasons]
 
Last edited by a moderator:
One thread I found indicates that aptitude may satisfy dependencies better than apt or apt-get. So if @nuna's first command doesn't work, you might try this alternative:
Code:
sudo aptitude -f install

Says
christina@christina-K53U:~$ sudo aptitude -f install
sudo: aptitude: command not found
christina@christina-K53U:~$
 
Hello there! I think there was some progress. Could you try:
Code:
sudo apt-get install -f
If it doesn't work, then:
Code:
sudo apt install linux-image-4.4.0-112-generic linux-image-extra-4.4.0-112-generic linux-image-generic

Second command:
[Image removed for privacy reasons]
Screenshot from 2018-01-29 10-56-44.png
 
Last edited by a moderator:
OK. I think you can now proceed with:
Code:
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
 
I think you are good to go. The main problem was having some system files missing, preventing apt from installing packages.
The autoremove thing is optional and meant to do some cleanup on the system (with the command the same message suggests).

What remains is to check if the hard disk could be failing. Would you like to continue with these checks or, as you are also busy, do you prefer to open a new topic in the coming days?
 
I think you are good to go. The main problem was having some system files missing, preventing apt from installing packages.
The autoremove thing is optional and meant to do some cleanup on the system (with the command the same message suggests).

What remains is to check if the hard disk could be failing. Would you like to continue with these checks or, as you are also busy, do you prefer to open a new topic in the coming days?

We can continue if you would like
 
OK. A quick way to get access to the SMART hard disk status is to:
1. open the Disks application
2. On the left side column, select your hard drive (if not yet selected)
3. Press CTRL+S key combination or open the top-right menu and choose "SMART data and Self-Tests..."
4. If it fits well on the screen, resize the window to see the full table contents, so you can make an screenshot of it.

On the same screen there's a Start Self-Test button, from where you can run the short test, for instance.

Another way is to do it from the command line, which will allow you to copy the text output:
Code:
sudo apt install smartmontools
sudo smartctl -a /dev/sda
 
OK. A quick way to get access to the SMART hard disk status is to:
1. open the Disks application
2. On the left side column, select your hard drive (if not yet selected)
3. Press CTRL+S key combination or open the top-right menu and choose "SMART data and Self-Tests..."
4. If it fits well on the screen, resize the window to see the full table contents, so you can make an screenshot of it.

On the same screen there's a Start Self-Test button, from where you can run the short test, for instance.

Another way is to do it from the command line, which will allow you to copy the text output:
Code:
sudo apt install smartmontools
sudo smartctl -a /dev/sda

Here you go and I started short test
 
Last edited:
From your screenshot:
  • Reallocated Sector Count: 32 sectors
  • Current Pending Sector Count: 11 sectors

Your hard drive has a bunch of bad sectors, and at least 11 of them are still pending to be reallocated (for short, they're pending to be marked as not usable and set to use some other sectors from a reserved area in its place). I said at least because there could be more bad sectors. They are not much (I've seen drives with hundreds and even thousands of bad sectors) but still a risk.

Once the sectors are reallocated, the hard drive might be usable for some time (maybe some months) but I suggest to make regular backups and start thinking to buy a new hard drive or SSD drive.

Note: There is a Linux command line tool to reallocate bad sectors, but it's extremely slow. Some Windows/DOS tools would be faster in this particular case.
 
From your screenshot:
  • Reallocated Sector Count: 32 sectors
  • Current Pending Sector Count: 11 sectors

Your hard drive has a bunch of bad sectors, and at least 11 of them are still pending to be reallocated (for short, they're pending to be marked as not usable and set to use some other sectors from a reserved area in its place). I said at least because there could be more bad sectors. They are not much (I've seen drives with hundreds and even thousands of bad sectors) but still a risk.

Once the sectors are reallocated, the hard drive might be usable for some time (maybe some months) but I suggest to make regular backups and start thinking to buy a new hard drive or SSD drive.

Note: There is a Linux command line tool to reallocate bad sectors, but it's extremely slow. Some Windows/DOS tools would be faster in this particular case.

Thanks, I have been trying to keep things backed up because it has been running super slow and freezes up sometimes for a minute or so..... figured it was about to go.... I really appreciate the help with this.
 
@Christina, I'm still curious about you not being able to boot on a flash drive or access your BIOS. Even if the hard drive is starting to fail, I don't think that would cause these other problems. If you'd like us to try to help you investigate that, please open up a new thread somewhere (General Linux, Hardware, whatever seems appropriate to you) and post a description of what's happening. Let us know the brand and model of the computer... a laptop, I think. Up to you... if you want to try to pursue it.
 

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