OpenMandriva Lx version:
25.01 Rolling (Rome) upgrading to 25.02 Rolling (Rome)
Desktop environment (KDE, LXQT…):
KDE Plasma 6.2.5 upgrading to KDE Plasma 6.3.1
Description of the issue (screenshots if relevant):
When installing the updates upon restart, no indicator is given as to what is happening in the background. It took about 3-5 minutes on a Samsung 870 EVO SSD. Most would force restart after a minute if it seemed the system hung (I noticed the HDD light still working and instead hit the ‘Esc’ key to see the progress - it would be preferable to be dumped into console mode to view progress rather than stare at a desktop wallpaper with no indication as to what is happening).
After update finished installing and automatically restarted, I got dumped into emergency console mode. This was my “oh crap, I should have configured Timeshift before running the updates” moment. However, after hitting Ctrl+Alt+Del and attempting the boot again, OpenMandriva magically started working. My initial reaction was to wipe the partition because I really don’t feel like spending several days troubleshooting a failed update.
Perhaps install Timeshift by default and recommend people utilize it.
Relevant informations (hardware involved, software version, logs or output…):
No, this is not the case. This is a rolling release and although KDE tries to make Discover do all things, it fails. OpenMandriva is unique and has to be treated as such. Like any other rolling release, it has to be updated in a specific way. Any deviation will cause issues.
sudo dnf clean all ; dnf clean all ; dnf repolist ; sudo dnf distro-sync --refresh --allowerasing 2>&1| tee dsync2-log.txt
That’s going to cause a lot of new-user issues, because everyone’s first thought is “update means update” no matter where you see it. (I admit I have the habit of NOT using Discover for updates, because on Fedora it tends to stall halfway.)
I come from PCLinuxOS (another Mandrake descendant), which is rolling-only. It uses Synaptic as the package manager. Synaptic is ancient and ugly, but it works every time. In six years I have never had to visit the CL for an update. I am a bit at a loss as to why OM’s update function is still CL-only; doesn’t seem like it’s necessity for being rolling.
ETA because I hit the wrong key and it posted too soon:
It’s actually pretty rare for people to visit a forum or homesite before trying a distro. So awareness is not going to be there. Seems to me a reasonable workaround would be a script on the default desktop, obvious enough to get the new user’s attention. (I think all of us have stopped reading those “Welcome” cards, because most are not useful.)
Most distros have welcome cards. We have a Welcome app. OM-Welcome is the only safe place to add repos and we make it a matter of ticking boxes to do so. For many browsers, the repos are right there too. You can click the updater in the OM-Welcome app and never to it from the command line. You can set up DnfDrake to check for updates and alert you when they are ready. Nvidia drivers are a 1 click install from the app as well. Our devs put a lot of effort into that app.
I noticed the extra work Also that it installed the correct NVidia driver without troubling me about it, which was nice.
To be clear, as an old DOS-head I have no particular objection to the CL (in my Fedora setup, updates have been CL, up-arrow for five years now, given Discover tends to fail on large updates) but in the present day it’s rather surprising to see as the Official Way on a desktop distro.
Lee: I’ll look more closely at the Welcome app. Yeah, I’m not a fan of Discover. (Nor of Neon, which committed seppuku first time I updated it.)
Also that it installed the correct NVidia driver without troubling me about it, which was nice.
