Linux is made by and for clowns

[Username17]

Linux is the stupidest fucking OS ever made.

Ubuntu just came out with updates that make it incompatible with the hardware in my lab. Seriously. I can't even reinstall it, because it finds its incompatibility and murders itself, crashing to bash in the middle of installation.

Debian won't let me specify a path during installation, meaning that it refuses to install off a flash drive because all it does is just keep dry humping the cd drive telling me that the files it is looking for aren't in there. No shit dumbass! The CD drive is empty because we're installing from a flash drive!

Fucking morons. If Linux wasn't the only platform that people make automated neural volumetry on, I would blessedly not have to use this shit for anything.

-Username17

[Murtak]

What keeps you from just not updating Ubuntu? I installed a new Ubuntu a couple of weeks ago, and another one on my other computer a couple of months ago. Both require me to confirm each update. I am sure I could turn on autoupdates or something, but this seems to be the default.

[mean_liar]

I was pretty sure I saw Windows in the last MRI lab I was in...

[Surgo]

Debian won't let me specify a path during installation, meaning that it refuses to install off a flash drive because all it does is just keep dry humping the cd drive telling me that the files it is looking for aren't in there. No shit dumbass! The CD drive is empty because we're installing from a flash drive!

Did it boot off the flash drive? It will mount as root whatever it booted off of, and take the files from there.

Your problems are, unfortunately, endemic to something not developed at its core by a corporation. Microsoft seriously has statisticians that sit around and analyze "how much is making <insert minor change here that, say, helps security> going to cost us?" (in terms of increased support, or whatever really). And that is awesome. Linux needs something like that.

[Username17]

Debian won't let me specify a path during installation, meaning that it refuses to install off a flash drive because all it does is just keep dry humping the cd drive telling me that the files it is looking for aren't in there. No shit dumbass! The CD drive is empty because we're installing from a flash drive!

Did it boot off the flash drive? It will mount as root whatever it booted off of, and take the files from there.

Your problems are, unfortunately, endemic to something not developed at its core by a corporation. Microsoft seriously has statisticians that sit around and analyze "how much is making <insert minor change here that, say, helps security> going to cost us?" (in terms of increased support, or whatever really). And that is awesome. Linux needs something like that.

Hell no. Debian doesn't seem to want to go forward at all. Even when I caved to its retarded demands of being placed on a CD and then run rather than running from a hard drive or a thumb drive, it still won't go forward. All it does is just circularly kick me back to the fucking partition menu no matter what I click on. The people who wrote Debian are ass clowns. All I want their entire fucking operating system for is CUDA support for Freesurfer. Ass clowns!

My hatred burns with the heat of a thousand suns. Next butt monkey that claims that Linux is the way of the future, or even a future, gets a sucker punch.

-Username17

[Murtak]

Again: You seem to be saying you only try to use Debian because Ubuntu updates fuck up whatever you need thesystem for in the first place. Why can't you just not update the Ubuntu system? Ignore the messages, turn of the scheduler completely or try to find out which specific package you need, then freeze that one so it doesn't get updated. I ask because I have yet to see any of my linuxes, any of the linuxes at work or any of my friend's linuxes ever autoinstall anything, ever. I have always had to confirm my updates.

[Username17]

Again: You seem to be saying you only try to use Debian because Ubuntu updates fuck up whatever you need thesystem for in the first place. Why can't you just not update the Ubuntu system? Ignore the messages, turn of the scheduler completely or try to find out which specific package you need, then freeze that one so it doesn't get updated. I ask because I have yet to see any of my linuxes, any of the linuxes at work or any of my friend's linuxes ever autoinstall anything, ever. I have always had to confirm my updates.

Ubuntu installations come off the web for libraries. In the process of doing that, it murders itself. Ubuntu is shit.

Debian is shit. Debian wouldn't even make itself a partition and load itself. All it managed to do is to kill all the partitions and not load itself, taking Windows 7 with it to its fucking open source hell pit.

-Username17

[Starmaker]

Microsoft seriously has statisticians that sit around and analyze "how much is making <insert minor change here that, say, helps security> going to cost us?" (in terms of increased support, or whatever really).

Microsoft is full of shit. Text can't be copypasted from one MS Office application to another preserving spaces and returns, Excel in particular fails at print preview, Outlook can't fucking import back an exported address book and the giant frog where they assign a button to "&#1098;" despite the fact that no Russian word ever starts with an "&#1098;" proves they're fucking retarded. And before anyone asks, this is a licensed product that my employer has paid a metric fuckton of money for while delaying salaries for three weeks and counting.

[Murtak]

I can't even tell what it is you are doing (or not doing), much less what breaks when. If you are just ranting, go ahead, but if you would like for others to see if they can help please explain what happens with a little more detail.

- What are you installing? Ubuntu? A derivative? What version?
- Are you installing from a bootable device? If so, which kind of device? HD, USB-Flash, DVD?
- What kind of computer are you installing it on? Any hardware that is not widely in use?
- Have you tried using a live CD to see whether there are any problems not related to installing?
- What step in the installation crashes?
- Can't you unplug from the net during installation?

[Username17]

Here is the death spiral:

1. Ubuntu asked if it was OK to install its latest and greatest updates. I said yes.
2. Ubuntu lost its kernel. Restart crashed to bash.
3. Reinstall Ubuntu. In the process of installation, it needs to acquire libraries from afar. Then it crashes.
4. Ubuntu no longer starts. Nor does a replacement Ubuntu start.
5. Debian downloaded. Attempt to load Debian from various sources. It will not do so. Demands CD.
6. Find a fucking CD for it. Put it on CD. Start.
7. Debian refuses to recognize ethernet.
8. Debian stops at Partition question. Will not go forward.
9. Finally quit setup in frustration. Windows will not load either.
10. All roads lead to black screen with immobile white cursor.

I suspect that Debian somehow decided that what it really needed to do was deformat my main harddrive, but I can't even tell.

-Username17

[Murtak]

1. Ubuntu asked if it was OK to install its latest and greatest updates. I said yes.
2. Ubuntu lost its kernel. Restart crashed to bash.
3. Reinstall Ubuntu. In the process of installation, it needs to acquire libraries from afar. Then it crashes.

How so? Can't you install from a pre-downloaded DVD? You should not need net access at all, especially during installation.

Edit: This is a wild guess, but if Debian had a problem partitioning your drive that may be what the issue is at the moment. If so, this might be repairable. Still, multiple OSes crashing during installation is suspicious. Can you temporarily use another HD and try installing again? Or use a Live CD?

[Username17]

1. Ubuntu asked if it was OK to install its latest and greatest updates. I said yes.
2. Ubuntu lost its kernel. Restart crashed to bash.
3. Reinstall Ubuntu. In the process of installation, it needs to acquire libraries from afar. Then it crashes.

How so? Can't you install from a pre-downloaded DVD? You should not need net access at all, especially during installation.

Well, there are two types of installers. The normal one is the "small" type where most of the libraries are handled off site. This one full stop does not work anymore.

The other option, the one where you have a full installation on one cd does not appear to work any more, quite likely because of the whole thing where Debian shot the lab cluster in the back of the head. But I did not try it before I tried Debian, so I don't know if it would have worked if I had only put a post-it note on the computer "UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ALLOW IT TO INSTALL ANY UPDATES!"

-Username17

[Murtak]

As far as I know you can just uninstall the updater package and never see another autoupdate again. That doesn't help much with a bricked system though. I suggest the following:

1. Acquire a full CD/DVD.
2. Boot it as a live CD. If that does not work you are fucked (well, not for sure, but it is not going to be easy).
3. If that works, install from the live CD, with a disabled network.
4. If you can install, disable autoupdates. Optionally make a backup.
5. If you can't install I'd guess the HD is at fault. Try scrounging another one, if only to check whether it works now.

[Username17]

At this point, it sends me to BusyBox v1.1.3 with the following information:

BusyBox v1.1.3 (Debian 1:1.1.3-2ubuntu3) Built-in shell (ash)
Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands.

/bin/sh: can't access tty; job control turned off
(initramfs)

Followed by a cursor and no ability to type. This after asking Ubuntu to install or start from the cd. Yes, it says "Debian" there. Also "ubuntu" and I don't know why. Some sort of phantom Debian has skull fucked the system.

-Username17

[Crissa]

It sounds like there's two things wrong, one is that the install is mismatched to the permissions. In other words, you are running as a low-level user without the permission to use a shell (tty).

The second thing with the crashes sounds like a memory chip is bad; either in the main bank or the driver controller. This will result in low throughput and random crashes as the bad bit is used. Many of the programs have ways around it, as you expect bad bits to happen from time to time, but if they get recorded onto the disk, things go screwy.

I just replaced Sammi's HD because of a bad controller. It got to the point that the error control in the hardware would slow everything down to a crawl trying to hand over the right bits, but every once in awhile a bad bit would be written. Once one was written to the 'where are directories on the disk' file, it went kaboom and could not restart. This is how you 'lose' kernals and is most likely to happen in an update.

-Crissa

[Murtak]

Ubuntu is built on top of Debian.

To clarify: You have an Ubuntu CD, set your BIOS to boot from it, then when you start from the CD (not installing), you get that prompt?

Which version of Ubuntu? Desktop/Server? Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Xubuntu/...? Version number?

[Username17]

It's an Ubuntu 6.10 install disk. But if you tell it to install it gives a series of errors and then boots you to the "you don't have permission to type" prompt.

Right now I am having it do a memory test, which will take a while because there are 8 gigs of RAM.

-Username17

[Sma]

In case you need to fiddle around with the bootloading chain supergrub, has proven itself to be helpful in the past. It might help accessing a still living OS, if there should be one left.

[Surgo]

I just want to throw out there that the fact that they have you troubleshooting any of this is ridiculous. Bullshit occurrences like this is why people buy support contracts from guys like Red Hat.

[Crissa]

Well, 'a series of errors' is hardly very specific, Surgo.

What would you suggest if it were Windows 7, and he said 'a series of errors happened and it says I do not have the right to launch commands'?

-Crissa

[Surgo]

What does that have to do with my post?

[cthulhu]

What would you suggest if it were Windows 7, and he said 'a series of errors happened and it says I do not have the right to launch commands'?

On a work or university computer?

I'd suggest ringing the helpdesk.

[Crissa]

So, he should ring the helpdesk.

All my other post-grad friends were rather expected to support themselves when it came to things like this.

-Crissa

[cthulhu]

Yeah, he is too obviously.

[CatharzGodfoot]

If you're running Windows 7, you just call up or email the full-time Windows support staff working for Microsoft, who happen to be both very helpful and very Indian.