Ubuntu Crash
Hello
I just had a crash on my Ubuntu. Before I had no issues and it was working well. I don't have the famous Windows blue screen but a gray screen, with the disappointed face of a little man and the following message.
Oh, dear. Something went wrong.
A problem has occurred, and the system can't recover. Contact a system administrator.
Shortly before, I had installed the VLC video program from the terminal, I believe, represented by a road sign, and it made videos that I couldn't watch before work well. I don't know if there is a causal link to the crash.
So if anyone knows, I would be very grateful if you could tell me how to get out of this and get going again.
Thank you very much.
7 réponses
The Bobot AI is here to help you!
It seems that the Ubuntu system has encountered serious issues. Based on the details you provided, there might be a connection to the VLC installation. Here are a few steps to try to resolve the problem:
1. Restart your computer in recovery mode. To do this, you first need to restart your computer, then when the Grub menu appears, select the "Advanced options for Ubuntu" and then choose recovery mode.
2. Once in recovery mode, start by testing your RAM by selecting the "memtest" option. If everything is OK, you need to return to the menu.
3. Try to repair your file system by choosing "fsck". This will check and repair any errors on your hard drive. If everything is OK at this stage, return to the menu once again.
4. Finally, try to restart your system normally.
If the issue persists, you can try uninstalling VLC by opening a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) and typing the following command: sudo apt-get remove vlc
However, if the problem continues after these steps, it would be better to back up your important data and reinstall Ubuntu.
Thank you very much for helping me.
I will try to understand and do all of this. I will keep you posted. Have a good evening.
Hello,
If I understood correctly, only the browser crashed. First of all, try updating your computer, restarting it, and clearing all the data stored by your browser.
Can you reproduce the problem (for example, by going to the same site)? If so:
- Can you describe in more detail what you’re doing and what happens? Is it a specific site or multiple sites? Which ones?
- If you launch your browser from a terminal, do any error messages appear in the terminal at the time of the crash?
- Does the problem persist in private browsing mode? Without extensions?
- Are you experiencing the same issues with another browser? For example, have you tested with Chromium?
- If you create a new user, do you observe the same problem?
- In your initial message, I think what you're describing is a VLC installation with an icon that looks like a traffic cone. I doubt that’s the cause, but if you’re uncertain, does uninstalling VLC resolve the issue (this might help understand the cause of the crash)?
Good luck
If you want me to help you, can you clarify "nothing is working"? Do you have access to the Internet (in particular, can you copy and paste the results of the following commands)?
cat /etc/resolv.conf ip route ping -c2 www.google.fr
Assuming the ping responds, can you answer each of the questions I asked you in my message #3?
Good luck
Hello. Thank you for your interest. "Nothing works" should be taken literally. I have no control over anything. I manage to access the BIOS once in twenty attempts. That's it. So I certainly don't have access to the Internet, nor to the terminal even less. I believe this explanation answers your questions in message 3. I'm sorry that I can't follow your instructions. All I could do, if I can access the BIOS, is to boot from a DVD, maybe the installation one or another with a program, which is why I was asking the question. Regards.
Hello
- In general, avoid saying "nothing is working" because it's too vague. Instead, specify when (in the BIOS, in GRUB, during the Linux startup, after launching a graphical session...) and under what conditions (after an update, after launching a particular task or command) so that we can identify the problem.
- Here, I have the impression that the problem occurs during startup (not clear exactly when). I encourage you to try a reinstallation, for example by booting from a USB stick or a CD/DVD, which will resolve the issue if it's purely related to GRUB or Linux.
- If the problem is upstream, or occurs randomly, it's possible that the issue is hardware-related (hard drive in poor condition or damaged RAM).
Good luck
Hello.
Thank you very much for following me. Indeed, it would be better for me to break down the steps next time before reaching the general failure, which happens very quickly here. I don't think it's a GRUB issue since I only have the Ubuntu Linux system on this computer. After turning it on, it prompts me to hit delete or tab, then another black screen appears this time with writings, and at the bottom it suggests pressing F1 or F2. But even if I want to access the BIOS, it rarely listens to me and launches Ubuntu right away. I have just enough time to see the round orange Ubuntu logo, then a grayish screen, and then it shuts down and the final screen of the failure I described shows up, with the sad face of a little man, with crosses for eyes. If I manage to reach the BIOS, I'll boot from the installation DVD. And I believe I remember it offering me a choice between 3 options. I'll see what it offers me. Thank you very much and have a good evening.
Hello
In what you describe, Ubuntu is starting to boot, so that’s reassuring. As for it not responding to you, don’t hesitate to "spam" the key that allows you to enter the BIOS. Note that under Ubuntu, when only one kernel is installed, GRUB does not show by default (which I personally find quite annoying :p).
I think you should try to install a recent Mint. I see several reasons for that:
- Mint is based on Ubuntu and is aimed at the general public
- Mint (Cinnamon edition) uses Cinnamon and therefore no 3D effects that could explain your issues
- Mint preinstalls a number of drivers that should ensure your hardware is well supported
Depending on the distribution you decide to use, prefer a network installation so that your package manager is directly configured and your system is up to date right upon installation.
Good luck
Hello and thank you
I don't know how many cores I have. As for Mint, to install it I would need to have the network, which is not the case as I mentioned in 12. So...... I don't see any other option but to try to boot from the DVD. Then I will see about Mint, but I hope to remain true to Ubuntu, and that it's not another system. Good evening.
Hello,
If you don't have a network, you really don't have much of a choice. Note that you can install using a DVD or a USB stick; it doesn't really matter. In reality, even a netinstall can complete without a network, it's just that depending on the distribution you will have more or less things at the end (typically something quite complete with Ubuntu or Mint, and something minimal with Debian). Generally, to see the installed kernels on a Debian-based distribution (like Mint and Ubuntu), you just need to run:
dpkg -l | grep linux-image
Good luck
Thank you for the explanations.
I'm going to tinker with the DVD if I manage to get access to the BIOS. I will lose my data, but it's backed up elsewhere. I will lose the updates I had made. I'll see if I can do it. Nevertheless, I wonder if VLC is responsible; maybe the developers made a mistake. There might be a way to install a working equivalent that doesn't crash. We'll see. Have a good day.
Hello
I can't launch the setup
The American Megatrends screen says this at the bottom
CMOS Checksum bad
Press F1 to run setup
Press F2 to load default values and continue
I keep pressing F1 and nothing happens
I've also noticed that the colors are very red, whereas with my other computers they are perfect
Hi
nothing is happening as you say
this when displaying the Grub menu, select the option "Advanced options for Ubuntu" then choose recovery mode.
is not happening on my pc. I looked in the bios, and I found nothing similar. There is no recovery mode
Simply put, I have no control
Hello,
If you're having trouble with Ubuntu, you can also consider installing a similar distribution like Linux Mint (for example with a Cinnamon desktop), it should work.
Good luck
Hello
Thank you very much for helping me. I reset the date and time in the BIOS, but it didn't change anything. I must specify that I don't know what GRUB is.
I think I have the latest version of Ubuntu, and it would bother me to switch to something else. I will try to find out what my graphics card is, but I don't think that's the issue. The screen I see during the crash is gray, not black. I have the installation DVD for Ubuntu. Maybe that could help me.
I will try to do this this weekend or next week. Thank you very much for your help. Have a good weekend.
Hello,
GRUB is a boot loader, meaning a program started by the BIOS of your motherboard at boot time, which allows you to choose which operating system (Linux, Windows), and in the case of a Linux system, which kernel with what options. There are others (like Lilo) but nowadays, GRUB is the one that is traditionally used. A necessary boot loader to be able to start a Linux system.
To check, run the following command and report back with its result:
You can check the list of Ubuntu releases to see if yours is recent and still supported. Also, know that it is perfectly possible to upgrade one Ubuntu to a more modern version of Ubuntu.
To find out the exact model, please report back with the result of the following command:
To type this command, if the graphical mode crashes, you will need to switch to text mode (ctrl alt f1) and then you can later return to graphical mode (ctrl alt f7). It would be good if you could let us know if you manage to switch to text mode. Note that in text mode, when identifying yourself, you will need to enter your login (then press enter), followed by your password silently (then press enter). The commands should be typed after a prompt of the form login@machine:~$
Given the symptoms, I suspect that your Ubuntu is trying to launch an environment with 3D effects but that your graphics card driver is not yet installed. Two non-exclusive solutions are possible:
Then, restart your computer (ctrl alt del) or:
Normally, you should see the login manager (probably lightdm) appear, which will give you the choice between starting a session (cinnamon or gnome-shell).
Good luck.