How can I fix updating issues?

Question

Whenever I update the OS through AppCenter, my laptop freezes and becomes unresponsive to both keyboard and mouse input.

I have left my computer in this state for several hours (approximately 9) only to find that the installation progress bar has not changed.

When I shut down the computer, I can no longer boot into Elementary.

When I attempt to, the screen goes black with a few seemingly meaningless letters and numbers in the top left corner (No, I did not think to write them down) so I am forced to reinstall the OS.

I have frustratingly done this about 10 times.

I am dual booting with Windows 10 on my brand new Dell Inspiron 15 3000 series with 7th gen AMD A9.

The same problem happens if I choose to update any drivers.

All of the apps will update just fine.

I'm a self proclaimed Windows master, but an amateur at using Linux distributions.

I have played in the terminal before with Mint and Ubuntu.

I have never had a similar problem with either of those.

I'm trying out Elementary, and I think it is going to be my main OS from now on, but if this continues, I will never be able to update it.

Answer 1

I recommend to avoid using AppCentre and if you can use the terminal use the commands Stuart told you.

sudo apt update: Updates the local library of packages from the repositories

sudo apt upgrade: Upgrades installed packages

sudo apt dist-upgrade: Upgrades installed packages and also if needed can remove and install new ones if the upgrade requires it

sudo apt install <package>: installs a <package>

sudo apt search <package>: search a <package>

In my case I use the terminal+apt to update/upgrade/install... and only AppCentre to install eOS-apps like AppEditor (useful tool to edit/add shortcuts in the main menu)

Also is always better to know how to work with the terminal in Linux, you can avoid a lot of problems just using it and also you can add some third party repositories or PPAs. Through them you can get the latest Firefox, Google Chrome, Google Earth, plexmediaserver, Kodi, etc

---

There's another GUI for apt, which is not as user oriented as AppCentre but better than typing. It's called Synaptic

sudo apt install synaptic

Answer 2

The first thing I would try after installing is try and update using the command line rather than the appcentre. e.g.

sudo apt update 
sudo apt upgrade
sudo apt dist-upgrade

Now you should be up to date. Then watch out for any new updates, and see if you have issues then.

Answer 3

If you're having trouble updating your system you could use the tty subsystem which is just like the usual terminal but without any graphical interface.

You can access it by using ctrl + alt + f1.

You can exit it by using ctrl + alt + f7.

It'll ask you the username and password which will grant you access to the system itself.

This is used many times especially to avoid crashes during updates resulting in system failures.

In the tty you can use the same commands used in a regular terminal for updates, such as:

sudo apt update

sudo apt upgrade

sudo apt dist-upgrade

sudo apt full-upgrade

Hope my answer will help you.