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OMG -- intel microcode - then whoop-dee-do

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    #1

    OMG -- intel microcode - then whoop-dee-do

    I'm gonna write this quickly off the top of my head (recovering from Covid (yes, I've had 8 vaccinations since 2020, Moderna)).

    In my main OS, Kubuntu 22.04, today, I took from Discover the update for intel-microcode.
    Rebooted, couldn't boot into the 22.04 OS! --> Error: can't find the kernel files!
    I tried everything to get booted into that 22.04. No, I didn't have a copy of Boot-Repair handy, although I thought I had one.
    As for that how-to I wrote on chrooting, I didn't have the patience to access and read it.

    It was actually easier for me to simply re-install 22.04 (I already had my personal files on a separate /home partition -- otherwise I would have had a realTM problem.)
    (btw, I was already prepared with backups for my T-Bird profile and bookmarks for Firefox and Chromium.)
    (and, btw, I did have two other newly installed, unused OSs on my disks: 24.04 on two different drives SATA SSD and M.2. So data rescue would have been possible, anyway.)

    Re-installed 22.04 (using a USB installer I had already made using dd).
    That took just a few minutes. (Manual method for partitioning, kept the old /home, etc.)

    Booted into the new 22.04, tried to use Discover to take 114 upgrades to packages.
    Errors! The package packagekit is not installed, and that triggered other errors. I installed packagekit on the command line at Konsole.
    (I also had claydoh's notes, so I did sudo dpkg --configure -a; then sudo apt -f install.)

    I felt I needed Synaptic, and installed it from Discover. I used Synaptic to install those 114 upgrades I mentioned above.
    I intentionally allowed Synaptic to include that naughty package: intel-microcode -- the one that got me into this mess to begin with.

    I have re-booted twice into my newly installed 22.04 after having allowed Synaptic to upgrade that intel-microcode package.
    No problem re-booting.

    I have NO idea what could have gone wrong first time I allowed Discover to install the upgraded intel-microcode package.

    Tells me we all really should think about this possibility and actually be prepared for it! At least with Boot-Repair and accesses to our data.

    BTW, from Synaptic's History log, for today:

    Upgraded the following packages:
    amd64-microcode (3.20191218.1ubuntu2) to 3.20191218.1ubuntu2.3
    intel-microcode (3.20220510.0ubuntu0.22.04.1) to 3.20250512.0ubuntu0.22.04.1​

    Boy, you talk about disorienting!
    Last edited by Qqmike; May 27, 2025, 02:45 PM.
    An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way. Charles Bukowski
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    #2
    Me, personally, I don't use/let Discover update ANYTHING. It isn't a package manager, so shouldn't be expected to behave as one. I do all of my package management from the command-line.
    Windows no longer obstruct my view.
    Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007.
    "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes​
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      #3
      Probably not a bad idea, Snowhog. I got a file on that here somewhere, apt-get commands; new way is just apt.

      Installing 22.04 fresh, I ran into two things I see posted about here a lot:

      1 No internet!
      (I just unplug the yellow Ethernet cable, wait 30 seconds, and plug it in ahain; if that doesn't work, do it again. if that fails, re-boot the modem.)

      2 Even though Firefox is set as default browser (in system settings: applications > default), email links in Thunderbird open in Chromium!
      (I fix it this way: Go to System Settings > Applications > Default apps, change the Browser from Firefox to anything else, like Chromium, Apply,
      close Settings, maybe try to open a link in T-Bird if you wish but pay no attention to it; go back to Settings and change the default browser back to Firefox, click Apply, close Settings.
      That fixes it every time for me.)
      An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way. Charles Bukowski
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        #4
        fwiw, I normally use the terminal to update with apt as part of my morning routine and for most general operations, but when Discover pops a notification, I use that since it also includes other things needing updates.
        I also use Discover as an App Store, for browsy purposes.

        My only real gripe with Discover is it could probably benefit from showing a tad more error info, or possibly having a link that opens the appropriate apt log file. But using apt when seeing errors in Discover will show these, if one can't recall the specific log file to look at.

        Errors when installing/updating using Discover are actually the errors one would see using apt, manually updating snaps, flatpaks, or running fwupdmgr, so generally speaking blaming Discover for these is not usually the correct target. It IS calling apt, snap. flatpak, fwupdmgr to perform these tasks.
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          #5
          Yeah, and I kind of lost sight of the original issue:

          What was wrong with that intel-microcode upgrade that I was offered and took without any second thoughts?
          Why did it cause the kernel not be be found?

          (I tried the UEFI Boot menu, refind, a UEFI firmwaer Boot Override menu, etc., to boot my broken 22.04 -- no luck. Also tried booting from the previous kernel. No luck.)
          An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way. Charles Bukowski
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            #6
            No idea. My microcode update was trouble free, 24.04 (neon)

            I usually blame cosmic rays, or the cats for these head-scratchers.

            I really doubt that the microcode is the actual cause for this, tbh, based on the complete lack of other reports from *buntu users as far as I can tell so far.
            Last edited by claydoh; May 27, 2025, 05:46 PM.
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              #7
              I really doubt that the microcode is the actual cause for this, tbh,
              I'm also thinking that.
              After Discover ran, it did post some error message, can't recall what it was (gibberish), but think it had to do with broken package(s).
              All that could have affected, somehow, a kernel update, too, which could have messed up the GRUB call ...
              Wish I had slowed down to document all this. But, the beauty of Linux prevails: I'm up and running fresh after just a few minutes.
              As I said, I DID allow Synaptic to install everything, including that intel-microcode, with no problems encountered.
              An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way. Charles Bukowski
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                #8
                Just a footnote here ...

                Discover has been acting up today (freezing, not responding).
                Just now, it notified there is a security upgrade (the "red dot" icon).
                I took it: linux firmware and a python package (resources) -- almost 300 MB
                It went OK, I rebooted (to see what might happen!), and it went fine, no problems.

                (Hmmm ... Discover doesn't have a History file for users to view.)
                An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way. Charles Bukowski
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                  #9
                  Originally posted by Qqmike View Post
                  (Hmmm ... Discover doesn't have a History file for users to view.)
                  It wouldn't, you'd consult the log for the specific packaging system (apt, dnf, yum, snap, flatpak, plus the KDE store stuff and fwupdmgr)
                  But it sure would not hurt for the backend for each one to offer a button to open this when there is an error (/var/log/apt/term.log or similar)
                  ​
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                    #10
                    Yep I don't use Discover for any updates, except for the occasional download that Qapt (or the others like it) won't do. If I get a notice that updates are available, I just do apt on the command line. never fails!
                    The next brick house on the left
                    Intel i7 11th Gen | 16GB | 1TB | KDE Plasma 5.27.11​| Kubuntu 24.04 | 6.8.0-31-generic
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                      #11
                      Yeah, I think it's time to pull out my apt-get/apt notes!
                      Main issue with Discover might be lack of detailed error messages.
                      At that point, I switch to Synaptic to see/fix errors. (I miss Muon that way.)
                      I just gotta get better organized. Got plenty of notes/docs to use here! Many of which I wrote.
                      Thanks for feedback.
                      An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way. Charles Bukowski
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