Help for full recovery of Gnome Settings after faulty kernel installation

[hnimmo]

After finally succeeding to recover after installation of the faulty kernel version 5.3.18-150300.59.43.1.150300.18.27.1, my Gnome Settings version no longer provides the feature to configure dual displays ("Display Unknown").

How can this be restored? I have looked at the 'warn' log from the boot, but have no clue what it is telling me.


Gnome Version 3.34.7
Memory 3.4 GiB
Intel® Pentium(R) D CPU 2.80GHz × 2
llvmpipe (LLVM 11.0.1, 128 bits)
Radeon HD 6450 1 GB DDR3

I notice that llvm11 itself is not installed. Do I need it perhaps?

[hnimmo]

After finally succeeding to recover after installation of the faulty kernel version 5.3.18-150300.59.43.1.150300.18.27.1, my Gnome Settings version no longer provides the feature to configure dual displays ("Display Unknown").

How can this be restored? I have looked at the 'warn' log from the boot, but have no clue what it is telling me.


Gnome Version 3.34.7
Memory 3.4 GiB
Intel® Pentium(R) D CPU 2.80GHz × 2
llvmpipe (LLVM 11.0.1, 128 bits)
Radeon HD 6450 1 GB DDR3

I notice that llvm11 itself is not installed. Do I need it perhaps?

In the main thread on the subject of the faulty kernel, the advice was given to install an older kernel to overcome this problem (perhaps). That seems like a sledgehammer to crack a nut, but in the absence of other suggestions I am contemplating trying it.

What steps are necessary to find and install a kernel, say 5.3.18-150300.59.39*?
What about the alternative to install from the Leap 15.3-2 DVD? (...and then take 6 or 7 months worth of updates!). Would that work?

[nrickert]

What steps are necessary to find and install a kernel, say 5.3.18-150300.59.39*?

Open Yast Software Management.

Search for "kernel-default".

Click on the "Versions" tab, and select the version that you want to install.

Then, in a root terminal, look at "/boot" and remove the file "do-purge-kernels" (I hope I remembered the name correctly). That's to avoid your new kernel being automatically removed on the next boot. That will give you time to try it out and decide whether you want to keep it.

[hnimmo]

Open Yast Software Management.

Search for "kernel-default".

Click on the "Versions" tab, and select the version that you want to install.

Then, in a root terminal, look at "/boot" and remove the file "do-purge-kernels" (I hope I remembered the name correctly). That's to avoid your new kernel being automatically removed on the next boot. That will give you time to try it out and decide whether you want to keep it.

I selected the kernel I wanted (*40) and clicked OK. But in the /boot directory there is no file called "do-purge-kernels" or anything like that. What now?

ls
boot.readme                              sysctl.conf-5.3.18-59.40-default
config-5.3.18-150300.59.43-default       System.map-5.3.18-150300.59.43-default
config-5.3.18-150300.59.43-preempt       System.map-5.3.18-150300.59.43-preempt
config-5.3.18-59.40-default              System.map-5.3.18-59.40-default
efi                                      vmlinux-5.3.18-150300.59.43-default.gz
grub2                                    vmlinux-5.3.18-150300.59.43-preempt.gz
initrd                                   vmlinux-5.3.18-59.40-default.gz
initrd-5.3.18-150300.59.43-default       vmlinuz
initrd-5.3.18-150300.59.43-preempt       vmlinuz-5.3.18-150300.59.43-default
initrd-5.3.18-59.40-default              .vmlinuz-5.3.18-150300.59.43-default.hmac
symvers-5.3.18-150300.59.43-default.gz   vmlinuz-5.3.18-150300.59.43-preempt
symvers-5.3.18-150300.59.43-preempt.gz   .vmlinuz-5.3.18-150300.59.43-preempt.hmac
symvers-5.3.18-59.40-default.gz          vmlinuz-5.3.18-59.40-default
sysctl.conf-5.3.18-150300.59.43-default  .vmlinuz-5.3.18-59.40-default.hmac
sysctl.conf-5.3.18-150300.59.43-preempt

[nrickert]

I selected the kernel I wanted (*40) and clicked OK. But in the /boot directory there is no file called "do-purge-kernels" or anything like that. What now?

The "do-purge-kernels" is a temporary file. It disappears on the next boot.

You probably rebooted before checking.

You might want to edit "/etc/zypp/zypp.conf" (as root), and modify the line:

multiversion.kernels = latest,latest-1,running

so that it instead reads

multiversion.kernels = oldest.latest,latest-1,running

That's just adding "oldest,".

This will make sure that your 5.3.18-59.40 kernel is not deleted after the next kernel update. Since you depend on being able to fall back to that kernel, best to keep it around.

[hnimmo]

The "do-purge-kernels" is a temporary file. It disappears on the next boot.

You probably rebooted before checking.

You might want to edit "/etc/zypp/zypp.conf" (as root), and modify the line:

multiversion.kernels = latest,latest-1,running

so that it instead reads

multiversion.kernels = oldest.latest,latest-1,running

That's just adding "oldest,".

This will make sure that your 5.3.18-59.40 kernel is not deleted after the next kernel update. Since you depend on being able to fall back to that kernel, best to keep it around.

Hmmm...no I didn't reboot before checking /boot. YaST advised me to, of course, but I held back and still haven't rebooted yet, waiting for your reply about the missing file. Actually, I am doubtful that changing the kernel version is the solution to my problem, since my system is running on *43 at the moment. My problem is that since I completed the bug correction as advised my system boots again 'successfully', except that my dual displays are now 'unconfigurable' (by Gnome Settings) is corrupted and there have been no suggestions how to recover this. The radical idea to go back to an earlier kernel is really a last resort. I would prefer for some help to troubleshoot the reason for the missing display configuration and act rationally on that basis.

[hcvv]

multiversion.kernels = oldest.latest,latest-1,running

That's just adding "oldest,".

.

Please mind, that is a , (as in the last line), not a . (as in the CODE example)!

[nrickert]

Please mind, that is a , (as in the last line), not a . (as in the CODE example)!

Oops. My goof.

[hnimmo]

Oops. My goof.

OK Got it! oldest,latest NOT oldest.latest. Thanks. I would have fallen for the mistake.

Is the oldest the last one in the YaST 'Versions' list (i.e. 5.3.18.59-30.1) or the one with the lowest version number 5.3.18.59-5.2 (which is higher in the list)? Or are we talking about the versions shown in the YaST package list, or even the ones in /boot list which are only *43 and *40 anyway.

[hnimmo]

Reverting to kernel *40 from *43 has not helped resolve my Gnome Display Settings issue.

I could postulate another cause of the problem. Namely, whilst I was recovering from the faulty kernel *43 update, there was some advice that I should delete kernel *43 and lock fall-back kernel *40. I started to follow that advice but changed my mind while YaST was busy deleting and installing the relevant packages. I wasn't really convinced that that was a good idea and aborted the procedure before it went to conclusion, on the assumption (from previous experience) that YaST would make an orderly roll-back to the out-going status. Could I have been mistaken in that assumption?

Another question. Why does to grub boot sequence say that kernel version 5.3.18.59-43*-preempt is being loaded when I am expecting *40-default?