I still daily drive Lubuntu 20.04 LTS because it is the very last Lubuntu that works properly with DVD live boot. I always get errors when I try using USB flash drives to live boot. I get no errors when using DVDs, they are so much more reliable than USB media.
Time is running out for my favorite distro version, so it’s time to plan on moving on.
I am a minority, so I can’t expect Lubuntu to bring back full DVD support. It’s sad, but it is what it is. All I can do is try to find another distro until I can’t anymore because they all eventually abandon DVD live boot support, and then I can’t use my computer anymore.
So with that being said, can any of you recommend me some good Lubuntu alternatives please?
I use DVD’s to install Lubuntu 22.04.1 and yeah I too get errors but just ignore them.
Sometimes depending on the computer I’m installing Lubuntu 22.04.1 on it can seem to take forever.
When installing Lubuntu 22.04.1 I find it best to walk away and let it run until a desktop screen appears and it will.
You have to realizes that the new releases have Snap incorporated into them and are a large amount of data being loaded from the DVD.
Once all of those files are loaded and a regular desktop appears you can than start to do the Lubuntu 22.04.1 install which again can take a bit more time than what we have been used to in past releases.
It took me several attempts to get Lubuntu 22.04 installed from a DVD when it was first released because I was not aware of all of the files which needed to decompress so I kept on trying and success.
Keep the faith man Lubuntu will always work with older less powerful computers imo.
I agree with this, though on returning from my “walk away” I open terminal & ensure the media check has completed successfully before I start the install. Yes you can sort of pick this on most hardware by activity; but I use system logs to confirm the machine is sitting idle having completed the media checks (the largest change impacting 20.10 & later).
DVD installs vary greatly in reliability depending on your hardware, if it’s a very late DVD drive with faster CPU you’ll find it easier than a much older drive & slower CPU.
(the only other OS I QA is Debian, but I’ve not used DVD media in QA except as a consequence of issues reported with it, so sorry I can’t suggest anything)
I figure when I return to the computer and there’s a desktop displayed that all is loaded and waiting for me to initiate the install leastwise has been my experience.
I have no idea about the age or speed of my DVD drives are probably older ones scavenged from other old computers.
I agree that installation from USB flash drives are a bit faster however I’m willing to wait the little bit of extra time it takes for a DVD install.
I’ve experienced failed installs using both media formats.
As long as it gets installed using either format is what really matters imo.
I booted the current jammy daily/RC (what we’ll soon release as Lubuntu 22.04.2 LTS) on a nearby box; I used thumb-drive, but what I do is the same regardless of media in use (ie. I’d do the same if using DVD or optical media; I just need to wait longer) and wait to see the scan complete in systemd journals (ie. journalctl)
Feb 21 23:05:00 lubuntu casper-md5check[2157]: Checking ./pool/main/e/efibootmgr/efibootmgr_17-1ubuntu2_amd64.deb..../pool/main/e/efibootmgr/efi>
Feb 21 23:05:00 lubuntu casper-md5check[2157]: Checking ./pool/main/g/grub2/grub-efi_2.06-2ubuntu7.1_amd64.deb..../pool/main/g/grub2/grub-efi_2.>
Feb 21 23:05:00 lubuntu systemd[1]: systemd-hostnamed.service: Deactivated successfully.
Feb 21 23:05:00 lubuntu casper-md5check[2157]: Checking ./pool/main/g/grub2/grub-efi-ia32_2.06-2ubuntu7.1_amd64.deb..../pool/main/g/grub2/grub-e>
Feb 21 23:05:00 lubuntu casper-md5check[2157]: Checking ./pool/main/g/grub2/grub-efi-ia32-bin_2.06-2ubuntu7.1_amd64.deb..../pool/main/g/grub2/gr>
Feb 21 23:05:00 lubuntu casper-md5check[2157]: Checking ./pool/main/g/grub2-unsigned/grub-efi-amd64_2.06-2ubuntu14.1_amd64.deb..../pool/main/g/g>
Feb 21 23:05:00 lubuntu casper-md5check[2157]: Checking ./pool/main/g/grub2-unsigned/grub-efi-amd64-bin_2.06-2ubuntu14.1_amd64.deb..../pool/main>
Feb 21 23:05:00 lubuntu casper-md5check[2157]: Checking ./pool/main/g/grub2-signed/grub-efi-amd64-signed_1.187.3~22.04.1+2.06-2ubuntu14.1_amd64.>
Feb 21 23:05:00 lubuntu casper-md5check[2157]: Checking ./pool/main/m/make-dfsg/make_4.3-4.1build1_amd64.deb..../pool/main/m/make-dfsg/make_4.3->
Feb 21 23:05:00 lubuntu casper-md5check[2157]: Checking ./pool/main/s/setserial/setserial_2.17-53build2_amd64.deb..../pool/main/s/setserial/sets>
Feb 21 23:05:00 lubuntu casper-md5check[2157]: Checking ./pool/main/s/shim-signed/shim-signed_1.51.3+15.7-0ubuntu1_amd64.deb..../pool/main/s/shi>
Feb 21 23:05:06 lubuntu dbus-daemon[1452]: [system] Failed to activate service 'org.bluez': timed out (service_start_timeout=25000ms)
Feb 21 23:05:06 lubuntu pulseaudio[1836]: GetManagedObjects() failed: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.NoReply: Did not receive a reply. Possible caus>
Feb 21 23:05:26 lubuntu systemd[1]: systemd-timedated.service: Deactivated successfully.
Feb 21 23:07:15 lubuntu sudo[2189]: lubuntu : TTY=pts/0 ; PWD=/home/lubuntu ; USER=root ; COMMAND=/usr/bin/dmesg
Feb 21 23:07:15 lubuntu sudo[2189]: pam_unix(sudo:session): session opened for user root(uid=0) by (uid=999)
Feb 21 23:07:15 lubuntu sudo[2189]: pam_unix(sudo:session): session closed for user root
Feb 21 23:07:50 lubuntu casper-md5check[2157]: Checking ./casper/filesystem.squashfs............................................................>
Feb 21 23:07:50 lubuntu casper-md5check[2157]: Checking ./casper/filesystem.squashfs.gpg..../casper/filesystem.squashfs.gpg: OK
Feb 21 23:07:50 lubuntu casper-md5check[2157]: Checking ./casper/filesystem.size..../casper/filesystem.size: OK
Feb 21 23:07:50 lubuntu casper-md5check[2157]: Checking ./casper/filesystem.manifest..../casper/filesystem.manifest: OK
Feb 21 23:07:50 lubuntu casper-md5check[2157]: Checking ./casper/filesystem.manifest-remove..../casper/filesystem.manifest-remove: OK
Feb 21 23:07:51 lubuntu casper-md5check[2157]: Checking ./casper/vmlinuz...../casper/vmlinuz: OK
Feb 21 23:07:55 lubuntu sudo[2195]: lubuntu : TTY=pts/0 ; PWD=/home/lubuntu ; USER=root ; COMMAND=/usr/bin/dmesg
Feb 21 23:07:55 lubuntu sudo[2195]: pam_unix(sudo:session): session opened for user root(uid=0) by (uid=999)
Feb 21 23:07:55 lubuntu sudo[2195]: pam_unix(sudo:session): session closed for user root
Feb 21 23:08:00 lubuntu casper-md5check[2157]: Checking ./casper/initrd......../casper/initrd: OK
Feb 21 23:08:00 lubuntu casper-md5check[2157]: Checking ./boot/memtest86+.bin..../boot/memtest86+.bin: OK
Feb 21 23:08:00 lubuntu casper-md5check[2157]: Checking ./boot/grub/grub.cfg..../boot/grub/grub.cfg: OK
Feb 21 23:08:00 lubuntu casper-md5check[2157]: Checking ./boot/grub/loopback.cfg...../boot/grub/loopback.cfg: OK
Feb 21 23:08:00 lubuntu casper-md5check[2157]: Check finished: no errors found.
Feb 21 23:08:00 lubuntu systemd[1]: Finished casper-md5check Verify Live ISO checksums.
Feb 21 23:08:00 lubuntu systemd[1]: Startup finished in 22.076s (firmware) + 18.610s (loader) + 24.369s (kernel) + 3min 49.323s (userspace) = 4m>
Feb 21 23:08:01 lubuntu sudo[2199]: lubuntu : TTY=pts/0 ; PWD=/home/lubuntu ; USER=root ; COMMAND=/usr/bin/journalctl
ie. what I look for is the following line
Feb 21 23:08:00 lubuntu casper-md5check[2157]: Check finished: no errors found.
as that tells me the media check (you should be able to see that in the logs I pasted as I included quite a bit of it for this purpose in my paste) completed successfully, and it’s this media check that is ultra-slow & can cause issues on very old/slow boxes using optical media (some cloud environments too though that had been resolved as I understand it).
With some releases the media check was visible prior to the desktop being shown (you’d see it and had the chance to ^C and skip it if fast enough) but that was changed to a background task meaning the desktop can be shown even though its still running in the background. I’m ensuring I’ve waited for that to complete prior to my installation.
FYI: I do that even when using thumb-drive or faster flash media too, as I consider it another cheap insurance (like ISO validation) to ensure my installed system is perfect. I don’t consider flash media as ultra reliable either (it can fail whenever written to) but its still pretty good for a cheap consumable product.
The error I experienced prevented Firefox from loading. (failed snap daemon)
I really need internet functionality in a distro. I don’t think this issue can be fixed, unless later Lubuntu releases allow more loading time for DVD live boots, so the error won’t appear.
The error shows up on the built-in live boot media integrity check.
I refuse to use Windows 10, 11, Apple or smartphones. So I need Linux to be functional for me. Otherwise I’ll have to go to the public library for internet rather than using a home PC.
Sorry if this sounds like a rant. I don’t expect anyone to feel sorry for me, but I really do appreciate any possible solution to my issue.
My paste was using the current Lubuntu 22.04.2 LTS media; ie. what is still a daily (20230217.1) and actually the current and possibly final but regardless a Release Candidate.
As I mentioned, prior release(s) used to show this prior to the desktop appearing, however that was changed so it was in the background, meaning you see the desktop whilst media validation is still occurring, and for best results you should wait for media validation to complete.
No, Firefox is missing from the menu after the live boot environment is completely loaded.
I haven’t attempted to install Lubuntu 22.04 on my PC because:
What if it installs a broken Lubuntu install, just because of the live boot error that caused Firefox to break?
My comp has 2 very old OS’s installed. (WinXP and Win7) I read that these later Lubuntu releases have issues with installing on dual boot systems. Later I could buy spare parts to build myself an identical PC to single boot Lubuntu on, but only once I get this Firefox issue resolved.
I was able to install successfully Lubuntu 22.04 LTS using DVD/optical media on a 2005 HP Compaq dc7700 (c2d-e6320 though that wasn’t the original CPU, it’d had numerous RAM upgrades & other changes during its QA life)
As system logs will record all events; its pretty easy to scan for issues like my example of ensuring the media check completed in my prior ‘example’.
If I was doing a clean install (ie. overwriting or formatting a partition) I’d not be concerned; alas I’d not like to use optical media for a re-install type of install (ie. non-destructive with auto-reinstall of packages; “using existing partition” in our testing checklist) but I suspect that would still work too (as I recall the issues were all detectable before you started the install - eg. media checks have completed).
Not sure if this was mentioned already, but it is somewhat expected for Firefox to be missing from the application menu in the live ISO environment when booting from DVD. Firefox is included in Lubuntu and will be present on the installed system.
The problem that’s happening here (from what I understand) is that some early setup for Snap is timing out due to the slow DVD read spead, thus making Firefox vanish on the live ISO. But once Lubuntu is installed on your physical hard drive or SSD, you will have much faster read speeds, and Firefox will show up normally.
Also the multiboot problems are easily overcome - you just have to change a setting and update GRUB. And I believe that’s only necessary in some corner cases - in my experience Lubuntu will detect the other operating systems.
Still, it would be wise to back up your data before trying a new install of Lubuntu just to be sure, preferably a full disk image backup to an external hard drive. That way you can restore exactly your existing disk setup if something goes awry.
I think a good Lubuntu alternative is to start booting Lubuntu live from USB. I have done quite a lot of work in order to make USB boot drives work with several operating systems (distros and versions) and with several computers (brands models and hardware configurations). I am willing to help you boot live and install Lubuntu from a USB drive.
If you wish, I suggest that you start by
running the system-info script and let it upload the result to a pastebin and put a link to it in a reply here.
My question is, what is the issue? If you already have a Lubuntu installation in your machine, you don’t need to run a fresh install from DVD each time to move it up . . . you could just edit the sources.list and then update/upgrade into the newer distro???