Troubleshooting Linux Apps/packages [Noob Edition!]
Before we begin, let me assume you were having a great time with you distro until something unwanted happened. Eventually, that may have made your system unstable. Hmm … Well, get used to it… This could be the norm in the world of Linux!
I will be giving examples w.r.t Manjaro! So let's dive in!
Common scenarios to look into:
- An update can cause instability. But if you are using a stable distro like Manjaro, Mint or Ubuntu or something else, this happens rarely. So maybe you should be downgrading. Hold on this is kinda last resolution stuff. Read-on further.
- A partial update could be an Issue. So try once again running system update and reboot to see if the issue will be resolved. So in Manjaro I would do something like this:
sudo pacman -Syyu
3. Sometime it could be a reason that the update server could be out of sync. This means you aren’t really updated although it shows you are updated. For this update mirrors and do system update. Something like this:
sudo pacman -f 5 --fasttrack
4. The application can be working great, but you feel some features could be missing right? Probably the package needs some optional dependencies. Optional dependencies arent really forced to be installed in a normal installation. So check optional deps and install them. But yea do lookout for possible warnings on conflicting packages.
sudo pacman -Qi <packagename> ( to list out package info)
sudo pacman -S --asdeps $(pactree -l <packagename>) (to install package with all its depenndecies)
If nothing works, community forum can save you ass! Trust me they will be more responsive and helpful than you have ever thought! This is damn true in Manjaro forum!
And as the last option, a complete system restore could be considered. Well, it could be a pain in the ass if you want to do it via a few commands. ’Cause you never know what could break down in the process! So I suggest you TimeShift. Its an application in Linux similar to windows restore in win10.
Pro Tip: Whenever a crucial system upgrade is available, hang on for some time like 2–3 days. So that solution is readily available for known issues or new updates fixing those could be pushed.
Whatever, be patient and keep learning and Loving Linux!!!!! Be a penguin lover !!!
