Mythbuntu 8.04 Installer crash: :"Failed to load HAL"

you could try from a terminal:

apt-get update
apt-get dist-upgrade

see where you go from there.

Hi again,
No luck. for the 1st command, I get:

"E:Could not open lock file /var/lib/dpkg/lock-open (13 permission denied)"
"Unable to lock the list directory."

For the 2nd,:

"E:Could not open lock file /var/lib/dpkg/lock-open (13 permission denied)"
"Unable to lock the administration directory (var/lib/dpkg/), are you root?"

As far as I can tell, I am root, and signed in with my password 1st, but as I said, I seem to have very little access to any features, and no net or network access whatsoever (though it is connected).

Apologies if my problem is simple or obvious, but as I said I'm quite inexperienced with Linux (though keen to learn).

Glenrock

Well at this point, I would recommend running:

sudo apt-get -f install

If you can't get your system into a consistent state with that, you may just
be in trouble.

On Fri, Aug 8, 2008 at 16:13, Launchpad Bug Tracker <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> You have been subscribed to a public bug:
>
> Hi,
> I'm an inexperienced Linux user with a Mythbuntu PVR I built & configured
> myself. It has been working well since last year until I attempted to update
> to version 8.04. When the package installer had only 4 minutes left to
> finish the installer hung for over an hour, until I noticed it's terminal
> had stopped at a prompt which would accept typed characters, indicating to
> me it was no longer operating. Unfortunately, I restarted the pc and now the
> system no longer functions. It loads to a basic low gfx screen with a
> message stating "Internal Error: Failed to load HAL". I seem to have no net
> or internet connectivity, I can't access update manager or Synaptic to try &
> redo the install, I can't load Firefox or much of anything else, & no
> backend can be found. I can however, load a terminal - I'm just not familiar
> enough to know what to do with it. My 7.04 cd will not allow me to update in
> either live or safe gfx mode, I assume because it is an earlier version than
> even the 7.10 the pc was?
> I am currently downloading the 8.04 iso to see if that allows me access but
> I wish to know if there is a way to roll back/undo the update &/or how to
> access a cd version to refresh the install without wiping my whole system &
> starting again a-la Windows Setup? I daresay I'm in for some loss &
> reconfiguring but I'd like to save as much as I can if possible - I had a
> lot of saved programmes & it was set up almost perfectly so I don't relish
> having to do it all again!
> Thanks, I hope you can help me,
> Glenrock
>
> ** Affects: mythbuntu-meta (Ubuntu)
> Importance: Undecided
> Status: New
>
> --
> Mythbuntu 8.04 Installer crash: :"Failed to load HAL"
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/252209
> You received this bug notification because you are a member of Mythbuntu,
> which is subscribed to mythbuntu-meta in ubuntu.
>

--
Mario Limonciello
<email address hidden>

It seems I may just be in trouble then. From your command I got :

E:dpkg failed to load, you need to manually run "dpkg --configure -a" to correct the problem.

After running this I'm told that this operation requires superuser privileges (after logging in with password & all)

I don't fancy a complete reinstall, but it seems my only option. At least I have a spare hard drive, I just have to figure out how to transfer my recorded shows between them......

Many thanks to all those who tried to help.

Glenrock

So this is an issue with your upgrade. It sounds like something that was installed probably caused the hang. Did you sort this out?

Open a Terminal from the menu Applications->Accessories->Terminal and type:

sudo dpkg --configure -a
sudo apt-get -f install
sudo apt-get clean all
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
sudo apt-get clean all
sudo apt-get autoremove

give your user password when requested, you don't see nothing when you type it, then press enter.

Hope this helps