Linux Mint not booting anymore

@vasileios Uh OH Something went really wrong.
I installed Python3.10 on My Linux mint. Followed instructions I found. at this link. How to Install Python 3.10 on Linux Mint 20 - LinuxCapable
I started at Option 1 and went as far as the verify point. I did not install anything below that .

All was good.

Then I found more info about Python3 not compatible with Linux mint because of other versions of Python that run a lot of programs in Mint. This article said to run check list to see what they were because you could harm the whole Linux ( true or false?)if you replaced the pre installed default Python running programs in Mint. I got curious…and did a few steps that were shown to see what the default was and Python 3.10 came up . Ran a check that showed which programs are run by earlier versions of Python. Many were Python 3.8 . I changed nothing there.

Joggled between python 3.10 and 3.8 as the instructions showed how to use python3.10 without disturbing mint installed one. Then terminal stopped working and everything stopped working. I rebooted and now nothing but basic files are working.

The reboot log in is normal but when it loads after password all I get is a black screen desktop with my desktop file icons. The files work but simplistically and with few options. It seems like its in a recovery mode of some sort? There is no internet, no browser capabilities. No tabs or buttons to click for them. And no terminal will come up not even by using the keyboard. ?? is this fixable? did I scramble the program by switching back and forth ??? and BOO on my curiosity. :frowning_face:

I am not able to relocate the instructions of the last part I did since I am searching on my windows computer without my brave bookmarks.

Fingers crossed. :crossed_fingers:

Hey @myundividedlife,
On a wider perspective, it is good to keep the main components of your current distro in versions that can “talk” to each other. That’s the challenge that many “bleeding-edge” distributions face. The fact is that installing a much newer version may change the way commands are issued, which leads to the troubles you’re having. The same has happened with PHP 8 versus all versions below it.

What happened now is that the main Python command set is linked to 3.10, which is now the default. The process to restore it will be a very time-consuming one, especially since I am not aware of the exact steps you made. The fastest way, would be to re-install Python 3.8 and purge the 3.10.

When you go to your Login Screen, hit CTRL+ALT+F3 for example, to go into command terminal number 3 (AKA TTY).

There, you will be able to login (hopefully your keyboard works to allow it) via text only. Once you login, execute:

sudo su

So that you enter root mode.
Once there, execute:

apt purge python3.10

I believe you have already added an extra repository (PPA) to install Python 3.10, one that is called “deadsnakes”. If not, then add it:

add-apt-repository ppa:deadsnakes/ppa
apt update
apt install python3.8

Then, you’ll need to set it back as default. But first, exit root mode by typing:

exit

Then, restore Python 3.8.

python3.8 -m venv ~/python/foo-3.8
sh -c '.export PYTHONNOUSERSITE=1;  ~/python/foo-3.8/bin/activate; pip install …'

Last, we’ll need to source it as our main terminal environment:

bash
export PYTHONNOUSERSITE=1
~/python/foo-3.6/bin/activate

After this is done, reboot and see if you can login and work normally again.

If not, then you might reconsider re-installing your system. In that dreadful scenario, don’t forget to have an additional external drive to pull your entire home folder out, so that you can copy it back in.

Thanks for your quick response @vasileios . Ok. Lets see how this goes. Yes, I am ready to back up my home folder . Interesting only the one blog had the warning on it to be careful. Too bad I read that after. Oh well. If I can reinstall as a last resort, at least I have that.

I will let u know…

and I hope others see this so they dont get into trouble with their Linux mint and python.

Ok @vasileios I am at the restore 3.8 part. After putting in the commands it says export not found pip not found

I also got errors fetching mirror

do I continue to the bash command?

The pip is okay if it fails. It’s probably not available and you can install it via apt install python3-pip. Then proceed to the rest of the commands.

Ok. and Hi. I worked on it for a few hours looking things up and trying to get past the export error and pip install. I dont remember what all I did because the teminal prompted me on a few things and I was thinking so hard lol I didnt take notes. Then i got two conflicting things about python3.8 being the most updated one installed but needed to get it. I assumed it meant run it? and it gave a few suggestions on what to command. But what it suggested and nothing I did got it past that point. I think I was close to getting it going but … anyway. it got late. So I decided if there were going to be any ongoing bugs that popped up because of this I would be better off just re installing mint. So I am actually doing that right now. But I was inching along to the remedy. I would never have gotten that far a month or two ago. Thanks again!!!

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You’re most welcome!
Experiments and errors is what sharpens our minds to find workarounds. Trust me when I say “I’ve did my own share of damage to various distros” back when I was trying things out. That’s how I learned. :slight_smile:

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totally getcha on that @vasileios ! I got Linux reinstalled and updated to Mint 20.3 so just have to get my favorite things set up in it again and figure out how to get connected to my vpn server . But like you say it sharpens the mind :upside_down_face: . telegram was really tricky to install on 20.3 version. But it seems to be good now. More adventures ahead!

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Indeed and congratulations, @myundividedlife!
By the way, since SNAP can be a bit messy for many, you can always have the latest version of Telegram via Flatpak.

sudo apt install flatpak
sudo apt install gnome-software-plugin-flatpak
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Then, you can install Telegram via:

flatpak install flathub org.telegram.desktop

You might need to restart for Telegram to begin appearing on your menus. :slight_smile:

On terminal, you can run the Telegram FlatPak with the following command:

flatpak run org.telegram.desktop
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Ok about telegram flatpak. I might switch over to that then. and see how it is…and thanks for the flatpak install commands!

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You’re most welcome, @myundividedlife!