cant uninstall or remove a tool called mkusb

pozric · 2017-12-14 05:49:52

Hey i installed this tool mkusb from https://help.ubuntu.com/community/mkusb, https://help.ubuntu.com/community/mkusb … -to-debian and it messed it up for me , i got an xsession warning unable to write to tmp , the space just vanished etc, couldn't login. I logged in from an live usb and removed and cleaned so i could login again.

Ive tried too uninstall this tool but cant find how to do it , its like its not there, I have these in applications folder: guidus, mkusb.legacy, mkusb.legacy-root and mkusb.legacy-sudo.
Maybe someone can help me?

Head_on_a_Stick · 2017-12-14 06:56:42

pozric wrote:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/mkusb … -to-debian

The "advice" in this link is extraordinarily bad and has wrecked your system, why not send the author an email and tell them how you feel about this?

You should read https://wiki.debian.org/DontBreakDebian, paying particular attention to https://wiki.debian.org/DontBreakDebian … nkenDebian, and then re-install your system from scratch and avoid adding any PPAs in future.

pozric · 2017-12-14 09:08:59

Hi and thanks, ha ha yes I have not learned from my earlier mistakes , i somehow mess things up eventually but haven't since bunsenlabs was released , i messed up crunch-bang many times specially when messing around trying to get oss4 to work (its sounds so much better with oss) pulseaudio sucks.. I was going to reinstall from scratch but was, is waiting for the new release. I really like bunsen and crunchbang. Thanks anyway peace

BLizgreat! · 2017-12-15 10:02:48

Types in stunned silence, I actually completely agree with Hoas. * Yeah ... messing around. Could not (oops edit) let a joke opportunity like this pass, it even took me awhile to find where the emoticons are, to do the shocked face. They don't show up with noscript running, until allow etc.

Do think all borkage is a learning opportunity. Tis the principle or challenge of the thing darn it ! Everytime a nixer resorts to reinstalling an gnu/Linux OS they've broken, somewhere in the world a kitten bursts into flames, it's a fact. Same time if you aren't breaking your Nixy goodness, probably aren't doing anything very interesting and definitely times to just forego all of it and restore a backup. Pointless 2 cents, I've had too much coffee, too little sleep as usual.

So while babbling on anyway, not in this case (cause there were none)but one thing I've noticed has value, ALWAYS read the comments in a how-to, ALWAYS!!! Find some of the most useful stuff in them and perhaps a warning. IE: Thanks x-author ... you helped me SCREW up my OS major !!!

/end-dork n Vll!

Last edited by BLizgreat! (2017-12-15 17:23:52)

Steve · 2017-12-15 10:11:10

Love how the author says they are using DD under the hood!!

sudodus · 2017-12-15 16:56:58

@pozric, I don't know what happened, but I am very sorry that your system was damaged, when you tried to use mkusb. This is completely contrary to the intention, when it was created.

I added a warning text at the link

help.ubuntu.com/community/mkusb/install-to-debian

in order to prevent problems like this in the future.

Long ago I tried Crunchbang, but I had never tried the Bunsenlabs distro, so I did not know, if mkusb works with your distro. I was curious and installed the 64-bit version of Bunsenlabs (in BIOS alias legacy mode). And in the installed system I used [my own] advice at the link above to install mkusb via the Launchpad PPA. It works for me, and the software works with one exception. I cannot find mkusb in the menu system, that is activated by right-clicking on the desktop. But mkusb works, when started from a terminal window and working desktop icons can be found in the standard directory

/usr/share/applications

mkusb can not only clone from a bunsenlabs iso file to a live-only USB drive, it can even create a persistent live bunsenlabs drive (according to the recipe for Debian).

mkusb 'wraps a safety belt around dd'. When I had seen too many people overwrite their internal drives with valuable data using simple tools like dd and cp, I made mkusb in order to help identifying the target device and to add a final checkpoint to give the users (people like you and me, who know, but sometimes are somewhat distracted) a second chance to check that the target device is really the USB pendrive or memory card, that should be written to.

The capability to create persistent live drives was added later on.

Finally, I like Bunsenlabs. It works well for me (easy to understand out of the box), from a live-only USB drive, from a persistent live USB drive and as an installed system. I understand and accept your policy about non-standard software but maybe you will find mkusb useful in the future.

BLizgreat! · 2017-12-15 17:21:22

^ How do we know you aren't a buntu spy, out to destroy the gnu/Linuxy awesomeness of Debian !!?? Yep ... messing around some more. To babble more of the obvious, this is not directed at the OP but it's funny how often someone will say I followed your tute/how-to and it didn't work !!

Did you follow step 1,2 and 3 ? Nope, skipped those and started at step 5 + went ahead and substituted a few things. Hmmmm, didn't work ya say ? Sheesh wonder how that'd coulda possibly happened ?

Vll!

cloverskull · 2017-12-15 19:08:48

Hey sudodus, thanks for adding a warning and being part of the conversation here. That said, there must be a way to roll this on Debian without adding an external PPA. Advising anyone on Debian to use an Ubuntu PPA is a bad idea - it's not a configuration or installation problem, it's a surefire way to break Debian completely and render it useless.

Can we not find another way to roll this on Debian?

sudodus · 2017-12-15 19:36:44

@cloverskull, I have tried for years, but the Debian sponsors (responsible for introducing new program packages) are not interested. I think they are happy with dd and cp to create a USB boot drive.

It is also possible to install mkusb-dus (version 12) from a tarball, but then there will be no automatic upgrades to new versions, so it is not a good solution.

If you or someone else at Bunsenlabs can do the sponsor part of the job, I will help with the details.

Last edited by sudodus (2017-12-15 19:37:30)

cloverskull · 2017-12-15 21:53:46

An alternative would be a flatpak installation, which could suffice, no? This'll restrict it to a user env and won't touch any system level stuff.

Do you have a list of mkusb's dependencies?

Head_on_a_Stick · 2017-12-15 22:37:57

@sudodus, I tried packaging up your program for Debian but I can only get versions for wheezy (Debian 7) working at the moment, which isn't very useful

https://software.opensuse.org//download … kage=mkusb

I'm trying to get it to work for jessie & stretch but I can't guarantee anything (lots of other things to do), here is a guide if you want to try yourself:

http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=130057

sudodus · 2017-12-16 08:41:27

@cloverskull, I do not know flatpak. I will look into the details.

@Head_on_a_Stick, I have spent a lot of time to make mkusb work in Debian Jessie and Stretch. I do not understand why you can only make it work with old Wheezy. I will look into the details at your links.

-o-

Maybe mkusb-bas or mkusb-nox is a better alternative for Bunsenlabs. These alternatives are simple shellscripts, that work in text mode and use only standard tools, that are available in most linux distros except 'pv', and 'pv' is there only to keep the user happy while waiting (it is not necessary). mkusb-nox needs a more modern version of linux (than mkusb-bas), and the current Bunsenlabs version is modern enough. There are no bells and whistles, only a safety belt around 'dd'.

These versions can be run as they are without any installation. If you make the shellscript executable you can use the command line

sudo ./mkusb-nox bl-Deuterium-amd64_20170429.iso

Otherwise you can use

sudo bash mkusb-nox bl-Deuterium-amd64_20170429.iso

Steve · 2017-12-16 12:47:39

My apologies for that comment earlier sudodus. Looks like you have spent many hours developing this and you did make users aware of its limitations and how not to make a frankendebian https://wiki.debian.org/DontBreakDebian … nkenDebian. Myself i have always been wary of ubuntu ppas and adding unknown sources to apt in debian/bunsenlabs.

ubuntu and debian dont seem to play nice together, its either all or nothing either way, ie you build it specifically for debian or likewise ubuntu.

Last edited by Steve (2017-12-16 12:48:30)

Head_on_a_Stick · 2017-12-16 12:48:35

sudodus wrote:

@Head_on_a_Stick, I have spent a lot of time to make mkusb work in Debian Jessie and Stretch. I do not understand why you can only make it work with old Wheezy.

Ah no, sorry, I should have explained better — I don't run Debian myself usually so I just downloaded all the files from your PPA and uploaded them to my openSUSE Build Service repository using my Arch box and the OBS doesn't like the "format" line in the .dsc file; to correct that I would have to rebuild the packages properly in a Debian container (which I don't have time to do atm).

I would strongly recommend that you look at opening an account over at the openSUSE Build Service:

https://build.opensuse.org/

It would free you of the clutches of Canonical's evil legal disclaimer and the OBS allows packages to be built for Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Red Hat, Arch and a few others, all in clean VMs run just for that purpose

Maybe mkusb-bas or mkusb-nox is a better alternative for Bunsenlabs

We try to encourage a lack of abstraction in our distribution so in my opinion the "best" alternative for BunsenLabs is:

sudo cp example.img /dev/sdX; sync

Nice and simple, just like me

EDIT: I've added a load of Ubuntu versions to my repository, it was as easy as clicking a few buttons:

https://software.opensuse.org//download … kage=mkusb

Last edited by Head_on_a_Stick (2017-12-16 12:57:20)

sudodus · 2017-12-16 19:30:30

@Steve, no worries, I'm getting used to the posting style at your forum, and understand that you nice persons :-)

@Head_on_a_Stick, thanks for the additional details about making a package for Debian. Before getting started, I have to get a few more things straight.

1. Are you really interested, or are you happy with a method that overwrites a device (its head end with the partition table and approximately the first gibibyte of data) without a prompt to double-check that the target drive is really the correct one (and not the internal drive or a USB drive with your only copy of the family pictures)?

2. I think I would have to simplify mkusb a lot to make it suit your taste. Please test 'mkusb-nox' (which you can do by simply download/copy the shellscript file), or mkusb version 12 alias 'dus' in text mode (using 'dialog' which must be installed), and tell me if you think these would be worth converting/installing for the user group of Bunsenlabs. Maybe I should 'wrap a safety belt around dd' (or cp) in an even simpler way in order to make it attractive for you.

-o-

I must admit, that I won't be doing this only for you. Tools and methods tend to be developed into more complicated structures, and at a certain point it is better to start with a fresh and simple system instead of continuing to develop the current system. I think that a simplified method to create USB boot drives in a safe way can be useful also for other linux distros (and replace tools like mkusb, Unetbootin etc).

Last edited by sudodus (2017-12-16 19:37:46)

Head_on_a_Stick · 2017-12-16 19:50:19

sudodus wrote:

Are you really interested, or are you happy with a method that overwrites a device (its head end with the partition table and approximately the first gibibyte of data) without a prompt to double-check that the target drive is really the correct one (and not the internal drive or a USB drive with your only copy of the family pictures)?

Yes, completely.

Any important data would be backed up and I don't think wrapping the user in cotton wool helps anybody — using the command line as root is a serious business and this is an important lesson for anybody to learn.

I think I would have to simplify mkusb a lot to make it suit your taste

To be absolutely clear here: I despise abstraction in any form and I prefer to simplify things as much as possible, I am satisfied with the current methods for transferring ISO images (as outlined on the BunsenLabs homepage) and do not believe that we have any need for more.

sudodus · 2017-12-16 20:15:51

@Head_on_a_Stick,

Thank you for the clear answer. Then I will stop here. I hope that the warning text that I added at

help.ubuntu.com/community/mkusb/install-to-debian

will make Bunsenlabs users abstain from any adventures that will cause another thread like this one.

Last edited by sudodus (2017-12-16 20:18:51)

Head_on_a_Stick · 2017-12-16 21:54:24

sudodus wrote:

Then I will stop here

The opinions expressed in my post are mine alone and I am not responsible for deciding the development direction of this distribution so perhaps if you wait a bit other community members may express an interest in helping you develop this.

I hope that the warning text that I added [...]

Yes indeed, thank you very much for adding that, it is most appreciated.

johnraff · 2017-12-19 01:04:22

(Moved the abstraction discussion to "off topic".)

sudodus · 2017-12-19 09:48:03

A new mkusb minimal shellscript - 'mkusb-min' is described at the following link,

help.ubuntu.com/community/mkusb/min

mkusb-min is simple, the shellscript is very small compared to the other versions of mkusb, yet it serves the purpose to wrap a safety belt around 'dd'.

I have tested it in a live session made from

bl-Deuterium-amd64_20170429.iso

and it works for me. If you are interested, please test it. I think it will be an alternative according to the policy of bunsenlabs (to avoid installing things that do not belong to bunsenlabs or Debian).

mkusb-min is a small bash shellscript, that works as it is without any particular installation. It is easy to read in a text editor and understand what the shellscipt is doing. So you can be sure that it is doing what it is supposed to do and nothing else.

- If you find it useful, please use it as it is.

- If you think it should be improved, for example to make it look better (one alternative is to use the package 'dialog' to get a nicer interface), please let me know (and suggest what to do).

#1 2017-12-14 05:49:52

cant uninstall or remove a tool called mkusb

#2 2017-12-14 06:56:42

Re: cant uninstall or remove a tool called mkusb

#3 2017-12-14 09:08:59

Re: cant uninstall or remove a tool called mkusb

#4 2017-12-15 10:02:48

Re: cant uninstall or remove a tool called mkusb

#5 2017-12-15 10:11:10

Re: cant uninstall or remove a tool called mkusb

#6 2017-12-15 16:56:58

Re: cant uninstall or remove a tool called mkusb

#7 2017-12-15 17:21:22

Re: cant uninstall or remove a tool called mkusb

#8 2017-12-15 19:08:48

Re: cant uninstall or remove a tool called mkusb

#9 2017-12-15 19:36:44

Re: cant uninstall or remove a tool called mkusb

#10 2017-12-15 21:53:46

Re: cant uninstall or remove a tool called mkusb

#11 2017-12-15 22:37:57

Re: cant uninstall or remove a tool called mkusb

#12 2017-12-16 08:41:27

Re: cant uninstall or remove a tool called mkusb

#13 2017-12-16 12:47:39

Re: cant uninstall or remove a tool called mkusb

#14 2017-12-16 12:48:35

Re: cant uninstall or remove a tool called mkusb

#15 2017-12-16 19:30:30

Re: cant uninstall or remove a tool called mkusb

#16 2017-12-16 19:50:19

Re: cant uninstall or remove a tool called mkusb

#17 2017-12-16 20:15:51

Re: cant uninstall or remove a tool called mkusb

#18 2017-12-16 21:54:24

Re: cant uninstall or remove a tool called mkusb

#19 2017-12-19 01:04:22

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#20 2017-12-19 09:48:03

Re: cant uninstall or remove a tool called mkusb

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