# How to uninstall updates linux mint cinnamon



## Juan_Tico (Jan 1, 2015)

Hi guys,

I have Linux Mint 17 Qiana running with X-Cinnamon environment.

I also have a Geforce 8400m.

Now there was a bit update from the Update Manager (about 50 MB and many files).
After this I get "The Cinnamon environment could not be loaded. You are in failback mode - want to try to start again? Yes - No"
It's not exactly like this, but anyway.
Whenever I click "yes", nothing happens.

This was directly after the update.
Now, I've learned that once you updated a package, you can only uninstall it completely, but not go back to the earlier stage.
That makes it hard for me.

What would you recommend?
Here's the list of updates I ran:




Please assist!


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## wmorri (May 29, 2008)

Hi, I am not a Cinnamon expert, but I would start with a restart. Most things figure themselves out after restarting. Also, are you updating a fresh install or is this just a regular update?


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## Juan_Tico (Jan 1, 2015)

wmorri:

Thanks for your reply.
It is an older system and I updated with "normal" updates from the update manager.
I've done a reboot, but it didn't help. I also installed some additional updates, because I thought they might have fixed the issues, but that wasn't the case.


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## danthonia (Nov 12, 2015)

My experience with 'buntu distros (Mint is one) and older computers prompts me to stick with LTS versions like 14.04, disable automatic updates and to not update the kernel past, say, 3.18 or so. Mint 17.03 is in beta and not all bugs have been worked out. This could be the root of your concern. Unfortunately, a re-install may be necessary. 

If you have not become familiar with Puppy Linux, now may be a good time to do so. Why? It is compatible with older computers and may be used for file recover using the LiveCD to mount partitions and/or drives to save desired files to removable devices like USB sticks. 

It may also be recommended to become familiar with Clonezilla so that, once a system is workable and as wanted, a backup image of the hard drive or boot partition can be made to fall back on should you run into a problem like the one just encountered.


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## hal8000 (Dec 23, 2006)

Does Cinnamon Desktop load or are you in console mode?
You say "nothing happens"?

Can you get to a console or terminal try ctrl-alt-F2

Then post the output of:

sudo inxi -Gx

uname -a

modinfo nouveau

modinfo nvidia


I have a feeling that either your Nvidia or Nouveau driver has been updated or your kernel version does not match (although I dont see this in your list of updates).

The other thing you can try is:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

These last two commands will update everything. There is a command to update your distro to the latest version although if it doesn't work now, could make things worse than better.


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## Juan_Tico (Jan 1, 2015)

@danthonia:

Thx for the feedback. I think I'll have to reinstall.
Indeed a slimmer version would be ok for me.

- Is there a way to switch from mint to a slimmer version while maintaining all installed programs?

- Can I take backup images with an encrypted hdd?

@hal8000:
Thx for the feedback. 
The system comes up and I can work, but I always have to reconfigure the wireless network connection and no cinnamon features are available.

Somebody told me that I have issue due to PPSs that are being updated.
Indeed I have more than 20 ticked under Software Source in the Synaptics Package Manager.
Is this an issue?

Here's the requested output.



> Graphics: Card: NVIDIA G86M [GeForce 8400M GS] bus-ID: 01:00.0
> Display Server: X.org 1.15.1 driver: nvidia
> tty size: 80x24 Advanced Data: N/A for root
> 
> ...


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## hal8000 (Dec 23, 2006)

If you can work at the moment then start backing up your own data from your /home partition that you want to keep e.g. bookmarks, music, pictures documents etc and any configuration
changes, if you've customised grub or your shell or custom aliases.


You are using the Nvidia driver with matching kernel version. 
When you do apt-get update from the terminal do any of your PPA sources file to load or give a 404 error? This could stop your system from updating


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## danthonia (Nov 12, 2015)

You'll need the 340.96 nVidia driver on a USB.

Check out what hal8000 is saying. 

But if just want a livelier version of a 'buntu distro, one I'd say worth looking into is SalentOS. The 32-bit light version.


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