[Bug 1477455] Re: Incorrect instructions leave automatic updates blocked when /boot is full

[Tyler Dinsmoor]

Hello. I submitted this bug in 2015. See bug #1460396. In that report I
included a short patch for update-manager which would allow checking for
enough space for a new kernel, but it got little attention.

Although @Alberto mentioned patching update-manager would be over-
engineering, it's better to at least add a check, than to do nothing..
Since 2015..

My solution makes sure there is enough room for the current kernel size
+ 10MB headroom in case of a large increase.

It does no harm to make a simple check prior to an upgrade and prompt
the user that they may not have enough room for the upgrade, and to go
to a URL with instructions on how to run an apt autoremove, or to use
synaptic to remove specific old kernels, etc. No harm. It's better to
give a recommendation instead of letting users who are just that, users,
fend for themselves.

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1477455

Title:
  Incorrect instructions leave automatic updates blocked when /boot is
  full

Status in update-manager package in Ubuntu:
  Triaged
Status in update-manager source package in Artful:
  Triaged

Bug description:
  What happens:

  Default installations regularly fail package updates when /boot fills
  up. While the ultimate cause of this bug lies elsewhere, update-
  manager gives the user incorrect instructions when the failure occurs:

  "Not enough free disk space The upgrade needs a total of 104 M free
  space on disk '/boot'. Please free at least an additional 85.6 M of
  disk space on '/boot'. Empty your trash and remove temporary packages
  of former installations using 'sudo apt-get clean'."

  These instructions do not work, and software updates from this point
  on fail. The user is left vulnerable, unless they have knowledgeable
  assistance or are technically capable enough to research and fix the
  problem themselves.

  What should happen:

  update-manager should provide valid instructions for dealing with this
  well known problem, or better yet perform the operation itself. It is
  responsible for keeping  the users machine up to date, and needs to
  handle this and similar failures.

  ProblemType: Bug
  DistroRelease: Ubuntu 15.04
  Package: update-manager 1:15.04.7
  ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.19.0-22.22-generic 3.19.8-ckt1
  Uname: Linux 3.19.0-22-generic x86_64
  NonfreeKernelModules: wl
  ApportVersion: 2.17.2-0ubuntu1.1
  Architecture: amd64
  CurrentDesktop: Unity
  Date: Thu Jul 23 15:35:46 2015
  GsettingsChanges:
   b'com.ubuntu.update-manager' b'show-details' b'true'
   b'com.ubuntu.update-manager' b'window-height' b'706'
   b'com.ubuntu.update-manager' b'first-run' b'false'
   b'com.ubuntu.update-manager' b'window-width' b'701'
   b'com.ubuntu.update-manager' b'launch-time' b'1437636623'
  InstallationDate: Installed on 2015-03-13 (131 days ago)
  InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 14.10 "Utopic Unicorn" - Release amd64 (20141022.1)
  PackageArchitecture: all
  SourcePackage: update-manager
  UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to vivid on 2015-03-16 (128 days ago)

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