[SOLVED] Linux mint 20 font error

[Helen:3]

After upgrading to Linux mint 20. This has happened:

I have tried many times to restart it but it doesn't seem to help

 

[Condobloke]

G'day Helen and Welcome to linux.org

Give us some specs......make , model, ram, cpu etc etc

Tell us the story....what was on the pc prior to your upgrade attempt
which instructions did you follow to upgrade

Do you have important data/music/pics on that pc ?....do you have a backup?

etc

 

[Vrai]

After upgrading to Linux mint 20. This has happened:
View attachment 6855
I have tried many times to restart it but it doesn't seem to help

I cannot quite determine what screen that is. Can you provide any insight?

I wonder if it is just a missing or corrupted font(s) issue?

 

[Jared.]

Seems as though that the text has gotten corrupted and were replaced by what looks like a bunch of hexadecimals. If I may ask, are you also experiencing any graphical issues when navigating to any of the GUI applications or menus? Can you show us what your Font menu looks like?

 

[khedger]

My first guess would be that a driver for your monitor or some 'x' config is screwed up and so garbage spews to your display. But that's just a first reaction....

keith

 

[Jared.]

My first guess would be that a driver for your monitor or some 'x' config is screwed up and so garbage spews to your display. But that's just a first reaction....

keith

I would've said so, but it doesn't look like it affected the graphical interface, just the text.

 

[jglen490]

There's nothing useful on that sceen display, at all. Going back to Condobloke's reply, we need very specific specs on your hardware.

 

[Vrai]

There's nothing useful on that sceen display, at all. Going back to Condobloke's reply, we need very specific specs on your hardware.

Those squares with the numbers in them are actually placeholders or ASCII representations of the font.
The numbers in the boxes can be used to look up the font.
That's why I thought it may be a font issue.
The graphics or screen rendering is not very high quality but it looks like everything is there. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Helen:3]

G'day Helen and Welcome to linux.org

Give us some specs......make , model, ram, cpu etc etc

Tell us the story....what was on the pc prior to your upgrade attempt
which instructions did you follow to upgrade

Do you have important data/music/pics on that pc ?....do you have a backup?

etc

Features
Model: Dell Inspiron 3585 R5-2500U/8GB/256GB
Ram: 8GB
Hard drive: 256GB SSD
Graphics Card Series: AMD
Graphics card: AMD Radeon RX Vega
Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 2500U


These were the instructions that I followed for the upgrade

How to upgrade to Linux Mint 20 — Linux Mint User Guide documentation

linuxmint-user-guide.readthedocs.io

And actually I have files in that device but I don't have a backup

 

[JasKinasis]

Somebody posted this exact problem here a while ago, but with parrot Linux.

Font Rendering Error | SOLVED

I understand how frustrating it can be. I use to chat with a guy in Debian Testing and he explained that running Testing and unstable can be very challenging to fix things. I think it took him like 9 years to get really good at running Debian Sid:- Hang in there it's inevitable, eventually...

www.linux.org

It looks like the font that the desktop is trying to use is either missing, or corrupt.

You’ll need to find your way into the system settings for your desktop and select a different font. It might be tricky to get there if the fonts for the main menu and the system settings application are missing, but if you can get there - choosing a different font should hopefully fix the issue for you.

I’d imagine the icons for the various menu items will help you to guess your way into your system settings!!

 

[wizardfromoz]

G'day Helen and welcome

Which Linux Mint did you upgrade from? an 18 or a 19, be specific if you can?

And did you follow the advice and make a Timeshift backup first?

Cheers

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz

 

[Helen:3]

G'day Helen and welcome

Which Linux Mint did you upgrade from? an 18 or a 19, be specific if you can?

And did you follow the advice and make a Timeshift backup first?

Cheers

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz

I was using 19 version and yes, I made a timeshift backup

 

[wizardfromoz]

Thanks for that Helen, gotta go for my aussie evening but will be back when I can

 

[Deleted member 101831]

Since you have a timeshift backup I would simply revert back to Linux Mint 19.x that you were previously using and since Linux Mint 19.x is supported until 2023 no reason to not use it.

 

[Alexzee]

After upgrading to Linux mint 20. This has happened:
View attachment 6855
I have tried many times to restart it but it doesn't seem to help

I had the exact same problem when I upgraded LM 19.3 to LM 20.

Thankfully I did a snapshot of my system with Timeshift.

The only thing that worked for me was to run Timeshift in the termianl and revert back to the snapshot I took before the upgrade.

I hope for you that you took a snapshot of your system.

 

[Condobloke]

I was using 19 version and yes, I made a timeshift backup

@Alexzee ....yes, she took the snapshot (thankfully !!)

 

[jglen490]

The display from the OP's screenshot is useful, in the same way that dumping a binary file is useful

Linux Mint has some information on the upgrade path to Mint 20. I'm not saying that those instructions were not followed, but the result indicates a problem took place either in preparation for the upgrade or during the upgrade. When in doubt, go to the source.

 

[Alexzee]

The display from the OP's screenshot is useful, in the same way that dumping a binary file is useful

Linux Mint has some information on the upgrade path to Mint 20. I'm not saying that those instructions were not followed, but the result indicates a problem took place either in preparation for the upgrade or during the upgrade. When in doubt, go to the source.

For me, I think something went wrong 'during the upgrade' as I followed those instructions well.

In the future I think I'll download LM 20 and perform a fresh installation rather than upgrade.

 

[wizardfromoz]

Love it when the Timeshift fans swing by

I should add to Brian's that he and I a few years ago, followed a Tute by Clem (Lefebvre, of Mint) to upgrade, followed the "destructions" and both ended up with a non-working install. Mine succeeded the 2nd time around. Brian went for new, I think.

Fresh install is better with Mint.

How recent is the snapshot, Helen?

Wiz

 

[Helen:3]

Problem solved. I tried to change the font and that was it, it worked!
Thanks to everyone who helped me!