Ubuntu 14.04LTS Upgrade Problem

Hello,

I have Zorin 7 installed and recently upgraded to Ubuntu 14.04LTS, as prompted by my system. Upon upgrading, I have a serious problem:

-The menu/launcher does not appear anywhere on my screen.
-My web browswer (Firefox) automatically opens upon login (as normal), but the outside elements to the window are missing: minimize/close button,etc. Also, I cannot stretch the size of the window, which stays at a half-size.
-The only way I can access files is by CTRL + O, but the window opens in my web browser.
-I cannot copy, paste, or delete files.
-Drop-down menus in my browser do not fully appear. When I select one, I can arrow up and down only.
-There are major elements to the login screen missing.

I am not able to take a sreen shot, otherwise I would to show what the problem is more clearly.

Perhaps I should not have upgraded to 14.04LTS with Zorin 7, but then why should I have been prompted to do so....?

What do I need to do to get my OS back to normal?

I'm not expert enough to give you a sure solution, but I do have experience with upgrades causing problems. An upgrade to a new version of Ubuntu can result in a lot of irreversible changes. One issue is that a number of installed software packages may be incompatible with the new version 14.04. Some things to try:

1. On the boot screen if you get asked which kernel to boot into, choose an earlier kernel.
2. Open Synaptic and see if the log there lists what packages were installed during the upgrade and then systematically uninstall them.
3. Going the other way you might ask synaptic to mark all upgrades and then upgrade all the packages that may upgrade because of the new distro version.

I'm not sure if you can restore you earlier version. Some other people here can better answer that.

In the final analysis you could use your earlier ISO to boot into the live distro and then back up all the data on your hard drive. You could then download the 14.04 install iso, write the image to a dvd, boot into the dvd and then reinstall the remaining software one package at a time. That is sort of like manually removing dandruff from you hair, but it will work.
All the best
Jojo

Hi, you should no longer be using Zorin 7 - this was like the version of Ubuntu it was based on - a development release - you need to update to Zorin 9 LTS - backup all your /home folder, remembering to use 'Ctrl+ H' to show hidden folders!

Thanks for your replies.

I have tried booting into a earier version under Advanced Options, but I have gotten the same exact result. I am not sure how I can access Synaptic since there is not a visible menu.

The one thing I would like to do is to back up my files and then upgrade to Zorin 9, which is what I have been wanting to do anyway. I do not know how I would do this from the boot menu, or another way, since I am not able to copy and paste or drag and drop any files right now. Specific instruction on how to do this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Hi, the best way to get your data backed up is as follows:

1. Make sure that your machine shuts down cleanly.

2. Make sure you have an external hard drive or access to a second Optical drive that is DVD-RW or a large USB Memory stick (we don't know how much data you have! )

3. Boot with your Live Zorin DVD and then from the Live DVD launch 'Home' folder - then in the left pane, select 'File System' - look for the Home folder within there and then look for the home folder with your user name - inside of that should be Desktop, Documents, Music etc - and be sure to press 'Ctrl+ H' to show all hidden folders - then just drag all the contents of your /home folder into your external drive - create a folder on your external drive 'backup of Zorin 7' and paste everything from your /home folder in there.

Does this seem straigthforward enough for you? Keep us posted!