How I installed the "good old" version of gnome-disk-utility (3.0.2-2ubuntu8) in Mint 14 Mate 64bit

xen2050
   11 years ago
  5

Here's how I installed the "good" version of gnome-disk-utility (3.0.2-2ubuntu8) in Mint 14 Nadia MATE 64-bit default (with multimedia version) running Live from ISO.

 

  1. Download gnome-disk-utility_3.0.2-2ubuntu8_amd64.deb  from https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/quantal/amd64/gnome-disk-utility/3.0.2-2ubuntu8 (on right under "Downloadable Files") It depends on 2 other packages that are not in the default Mint repositories, D/L them from the "Depends on:" links on the same webpage
  2. Download libgdu0 https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/quantal/amd64/libgdu0/3.0.2-2ubuntu8
  3. Download libgdu-gtk0 https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/quantal/amd64/libgdu-gtk0/3.0.2-2ubuntu8 . This one depends on another package that wasn't installed by default:
  4. Install libavahi-ui-gtk3-0 (in default mint repos, see below)
  5. Install  libunique-3.0-0 (another dependency of gnome-disk-utility in default mint repos, see below)


The bottom two can be installed in synaptic package manager, or in the terminal should work (I didn't verify this though)

  • sudo apt-get install libunique-3.0-0 libavahi-ui-gtk3-0


Then for the other 3 downloaded .deb files, can put them all in one directory and install together (dpkg complains if try installing one at a time and don't have the dependencies installed first, then have to remove the "broken" one you just tried installing, synaptic can remove them)

  • sudo dpkg --install --recursive [dir-with-deb-files]


or one at a time "sudo dpkg --install [dependenciesfirst].deb"
dpkg will tell you if there's a dependency not met, I started with gnome-disk-utility_3.0.2-2ubuntu8_amd64.deb and it told me what I was missing, I looked on synaptic and if not there downloaded from the launchpad.net page.
 

That's it for installing the "good" version, enjoy! The rest is some info about why & where it was found

For 32-bit they're on launchpad.net somewhere, may be 32bit's only version 3.0.2-2ubuntu7 ?

After finding bugs in the currently available version of gnome-disk-utility (3.6.1) and reading about some other Mint users who don't like it's confusing new semi-hidden layout, I found the older "good" version (3.0.2) from Ubuntu and installed that & some required dependencies onto Mint.


There's probably an easier way to add the right ubuntu repository, but I don't know it and I was "discouraged" from changing the default/prefered versions in Synaptic's warning "These settings affect the core of your system. Consider any changes carefully." And changing preferred versions didn't find the good "old" testing/untable 3.0.2 version anyway. I've read others warning against installing "wrong" versions of software that haven't been tested with my particular Mint (or Ubuntu or Debian) version, but this is only for one specific program, and I only use it to easily mount & unmount and to find out info quickly about disks, I think it's safe, especially given the rc-buggy status of the default version.

Apparently one of the "sources" of gnome-disk-utility is in/through Debian, ( http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&keywords=gnome-disk-utility )
The stable version is 2.30, the testing & unstable (sid) versions are 3.0.2-3, BUT the experimental (rc-buggy) version is 3.6.1-1. The Debian page even has this warning about the rc-buggy 3.6.1 that's now in Ubuntu & Mint:

Warning: This package is from the experimental distribution. That means it is likely unstable or buggy, and it may even cause data loss. Please be sure to consult the changelog and other possible documentation before using it.

It looks like Ubuntu picked the experimental buggy version for ubuntu 12.10, and therefore was carried into Mint 14. I even found a bug where if you plug in two identical USB SD card readers (/dev/sdb and sdc here) and the cards apparently have the same serial # (don't know how) the new rc-buggy 3.6 version will only show you info about ONE of them, can't even see the other one even though at the top it lists both "/dev/sdb /dev/sdc" just to tease me, can't look at or benchmark/mount/unmount the other one. When I uninstall the rc-buggy 3.6 version and install the last "good" version (3.0.2-2ubuntu8) then I can see both disks and everything works great, no reboot or anything.

Comments
jahid_0903014 10 years ago

good tutorial

xen2050 10 years ago

I've posted an newer guide to "downgrade" programs on Mint 15, can use for Gnome Disk Utility, Synaptic, pretty much any program that comes from Ubuntu or Debian. It's basically the same as this guide only instead of downloading each .deb file and tracking dependencies yourself, it uses a new software source from Ubuntu or Debian and lets the synaptic and apt do all the work (like they're supposed to :) This guide's more like the "get your hands dirty and do it yourself" approach

PS. After "downgrading" any programs, you may want to use Synaptic to Lock the version or it'll show up as "upgradeable", and blindly updating everything (or mintUpdate) could upgrade the nice old version you've just spent lots of effort installing. Or if you use mintUpdate do like adginald suggests and add it to "ignored packages" (I think it's different from Synaptic's Lock?)

JML103 11 years ago

Thanks.. It Helped

telcnas 11 years ago

thanks for this nice article and for providing the links to the stable version....

xen2050 11 years ago

Thanks for the comments, I'm sure at least a few other people like me were really missing the older version. After I looked up the info for myself & for someone else's "idea" to use this old version it seemed like a good idea to throw it all into a tutorial.

FYI, I'm not sure where the gnome guys publish gnome-disk-utility to first, Debian or what, but if Debian says that something's an experimental buggy version I'm listening to them.

sujitnag 11 years ago

good work

Hammer459 11 years ago

Nice tutorial with good reference.