Recovering from apt-get dist-upgrade

jackerhack wrote:
This is about keeping software up to date.

But embedded software that's working fine doesn't need to be "kept up to date". And in this case, you didn't know where apt's sources.list was pointing or what was in the pointed-to repository, and you used "dist-upgrade" (which is allowed to automatically downgrade and remove packages), so you couldn't even have known whether the command really would update your software.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is good advice in general. In this situation, where you're dealing with a lot of presumably important data with apparently no backup, it would seem to be exquisitely good advice. As I said before, follow it and your Duo will probably give you years of trouble-free service.

jackerhack wrote:
On Debian, apt-get dist-upgrade is always a good thing, guaranteed to cause no damage.

That is not true. For anecdotal evidence refuting your statement, do a Google search for "dist-upgrade" (damage OR fail).

Or go straight to the source and read the Debian package-management documentation (chapter 2 of the Debian Reference). You'll see that "dist-upgrade" is basically the same as "upgrade", but with permission to make even more changes to your system. Does that sound to you like something that could be guaranteed to cause no damage?

jackerhack wrote:
Also, software installations go bad. It's in the nature of software.

I have no idea what that means.

jackerhack wrote:
That ReadyOS needs to wipe disks -- even in my scenario, where I'm trying to restore the OS, not change to a new configuration -- means that I can't trust it as my archival data store.

A factory reset (aka "factory default") wipes the disks. An OS reinstall does not wipe the disks.

jackerhack wrote:
FWIW, I put the disk on a SATA-to-USB adapter and connected it to my laptop to check that my data was still there, but turns out that adapter supports 1TB disks max. Now I need to get a new adapter.

It doesn't sound as though you've done anything yet to destroy the data on that drive, so it's probably still intact. While you're waiting for the new adapter, it might be worthwhile to take MDGM's advice and contact Netgear Support; maybe they can fix your problem quickly and easily.

Good luck...