Ubuntu 16.04 LTS gnome software crash

Question

Ubuntu 16.04 generates an error report saying the gnome software has crashed and asks me to restart the computer.

Why is the error occurring and how do I solve it?

Solution

Newbie in Ubuntu. I got the exact same error messages in 2 new fresh installs of Ubuntu 16.04 on VMware player 12. One consequence of this problem was that all icons in the Ubuntu Software Manager ended up being blanks.

Additionally the error message stated:

UnreportableReason: You have some obsolete package versions installed. PLease upgrade the following packages...

I completed the update process:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade    
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

Those steps resolved my problem.

note: apt-get upgrade left the gnome package and a few others kept back, so apt-get dist-upgrade allowed those left over packages to be installed. I understand there are some concerns about using apt-get dist-upgrade but since I had a fresh install of Ubuntu I went ahead with it and it solved my problem. Hope this helps.

Comments

[George Udosen]

please could you post your error report ?

[Soumyarup Choudhury]

it says Executable path- /usr/bin/gnome-software; problem type -crash ;Title -gnome software crashed with signal 5 in g_main_context_new

[George Udosen]

please paste the error as is.

[AlwaysLearning]

What should I do if my install is not fresh anymore?

[Thierry J]

You could still use "apt-get dist-upgrade" to complete your gnome related package upgrade. Just be aware that it may install new packages/features that you did not have before. There is always a concern that with new features come new bugs.

[Guillem Vicens]

FWIW, the same happened to me. I solved it by completing the 3 steps involving apt-get.

[David Graham]

A simplier sudo apt-get upgrade gnome-software worked for me.

[Evan]

Did not work for me, 16.04 LTS. Ubuntu Software crashes immediately after loading the icons for the Editor's Picks.