Update packages do not install

[jiawen]

When I start PixInsight, I get this popup within the program:

You have 7 PixInsight updates

Click here to select, download and install available PixInsight updates.

If I click there to download the updates, the downloader works, and then suggests restarting PixInsight:

Packages downloaded:
   7 successful
   0 failed
Downloaded packages are now scheduled for installation.
The updates will be installed when you exit this instance of the PixInsight Core application.
Should you need to cancel the scheduled update, you can do so by selecting Resources > Update > Unschedule Update Installation.

When I close the program, I get this popup (independent of the main window of the program, this popup stays open after the main window has closed):

Update packages have been scheduled for installation.

Do you want to install the updates now?

X Restart PixInsight

("X Restart PixInsight" is actually a little checkbox, checked, next to the option "Restart PixInsight".)

However, when I restart the program, I get the same "You have 7 PixInsight updates" message. The updates aren't actually updating/installing.

How do I fix this? I'm using PI version 01.08.05.1352 under Linux.

Thanks!

[Niall Saunders]

Hi there,

What happens if you un-check the 'Re-Start PixInsight' checkbox?

What 'should' happen is that the updates should be applied, ready for the next time PixInsight is started.

Perhaps you could re-boot the machine after updating? Perhaps you need to look at 'permissions' - Linux can be particularly irksome when it comes to files and permissions.

[jiawen]

Hi there,

What happens if you un-check the 'Re-Start PixInsight' checkbox?

So far as I can tell, whether I check that box or not makes no difference; I click "Yes" to the "Do you want to install the updates now?" dialog box, which closes, then nothing visibly happens. When I open PI again, I get the same "You have 7 PixInsight updates..." message.

What 'should' happen is that the updates should be applied, ready for the next time PixInsight is started.

Yeah, certainly seems like it should. 

Perhaps you could re-boot the machine after updating? Perhaps you need to look at 'permissions' - Linux can be particularly irksome when it comes to files and permissions.

If it requires rebooting my machine, something is seriously wrong... But permissions sound promising. Any idea which permissions to check?

[jiawen]

Does anyone else have any ideas what to check? I would really like to solve this problem.

[jiawen]

Finally solved this myself. Went into a terminal and the directory where PI is installed and ran it as root (sudo ./PixInsight.sh). While running it as a superuser, I installed the updates. They installed correctly, but when I tried to open an image, PI gave me errors about writing to various preferences and wouldn't actually open the images. Figured out that I needed to go into the PI directory in my home partition (~./PixInsight/) and chown the PixInsight.conf file there to give my user account ownership (it was otherwise owned by root). PI now runs correctly. Very annoying that a) I had to run the updates as root and b) I had to figure this out myself, but at least hopefully the next person to encounter this problem may see what I've posted here and avoid the headaches I've had.

[Juan Conejero]

Very annoying that a) I had to run the updates as root

This does not happen under normal working conditions. You always must execute PixInsight as a regular user, *never* as root. Running as root a complex application such as PixInsight, which includes a powerful scripting functionality, is extremely dangerous. The PixInsight installer program has special SUID/GUID attributes that allow you to install updates on a protected system directory (the default installation directory is /opt) while you are running PixInsight as a user without root privileges.

How did you install PixInsight on your Linux machine? Did you use the installer program?

[jiawen]

As I  mentioned, when I tried to apply the updates as a regular user, I got nothing but failed updates.

I don't run PI as root normally. It now works fine as a regular user, and that is how I usually run it. The problem was specifically with getting the updates to apply; apparently, the only way to get that to work was to run the program as root and then apply the updates while in that instance.

If you know of a way to get updates to actually apply as a regular user, I'd love to find out.

[Masakuni]

My problem is very similar to jiawen's posted on 2017 September 14 12:49:24.
I copied his text (Thank you, jiawen, for writing it so precisely)
with minor modifications to describe my situation.
(difference on OS, etc.)

When I start PixInsight, I get this popup within the program:

"You have 14 PixInsight updates
Click here to select, download and install available PixInsight updates."

If I click there to download the updates, the downloader works, and then suggests restarting PixInsight:

"Packages downloaded:
   14 successful
   0 failed
Downloaded packages are now scheduled for installation.
The updates will be installed when you exit this instance of the PixInsight Core application.
Should you need to cancel the scheduled update, you can do so by selecting Resources > Update > Unschedule Update Installation."

When I close the program, I get this popup:

"Update packages have been scheduled for installation.
Do you want to install the updates now?"

[X]  Restart PixInsight
([X] is actually a little checkbox, checked, next to the option "Restart PixInsight".)

However, when I restart the program, I get the same "You have 14 PixInsight updates" message. The updates aren't actually updating/installing.

How do I fix this? I'm using PI ver.01.08.05 64bit under Windows 8.1. on my Surface Pro 3.
I also use it on my MacBook Air under High Sierra, and it runs perfectly.

Thank you.