"Oh no! Something has gone wrong" on Kali - How I Fixed It

The Problem: Kali Linux Boot Failure After Upgrade

It's been a while since I did an upgrade on my Kali Linux system, so I decided to run sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade. I was prompted to restart some services, which I did. After that, I restarted my laptop to finalize the changes, but I was met with the dreaded "Oh no! Something has gone wrong" error.

After the upgrade, I was prompted to restart some services, which I did. I then restarted my laptop to finalize the changes, only to run into the dreaded:

"Oh no! Something has gone wrong. A problem has occurred and the system can't recover, please contact a system administrator."

It's quite frustrating that there is little to no detailed information on how to solve this issue online, as many Linux communities assume users are already experts. After 4 hours of research and troubleshooting, I managed to fix the issue on my machine. Here's how I did it—hopefully, it helps you too!

Prerequisites

Before we begin, ensure you have:

• An active Wi-Fi network or mobile hotspot available
• Make sure the network name is simple (avoid special characters)
• Turn on the Wi-Fi or hotspot before continuing
• Basic familiarity with terminal commands

Step-by-Step Solution

Step 1: Boot into Recovery Mode

Reboot your laptop into recovery mode. You'll be asked for your root password. If you're unsure how to boot into recovery or reset the root password, search for guides specific to Kali or any Debian distro.

# During boot, hold Shift or Esc to access GRUB menu
# Select "Advanced options for Kali GNU/Linux"
# Choose "Recovery mode"

Step 2: Start the Network Manager

Once in recovery mode with root access, start the network manager:

sudo systemctl start NetworkManager

Step 3: Verify Network Manager Status

Check if the Network Manager is running properly:

sudo systemctl status NetworkManager

You should see "active (running)" in the output.

Step 4: Find Available Wi-Fi Networks

Scan for available Wi-Fi networks:

nmcli dev wifi

Identify the network you want to connect to from the list.

Step 5: Connect to the Wi-Fi Network

Connect to your chosen network:

nmcli dev wifi connect SSID password PASSWORD

Replace SSID with your network name and PASSWORD with your Wi-Fi password.

Step 6: Verify Network Connection

Check the connection status:

nmcli dev status

Step 7: Test Internet Connectivity

Ensure you have internet access:

ping -c 4 google.com

If packets are being transmitted and received, your connection is working properly.

Step 8: Fix System Issues

Now run these commands one by one to fix the system issues:

sudo apt update --fix-missing
sudo dpkg --configure -a
sudo apt clean
sudo apt update --fix-missing
sudo apt install -f
sudo dpkg --configure -a
sudo apt upgrade
sudo apt dist-upgrade

Note: I personally didn't run sudo apt dist-upgrade, but it's recommended that you do to ensure all dependencies are properly resolved.

Step 9: Restart Services

If you're prompted to restart services during the upgrade process:

• Use the spacebar to select all services
• Navigate with arrow keys
• Press Enter to confirm

Step 10: Reboot the System

Finally, reboot your system:

sudo systemctl reboot

Conclusion

After following these steps, my Kali Linux system booted normally. The issue was primarily resolved by ensuring network connectivity and properly fixing package dependencies.