Ubuntu 22.04: what is wrong with chromium-browser?

[Robert Heller]

At Thu, 31 Aug 2023 16:08:36 -0500 "Ubuntu user technical support,? not for general discussions" <ubuntu-users at lists.ubuntu.com> wrote:

> 
> On Thu, Aug 31, 2023 at 1:55 PM Robert Heller <heller at deepsoft.com> wrote:
> 
> > What is wrong with this:
> >
> > sauron% chromium-browser
> > update.go:85: cannot change mount namespace according to change mount
> > (/var/lib/snapd/hostfs/usr/share/gimp/2.0/help /usr/share/gimp/2.0/help
> > none bind,ro 0 0): cannot open directory "/var/lib/snapd": permission denied
> > update.go:85: cannot change mount namespace according to change mount
> > (/var/lib/snapd/hostfs/usr/share/libreoffice/help
> > /usr/share/libreoffice/help none bind,ro 0 0): cannot open directory
> > "/var/lib/snapd": permission denied
> > update.go:85: cannot change mount namespace according to change mount
> > (/var/lib/snapd/hostfs/usr/share/xubuntu-docs /usr/share/xubuntu-docs none
> > bind,ro 0 0): cannot open directory "/var/lib/snapd": permission denied
> > Inconsistency detected by ld.so: ../sysdeps/x86_64/dl-machine.h: 534:
> > elf_machine_rela_relative: Assertion `ELFW(R_TYPE) (reloc->r_info) ==
> > R_X86_64_RELATIVE' failed!
> >
> > How do I fix it?
> >
> 
> I know Jeffrey Walton suggested a work-around (use a non-snap version),
> HOWEVER to be clear to those who didn't catch it -- those errors occur when
> you try to launch chromium with root privileges. The snap sandboxing
> doesn't allow the application to run with elevated privileges. When you
> launch it with ordinary user privileges, the chromium-browser application
> should run fine.

I was NOT running as root.

I ended up doing an apt purge snapd and then re-installing it and that seems 
to cured the problem, at least for now.  *I* don't use chromium, except when I 
encounter a website that does not like Firefox (usually because of *stupid* 
JavaScript, coded by one or more total idiots).

> 
> A few months ago, in a thread starting April 20th titled "non-snap version
> of FF under Ubuntu 22.04?" several folks indicated they want to run the web
> browser as root, and responders in that thread described several ways to
> accomplish the tasks without it. SO maybe you would get additional helpful
> suggestions if you described why you want to run it as root.
> 

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