Adept update crashed this morning while downloading updates, now...

[Elswood]

I can't get it to work. When I open it (even after rebooting the system), I initially get this message in faded grainy resolution:

"Another process is using the packaging system database (probably some other Adept application or apt-get or aptitude). Please close the other application before using this one."

But, there is no open packaging system to my knowledge, just the icon of the updater still telling me that there are 50 updates available, mostly updates of KDE!

Could someone please walk me through this? Now, when I open KDE "systems", it won't let me type in my password for administrative function but says I must have "super-administrative" clearance (or something).

Help! v

[Elswood]

More about Adept crash...

If I try to run Synpatic, I also get a message saying I must do the following, but get a message saying I must have "superuser" privledges:

"elswood@dharma-bang:~$ dpkg --configure -a
dpkg: requested operation requires superuser privilege"

I'm stuck and my 50 updates are stuck....

[Nirvana]

Re: Adept update crashed this morning while downloading updates, now...

try these:

sudo killall apt-get
sudo killall adept
sudo killall synaptic
sudo killall dpkg
sudo dpkg-reconfigure -a

[Elswood]

Re: Adept update crashed this morning while downloading updates, now...

Nirvana,
Thanks for the suggestion. I did each of your suggested commands in konsole. The first four responded with a "no process killed" message. The last one lead me through some kind of debugging of the Debian system through a lot of menus. I went through it all and the final response in konsole was this:

"KDEmultimedia-kfile-plugins is broken or not fully installed
DESTROY created new reference to dead object "Qt:VBoxLayout" during global destruction
~ScimInputContext Plugin ()"

I assume that this was the update that crashed my Adept Updater yesterday. Okay, so I then close Konsole and still see the update icon with the "50 available updates" in the system tray. So I click it, give my system password as directed, and again still get the faded message that Adept or some other packaging system is open and that I must close them before doing anything!

Any further suggestions?

[Nirvana]

Re: Adept update crashed this morning while downloading updates, now...

NB: I replied to your email, but I am posting here as well so others can see what I have done.

Yes one I don't really like resorting to (could cause problems) is deleting the lockfiles.

sudo rm /var/lib/apt/lists/lock

then restore it

sudo touch /var/lib/apt/lists/lock

and then dpkg:

sudo rm /var/lib/dpkg/lock

then

sudo touch /var/lib/dpkg/lock

should get you up and running.

edit: also, to complete your upgrade, run a quick:

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

I'd advise that you use the konsole to upgrade Kubuntu as it crashes less than synaptic/adept in my opninion, though for installing/finding packages adept/synaptic is cool (plus, if you think about it, if there's an update for adept, and your running adept to update adept, problems would definately arise!)

[Elswood]

Re: Adept update crashed this morning while downloading updates, now...

Nirvanna,

I did what you suggested this morning.

This was my result:

elswood@dharma-bang:~$ sudo rm /var/lib/apt/lists/lock
Password:
elswood@dharma-bang:~$ sudo touch /var/lib/apt/lists/lock
elswood@dharma-bang:~$ sudo rm /var/lib/dpkg/lock
elswood@dharma-bang:~$ sudo touch /var/lib/dpkg/lock
elswood@dharma-bang:~$ sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
E: dpkg was interrupted, you must manually run 'dpkg --configure -a' to correct the problem.
elswood@dharma-bang:~$ dpkg --configure -a
dpkg: requested operation requires superuser privilege


So, I guess I need help in getting "superuser privilege"! How do I do that?
(I know I'm a clutz!)

[Nirvana]

Re: Adept update crashed this morning while downloading updates, now...

Nirvanna,

I did what you suggested this morning.

This was my result:

elswood@dharma-bang:~$ sudo rm /var/lib/apt/lists/lock
Password:
elswood@dharma-bang:~$ sudo touch /var/lib/apt/lists/lock
elswood@dharma-bang:~$ sudo rm /var/lib/dpkg/lock
elswood@dharma-bang:~$ sudo touch /var/lib/dpkg/lock
elswood@dharma-bang:~$ sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
E: dpkg was interrupted, you must manually run 'dpkg --configure -a' to correct the problem.
elswood@dharma-bang:~$ dpkg --configure -a
dpkg: requested operation requires superuser privilege


So, I guess I need help in getting "superuser privilege"! How do I do that?
(I know I'm a clutz!)

whenever you need superuser privelledges, stick a sudo in front of it (be sure you know what your are doing though, sudo'ing something your shouldn't have could destroy your system)

For dpkg --configure -a, it would be:

sudo dpkg --configure -a

[Elswood]

Re: Adept update crashed this morning while downloading updates, now...

Thanks, Nirvanna!

Like so many on this Board, your help has saved my day! Actually, two days and whatever more days it would have taken to reinstall my entire system! Your last suggestions worked great!

kudos, guy!

Elswood

[Narceron]

Re: Adept update crashed this morning while downloading updates, now...

Thanks

I was having a similar problem, encountered while downloading from SETI berkeley,

It will not complete when trying to connect with berkeley, how do I get it to cancel the installation, its kept the adept locked up for a week and when I do the above, it tries to contact berkeley then dies,

[Narceron]

Re: Adept update crashed this morning while downloading updates, now...

Help help!

Still oppressed by Berkely!

[askrieger]

Re: Adept update crashed this morning while downloading updates, now...

Still oppressed by Berkely!

You have my sympathies. During the years prior to my retirement, I was always struck by the enormous contrast between the East Bay and South Bay communities. I even knew a few people who left the Palo Alto/San Jose area for the East Bay and seemed to undergo personality transformations almost before they had time to unpack. It was very puzzling to someone from the east coast.

Did you know that you can download everything that you need to run SETI@home (except aspirin and Maalox) from the Ubuntu repositories? You will have to activate the universe repository to do so, though, if you haven't already.