package update-manager 1:0.93.1 failed to install/upgrade: ErrorMessage: SystemError in cache.commit(): E:Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)

[g-rob]

Binary package hint: update-manager

TEST CASE:
1. use hardy (e.g. server or chroot)
2. install tdsodbc
3. upgrade to intrepid (e.g. via "sudo do-release-upgrade -d")
4. verify that installing tdsodbc fails

5. enable intrepid-proposed
6. upgrade and verify that this fixes the tdsodbc failure

crashed when tdsodbc tried to remove a non-existant directory

ProblemType: Package
Architecture: i386
Date: Tue Aug 5 12:55:32 2008
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 8.10
ErrorMessage: ErrorMessage: SystemError in cache.commit(): E:Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)

Package: update-manager 1:0.93.1
PackageArchitecture: all
SourcePackage: update-manager
Title: package update-manager 1:0.93.1 failed to install/upgrade: ErrorMessage: SystemError in cache.commit(): E:Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)
Uname: Linux 2.6.26-5-generic i686

[Michael Vogt (mvo)]

Here is what is causing the error:

Setting up tdsodbc (0.82-3) ...
rmdir: failed to remove `/var/lib/odbc': No such file or directory
dpkg: error processing tdsodbc (--configure):
 subprocess post-installation script returned error exit status 1

I reassign.

[Ian Enticott (ian-enticott)]

I created the folder it was trying to remove - so it could remove it!

[Martin Pitt (pitti)]

Accepted into intrepid-proposed, please test and give feedback here. Please see https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Testing/EnableProposed for documentation how to enable and use -proposed. Thank you in advance!

[Martin Pitt (pitti)]

Can't copy intrepid-proposed to jaunty, since jaunty has a never version. Michael, please apply SRU fix to jaunty, too.

[Ronnie Redd (cruzit)]

I removed the package tdsodbc. Did the 8.04.1 to 8.10 upgrade. Afterwards it installed without incident.

[Steve Langasek (vorlon)]

This fix is already applied in the Debian version in jaunty:

freetds (0.82-4) unstable; urgency=low

  * Fix a typo in the freetds-common description, ugh
  * Versioned replaces of libct4 by freetds-common, since the current one
    obviously doesn't have overlapping files.
  * tdsodbc: check for /var/lib/odbc existence before removing it in the
    postinst, since there are cases where it won't exist on upgrade (i.e.,
    if the driver was never enabled in the first place). Closes: #493303.

 -- Steve Langasek <email address hidden> Sat, 02 Aug 2008 11:49:53 -0700

[Martin Pitt (pitti)]

Any testers on this?

[Ronnie Redd (cruzit)]

On Wednesday 28 January 2009 03:43:06 Martin Pitt wrote:
> Any testers on this?
>
I can get to it this weekend.
--
Thank You,
Ronnie Redd

Fingerprint:
7B9430791CE3066D944D1C8CB0A22F3A1B4998F0

[CFMunster (cfmunster)]

I got the same error Michael Vogt mentioned

rmdir: failed to remove `/var/lib/odbc': No such file or directory
dpkg: error processing tdsodbc (--configure):
 subprocess post-installation script returned error exit status 1

Synaptic then showed the package as installed.

I then created the /var/lib/odbc directory, dropped to the shell and ran:

apt-get install tdsodbc

And got this:

Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
tdsodbc is already the newest version.
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
1 not fully installed or removed.
After this operation, 0B of additional disk space will be used.
Setting up tdsodbc (0.82-3) ...

So it looks like adding that directory allowed apt to finish and report success.

[Matt Walker (matthaeus123)]

dpkg: parse error, in file `/var/lib/dpkg/available' near line 49729 package `liblockfile1':
 EOF after field name `Installed-'
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (2)

I get this message every time I try to install or uninstall a package.

[Albert Damen (albrt)]

Successfully tested in a hardy pbuilder.

A. with only hardy and hardy-updates enabled in the pbuilder the update failed:
Setting up tdsodbc (0.82-3) ...
rmdir: failed to remove `/var/lib/odbc': No such file or directory
<snip>
The upgrade is completed but there were errors during the ugprade process.

B. with hardy, hardy-updates and hardy-proposed enabled in the pbuilder the update completed successfully:
Setting up tdsodbc (0.82-3ubuntu1) ...

Setting up update-inetd (4.30) ...
<snip>
System upgrade is complete.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

This bug was fixed in the package freetds - 0.82-3ubuntu1

---------------
freetds (0.82-3ubuntu1) intrepid-proposed; urgency=low

  * debian/tdsodbc.postinst:
    - check if the directory actually exists before trying to
      remove it (LP: #254953)

 -- Michael Vogt <email address hidden> Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:56:44 +0100