failed to install/upgrade: unable to make backup symlink

[Randal Leavitt]

Binary package hint: gnome-icon-theme

Source package: gnome-icon-theme
Ubuntu release: 8.10 (but a damaged one with the wrong kernel)
Package version: 2.22.0-1ubuntu2 (I guess)
I expected this package to install without any problems.
Instead, it failed to install, and left behind an error report. Processing this error report resulted in an automatic bug report which I am updating now.

ProblemType: Package
Architecture: i386
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 8.10
ErrorMessage: unable to make backup symlink for `./usr/share/icons/gnome/scalable/mimetypes/spreadsheet.svg': No such file or directory
NonfreeKernelModules: fglrx
Package: gnome-icon-theme 2.22.0-1ubuntu2 [modified: usr/share/icons/gnome/24x24/stock/data/stock_format-scientific.png]
PackageArchitecture: all
SourcePackage: gnome-icon-theme
Title: package gnome-icon-theme 2.22.0-1ubuntu2 [modified: usr/share/icons/gnome/24x24/stock/data/stock_format-scientific.png] failed to install/upgrade: unable to make backup symlink for `./usr/share/icons/gnome/scalable/mimetypes/spreadsheet.svg': No such file or directory
Uname: Linux 2.6.24-21-386 i686

[Randal Leavitt (randal-leavitt)]

Today the Update Manager informed me that 24 updates were available. I started the Update Manager and deselected two of the updates: totem-common, and gnome-icon-theme. These updates have been listed as available for several days now and they have always failed before. I ran the updates for the other 22 packages and this process seemed to complete normally.

The Update Manager now reported that two updates were available: totem-common, and gnome-icon-theme. I ran the Update Manager with these updates selected. They failed (again). The Update Manager displayed a screen which told me that an error had happened. The details on this screen were:

E: /var/cache/apt/archives/gnome-icon-theme_2.24.0-0ubuntu1_all.deb: unable to make backup symlink for `./usr/share/icons/gnome/scalable/mimetypes/spreadsheet.svg'
E: /var/cache/apt/archives/totem-common_2.24.3-0ubuntu1_all.deb: unable to make backup symlink for `./usr/share/gnome/help/totem/oc/figures/totem_next_button.png'

I allowed the processing to continue. The Update Manager displayed a screen telling me that the update was complete (which was not correct since the update had clearly failed). The detailed information presented in this screen was:
(Reading database ... 246638 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to replace gnome-icon-theme 2.22.0-1ubuntu2 (using .../gnome-icon-theme_2.24.0-0ubuntu1_all.deb) ...
Unpacking replacement gnome-icon-theme ...
dpkg: error processing /var/cache/apt/archives/gnome-icon-theme_2.24.0-0ubuntu1_all.deb (--unpack):
 unable to make backup symlink for `./usr/share/icons/gnome/scalable/mimetypes/spreadsheet.svg': No such file or directory
Preparing to replace totem-common 2.22.1-0ubuntu2 (using .../totem-common_2.24.3-0ubuntu1_all.deb) ...
Unpacking replacement totem-common ...
dpkg: error processing /var/cache/apt/archives/totem-common_2.24.3-0ubuntu1_all.deb (--unpack):
 unable to make backup symlink for `./usr/share/gnome/help/totem/oc/figures/totem_next_button.png': No such file or directory
dpkg-deb: subprocess paste killed by signal (Broken pipe)
Processing triggers for man-db ...
Errors were encountered while processing:
 /var/cache/apt/archives/gnome-icon-theme_2.24.0-0ubuntu1_all.deb
 /var/cache/apt/archives/totem-common_2.24.3-0ubuntu1_all.deb
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)
A package failed to install. Trying to recover:

I allowed the update to continue. The Update Manager informed me that two updates are available: totem-common, and gnome-icon-theme. I stopped the process.

Previously the system has attempted to report problems automatically when they happened during an update. This time no such attempt took place.

[Michael Vogt (mvo)]

Do you run wubbi? This is most liklely a duplicate of #252900