package linux-image-2.6.32-16-generic 2.6.32-16.25 failed to install/upgrade: exit status 2 - Could not find postinst hook script [update-grub].

[Sam Hewitt]

Binary package hint: initramfs-tools

E: linux-image-2.6.32-16-generic: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 2

ProblemType: Package
Architecture: i386
Date: Tue Mar 9 21:06:43 2010
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 10.04
ErrorMessage: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 2
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 10.04 "Lucid Lynx" - Alpha i386 (20100224.1)
Package: linux-image-2.6.32-16-generic 2.6.32-16.25
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.32-16.25-generic
SourcePackage: initramfs-tools
Title: package linux-image-2.6.32-16-generic 2.6.32-16.25 failed to install/upgrade: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 2
Uname: Linux 2.6.32-16-generic i686

[Jean-Baptiste Lallement (jibel)]

Thanks for your report.

The relevant error message is
---
Setting up linux-image-2.6.32-16-generic (2.6.32-16.25) ...
Running depmod.
update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-16-generic
Not updating initrd symbolic links since we are being updated/reinstalled
(2.6.32-16.24 was configured last, according to dpkg)
Not updating image symbolic links since we are being updated/reinstalled
(2.6.32-16.24 was configured last, according to dpkg)
Could not find postinst hook script [update-grub].
Looked in: '/bin', '/sbin', '/usr/bin', '/usr/sbin'
dpkg: error processing linux-image-2.6.32-16-generic (--configure):
 subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 2

[Colin Watson (cjwatson)]

The log indicates that you've removed the grub-pc and grub-common packages. Either install them again, or (if you've switched to a different boot loader) remove the postinst_hook and postrm_hook lines from /etc/kernel-img.conf so that the kernel packaging no longer tries to run update-grub on upgrade.

This should no longer be a problem in Ubuntu 10.10, since we use a different hook mechanism which is less prone to failures of this kind. Here's the changelog entry from grub2 1.98+20100804-1:

  * Add kernel hook scripts and remove any uses of update-grub as a
    postinst_hook or postrm_hook in /etc/kernel-img.conf (closes: #554175).
    Thanks to Ben Hutchings for advice and to Harald Braumann for an early
    implementation.