package mysql-server-5.1 5.1.41-3ubuntu12.1 failed to install/upgrade: upgrade hanged. mysql refuses to stop in pre-removal script.

[mikaelkael]

First I try to migrate to mariadb, and now I try to recover original mysql

ProblemType: Package
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 10.04
Package: mysql-server-5.1 5.1.41-3ubuntu12.1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.32-22.33-generic 2.6.32.11+drm33.2
Uname: Linux 2.6.32-22-generic i686
NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia
AptOrdering:
 mysql-server: Remove
 mysql-server-5.1: Remove
 mysql-server-core-5.1: Remove
Architecture: i386
Date: Thu Jun 3 19:41:45 2010
ErrorMessage: Le paquet est dans un état incohérent - vous devriez le réinstaller avant d'essayer de le supprimer.
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 10.04 LTS "Lucid Lynx" - Release i386 (20100429)
Logs.var.log.daemon.log:

MySQLConf.etc.mysql.conf.d.mysqld.safe.syslog.cnf:
 [mysqld_safe]
 syslog
MySQLVarLibDirListing: ['zftest', 'ibdata1', 'mysql', 'mysql_upgrade_info', 'debian-5.1.flag', 'ib_logfile1', 'cdm2010', 'ib_logfile0']
SourcePackage: mysql-dfsg-5.1
Title: package mysql-server-5.1 5.1.41-3ubuntu12.1 failed to install/upgrade: Le paquet est dans un état incohérent - vous devriez le réinstaller avant d'essayer de le supprimer.
mtime.conffile..etc.init.mysql.conf: 2010-06-01T23:42:05.918035

[Jean-Baptiste Lallement (jibel)]

Thanks for your report.

This error occurs when a previous installation of the package has been interrupted. As suggested in the error message try reinstalling the package before removing it. Open a terminal and run:
$ sudo apt-get install --reinstall mysql-server-5.1

Then try to remove it again. If it fixes your issue, set the status of this report to 'invalid'
Thanks in advance.

[Ben Stoltz (benstoltz)]

Same hang here. Installation is hung.

$ uname -a
Linux bubbles 2.6.32-22-generic #33-Ubuntu SMP Wed Apr 28 13:28:05 UTC 2010 x86_64 GNU/Linux

$ sudo apt-get install --reinstall mysql-server-5.1
[sudo] password for stoltz:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 1 reinstalled, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 0B/7,103kB of archives.
After this operation, 0B of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue [Y/n]? y
Preconfiguring packages ...
(Reading database ... 165988 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to replace mysql-server-5.1 5.1.41-3ubuntu12.1 (using .../mysql-server-5.1_5.1.41-3ubuntu12.1_amd64.deb) ...
^Z
$ jobs -l
[1]+ 16265 Stopped sudo apt-get install --reinstall mysql-server-5.1
$ bg
$ pstree -p 16265 -l
apt-get(16265)───dpkg(16294)───frontend(16303)───mysql-server-5.(16311)───stop(16312)

[mikaelkael (perraud-mickael)]

Thanks Jean-Baptiste, but I have same problem as Ben. When I try:
$ sudo apt-get install --reinstall mysql-server-5.1
It's always stop without return just after:
Preparing to replace mysql-server-5.1 5.1.41-3ubuntu12.1 (using .../mysql-server-5.1_5.1.41-3ubuntu12.1_amd64.deb) ...

It's seems that the problem appears during the pre-removal process, I manually did a:
$ sudo /etc/init.d/mysql stop
// and not a:
$ sudo stop mysql

And I after I did:
$ sudo dpkg --purge --force-all mysql-server-5.1

And now It's OK

[Ben Stoltz (benstoltz)]

I was able to complete installation eventually.

Reboot was required.
Package removals, re-installations, killall -9 stop,
total removal of /var/lib/mysql.
Sorry for the lack of detailed notes.

Problems seemed to happen more when re-installing when /var/lib/mysql was already present.