flashplugin-downloader must not claim to be installed when it fails to download anything

[Giulio Piccinno]

SYMPTOM:
Error while trying to install the latest update of flashplugin-installer. Running Ubuntu x64 11.10 Beta2.

CAUSE:
package 'flash-downloader' failed to download the flash player. This is not retried at installation time of 'flashplugin-installer'

WORKAROUND:
type in a terminal
$ sudo apt-get remove --purge flash-downloader flashplugin-installer
$ sudo apt-get install flashplugin-installer

ProblemType: Package
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.10
Package: flashplugin-installer 10.3.183.10ubuntu5
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.0.0-12.19-generic 3.0.4
Uname: Linux 3.0.0-12-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia
ApportVersion: 1.23-0ubuntu1
Architecture: amd64
Date: Wed Sep 28 17:01:56 2011
DuplicateSignature:
 Setting up flashplugin-installer (10.3.183.10ubuntu5) ...
 nspluginwrapper: /usr/lib/flashplugin-installer/libflashplayer.so is not a valid NPAPI plugin
 dpkg: error processing flashplugin-installer (--configure):
  subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
ErrorMessage: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 11.10 "Oneiric Ocelot" - Beta amd64 (20110921.2)
SourcePackage: flashplugin-nonfree
Title: package flashplugin-installer 10.3.183.10ubuntu5 failed to install/upgrade: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[Steve Langasek (vorlon)]

The upgrade log shows:

Setting up flashplugin-downloader:i386 (10.3.183.10ubuntu5) ...
[...]
Connessione a archive.canonical.com|91.189.88.33|:80... fallito: Connessione scaduta.
Rinuncio.

download failed
The Flash plugin is NOT installed.
Setting up flashplugin-installer (10.3.183.10ubuntu5) ...
nspluginwrapper: /usr/lib/flashplugin-installer/libflashplayer.so is not a valid NPAPI plugin
dpkg: error processing flashplugin-installer (--configure):
 subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1

So flashplugin-installer has failed to install because flashplugin-downloader, which it depends on, has failed to download the plugin. flashplugin-downloader is marked as installed in spite of this failure, and flashplugin-installer then tries to make use of the file that is supposed to have been downloaded.

That's because of the following code in the maintainer script:

fp_exit_with_error() {
        echo $1
        echo "The Flash plugin is NOT installed."
        db_fset flashplugin-installer/local seen false
        db_fset flashplugin-installer/httpget seen false
        db_set flashplugin-installer/httpget false
        exit 0 # still install the Debian package, undoes the fix for #387263
}

This last line should be changed to 'exit 1'. The package should never be marked "installed" when the download has not succeeded, because it breaks reverse-dependencies and leaves users with no clear way to get the plugin properly installed.

For the life of me I don't know why the Debian maintainer did it this way.

[nils (internationils)]

This bug started showing up for me when jumping onto the kubuntu beta2. There was a network manager bug that killed my GSM connection, and when the flashplugin-installer wanted to download it couldn't. Since then (even with remove and install via apt, including --purge) the bug persists.

[nils (internationils)]

sudo apt-get remove --purge flashplugin-downloader flashplugin-installer
sudo apt-get install flashplugin-installer

is a workaround, fixed the problem for me. The dpkg workaround in the bug report did NOT work for me.

[yoann galland (bahamut1221)]

like nils,

this morning I try again to purge and to install the plugin
and works well :)

[Andy (andylhart)]

After removing with the purge command, the install of flashplugin-installer
gives the following error:

      "nspluginwrapper: /usr/lib/flashplugin-installer/libflashplayer.so in
not a valid NPAPI plugin"

I had seen the same error during the attempted installs yesterday.

In that directory there is no .so file!

With the samba4 install attempts get the error:
========================================
File "/usr/share/samba/setup/provision", line 256, in <module>
    useeadb=eadb, next_rid=opts.next_rid, lp=lp)
  File "/usr/lib/pymodules/python2.7/samba/provision/__init__.py", line
1602, in provision
    sitename=sitename)
  File "/usr/lib/pymodules/python2.7/samba/provision/__init__.py", line 584,
in guess_names
    raise InvalidNetbiosName(netbiosname)
samba.provision.InvalidNetbiosName: The name ''ANDY-ASPIRE-5542'' is not a
valid NetBIOS name
dpkg: error processing samba4 (--configure):
 subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
Processing triggers for libc-bin ...
ldconfig deferred processing now taking place
Errors were encountered while processing:
 flashplugin-installer
 samba4
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)
====================================================

Andrew Hart C.Eng. MRINA
amateur radio calls G8VTV / VE3NVK locator FN25bh

28, Chimo Drive, Kanata, ON, K2L 1A5 Canada

tel: [phone]

The content of this message is *NOT* intended for the public, and is a
private communication.

On 5 October 2011 03:25, Jean-Baptiste Lallement
<email address hidden>wrote:

> ** Summary changed:
>
> - package flashplugin-installer 10.3.183.10ubuntu5 failed to
> install/upgrade: subprocess installed post-installation script returned
> error exit status 1
> + package flashplugin-installer 10.3.183.10ubuntu5 failed to
> install/upgrade: package 'flash-downloader' failed to download the flash
> player
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to a
> duplicate bug report (868066).
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/861584
>
> Title:
> package flashplugin-installer 10.3.183.10ubuntu5 failed to
> install/upgrade: package 'flash-downloader' failed to download the
> flash player
>
> Status in “flashplugin-nonfree” package in Ubuntu:
> Triaged
>
> Bug description:
> SYMPTOM:
> Error while trying to install the latest update of flashplugin-installer.
> Running Ubuntu x64 11.10 Beta2.
>
> CAUSE:
> package 'flash-downloader' failed to download the flash player. This is
> not retried at installation time of 'flashplugin-installer'
>
> WORKAROUND:
> type in a terminal
> $ sudo apt-get remove --purge flash-downloader flashplugin-installer
> $ sudo apt-get install flashplugin-installer
>
>
> ProblemType: Package
> DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.10
> Package: flashplugin-installer 10.3.183.10ubuntu5
> ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.0.0-12.19-generic 3.0.4
> Uname: Linux 3.0.0-12-generic x86_64
> NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia
> ApportVersion: 1.23-0ubuntu1
> Architecture: amd64
> Date: Wed Sep 28 17:01:56 2011
> DuplicateSignature:
> Setting up flashplugin-installer (10.3.183.10ubuntu5) ...
> nspluginwrapper: /usr/lib/flashplugin-installer/libflas...

[Steve Langasek (vorlon)]

You need to purge and reinstall flashplugin-*downloader*, not just flashplugin-installer.

[Richard Logan (richard-logan)]

Confirmed that you need to purge and install by CLI

sudo apt-get install flashplugin-installer (works a treat)

It works fine for on my 64bit install now.

[Jean-Baptiste Lallement (jibel)]

The problem is that
http://archive.canonical.com/pool/partner/a/adobe-flashplugin/adobe-flashplugin_10.3.183.10.orig.tar.gz

doesn't exist

[Steve Langasek (vorlon)]

Fixed in version 11.0.1.152ubuntu1. Changelog entry:

flashplugin-nonfree (11.0.1.152ubuntu1) oneiric; urgency=low

  * New upstream release 11.0.1.152 (LP: #870281)
    - debian/flashplugin-download.{config,postinst}: Updated sha256sums and
      version.
    - debian/flashplugin-download.postinst: properly exit with an error if
      something goes wrong.

 -- Marc Deslauriers <email address hidden> Fri, 07 Oct 2011 20:13:36 -0400

[Steven Pemberton (steven-pemberton)]

I'm not sure whether to read that this has been fixed in the current release or not, but I got this error this morning upgrading 11.04 to 11.10.

[Steve Langasek (vorlon)]

This bug report is for tracking the fact that a failure to download the flash binary tarball is not propagated as a failure to install the flashplugin-downloader package. That bug is fixed.

Since you don't show the text of the error you received, it's impossible to know precisely what issue you're experiencing.

[Kaye Lowes (kmlowes)]

I am new to Ubuntu. When I copied the command to purge it said it could not find the file