shared/packages-wordlist: return code: "10" owners/error: "shared/packages-wordlist doesn't exist"

[aristath]

During update fron Ubuntu 11.04 to Ubuntu 11.10

ProblemType: Package
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.10
Package: dictionaries-common 1.11.5ubuntu1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.38-11.50-generic 2.6.38.8
Uname: Linux 2.6.38-11-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 1.23-0ubuntu2
Architecture: amd64
Date: Thu Sep 29 20:22:59 2011
ErrorMessage: ErrorMessage: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 255
PackageArchitecture: all
SourcePackage: dictionaries-common
Title: package dictionaries-common 1.11.5ubuntu1 failed to install/upgrade: ErrorMessage: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 255
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to oneiric on 2011-09-29 (0 days ago)

[jobarjo (jobarjo78)]

I have exact same bug when dist-upgrade from oneiric to precise.

[era (era)]

Quoting the attached VarLogDistupgradeTermlog.gz:
> Setting up dictionaries-common (1.11.5ubuntu1) ...
> ispell-autobuildhash: Processing 'american' dict.
> update-default-wordlist: Question empty but elements installed for class "wordlist"
> dictionaries-common/default-wordlist: return code: "0", value: ""
> Choices: , Manual symlink setting
> shared/packages-wordlist: return code: "10" owners/error: "shared/packages-wordlist doesn't exist"
> Installed elements: american (American English), british (British English)
> Please see "/usr/share/doc/dictionaries-common/README.problems", section
> "Debconf database corruption" for recovery info.
> update-default-wordlist: Selected wordlist ""
> does not correspond to any installed package in the system
> and no alternative wordlist could be selected.
> dpkg: error processing dictionaries-common (--configure):
> subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 255

There is a large number of bug reports which display this symptom, but which have no apparent symptoms of actual debconf corruption. I am nominating this as a separate bug from bug #873551 although it could of course turn out in the end that the two are identical, or at least related.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

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

[era (era)]

In spite of my hunch that it won't help, please do try the instructions in /usr/share/doc/dictionaries-common/README.problems and if they help you solve the problem, please follow up here (unless multiple persons already did). Thanks.